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Sprinting at max speed on a trail with jumps intended for half that speed is optimal DH.
Fortunately the jumps don't look too lippy but I'll go out on a limb and say there will be injuries from people losing strength and front flipping themselves off the jumps to flat. Doesn't seem safe at all.
A commisaire will likely just make up a rule on site.
The ole NORBA 24” plus, 2 brakes, 3 gears rule is long gone. I looked in the .pdf of the 2024 usac rulebook, they don’t have technical rules listed for slalom or dh at all, just procedural stuff.
Sure, we're open for business. But WATER is a precious resource and Green River (5 minutes from the park) has been wiped off the map.
Hotels, motels, churches, youth centers, parking lots, fields, backyards...loaded down with every manner of out of town utility worker imaginable.
Our hotels are hosting displaced families, day laborers, you name it.
But we ARE NOT a travel destination in the slightest. Sinkhole opened up last night down the road from me that will swallow an RV.
We have IDIOTS by the thousands wandering around using their GPS or just generally shoving their STUPID faces where they don't belong.
We got YOUTUBERS going full steam posting dramatic coverage of them driving around acting like they're doing something incredible in their vans.
Poaching closed areas on dirt bikes & UTVs.
Just STAY THE FOKK OUT! We need BIG BOYS WITH BIG MACHINES to rebuild this entire 3rd of the state.
Last night, fire department spent almost 3 hours in the rain getting some jack hole out of Gerton who drove around barriers with a 40 ft trailer.
Yeah...you typed one sentence trying to shit on USA Cycling. But everyone and their precious MTB getaway, sightseeing, backing up vital corridors and bringing in a "do gooder" excuse...go home. Send money or supplies to Samaritans Purse. It's EARTH MOVING time. It is not looky loo, bike race time.
We're fine with locals going for a ride at their local, going home and not clogging arteries or Detour routes that VALUABLE UTILITY workers need.
But lines 10 minutes long of out of state tags backing up badly needed help so you can go race is some bull we don't need.
I live here I can tell you none of the jumps are so big (besides maybe a couple at the bottom that can be scrubbed) a strong rider cant just huck to flat. The riders will end up hiking bikes up too. There is no good way to shuttle this.
Primarily this is such BS for the riders. I hate it. This is why the US isn't commonly competitive in DH on the WC level, its like none of these bodies care. Its freaking insulting to the riders. I'd consider just skipping if I was a real dh athlete. Probably not worth the travel effort and expense.
There are even two other trails that although not ideal still are more DH'ish then that.
shuttle 100 vertical feet? maybe yall can rent some lime scooters if they cant just coast back to the start 😅
I mean there are so many people who own e bikes here maybe they can just organize a fleet of tow up eebs to drag them up the paved climb trail 😆 You may be on to something.
Do we know how usac made this decision?
Who or what body decides where the event is held?
My guess is unofficial financial incentive.
Hush your mouth. No sports governing body on earth would ever dream of accepting such a thing. 🤫
After seeing that 'DH' track, it makes the Sea Otter track seem proper. It's like holding the Air DH down B-Line
It sounds like the Collegiate DH track will actually be Rock Solid instead of Fireline (judging from the suggested spectator map).
Video of trail below (it's actually a pretty good trail with some jankier sections, but it has some pretty tough flat/uphill sections as well and still isn't a "real" DH race track by any means)
Not sure we can say "pretty good one" with regard to a dh track that has uphill and flat parts.
Maybe if this was some grassroots races or something...but this is for college national champs.
Sorry! When I said "pretty good one," I just meant that it's got some jankier rock and tech parts unlike Fireline which is literally a clay-clapped flow trail for its entire length.
I will be kind of curious if they alter the track at all by maybe connecting it to a different trail or maybe cutting in some new stuff. Some of the exposed traverey section is pretty tight and could be interesting at race pace.
If its wet it would be dangerous as there lots flat or off camber slab rock thats sketchy to push on, if its dry could be an interesting race. The one little rocky uphill needs fill dirted so as not to kill all rolling speed. Still not ideal but better then the last option we talked.
Haha they even edited out the flat and uphill. Oh well at least Anneke is making a good retirement gig out of advertising for them.
Evidently all racers took two runs and were ranked on combined times for both runs. Is this the normal format or the result of such a short track?
Hard MTB League test event content is starting to come out. April Zastrow has a rad vlog from the week. We'll have stuff dropping this week too. Killer concepts being tested and solidifed before going forward.
here are some of the pro bikes from hard mtb league
https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/pro-bikes-hard-mtb-league-test-event
Best of two run was a NORBA national format up until 1996 or so. But no, this is “2 stage enduro on one XC trail”, is hopefully, a one-off.
Varsity Man won on an Epic Evo, Club men on a Hightower. My guy pretzeled the carbon wheel I loaned him, for his Sentinel ahahaa. If kids race downhill on dh and enduro bikes all season in conference(and they do) having nats on a track for xc bikes is pretty laaaaaaame.
I'll say its at least not an xc trail (not a dh track either). I will say that the end of that trail would get sketch on an epic (would be worth the top sprint though). Friggin legend charging that on an XC rig.
Fastest spectator apparel for your pits!
https://merch.vitalmedianet.com/collections/vital-mtb
Can't tell if authorized or un...
Also, can I get a custom order of 10 of these to hand out to park rats?
if you click more and vital products same page so yes authorized.
I just linked it from the front page
2024 season recap from Frameworks Racing:
2024 season recap from The UCI MTB World Series:
Post a reply to: 2024 Racing Talk