Are We About To See The Longest Hotseat Streak Ever?

Related:
2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
Sam Hill
Downhill
Serge-W
Profile picture for user Serge-W
Posts
19
Joined
8/3/2014
Location
AT
Serge-W 9/12/2017 12:49am
9/12/2017 12:49am
I'd say the riders that Hill sees as his true competitors were all there. So to speak of a less-stacked field feels somewhat off, at least in this regard. Of course not all riders from the WC circuit were there, but it didn't make a difference with respect to Hills result.
onenerdykid* 9/12/2017 2:56am
9/12/2017 2:56am
Serge-W wrote:
I'd say the riders that Hill sees as his true competitors were all there. So to speak of a less-stacked field feels somewhat off, at least...
I'd say the riders that Hill sees as his true competitors were all there. So to speak of a less-stacked field feels somewhat off, at least in this regard. Of course not all riders from the WC circuit were there, but it didn't make a difference with respect to Hills result.
You're last sentence is pure conjecture, and we'll never know for sure. While Hill certainly has his main competitors, there are more possibilities within a normal World Cup final for someone to come through with a banger final run than at World Champs. I think people are failing to realize just how competitive the top 80 are in a World Cup, and the names who bested Hill at Fort William this past season are a testament to that. Hill put down an absolutely amazing run at Cairns, no question. But given how many spots at World Champs are given to racers who would never be able to qualify for a WC final, this only added to his chances of doing well. I don't think that is off base, nor does it take away from his amazing achievement. It's just one of the factors that played into his favor, just like his bike selection, his training, his health, etc.
iceman2058 9/12/2017 3:18am
9/12/2017 3:18am
onenerdykid* wrote:
You're last sentence is pure conjecture, and we'll never know for sure. While Hill certainly has his main competitors, there are more possibilities within a normal...
You're last sentence is pure conjecture, and we'll never know for sure. While Hill certainly has his main competitors, there are more possibilities within a normal World Cup final for someone to come through with a banger final run than at World Champs. I think people are failing to realize just how competitive the top 80 are in a World Cup, and the names who bested Hill at Fort William this past season are a testament to that. Hill put down an absolutely amazing run at Cairns, no question. But given how many spots at World Champs are given to racers who would never be able to qualify for a WC final, this only added to his chances of doing well. I don't think that is off base, nor does it take away from his amazing achievement. It's just one of the factors that played into his favor, just like his bike selection, his training, his health, etc.
Just FYI, out of the 17 riders that beat Hill in Fort William, the following 4 were not at Worlds:

Remi Thirion - injured
Reece Wilson - didn't make the team
George Brannigan - injured
Thomas Estaque - didn't make the team

Probably fair to believe both Thirion and Brannigan could potentially have challenged for a top 5 in Cairns, although the track doesn't particularly suit either of them. As for the potential for banger runs...there are a few more riders in a World Cup that can challenge, but I'd say that is outweighed by just how hard people are trying at World Champs. Lots of racers ride for points at any given world cup, not for the most banger of runs...
powermutant 9/14/2017 5:24am
9/14/2017 5:24am
Exactly. While the entire field wasn't stacked like a regular world cup, the top 5 were all the usual suspects and there wasn't anyone away who would seriously challenge for top 5 (especially at Cairns).

It was like old times with Sammy on the hot seat and Geeman in the #2 spot Smile

Post a reply to: Are We About To See The Longest Hotseat Streak Ever?