2026 Race Talk

Maybe it's different at race pace and maybe it's because there aren't any leaves on the trees yet, but the course looks... underwhelming.

People said the same about Poland, but it really cut up and turned into a great track. This will probably shape up to be one of the most interesting races in modern DH. A new country, with a level playing field in terms of pit setup, on a track with more flat corners and tight tree line choice will mean we could see some dark horses really shine here. An unexpected good result at the first race of the season could really jumpstart the rest of their season and a career. That's what we all want, a cool story. Loic and Jackson are sick but seeing them trade wins each week on tracks that everyone has ridden dozens of times isn't necessarily as interesting.

Most tracks start super smooth and get cut up in practice. This one looks to be pretty loose and needs riders to smooth it out and clear off all the loose rocks.

The soil there looks like it's got a lot of small shale-y rock in it.  Going to make things interesting WRT tire choice and dealing with punctures.

New series from fox

Massanutten DHSE is BRUTAL (and awesome)

Rim manufacturers that offer lifetime warranties hate this track.

Rim manufacturers that don't offer lifetime warranties love this track.

I am stoked on the new course.  Its going to be a war zone come practice as it already looks dry. Going to be rad to see how it cuts up and ruts in. 

Do we know a ballpark for the vert on the course? I can't watch the vid with sound at work and am curious if they're descending past the ski resort.

shot from the ucimtbworldseries site (doesn't have #'s, but gives you visual idea if you're familiar w/ the area.)

Looking at a topo map I think it’s at least 400m vertical, probably closer to 500m. 

Looks cool - raw, old school, homegrown feel to it. those woods sections will turn into sniper rock gardens and clever taping will make for tricky corners.

Suspect this will be a sub 2 minute course though, and some of those jumps may need to be embigened. But it’s just nice seeing something new. 

Bring back race tape 

in needles' podcast (posted here a couple days ago), pardal thinks it'll be close to 3 minutes. so not super short.

Dang then those woods sections are going to be slow and tricky. I like it. I was just guessing based on the video being 6 minutes and half of it being no riding and the riders pace being slow. 

Big fan of the lower speed technical tracks. 

Looks like the track walk and early practices are going to be super-important at next week's race. It almost seemed to me like even the course builders weren't sure where the line was in a few places (although once the course markers are installed it will no doubt clarify that). Pretty exciting. I can't wait to hear the riders' first impressions.

In the video comments he says it's 1.86 km long, so definitely not <2 min with all those slow sections

Judging by some comments here and certainly on the pink site, it seems there's a serious issue with average Joe MTBers being able to judge the gradient, difficulty and length of a track from watching GoPro footage.

This Korean track looks like it's gonna be awkward, tech, blown out and quite steep + off camber. Probably not fun to ride, but it will make for a challenging race. 

Hard to say using Google map overlay, but looks to be about 420 - 450 meters, so somewhere between Lenzerheide and Leogang for reference.  

I think the course looks great.  Natural, off camber, multiple lines in the trees.  I think it'll break down and cut up great.  As others have said, I like to see some janky slow speed corners that will seperate the riders instead of bike park berms. A new venue in a new corner of the world.  This is what I was hoping to see. Looking forward to seeing some of the practice footage

The Korea track looks very difficult to ride at race speed. I’m sure the difficulty will make for some exciting racing, I just have a hard time being excited for tracks with no roots or rock slabs. 

I love it. Racing in a far away land, bringing a bit of the mystique we lost from enduro (recent Brazil XC venues had a bit). Experience / “racecraft” will be amplified on this unfamiliar track—a chance for some old dogs to bark? 

 

Best part of the track is always thr racers: we’re gonna be fine!