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The bike does not make that much of a difference
Having watched John Kirkcalide win on a 26" Rocky Mtn RM9 w/ a 24" rear wheel & 3.0 Gazzalodi tire, I can confirm that it is ACTUALLY the rider at this point. If you're off the pace on anything branded w/ legit components, it's you, not the bike.
So Gwin has a broken foot now!? I’m not sure he intended for it to be announced by Warner Brothers and Kate Mason. This has got to mean he doesn’t make it back this year at all.
I wonder how many years of racing he plans to do at this point. I kind of thought this year would be his last hurrah, but maybe this will keep him chasing results? I’m sure he doesn’t want it to end like this
Meanwhile, Windrock just experienced flash flooding that damaged a bunch of roads and closed the park, and his main heavy machine operator is also in Europe currently. That’s a lot to juggle.
WindRock park regularly gets ripped apart. It’s as if it’s an old mining operation.
That road slide is in the same side as when Ewok Village/old Trail One simply disappeared
Agree with your general post here but cannot imagine WT pros are doing 85-90% of FTP on stage races? The guys on the front of the peloton or pulling in breakaways are doing tempo yeah, but everyone else is cruising for the entire stage outside of climbs/sprints/finish.
Maybe Jesse will chime in, wouldn't be surprised if his FTP is 5+w/kg. Him and a bunch of the Squamish crew were able to hang for some of the Tucson Shootout ride that has domestic road pros in it.
Bad idea to have elite racers descending blind through tight quarters in remote places low on blood sugar, dehydrated and near black out.
Sure...in road and XC, you have similar responsibility to ride within yourself on descents.
But nobody is lining the climbs of Finale to cheer on a looped out and cramping mid-pack pro. They'll be going bonkers for them on the rock slabs though. Cut Offs are there to ensure riders keep the race moving along. Not to see if their VO2 max is on par with Kate Courtney.
The descents are the show.
I broadly agree but when the spread for the podium is spread by under 3 seconds on a 22 min course, everything counts. Especially if the rider is the same but riding a different bike.
Well, two riders have had markedly worse results this year since making the switch. Lan is coming off winning most of the jr EDRs for two straight seasons and Rhys Verner is coming off fourth in the overall. Both changed their bikes and are not competing to the level they previously were. Especially when times are that tight and on a bike with a monstrous rear centre. My hypothesis is not as outlandish as you make it out to be.
I don't think it's coincidence that Charles Murray is racing the SJ Evo instead of the Enduro. My son is about to make the same call to move from a Capra to a Jeffsy (which he will coil and overfork to beef it a bit). He was with GT previously, and he was going to move from a Force to a Sensor (coiled and overforked) this season before moving to YT.
More and more racers seem to be moving away from the biggest and burliest bikes on all but the gnarliest tracks. Even then... there's so much more time to be made up on a long pedal-heavy track than on a shorter steep gnarly track, especially in the majority of domestic racing in the US which just isn't that gnarly. Having a bike that pedals efficiently, pumps well and accelerates quickly seems to offer some advantages over a super enduro sled. Of course, a lot of that might also just depend on rider style and preference.
Yes...it actually is outlandish, especially applying it to Enduro riders clipped in.
If you think Richie Rude loses by hopping on that bike, you're in that sweet spot for bike companies to sell you the next best thing.
Modern bikes can give you confidence if you need some mental crutch.
But Ronan Dunne got 2nd on a single pivot in World Cup DH.
Jerome Clementz rode a piece of crap Jeckyl rocker link single pivot to multiple championships.
It's NOT the bike.
Almost completely off topic, but had a solid chuckle this morning at Charlie predicting the Martin Maes situation a year ago lol. Was this already talked about? (Vital embed doesn't do time stamps so its at 19 minutes in exactly.)
You are saying I am ripe for the next best thing at the same time that you are defending the newer flashier bike. Many riders have had success on more moderate geometry.
If it's not the bike, then explain Loic Bruni's program.
I would say Loic's bike and especially suspension, is about making sure he is #1 rather than #2-5.
Is it suprising that one of the top teams, that signed a French champion, that trains incredibly hard and has a team so much larger than others they have private videographers on course to find lines and do comparison timing is successful?
The bike is definitely great, but with the Specialized resources, training regime, coaching, support staff etc, he would get podiums on any frame.
1. Bruni has been getting top 5's for 12 years. 10 Top 5 WC finishes on a Lapierre.
2. I said zero to defend "newer/flashier". Where did you read anything defending them in my post
3. Bruni's program is nothing new. The French receive direct educational, training, coaching & even financial assistance on the World stage to prepare for races like World Champs & European Champs. The French DH program is legendary & the top racers have access to Lance Armstrong/Jan Ulrich level physical science and as stated above...line coaches, timers on course, physio and on and on.
It's lost in modern media. The story was told to death for my generation. But to re-hash it, since the time of Gachet & The Alien, French racers have had resources for the sport of DH provided that help them come into elites as seasoned professionals in EVERY aspect. No other country contributes to the success of their racers like the French.
The whole "Bruni's Program" has so little to do with the bike itself. It's him. People trying to attribute the winning to the secret sauce in a frame and dampers is just too much. His wins are the result of his absurd talent, focus & drive.
The pits aren't a haven of bicycle witchcraft.
Invited riders for hardline wales that have been announced so far (via Instagram)
Josh Bryceland
Sam Hockenhull
Matt & Jono Jones
Dennis Luffman
Jim Monro
Craig Evans
Edit:
Brook Macdonald and Josh Lowe also invited
Any others announced?
Which Hardline was the Brook McDonald invite for that I saw yesterday?
Didn't read location.
I thought I saw it was for Wales...
...which looks like its going to be insane 😳
I hate to be morbid but Gee’s recent track record for safety hasn’t been all that grate yet here we are looking at something bigger yet…
Gee's out to break his body and sit out of the finals of an event again lol
Dak’s run is a perfect example of why the 5 or more line spotters loic has is so important at this level.
Wonder if Gee's build crew have factored in the wind sheer on a structure of that height? Roller coasters don't have banners at the top for a reason. Those ramps are basically sails.
Nah...that was just random bad luck. Lots of other guys in finals got a thin line of DH cocaine.
XC-related and not DH, but Pinkbike just reported that Vlad Dascalu got a 17-month suspension for repeated anti-doping whereabouts violations (basically, either not telling the anti-doping squad where you'll be ahead of time, or not being where you said you'd be when they show up to perform a random test). Will be interesting to see whether he appeals.
considering the ban puts him out of the olympics, the rest of this season, and all of next season, i would suspect he appeals. if nothing else to get it reduced.
I reckon theres been plenty of instances where a rider goes from right at the top to just off that pace with a new/different bike. It really doesn't take much to fall off that absolute maximum pace, it's seriously hard to perform at that level. Think Gwin on specialized. While all bikes are good these days everyone has different preferences and needs to perform at the highest level.
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