Atlas and QTMBC: another $5000 for Wynyard!

We stoked to announce that we are donating another $5000 to QTMBC to help maintain Wynyard Bike Park. Biking is such a huge way of life in Queenstown, so at Atlas we are keen to make a contribution so can we can all continue to enjoy the trails. If you're into biking why not join the QTMBC? Not only are you helping to maintain the trails but you get a ton of sweet discounts with many great businesses around Queenstown.

We'll be keeping you updated with how the Atlas money is being put to good use at Wynyard. In the meantime here's a few pics from last season. 

Catching up with Alanna Columb

On tour - Alanna in Austria

Our sponsored MTB downhill racer, Alanna Columb is still in Europe competing in the World Cup races as well as the European Cup. She's going great in what is her first European season finish with a 13th in the World Cup in Andorra and a 5th place in the European Cup last weekend in Pila, Italy. 

A result which currently has Alanna standing in 4th place in the iXS European Downhill Cup. And she hasn't even been riding downhill for all that long! 

We had a couple of questions for her and here's what she had to say.

Where are you right this second?

Sitting in a cafe in Morzine, France.


Tell us a bit more about what got you into downhill racing and what you love about it and what inspired you to go enter the World Cup?

I was living in Lomond Crescent a couple of years ago and was watching all the bikes go past and I thought it looked like fun. And I'd talked about doing it enough! One day a friend of mine, Dave, rounded me up and got me on the hill and that was that. MTB-ing is something new in my life and I'm enjoying the learning and progression. I guess the thing about racing is there's no feeling like winning! As for what inspired me to compete at the World Cups... it's the dream! I want to make a life out of this - it's my favourite thing in the world to ride and race bikes.


Having visited a few countries this (Northern Hemisphere) Summer, what has been your favourite place on your race circuit and why? 

Andorra for sure, the track was unbelievable! It was pretty hard to race - the track was super gnarly. But it was so much fun to ride!


Lots of athletes have their little pre-race/match rituals, how do you prepare for a race and do you ever get nervous?

To prepare for a race I listen to music, skip and stretch and do a wee dance whilst I visualising the course. I get a little nervous a few hours before a race but before the run I am fully relaxed and I'm focussed before setting off.


Any lucky charms?

I'm not a superstitious person - the outcome is down to you on the day.


What's on your iPod at the moment?

Lykke Li is on my iPod at the moment.


Can you cook and if so, what's your signature dish?

I can't really cook. My signature dish would be bacon and eggs! I do those pretty well.


Pilsner or IPA?

Pilsner.


How do you like your Atlas steak cooked?

Medium rare!


Tell us a secret.

A secret. [laughs] Well, it wouldn't be a secret anymore if I told you!

Alanna: Next Stop Andorra!

Podium finish

Queenstown local, Alanna Columb, is one of our regular customers at Atlas Beer Cafe. So when the opportunity arose to give Alanna a hand with some backing, to help her compete on the European and World Cup Downhill Series, we were happy to oblige.

Alanna competed with great success last year on the home circuit placing 2-2-1-3 over four races to win the NZ cup series! Spurred on by this success Alanna heading off to Europe for the season.

Her first race in the World Cup Series saw her place 19th after a big crash in her race run. The second round saw some bad luck after a another rider crashed in front of her. Alanna believed she'd be re-run but unwittingly didn't stop to speak to a race marshall and so consequently got red flagged. A frustrating experience but "good for learning", she concedes.

Subsequent races have been more successful with two respectable sixth places at rounds one and two of the European Cup and a podium finish at Crankworks in Les Deux Alpes; another European Cup race. Alanna leaves France for Andorra tomorrow for her next World Cup race. She has a total of three more World Cup races left along with two more European rounds.

We'll be catching up with Alanna again very soon and think she's doing great in what is her inaugural World Cup series and European season.

Good luck for your race in Andorra, Alanna, from all of us at Atlas!

Atlas helping Kumar to go Kiwi!

Best skills: Raj Kumar

Meet Raj Kumar. He's twenty years old and he's the reigning Nepalese downhill champion. He started biking at age 7 on borrowed bikes until he won his first bike in a competition!

Local Queenstown bikers Amy Freedman-Davies and Jarrah Healy met Raj late last year as they journeyed through Nepal searching for MTB trails.

Both Amy and Jarrah were blown away by his skills (the best all round mountain bike skills they'd ever seen!!) and his passion for biking. Inspired by Raj's enthusiasm they decided to begin a fund raising effort to bring the young rider to Queenstown. 

Jarrah and Amy want to raise $5,000 to bring Raj to NZ so that his riding can be further enhanced by all things Queenstown! He'll have the opportunity to compete in local competitions, take part in the Queenstown Bike Festival and learn to build and maintain bike trails. 

Here at Atlas we've been greatly impressed by Amy and Jarrah's fundraising efforts which truly are testament to the camaraderie of the mountain bike scene. And, we are really excited to be one of the local businesses sponsoring Kumar Goes Kiwi!

If you would like to help too you can make donation here:

https://www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/kumargoeskiwi

Big or small we can guarantee that any donation will be very gratefully received by Amy and Jarrah. 

Atlas will also be hosting the Kumar Goes Kiwi arrival party once Raj arrives in town. They'll be prizes and fun things going on so we'll keep you posted...

'til next time!

Atlas Beer Cafe