Poland World Cup Downhill - Bielsko-Biala 2024

Gemmaflybeta
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5/14/2024 6:25am
iRider wrote:
First look at the track from mtb-news.de:    

First look at the track from mtb-news.de:

 

 

I don't know if anyone watched with subtitles, but at the end the host says Brook Macdonald had a look at it and wasn't too enthused. Host said it was the bike parkiest track in recent memory, but also that it's brand spankin new (compared the surface to a baby's bottom lol) and who knows what it'll look like by race day.

Still, he said it was a narrow/playful track vs a wide/technical track. My hope is that we get something like a Windham track by race day, short, fast, rough, and great racing. But I bet track walk day is going to be a full on roast of the course.

1
metadave
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5/14/2024 7:31am

Hey guys, it could always be worse. They could race here in Calgary again 😂

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bulletbass man
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5/14/2024 7:55am

With two venues pulling out this year don’t think anyone should be complaining much.

 

certainly no msa or vds but I think it will be a pretty entertaining watch with the right camera angles and the bike park sections are somewhat unique.  Like this track a lot more than the new Andorra course (miss the old one).

2
w4s
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5/14/2024 8:11am Edited Date/Time 5/14/2024 8:11am
arek wrote:
   
 

 

Boy, those Polish,  It's like they have a different word for everything.

 

 

2
5/14/2024 12:09pm

I think the track looks pretty neat overall. The fact that most of it is fresh will make practice fun to watch as lines burn in. Some of the woods sections do look decently steep, and all the berms and jumps will highlight riders who are good at squeaking every bit of speed out of features. Bit of a bummer to see it so tight in sections. I think come race day it will be all about hitting the main line perfect and fast all the way down. Stoked for the week ahead!

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owl-x
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5/14/2024 12:38pm

2:30 is just too short!

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1
matmattmatthew
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5/14/2024 1:47pm
owl-x wrote:

2:30 is just too short!

Some of us might remember the Willingen WC, Men's winners at that course were Sub 2 minutes if I remember correctly.  The course was so tame (by DH standards) that a few people raced on shorter travel frames with single crown forks.  Kovarik even joked that he probably could have managed on a Hardtail.  

7
NorCalDHR
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5/14/2024 5:59pm
sspomer wrote:
willingen 17 years ago  

willingen 17 years ago

 

Wow, that brought back some memories...

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jeff.brines
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5/14/2024 6:37pm Edited Date/Time 5/14/2024 6:42pm
owl-x wrote:

2:30 is just too short!

Wasn't the Telluride WC track sub 2:30 too? Anyone? Bueller (Spomer)? Anyone?

EDIT: Looked it up myself - It was actually *almost* sub 2 minutes. Results here from 2002. Some fun old school names on this finisher list, but only one persists to this day (GM...just wow). 

7
sspomer
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5/14/2024 7:28pm Edited Date/Time 5/14/2024 7:35pm

telluride was super short without any significant steep sections IIRC. photo of colin bailey at telluride below. i shot in 2002 and remember getting this slide back (film rules...look at the sky), and thinking maybe i could do more of this MTB photo stuff. later that day a rider crashed, her bike flew up and hit me and broke the flash off my camera LOL. i think telluride '02 was in clappin yo' dome w/ snoopdogg and pharell song to the section. had that log whoop section. most DH racers did 4x too. crazy that was 22 years ago. sorry for the time travel. back to poland.

here are edr and DH entry lists for Poland (DH start has martin maes and eddie masters listed, but doubt they're racing DH...prob just general, season-long entry sign-ups). when actual quali start list is posted (prob thurs), we'll open fantasy

EDR - https://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/webresources/20240517_edr/entr…

DH - https://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/webresources/20240518_dhi/entr…

12
gibbon
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5/15/2024 12:34am
sspomer wrote:
willingen 17 years ago  

willingen 17 years ago

 

NorCalDHR wrote:

Wow, that brought back some memories...

Did'nt Peaty ride around the jumps because he could pedal more when he won there?

1
mx_563
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Jaworze PL
5/15/2024 12:59am Edited Date/Time 5/15/2024 1:03am
TEAMROBOT wrote:

Okay, serious question: How do we pronounce these words in English?

Szczyk, Skrzyczne, Bielsko-Biała, Szyndzielnia

I was born in Poland, but I grew up in California....spent 40 years there. Now I'm back in Poland...as luck would have it....in Bielsko-Biała. For the past 3 years I've been riding most of the trails that'll be used at the event. Prior to that, my resume includes mostly Skegg's Point and Braille in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a run down Mt. Lemmon outside of Tuscon, and some Tapia Canyon (Castaic, California). I'm old and mostly ride motorcycles with MTB stuff peppered in here and there. Nevertheless, I think I have some unique credibility here. So if you will endulge me....let's start with the names...

Szczyrk (there is an "r" in there). There's no easy way to say this one.
  the "sz" is kind of like an english "sh" 
  the "cz" is kind of like "ch" in chocolate. 
  the "y" is like "i" in "dirt"
  the r and k are just r and k but you want to roll the r if you can. 
All together now boys and girls....phonetically......."sh-ch-i-r-k"

Skrzyczne....
 the "rz" is going to once again sound like "sh" in english
 the "cz" is just like previously mentioned.....it's like "ch" in chololate.
 the "e" is *not* silent. So you have to add a sort of "eh" at the end (like a Canadian)
All together....phonetically......    "s-k-sh-i-ch-neh"

Bielsko-Biała
 the "l" with a little line through it sounds like a "w" in English.....like "water". 
So Bielsko-Biała.....phonetically......sounds like "Bielsko-Biawah"

Szyndzielnia....
 we already went over "sz"....shounds like "sh" in english. 
 now for the "dz".....this sounds like "g" in "gel". 
So Szyndzielnia sounds like.....phonetically......."shin-gel-nia"

As for the trails.....I have never been to a world cup event so I don't know what the trails are typically like. But the local trails are indeed rocky and rooty as mentioned by others. There are a few steep and gnarly spots but in my opinion this is not going to be a nonstop succession of insane drops and ridiculous obstacles. Sure, there will be a few interesting spots and I think the trails here are definitely legit. In fact, coming from NorCal, I was blown away with all the roots and rock and technical shit I came across in Bielsko-Biała. On weekends we get a lot of Czechs coming across the border to ride here. But the mountains here are not that high/tall. This is not gonna be a Vallnord or anything. 

My biggest concern for the weekend is just logistics.....parking....etc. The fact that the events are spread across a couple of towns (Szczyrk and Bielsko-Biała) complicates things. 

Super exciting to have a World Cup so close to my house. I can literally ride to all of these trails from home. I hope it goes well. Poland could use a success story of some sort on an international scale. Fingers crossed for a good event.

63
PisgahGnar
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5/15/2024 9:34am
TEAMROBOT wrote:

Okay, serious question: How do we pronounce these words in English?

Szczyk, Skrzyczne, Bielsko-Biała, Szyndzielnia

mx_563 wrote:
I was born in Poland, but I grew up in California....spent 40 years there. Now I'm back in Poland...as luck would have it....in Bielsko-Biała. For the...

I was born in Poland, but I grew up in California....spent 40 years there. Now I'm back in Poland...as luck would have it....in Bielsko-Biała. For the past 3 years I've been riding most of the trails that'll be used at the event. Prior to that, my resume includes mostly Skegg's Point and Braille in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a run down Mt. Lemmon outside of Tuscon, and some Tapia Canyon (Castaic, California). I'm old and mostly ride motorcycles with MTB stuff peppered in here and there. Nevertheless, I think I have some unique credibility here. So if you will endulge me....let's start with the names...

Szczyrk (there is an "r" in there). There's no easy way to say this one.
  the "sz" is kind of like an english "sh" 
  the "cz" is kind of like "ch" in chocolate. 
  the "y" is like "i" in "dirt"
  the r and k are just r and k but you want to roll the r if you can. 
All together now boys and girls....phonetically......."sh-ch-i-r-k"

Skrzyczne....
 the "rz" is going to once again sound like "sh" in english
 the "cz" is just like previously mentioned.....it's like "ch" in chololate.
 the "e" is *not* silent. So you have to add a sort of "eh" at the end (like a Canadian)
All together....phonetically......    "s-k-sh-i-ch-neh"

Bielsko-Biała
 the "l" with a little line through it sounds like a "w" in English.....like "water". 
So Bielsko-Biała.....phonetically......sounds like "Bielsko-Biawah"

Szyndzielnia....
 we already went over "sz"....shounds like "sh" in english. 
 now for the "dz".....this sounds like "g" in "gel". 
So Szyndzielnia sounds like.....phonetically......."shin-gel-nia"

As for the trails.....I have never been to a world cup event so I don't know what the trails are typically like. But the local trails are indeed rocky and rooty as mentioned by others. There are a few steep and gnarly spots but in my opinion this is not going to be a nonstop succession of insane drops and ridiculous obstacles. Sure, there will be a few interesting spots and I think the trails here are definitely legit. In fact, coming from NorCal, I was blown away with all the roots and rock and technical shit I came across in Bielsko-Biała. On weekends we get a lot of Czechs coming across the border to ride here. But the mountains here are not that high/tall. This is not gonna be a Vallnord or anything. 

My biggest concern for the weekend is just logistics.....parking....etc. The fact that the events are spread across a couple of towns (Szczyrk and Bielsko-Biała) complicates things. 

Super exciting to have a World Cup so close to my house. I can literally ride to all of these trails from home. I hope it goes well. Poland could use a success story of some sort on an international scale. Fingers crossed for a good event.

As another Polish American here, this guy could be your linguistics teacher, right on! This whole week is going to be hilarious listening to all the riders try to pronounce... anything. 

15
sspomer
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5/15/2024 10:49am

@mx_563 THANK YOU! i've homepaged your language lesson post. stoked to learn things like this.

11
5/15/2024 8:00pm
sspomer wrote:
telluride was super short without any significant steep sections IIRC. photo of colin bailey at telluride below. i shot in 2002 and remember getting this slide...

telluride was super short without any significant steep sections IIRC. photo of colin bailey at telluride below. i shot in 2002 and remember getting this slide back (film rules...look at the sky), and thinking maybe i could do more of this MTB photo stuff. later that day a rider crashed, her bike flew up and hit me and broke the flash off my camera LOL. i think telluride '02 was in clappin yo' dome w/ snoopdogg and pharell song to the section. had that log whoop section. most DH racers did 4x too. crazy that was 22 years ago. sorry for the time travel. back to poland.

here are edr and DH entry lists for Poland (DH start has martin maes and eddie masters listed, but doubt they're racing DH...prob just general, season-long entry sign-ups). when actual quali start list is posted (prob thurs), we'll open fantasy

EDR - https://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/webresources/20240517_edr/entr…

DH - https://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/webresources/20240518_dhi/entr…

It's time to start selling Gordo prints! I'd buy a few. 

4
Big Bird
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5/15/2024 8:59pm
sspomer wrote:
telluride was super short without any significant steep sections IIRC. photo of colin bailey at telluride below. i shot in 2002 and remember getting this slide...

telluride was super short without any significant steep sections IIRC. photo of colin bailey at telluride below. i shot in 2002 and remember getting this slide back (film rules...look at the sky), and thinking maybe i could do more of this MTB photo stuff. later that day a rider crashed, her bike flew up and hit me and broke the flash off my camera LOL. i think telluride '02 was in clappin yo' dome w/ snoopdogg and pharell song to the section. had that log whoop section. most DH racers did 4x too. crazy that was 22 years ago. sorry for the time travel. back to poland.

here are edr and DH entry lists for Poland (DH start has martin maes and eddie masters listed, but doubt they're racing DH...prob just general, season-long entry sign-ups). when actual quali start list is posted (prob thurs), we'll open fantasy

EDR - https://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/webresources/20240517_edr/entr…

DH - https://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/webresources/20240518_dhi/entr…

I got to race that track that weekend in the amateur race and there was definitely a steep bit full of tiny stumps that was a handful leading into what they were calling a 15 foot drop. After that drop was the jump that Peatty pedaled around. It was a sixty foot table top that none of the pros cleared as I recall. I went about 45 feet. My biggest jump ever.

4
gibbon
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5/15/2024 11:49pm Edited Date/Time 5/16/2024 1:18am

From the slideshow I'm assuming the assigned pits set up is a s$£&show so BK has just set up at his accomodation down the road and let Neko and the Union share?

Edit-Confirmed in Ed's vlog.

1
5/16/2024 4:57am

Literally any rider on the circuit want´s more events. And as soon as they go somewhere new (surprise, that happens when you want more) people start complaining that it´s not like what they are used to.

Guess what - that what´s it about.

I remember BF complainig about Leogang that it´s such a tame track and Atwill riding down with a hardtail. Surprisingly none of them won, while legit racers like the much loved Ratboy just got on with it, gave it all the got and won it.

Guess what - that what´s it about.

6
1
5/16/2024 5:28am

In his vlog, Laly mentioned that the assigned pit space would have been like 2kmaway from the track, so they have set up the pit at their accomodation as well. 

1
1
bulletbass man
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5/16/2024 6:01am
Literally any rider on the circuit want´s more events. And as soon as they go somewhere new (surprise, that happens when you want more) people start...

Literally any rider on the circuit want´s more events. And as soon as they go somewhere new (surprise, that happens when you want more) people start complaining that it´s not like what they are used to.

Guess what - that what´s it about.

I remember BF complainig about Leogang that it´s such a tame track and Atwill riding down with a hardtail. Surprisingly none of them won, while legit racers like the much loved Ratboy just got on with it, gave it all the got and won it.

Guess what - that what´s it about.

Atwill podiumed the year he did the hardtail vid.  If I’m not mistaken it’s his best result.

ratboy didn’t like the direction tracks were heading (more speed, less tech) and quit racing.

1
5/16/2024 6:22am

Bromont, QC was around the 2:45 mark for any of its various iterations. That was a short track that was packed with a fair bit of acutal gnar, had a few very committed moves if you were really on the hunt. Also featured a fair bit of a 4x course at one point and famously, an 8-10 second climb up a mellow fireroad.

2
sspomer
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5/16/2024 7:26am

hit our homepage, 2 pit bits gallery and pit bits vid just went up. fantasy should go live in an hour or two as well!

 

Stewyeww
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5/16/2024 7:34am

Cairns was pretty short, isn't that why they added a 100m flat sprint at the end?

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