Heavy Equipment 12

bleaker28

6/29/2010 9:26 AM

The course is looking good this year, and 4x is all progressive when it comes to course building, even at the world cup level they’re still trying to figure it out, like Leogang. It is hard to make a track that isn’t single file, but the Sol Vista guys know what they are doing, they have raced 4x. I thought the drop out of the gate last year was a good idea, but I had two problems with it. First, the gate was not working properly ( It would either drop late or not at all), this happened over half the time, so no one wanted to get a gate, and even if we did want to, we couldn’t practice gates because they were working on the gate trying to fix it for most of the time we were supposed to have gate practice. (Ross Milan, a seasoned 4x racer, flipped the gate and landed on his head last year because the gate didn’t fall) The other problem with the start I had was this is the National Champs, (which means the pro winner gets an automatic spot on the 4x World Champs team), and whether the DH riders like it or not, one of the biggest parts of 4x is the gate start and front straight, and the drop didn’t reflect that very well. And last year the USAC officials didn’t even know that rule, so this year it seems that they are putting in a little more effort.

TRex

6/25/2010 7:25 AM

Jakubiak, you said "The reason the race was single file was due to the inside lines being the fastest on the course." In qualifying and in the finals, some of the outside lines were used. The first turn outside was used and the third turn as well. Mitch, who won, used the outside in the race in the third turn because it was the fastest. He almost got taken out because of it, but it was exciting, and it turns out, was the fastest, since he won. As for you saying that the riders were the ones that made the decision to not drop the gate, you just don't know what you are talking about. We added a 12 foot tabletop for you this year.

BeigeWolf

6/24/2010 8:58 PM

"CONUNDRUM WAS THE DUMBEST IDEA EVER"... WORSE THAN SLAVERY, OR SUB-PRIME MORTGAGES, OR THAT TIME YOU DRANK YOUR OWN PEE?

jjakubiak

6/20/2010 7:09 PM

The Riders were the ones that made the decision to not do the Gate Drop, you guys gotta get your facts straight. They didn't start the gate up until 15min before qualifying and when they did it malfunctioned. So if you guys wanna point fingers, point them and the person that build it and forgot to test it out with the gate and not just rolling off it. The reason the race was single file was due to the inside lines being the fastest on the course. "the conundrum" was the dumbest idea ever, it had 2 lines and once again the inside was the fastest. Maybe this time open up the turns add some jumps and maybe a pro section. Other than that the course photos look good.

ballr

6/17/2010 9:17 PM

Hey dudes, FWIW, USAC has been very interested in our track building and prep for the nats this year. Although I'm not sure they are really in touch with the direction the gravity disciplines are headed, they are quite concerned about
-rider safety
-creating tracks that most closely reflect what will happen at worlds
-our compliance with UCI rules
-anything related to the endurance disciplines

metalmike

6/17/2010 5:43 PM

I just the USA CYcling is off the back in general as a unifying cycling body. UCI isn't a whole lot better, but it's better none the less. I think the whole system needs to be redesigned from the ground up.

thom9719

6/17/2010 4:00 PM

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have said who cares, but the point still remains (and I think we're all on the same side of this arguement) that USA Cycling needs to figure it's stuff out before hand and let the builders/riders decide what is a viable course option, not some guy in a suit that doesn't have a clue as to what is going on.

I agree that this is shaping up to be a good year for American cycling and Sol Vista is definatly putting in a good effort to make US national champs a legit race. Props to them and I can't wait to be there in a few weeks!

k.shiz

6/17/2010 3:56 PM

USAC/UCI do have course rules and if they don't know if an obstacle or whatever being built for a track falls within those rules then maybe the time to check that out is not an hour before the event is set to run. Maybe that time is "nearing the end of construction, leaving time for corrections and revisions prior to the event."

I think the answer to "who cares if they do" could be answered with "everyone who poured their sweat and effort into making something new and different (start platform) only to have it turned into the spectators' bleachers by a governing body that didn't do it's job despite being given ample opportunities to do so."

With that said, this looks like it is shaping up to be a good course and if there's anything like "the conundrum" section from last year, we should see some actual racing and not just another boring follow-the-leader-with-the-good-gates type of event. I'm excited for this and it should be great for racers and spectators alike.

thom9719

6/17/2010 3:34 PM

Correct, but they should chill out and let the course builders build something cool and progressive. The riders were able to do the gate last year, and it added a new element to the sport that no one had seen. It pushed the sport, but USA cycling stopped it. They need to let SolVista build what they think is possible. Those guys are all good riders capable of determining what will and will not work as a race course. The commissaire of USA cycling doesn't ride DH...

bturman

6/17/2010 3:30 PM

Um, Beige is on point thom. Last year the 'Pro' start gate had to get scrapped because USAC didn't approve and gave no notice 'til the afternoon of the race...

thom9719

6/17/2010 3:22 PM

Who cares if they do, Matt and the boys should be able to do what they want. Last year they built a sweet course that people are still talking about. This year should be even better. I can't wait!

BeigeWolf

6/17/2010 1:59 PM

IS USAC GOING TO COME CHECK OUT THE COURSE BEFORE THE AFTERNOON OF THE EVENT THIS YEAR?