A Good Ol’ South African Dustup for DGR | Stevie Smith’s season has been seismic to say the least. He’s shaken up elite podiums from Scotland to Mont-Sainte-Anne. Routed all takers for a third-consecutive Canadian Open DH title in Whistler. And he’s been a massive threat leading up to the World Championship showdown in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, this past weekend.

Sunday’s final, however, cratered for Smith when he fell on the first corner of the track. Back on the saddle he dedicated his remaining run to the fans, throwing suicide no-handers, whips, and one-footers, and leaving the back-up plan to teammate Nick Beer, poised to blast into contention.

Gearing up for the race, both Beer and Smith underwent intense training for the pedal-heavy, lung-punching DH track. In addition, there’s been a new bike to tame—a prototype 650B rocket tasked with clocking fast times and delivering Devinci Global Racing to the top.

For Beer, it was blink-of-an-eye close. In what turned out to be perhaps his best run of the season, he finished the day in 6th Place, one step—and 0.7 seconds—off the coveted podium block.

The DGR squad and Split Pivot suspension guru Dave Weagle have spent considerable time going over designs, studying this year’s schedule, and pinpointing places they felt they could take time out of the course. Devinci’s 650B prototype was hatched from those powwows: a bike built to keep Beer and Smith in their comfort zones, while letting them cut loose and carry and gain more speed thanks to geometrics designed for agile performance.

The formula has made for another compelling chapter in the DGR’s evolving success story. Stay tuned—this earth-shattering season is far from over.