I won a competition last week to ride with Brian Lopes at Dalby, during the World Cup XC race there. 6 of us ended up riding on the day with Brian, on a short stretch of the red route, with a few stops to chat and bug him about his career, bike, and life in general. It was a great day out, and Brian was really awesome, welcoming, and chatty. At one point, he was behind me on a technical singletrack section; I don’t think I’ve ever felt such pressure to ride well, than when I had Lopes on my tail.