Lacondeguy and Pardal Smashing The Lousa Bike Park

Located in central Portugal, Lousã Bike Park features over 25 downhill and all-mountain trails including no fewer than three Portuguese national-level DH tracks. Who better to show us around then than Portugal's top DH rider, Francisco Pardal? Oh, and we sent Andreu Lacondeguy along for the ride too.

Rupert Walker captures Andreu Lacondeguy and Francisco Pardal going big in Portugal.

Located in central Portugal, Lousã Bike Park features over 25 downhill and all-mountain trails including no fewer than three Portugese national-level DH tracks.

Who better to show us around then than Portugal's top DH rider, Francisco Pardal? Oh, and we sent Andreu Lacondeguy along for the ride too.

Lacondeguy's impressions of Lousã Bike Park:

"I’ve been to Portugal a lot of times. This time around I went there with the specific goal of filming at Serra da Lousã. It was my third time at those tracks and this time I had the help of Francisco Pardal. To be honest, we worked as a team, with the advantage that Pardal knows the area really well. I have a great impression of him. I knew he was fast but not this crazy."

"The tracks in Lousã were wild and rough! The week I was there was really hot and the dirt was dry so it made everything even more wild and hard to follow! But the tracks were amazing, steep, fast, tech... They had everything!"

Pardal's take on riding with Lacondeguy:?

"I can say that I have been a fan of Andreu for some time now. He has his very own style of riding, really fast and loose. His flow and style on the jumps is unbelievable."

"I always had this idea of inviting a Red Bull rider to come film with me in my tracks and some other ones in Lousã, Portugal. Fortunately, Andreu accepted the invitation, which was incredible. I knew right away that the video we were going to make would be wild, fast and loose, with myself being a downhill rider and himself a freeride one. A few days later I was told Rupert Walker was going to be filming the project and he is one of the most bad-ass filmmakers there is in downhill and freeride."

"Lousã and Louzanpark are like my second home. I have a lot of friends there and it’s where I started doing downhill back in 2005. We try and up the level of Louzanpark every year! Plenty of athletes from abroad enjoy our tracks and way of living."

Rupert Walker on his time in Portugal:

"Overall I thought Portugal was a beautiful place to document mountain biking. The culture, landscape and architecture made for an amazing experience."

"I loved how raw the trails were at Louzanpark, it allowed Andreu and Francisco to get loose while maintaining high speed. The weather was also really cool, the sunsets were amazing and during our shoot we had a layer of fog engulf the trails for a couple days. I love shooting in fog because it gives a cinematic and moody feel to the footage."

"I've always admired Andreu's riding. When I found out I would be shooting him for this project I was so stoked. He's a rowdy dude and insane on a bike. This was also my first time working with Francisco, I had never heard of him before this shoot. I was blown away at his skill level and ability to control his bike at high speeds. Overall, these boys crushed it, worked hard, and I think it shows in the video."