“With the UK experiencing a wetter-than-usual winter, I decided to swap the slop for dust and headed out to Portugal with videographer Will Brock. Our plan was to shoot an edit like nothing we had seen before and show off the handling of the recently launched Privateer Gen 2 161.
As soon as we landed, we wasted no time and headed straight to Ponte De Lima in North Portugal to hit up a mix of trails. We started off with Lousã, a firm favourite on the downhill circuit with its World Cup race course. These trails were fast and rough—where better to warm up?!
With Lousã ticked off, and the stoke in full effect we headed to the trails in Pé do Negro, a firm favourite of mine from previous trips. These trails are a great mix of downhill and enduro with a slightly more natural feel, offering gaps and loose terrain to keep me on my toes.
Just up the valley in the same town is Ponte De Lima Bikepark. With its fast and rocky terrain, this is fast becoming the ultimate testing location for many DH teams. Despite some uncharacteristic rain, the trails were insane.
The trip's last stop was Terras de Bouro, a rocky landscape with incredible trails. The black dirt made for some of the most fun riding of the trip, not to mention the excellent Ford Raptor uplift we were privileged to have.
The week of filming was not without its struggles, experiencing a rare but extreme storm that passed through, adding pressure on Will and I to bring all the components of this feature together.
We concluded our trip by returning to Ponte de Lima to sample some incredible Port from the region in one of the local bars. The trip highlighted not only the great riding on offer in the north of Portugal but also the perfect terrain to show off how capable the new bike is no matter what you throw at it.”
