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i'm sure it did, but why race if the broadcast is going to potentially make the race unfair for all participants?
in no way do i think this would be an easy thing to sort out, but just make re-runs completely impossible if they can't be consistently awarded for a significant disruption in the run.
Maybe the UCI needs to adopt a "if re-run is necessary, the splits completed in the scheduled run before the position of the significant impedence necessitating the rerun will be used." Tough sentence to parse.
Meaning the splits before the running baffoon incident from her first ride would be used and then the splits including the impeded split will be taken from the second ride. That would at least not give the rider the significant advantage of a do-over after having had a crash.
That way they can't gain as much of an unfair advantage from having ridden the course an extra time over the changing conditions.
Further questions: When is the rerun taken? Do we want the the 14th place (or 29th place) qualifier taking a run after the 1st place qualifier? Or should it have to be at the earliest possible time and all the other start times are bumped 5 minutes? Maybe a specific usher takes the rider directly to the lift and directly to the start gate so there's no possibility of bike tweaks ? No communication between rider and pit so they can't suggest bike tweaks or line changes. No kit/glove/goggle changes? 10 minute warmup with no mechanic or crew.
Race replay from DHSE #4 at Windrock! Shoutout to the Gravity Coop crew for turning these around so fast!
Making them start the rerun with a muddy bike and kit is not fair (also looks terrible), especially if the mud drys out during the wait and makes the bike heavier and potentially interferes with the wheels and drivetrain movement.
Gwin just posted on IG they are flagging the final race course at Lake Placid today. He said one pedal out of the gate, turn and straight into the woods.
he’s point to where the start will be.
She had a crash before the guy was on course. No rerun is the right call. Clean run before the guy and re run certainly needed. IMO.
I'm completely on-board for that. Maybe the bike has to be cleaned by a 3rd party so no changes can be made? Maybe the rider has to do it? Or maybe that's the metaphorical (and literal) weight on the other side of the scale of justice? Maybe a rider can take a reride with all the new knowledge from getting a run at the track but they're also stuck with any disadvantages that could come from that first look.
What I'm trying to come up with is a way to make sure there is no extra advantage to the rerun to prevent it from being a target for abuse and to level the playing field as much as possible. What's to prevent someone "falling" over the tape and into the line if Bruni gets a flat at the top of the course on the last race of the season with the championship in the balance? Should he get to roll down the whole track slowly with his flat and get a rerun with a completely new wheel and tire?
Hattie is a RIPPER of a rider. Give that girl an extra look at a track, the conditions, and the lines, and she'll absolutely do better on a second finals run than she would on her first finals run. Whether or not she had an issue on run 1, the rerun will be heaps better. Probably in every sector. Should the impediment in split 3 (or wherever it was) be allowed to make her 1st split faster?
For the record, I think she should have gotten a rerun. I'm just trying to look at it and find a way to make sure the result of the rerun she has is identical in result to what the first run would have been had the impediment not occurred.
Looks like it might be a shorter course, depending on how it's routed. Where the start gate is, gives them about 1200ft max vertical drop.
My thoughts are if you can’t ever make it to finals, your ranking over-represents you.
Kind of like collecting a lot of UCI points from Taiwan races means something different than collecting points from French races.
Consistency for troy Brosnan is different than for someone consistently mid-pack. The scenario you describe is a rider who is consistent, but can’t turn it on and hit the higher level everyone else can to make it to finals. Sounds to me like a racer who needs more gym and sprint practice. Keep at it and we’ll see you again next year.
Is the Vital podcast coming back for the race season?
Yeah! Where's the B practice podcast! Need me some Jason,Dak, and Steven
stoked on this vid where lawlor follows jackson, troy and reece for the weekend in poland
b practice will be back too!
This. I think the element missing from the 'average finish' narrative, is that ultimately that Q2 had, effectively, the 20 fastest riders missing. So, arguably, the finish or points you 'get' from that Q2 are not equivalent to Q1. And then if you just want to compare times, that's also tough because Q2 riders are going to be more fatigued and the track will be worse, so they are slower regardless (on top of being the 'slower' riders in Q1 regardless).
I still feel like practically all the riders who 'should' have made finals, made finals. I think it actually just feels worse because its 30 riders instead of 40. Regardless of the qualifying split up. SO many high level riders used Q2 to get through, and successfully did so. At least for this event, I think the format was a 'success'. And that's with WILD conditions. With better conditions you'd expect all the fast guys to get through, no crashes or weird mechanicals.
Amaury cutting the course on video wasn't on my bingo card.
But to anyone who says that was an "ambiguous" marking of the course, note that in his 1st qualifying run, he took the jump & the second of 3 poles clearly outlining both sides of the jump is there.
He took the line to get an advantage, not out of some human error. They'd ridden the track 4 days straight.
Really wish Trek had caught it sooner. I hate cheating in sports.
Anybody catch this sound bite on Tomac's SwapMoto interview?
https://youtu.be/ASxyz_etXSw?si=0WWkakQ2Kgi0xb_l&t=864
I've mentioned this worrying trend in depth in a few podcasts over the course of last year. From last year they have hindered the ability of many top 50/60 riders to garner any points in qualifying. Pretty soon very few riders (even much less than now) will be able to rightfully enter a World Cup without being on one of the World Series top teams or federation entries. With the switch to the points now staying with the teams and not the riders this year there will even less power of advantage and bargaining for top riders. (Note if teams kept points last year - Teams like the Union would still be in game) In a years time there will be less teams and less riders and very little change in the make up of teams (top 10 teams given a 3 year license) and bike brands competing in the World Cups. It could become very stale and boring with very little chance for breakout riders emerging on the scene unless they have already been picked up as a junior on one of the World Series teams.
At the race in Poland 4 americans I think who rode in the US jersey had the opportunity to race, and were given the opportunity to race the first 3 WC races and can petition for the rest, not counting the junior riders. Also add in the golden tickets into the mix and I think there is opportunity for riders not on factory teams to have a chance to compete and earn points. For some it may take travel to make those races, but the riders on WC teams do not count in the standings for the Golden tickets which I also think is fair. I know being there and watching the Q1 and Q2 it was super exciting to see Q2 and who would or would not make the top 30. I was pleasantly surprised at all the excitement and think the changes are so far so good. We will see how it goes.
Except there was at least one other jump on the track where the B line and main lines were split by a pole.
Having inconsistent course markings is a recipe for misinterpretation and ambiguity.
Sven - how much of this should be on the teams? Should the teams be as vigilant as possible to sign new riders they see breaking through - or sticking with racers that have not made much impact and hang around in the 40s?
I don't know the answer, but it certainly is another illustration of a glaring gap we are all aware of: the need for true continental series that allows riders to get gate time and exposure.
Would be nice to have a minor leagues and see it's star get to rise a little more legitimately. Junior's is pretty sick and fun to watch, but hot damn the sacrifices those families have to make...if you are from The US/West or the southern hemisphere....hope you are rich.
Why limit it to your own team? Rider is leading your guy by a bunch, send out the disposable staff member.
Totally agree, feel bad for those riders just outside the cut line. The talent runs deep in the field and these riders that end up on the bubble are risking it as much as everyone else and would have nothing to show at the end of a race weekend. The result is the same as crashing out or missing a race due to injury... still zero. The trend you mention potentially means that we only see 50ish riders that even have points at the end of the season.
I’d imagine there is rules in the rule book about interfering with other riders runs?
It's funny because, spray paint the 'jump markers' pink or red, and none of this is an issue. Like if you wanna get rid of tape, for whatever reason, sure go for it. But if your replacement is... Well, dogshit. At least put in the lowest common denominator effort to make it easier on riders and viewers. If dangerous rocks are painted pink for visibility, 'jump markers' (if thats what they are) should also be painted pink and represent potential danger (aka, GAP!).
The Hattie and Amary issues can both be adjusted for later in the game like, and I hate to use F1 comparisons, but F1. Sometimes placement and points can be adjusted for after the fact so fairness can still work out, but the event can play through without interruption and any issues can be investigated properly.
Missing a course marker would be better followed up by a significant time or points penalty, rather than a full disqualification for the race (unless its a blatant cheater move), which can completely wipe out someone's season depending on a small dip off the track or mistake. Like F1 and like how Trek put in the complaint after the fact, it can be adjusted on the back end of the race or qualification and shuffle accordingly for the race. There's a way to make it work.
For Hattie, you can still make a mistake or mechanical and come back swinging to place high, we've seen it enough times. So do the re-run when possible and change the points on the back end, just like someone loosing points in F1 for showing up with the wrong pants or whatever other reason they do it.
I want to congratulate Vital and Lawlor on the best content to come out of round 1. I hope to see this continute with a rotating cast of riders at every round. By following the riders over the course of a weekend the story lines come to the front and you see the drama play out from the riders point of view. 👏🏼
Did anyone else notice the massive Fox truck Frameworks was pitting out of? Sounds like they’ve got it for the season.
Bruni won with blacked out Schwalbe tires!
Brother... Do their pit chairs have tiny Ohlins coils that actually function on the base? lmao
Dirty Dan or Tacky Chan? Or something else? My eyes aren’t so good.
Neko talked about it on the new Downtime. Fox got it from one of the MXGP teams and don’t use it that much so he asked if he could and they said yes
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