Hello Vital MTB Visitor,
We’re conducting a survey and would appreciate your input. Your answers will help Vital and the MTB industry better understand what riders like you want. Survey results will be used to recognize top brands. Make your voice heard!
Five lucky people will be selected at random to win a Vital MTB t-shirt.
Thanks in advance,
The Vital MTB Crew
is that that bio-degradable potato based eco friendly organic grass fed neon paint orrr?
or is it more of a chalk... feel like just having tape on hand for very confusing sections should be logical. also how is that marking gonna hold up to... rain?
How funny is it that he unconsciously cusses in English while riding instead of in German, though?
wyn's quali practice vid
If only they had some kind of matching colored course tape type product on hand 🤔
Didn't they try this at the very beginning (maybe at a test event in Lourdes or something) and the DH teams / riders said it was too dangerous?
Would snag a pedal and send the rider flying, doesn't break like tape.
From the highest or highs to the lowest of lows for Luca Shaw
I thought he was getting off track at that 00:20 grass off-camber!!
was interesting to see him shake his head at the line. he knows that it was a fast run with 2 large mistakes and maybe some smaller ones through out that wiped all that pace. but at least he's on pace. love to see that emotional reaction.
i've been trying to think who asa rides like, and for the longest time didn't feel any particular answer (thought he was quite unique)... but lately I've been seeing a bit of Amaury in his riding, powerful and aggressive. still smooth, but willing to risk it for pace.even if it gets ugly.
wyntv q2 rapid reactions
Interesting that on such a wet day that the riders that were on it made it through for the most part. 5 of the racers that were in the 21-30 spots for q1 made though in q2. Danny and Finn were 32 & 37th but had good first splits. So Joe Breeden, max a and Pinkerton made the biggest jumps in Q2. Roger Viera and Charlie Hatton got the short end as they were both a couple spots outside in Q1 and q2
Leogang Finals Start Lists below - Vital DH Fantasy closes at 11:55pm PST tonight! Good luck
Junior Men
Junior Women
Elite Men
Elite Women
Charlie Coquillard video about the track changing throughout the day
It makes perfect sense to me that the true fastest and best riders will rise to the top in horrible conditions, as opposed to the roll of the dice that we've seen at most races in the super competitive era of Q1, Q2, and a 30 rider final.
The better the conditions are, the more I think they reward a gambler's mindset. Everyone is going to be going roughly the same speed and the only way to set yourself apart is going to be risking it all for the biscuit. Some will get lucky, some won't, everyone will be going 110%,, and small mistakes or being slightly off line will be costly, meaning top riders have the same to gain or lose from risk as young up and comers.
In mud like this, everyone is going to be sending it, but there's more to separate the riders, so small (or even big mistakes) won't be as costly. In those conditions, I think it rewards riding skill more directly than luck or fearlessness, because every inch of the track is an opportunity for superior riding skill to create separation from the rest of the pack.
Maybe Loudenville blows up my theory, because those were also horrible conditions to race in, but not in the same way. There didn't seem to be many opportunities to make small mistakes, it seemed more like you were either on line and on pace, or you were immediately on the ground. There were big punishments for mistakes at Loudenville. It'd be interesting to hear if Luca was riding at 110% (gambler's mindset) and got lucky, or whether he was riding at a calculated 90% pace (slow is smooth, smooth is fast) when he won in those brutal dusty conditions. And yes, I know he wasn't riding slow, duh. I mean "slow" in comparison to riding at his 110% pace and blowing up.
I like it when Charlie interviews all the rock stars on his way down. more of that Charlie! but yeah great look at this wild track too.
Stoked to see Tuhoto make it through where he should be!
I recall the explanation from Ruaridh Cunningham was the environmental and visual impact of course tape and they always intended to switch to just poles. The low "tape" stuff they still use in enduro was just a short term transition.
https://youtu.be/jlX_Xi4dqrU?si=S4Z-nYgcM-h8q170&t=364
we might need... a separate thread for the general tin foil helmet nature of this but, is this XC interview being narrated by a lady in a booth somewhere and then some poor sap is just holding this mic in the rain, faceless? the clarity and cadence is completely out of context with normal post race interview energy. weird
like sure. I get the main commentators being sat on a couch. hate it, but i get it. but now we can't even do in person interviews orr? I mean how many industry LEGENDS are on site? all these media guys, vet riders, etc. just why
That's totally bizarre. Maybe translation of someone asking in a different language? But... why would they need to translate he speaks English and replies in English?
https://youtu.be/Jfh9wivvIHo?si=qF7c0dvUsxD0Sjz5&t=365
the womens version was narrated a bit better to blend the illusion but... still sounds studio recorded
oh and i dont want to get way out in the weeds but Adolf Silva is doing some promotions for 'hyrox' work out shit, and they auto dubbed a fake english voice over his voice... when he was speaking english (as he does, perfectly fine)... actually infuriated me. don't really have a link cuz it was like, an instagram ad or something
In the womens version you can hear a very slight echo in the background when the presenter is asking questions, from the speakers at the venue. I think it's real. She probably just has that mic right up to her face to limit outside noise and has a good TV voice. There may be some processing on it, but in the womens one you can tell Sina is paying attention to the person asking the question in front of her.
all EDR stages from tristan botteram
Cool/weird to see him on the exact same time as Assa right down to the 0.001 of a second!
rude and vergier finished on the same thousandth in q1!
are there rules for a tie in finals for 1st? that's insane!
(edit, Sven said timing goes deeper than .001. google says at 25mph, traveling .001 seconds is .44 inches...mental.)
Well I'll give the production credit for this level of audio outside at that venue... But I feel bad for our lovely, faceless, nameless presenter lol
I think that's what threw me off the most. I almost can't think of a scenario or sporting event where the interviewer is practically hidden from an effectively 1 on 1 convo.
We’re finally here. Rider that was leading the overall doesn’t get to race in the main event. I know that a lot of people say that the new 30 person race day is more exciting, but this is so much less so. I also think it’s more dangerous as riders have to get up to speed much faster.
Don't forget last year's senior mens World Champ, World Cup Champ, and 5x WC race winner Jackson Goldstone missing finals for the first two races despite being healthy. Not a win for race fans.
Luca crashed then flatted. Only way around that is protection. People didn’t want that though.
I'm just stocking up on popcorn for the final race of the season if the points keep getting thrown around like this. 2 horse race? Sorry I've already ordered that meal and it didn't even show up to the table regardless.
Give me a THREE rider race. Or more. Orrr at least give me a 2 rider race where other riders results change the position like 2019. That was peak. Thank the lord Warner was still on for that one as Danny came down and the camera was like flipping between Loic and Amaury at each split lol
I’m all for it. It sucks Luca didn’t make finals because I’m a big fan too, but this just shows how insane the talent level is right now and how brutally hard World Cup downhill has become.
There are no easy finals anymore. The cream will still rise, though. By the end of the season Luca will end up somewhere in that top 5–10 overall range.
Post a reply to: 2026 Leogang World Cup Downhill