That is some scary shit! Question, Les Gets builds the course, as they are building it do they have people actually riding the features to make...
That is some scary shit! Question, Les Gets builds the course, as they are building it do they have people actually riding the features to make sure of the safety of the racers? Seems like they would have found out that lead up to the road gap was probably not a good idea. You can't be building stuff that takes out racers no matter their level of skill. I hope Thibout and Marine are ok. They are so fuckin' good and to have them not taking part sucks.
Ben Cathro's vid on the .... other site... mentions that there has been no public pre race or invitational event. I guess that's ordinarily where things like this would be figured out an sorted for WC.....?
Yeah, with Rachel's gap the issue was the correct landing zone was extremely tight, basically had to land at the perfect distance.
Cathro put it best in his video today on the road-gap "the landing is a bike length long", added to the fact that it is very blind and the take-off seems to point into the trees rather than the track...
Longer landings would seem like a necessity, not just for the different abilities of riders, but even the difference between training speed and race speed, betting a few top riders have issues during qualies or finals from being unable to squash the road gap while going faster than ever before.
Pierron would probably have needed to pre-hop the entire feature to avoid landing the other side of the tape.
Ben Cathro's vid on the .... other site... mentions that there has been no public pre race or invitational event. I guess that's ordinarily where things...
Ben Cathro's vid on the .... other site... mentions that there has been no public pre race or invitational event. I guess that's ordinarily where things like this would be figured out an sorted for WC.....?
This would be alright in an enduro, where road gaps and river jumps aren't as gnarly and tracks are harder to access for the public.
Having a pre-race event could've also helped some of the marshals get their ring rust off and have them remember what they're supposed to do. This includes preventing animals, people, and, heaven forbid, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, from getting inside the track.
lawlor said only myriam and Jessica blewitt (i think, junior woman on GT) hit the gap while he was there. raw shows other women rolling around. jessica is dnf if results. myriam up by 7.4, so not sure if that's b/c of road gap. either way, it was no easier today with perfect conditions.
isak leivsson is gnarly. homemade downhill bike, very little world cup experience. he cracked his bike and had to find a welder in order to race. marshy lent him a welder and today isak qualified 39th. freaking EPIC!
I did notice in RAW one of the girls rode the gap without jumping it. There is obviously a time penalty to slowing down to do it this way but not nearly as much as the B line.
My personal feeling as to if the feature should be in the race as is or not is to simply get the racers' take on it. If majority feel it is overly dangerous then it should be changed. If not, and its seen more of a challenging separating feature, run it. I also feel those racers at the top should have more weight with respect to something like this than the riff raff.
Yes, I know, the solution I just described is not going to happen at Les Gets, but its something that could be utilized if organized in the future.
When you hear the feedback from most racers (girls included), it looks like they are lovin' it and that it is refreshing to have a proper DH track...
I mean at a moment, either you want a manicured man made course (boring for some) or you get a gnarly track, technical but also potentially more dangerous.
As said above, it's up to the riders to decide if changes should be made or not, they are the ones on the track taking the risks
When you hear the feedback from most racers (girls included), it looks like they are lovin' it and that it is refreshing to have a proper...
When you hear the feedback from most racers (girls included), it looks like they are lovin' it and that it is refreshing to have a proper DH track...
I mean at a moment, either you want a manicured man made course (boring for some) or you get a gnarly track, technical but also potentially more dangerous.
As said above, it's up to the riders to decide if changes should be made or not, they are the ones on the track taking the risks
Big difference between one huge feature with very little margin for error and a raw track. They could have made that landing 10 feet longer and a bit of run out space and it would just be better. Taking that feature out entirely wouldn't make that much difference on this track.
It looks like a Dirt Merchant sized step down, with a Fade To Black style sized landing.
isak leivsson is gnarly. homemade downhill bike, very little world cup experience. he cracked his bike and had to find a welder in order to race...
isak leivsson is gnarly. homemade downhill bike, very little world cup experience. he cracked his bike and had to find a welder in order to race. marshy lent him a welder and today isak qualified 39th. freaking EPIC!
Impressive in many ways! He does actually have quite a bit of world cup experience and some decent results as well. But being able to qualify so well after a few years wc-hiatus, and on a self-made frame with last-minute repairs to spice things up!? Epic, as you said! Privateer of the week, for sure!
I saw a clip on Cathro's instagram of them taking out a root on the drop in to the step down - I messaged him to ask what the procedure is re course alterations etc vs the natural progression of the course - he came back to me saying that it was down to the technical coordinator and feedback from rider representatives. Surely if enough racers felt it was a problem then they would've taken the same route and requested a change of some description (whether its run in or exit..)
Maybe for fixing trucks/pit tents or his Goldwing? (Also the fact that I know Marshy has a Goldwing means I probably spend waaaaay to much time obsessing about DH minutia
)
Maybe for fixing trucks/pit tents or his Goldwing? (Also the fact that I know Marshy has a Goldwing means I probably spend waaaaay to much time...
Maybe for fixing trucks/pit tents or his Goldwing? (Also the fact that I know Marshy has a Goldwing means I probably spend waaaaay to much time obsessing about DH minutia
)
so the road gap was still in there. raw 2 is up - https://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/Vital-RAW-Les-Gets-World-Cup-DH-2,39035/sspomer,2
lawlor said only myriam and Jessica blewitt (i think, junior woman on...
lawlor said only myriam and Jessica blewitt (i think, junior woman on GT) hit the gap while he was there. raw shows other women rolling around. jessica is dnf if results. myriam up by 7.4, so not sure if that's b/c of road gap. either way, it was no easier today with perfect conditions.
The fact that even Brendog almost ended himself on this drop shows the technicality of lining everything up. I'd agree at race pace and with some more rain it could be pretty terrifying to ride
just gonna put it here...F THAT STUPID BRIDGE with a MASSIVE STUMP ON THE LOW SIDE at the end of a 40mph off-camber. even in the dry, i hated that thing. race day in the wet is terrifying.
Hope Reece is alright. That was one of the gnarliest crashes I've ever seen in the Red Bull TV era of World Cup DH. Ranks right up there with Thirion's crash in Leogang a few years ago.
Andreas Kolb dodged a bullet too. Imagine if he did a high side crash right by that wooden jump.
Hope Reece is alright. That was one of the gnarliest crashes I've ever seen in the Red Bull TV era of World Cup DH. Ranks right...
Hope Reece is alright. That was one of the gnarliest crashes I've ever seen in the Red Bull TV era of World Cup DH. Ranks right up there with Thirion's crash in Leogang a few years ago.
Andreas Kolb dodged a bullet too. Imagine if he did a high side crash right by that wooden jump.
kolb so lucky (and skilled). incredible save from catastrophic crash.
Hope Reece is alright. That was one of the gnarliest crashes I've ever seen in the Red Bull TV era of World Cup DH. Ranks right...
Hope Reece is alright. That was one of the gnarliest crashes I've ever seen in the Red Bull TV era of World Cup DH. Ranks right up there with Thirion's crash in Leogang a few years ago.
Andreas Kolb dodged a bullet too. Imagine if he did a high side crash right by that wooden jump.
Not sure if it was Pre-redbull but the worst "live broadcast" crash I've ever seen was Cam Cole's crash in Andorra. I think he might have retired after that crash.
As above, Nina Hoffman had a gnarly crash off the road gap , seems she was lucky it was "only" a broken collarbone...
That gap, in...
As above, Nina Hoffman had a gnarly crash off the road gap , seems she was lucky it was "only" a broken collarbone...
That gap, in a race run, did not work.
But it did in the end, didn't it? Has anyone heard of crashes/close calls during the race run on that road gap? No sarcasm here, just genuine question.
Cathro put it best in his video today on the road-gap "the landing is a bike length long", added to the fact that it is very blind and the take-off seems to point into the trees rather than the track...
Longer landings would seem like a necessity, not just for the different abilities of riders, but even the difference between training speed and race speed, betting a few top riders have issues during qualies or finals from being unable to squash the road gap while going faster than ever before.
Pierron would probably have needed to pre-hop the entire feature to avoid landing the other side of the tape.
Having a pre-race event could've also helped some of the marshals get their ring rust off and have them remember what they're supposed to do. This includes preventing animals, people, and, heaven forbid, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, from getting inside the track.
This happened to Rachel Atherton too, btw, but in Lenzerheide. It's a weird coincidence that this seems to be a common theme for Atherton riders.
These issues are a common concern for first-time organizers and in new race venues but one would expect not to see this sort of stuff in a World Cup.
lawlor said only myriam and Jessica blewitt (i think, junior woman on GT) hit the gap while he was there. raw shows other women rolling around. jessica is dnf if results. myriam up by 7.4, so not sure if that's b/c of road gap. either way, it was no easier today with perfect conditions.
My personal feeling as to if the feature should be in the race as is or not is to simply get the racers' take on it. If majority feel it is overly dangerous then it should be changed. If not, and its seen more of a challenging separating feature, run it. I also feel those racers at the top should have more weight with respect to something like this than the riff raff.
Yes, I know, the solution I just described is not going to happen at Les Gets, but its something that could be utilized if organized in the future.
I mean at a moment, either you want a manicured man made course (boring for some) or you get a gnarly track, technical but also potentially more dangerous.
As said above, it's up to the riders to decide if changes should be made or not, they are the ones on the track taking the risks
It looks like a Dirt Merchant sized step down, with a Fade To Black style sized landing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqL1B_b8E4E
Andreas Kolb dodged a bullet too. Imagine if he did a high side crash right by that wooden jump.
What a brutal race this has been.
That gap, in a race run, did not work.
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