Another winter down and summer’s just around the corner. 

To keep you in the loop here’s a bit of a snap shot from the Torpedo7 team and what’s been going on over the past few months. 

After a couple of dry seasons, 2015 has seen both islands experience some of their best snow conditions in years. Chomping at the bit, our snow crew were right on hand to make the most of it and Pete Oswald shared a couple of shots here from a stellar day up Treble Cone.

Photo: Christian Unger

Treble Cone Powday Backy from Pete Oswald on Vimeo.

Image: Dan Power Photography

Mid winter saw over 450 multisport stars of the past and present line up alongside weekend warriors to tackle the 22nd running of the Peak to Peak in Queenstown, the longest running winter multi-sport event in the country. A big congrats Hamish Fleming for a win in the mens individual division and to Fiona Dowling for a close second in the women’s category.

Hamish Fleming: 2015 Peak to Peak individual winner

Off the tarmac and onto the dirt, Kate Fluker is back from following the World Cup XC circuit and looking forward to some down time and enjoying her home trails in Queenstown. It’s a long season for the Kiwi and Aussie contingent, having to find a balance between peaking at just the right time and not burning out from too much racing can be tough and Kate learned the hard way that the long season can be grueling on the body. Either way we’re stoked to see her taking on the World and no doubt the learning will stand her in good stead. We can’t wait to see what she has in store for a big year next year!

Photo: Sven Martin

Queenstown staff member and overall shredder Jimmy Pollard also threw himself into some overseas competition recently, jetting off to take part in a couple of the North American rounds of the Enduro World Series. After the first race in Crested Butte was cancelled in tragic circumstances, Jimmy made his way up to the mountain bike mecca of Whistler for the next round in the series. Arguably the biggest race on the global calendar, Jimmy managed to smash out 23rd in pro men and lay claim to being the fastest kiwi on the hill. A huge effort for a privateer and awesome to see Jimmy mixing it with some of the biggest names in the sport!

Back on snow and our crew have been killing it in the tail end of the season. Hank Bilous claimed 3rd spot against a stacked international contingent in the Big Mountain final at The North Face Freeski Open and had the crowd buzzing with a HUGE line mid run. 

Photo: Neil Kerr

Check out the video of Hank’s run below. The real action begins at 3.05s…

Photo: Neil Kerr

Hank’s brother Finn didn’t shy away from the spotlight with this feature on TV3 along with some great competition results. Watch the full clip here. That tongue though?! 😛

Man of the hour, Finn Bilous backed up a strong showing at the Winter Games with a solid performance at the Cardrona NZ Junior Nationals. With wins in the Slopestyle and Halfpipe, and a 4th in Big Mountain, Finn was able to claim overall ski champion for 2015, two spots ahead of brother Hank in 3^rd place overall.

Finn Bilous – Biggest backflip of my life! Photo: Tommy Pyatt

Finn Bilous – Been having a fun few days out of the park before a hectic week, competing in the @wintergamesnz. Photo: Mickey Ross

Big congrats to Finn Bilous, 2015 Cardrona Freeski Junior Nationals champ!

Not to be outdone the snowboard crew also delivered some solid results with Fletcher Craig taking out the overall national champ for his age group placing 1st in the Freeride and Halfpipe events, 2nd in Slopestyle and Boarder-Cross and 4th in Giant Slalom.

Fletcher Craig getting inside out on his way to Gold in the 2015 NZ Junior Nationals

Again moving offshore, a great showing of team colours were present at the Wulong Mountain Quest in China recently and a HUGE congratulations must go to the team of Sam Manson, Marcel Hagener, Hamish Fleming and Simone Maier. One of the largest adventure races in the world, the Wulong Mountain Quest represents 4 days of grind and against the best in the world these guys show they have what it takes to take it all the way. Read Sam Manson’s write up to hear how four kiwis flying the Torpedo7 colours laid down a convincing performance to take the win in this epic race. 

The finish line day 3. Stoked!

Torpedo7 were proud to again be naming sponsor of all girls Spring Challenge adventure race. With over 1000 women taking part in perfect conditions it was great to be able to support such a fantastic event and awesome to see so many people out giving it a crack. Also a bonus to see Torpedo7 take out the win in the premier 9-Hour Open category… Go team!!

Team Torpedo7 – Fleur Pawsey, Susie Wood and captained by 2 x Adventure Racing World Champion Sophie Hart – Winners of the 9-Hour Open event

Teams negotiate rafting, bike, orienteering and run legs on their way home in the 2015 Spring Challenge Adventure Race

Just back from claiming podiums in Canada to a different type of awards ceremony… Stoked to see Elite Torpedo7 athlete Jess Simson Multisport & Adventure recognised for her efforts at the latest NEXT Magazine Awards. Congrats Jess! 

Photo: Jesse Peters – Xterra

Jess recently took off to Hawaii for the 2015 Xterra World Champs in Maui. Unfortunately she suffered a pretty serious case of heatstroke leading to a trip to the hospital but testament to the trooper that she is, she’s back out and looking forward to getting back amongst it this coming summer.

New to the Torpedo7 team recently are Keiran Bennett and Simon Lansdaal.

Kieran has been plying his trade aboard a bike for a good few years now and we can’t wait to see what he gets up to on the trails this summer.

Kieran Bennett

The first moto rider to be officially on board the team, Simon brings with him wealth of riding knowledge and some serious skills on a bike. Keep an eye out for updates from Simon as well as some great new moto tips and tricks on our Help and Advice pages.

Simon Lansdaal. Photo: Lauran Robinson

While we may not have been up to scratch compared to some of our athletes, it was great to see staff getting involved in the Torpedo7 Day Night Thriller in Tokoroa last weekend. With teams from Auckland and Hamilton battling our for bragging rights it was a fun time for all present!

We’re stoked to be supporting T7 athlete Emily Wilson as she takes on the challenge of riding the equivalent of Mt Everest’s elevation (8848 metres above sea level). She’ll ride Treble Cone Ski Area’s steep 7-kilometre gravel access road five or six times non stop, on World Diabetes Day, November 14th. As an International Diabetes Young Leader, Emily was diagnosed last November and hasn’t let diabetes slow her down. All the best emily, we can’t wait to see you ‘Everest’ on Treble Cone! To follow more from Emily keep an eye on her Facebook page.

Emily Wilson. Photo: Fairfax NZ

It’s awesome to see so many people doing their thing and proudly flying the Torpedo7 colours. This is only brief snapshot of everything the team has been up to and we look forward to sharing more great content over the coming summer.

For everything athlete related be sure to follow our Facebook page and the hashtag #T7Athletes

See you out there!

AUTHOR

James Mulcahy

Marketing & Sponsorship - Torpedo7

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