Written by Simon de Montfor of
  AnnoDomini
  
  In this issue first Nooky will try to find out why one particular downhiller is so strong and then we will bring you the usual review of the Dh races. We also have a small humour section in the end (if anyone has any Dh related humour/jokes please PM me!), so hope you will enjoy the read.
  
  What would this newspaper be without putting the spotlight on its current top dog. Insiders already know we are talking about Brent Meijerigh. His results are off the charts. Brent won Trofeo Bajanda a Granada on each of his four appearances, scored an impressive triple win at Eissh Downhill and almost did the same at Chennai - Pondicherry last week. He also grabbed wins at Bytom - Katowice, Elias Marquez Invitational, Juberri - Canolic and Stockholm Tour.
  
  There's not a whole lot he has done wrong ever since he has been fully trained. The most remarkable moment might be his 4th place at Bytom - Katowice (S40) while in topform. This must have been a clear offday as it does not blend in with the rest. And there is a somewhat peculiar 27th place at Juberri - Canolic (S38).
  
  One can only guess what happened there, as we have only few information from Jubalon ProCycling. Both Brent as his manager Eivind Bjerke are not too outspoken. So we had to ask around to get more insight in what Brent's secret is.
  
  Damian (Help), Eric (trackstah07), Torvald (Odfjell Tankers) and Guru (FretxHibas) all agree that he is very well-rounded. Guru specifically mentions that he is trained in all sidestats. Well all but one as Damian points out. "In short his only weakness are cobbles, maybe we should have a dh race with cobbles but I am afraid that would also hurt every other dh rider."
  
  So there are few races around were Brent would not shine. And he can always fall back on his team mates. All four mention the solid squad as a key to success. Eric puts it down most nicely. "I bet, if you ask him, he’ll tell you the same thing as many successful riders in the peloton: “My team mates have made this all possible.”" If one looks at Jubalon ProCycling one can surely agree this team is strong. It has three DH guides (nice vg stats), two team mates hitting VG at both CL as DH and seven solid stand-in team mates or dh guides if required. Thats a very good bunch.Furthermore Damian mentions that he has good experience as a contributing factor. Both

he and Torvald think that good preparation in terms of DP, RS and TS helps Brent too.
  
  But after that the experienced managers haven't got a definitive answer on Brent his success. Torvald makes a last attempt with throwing in 'a little bit of luck'. Who knows? It sure doesn't feel like voodoo, faith or determination. There is no evidence Brent is born on the right moment or at the right day. Strangely enough doping seems out of the question either. It is not mentioned by anyone, not in a negative nor a positive way. So we must assume he is clean then. Maybe, just maybe, we are looking too much for answer here instead of letting the legend unfold for our eyes.
  (written by Nooky).
  
  
  Now lets look at recent Dh races, cause there were quite a few strange results recently.
  
  In East Egg Race the climbers attacked on the final climb and were stronger than the downhillers. Race was won by Hernan Brizeno (nao), an allround climber. The downhillers finished a little bit further with 3rd Bjornar Mathisen (climeri) being the best of them.
  
  The Juberri-Canolic race also finished unexpectedly with Abdul-Jalil Umarah (nonnies) surprising all the favorites with a successful attack in the final meters. Bradley Adam (team wapples) was second and Aurel Kravchenko (trackstah07) was third.
  
  Pietermaritzburg SA saw one more unexpected winner with a fairly unknown 35yo Latvian rider Ilvars Gilis (Astana Moonstar) who finished first from a 3 men breakaway. He stole the win from Spiridon Ekel (Skrubb Cycleklub), the best rider from the breakaway group and the only downhiller. Main favorites for the win, Jeremias Clavet (nobodies) and Yanik Arda (Tashkent Browncoats), finished 4th and 5th respectively.
  
  In top div Dh race Chennai – Pondicherry there was also a small surprise at the finish line as climber Jayden van den Kroon (Drapeau Noir) outsprinted Brent Meijerigh (Jubalon Procycling)and took the win. Brent wasn’t happy cause he wanted to win this race 3rd time in a row to equal Yanik Arda’s record. FIlipo Armesto (CARCYCL) who is always among the favorites, but never delivers, finished 3rd this time.
  
  The only race which had more less expected results was Fterolakka – Amfiklia which was won by Colin Tomhave (Wing on Pinarello), followed by Gregory Hebert (pollyjean) and Francis Joseph Kaiser (KRV Rapid Habsburg).