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Thinking a sneaky bet on Thirion would be money well spent right now.
AP by 6.4!
Minnaar on the podium is extremely awesome to see
Considering the huge margin of Amaurys wins in awful conditions after his serious vertebrae fractures in my opinion he is without a doubt the best guy on a bike now and probably the best ever
Did anyone see the blue thing fall of Vergier's grip when he crashed? He held onto the grip's for a long time. I remember him talking about 'clipping in' a year or two ago.
good lord... the ed masters footage in the slop corner where all the fans were was outrageous. absolute slapstick. felt like the mud race where Ricky Carmichael lapped the entire field. not even sure the timestamp as its just premiering now lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ojHNwBiIR0
lawlor slowmo (all dry : ) - we'll sort out fantasy results today too, most likely going with junior qualis as results like the UCI has done, but stay tuned.
What was going on with Pierron and the skate helmet after the race? Afraid of taking a cork to the head like Bart after the XCC?
Not sure if he taped his hands to the bars or what, only saw the blue thing on the right grip but both hands were on the bars for a long time while he went OTB. I'd imagine he'd keep the left free to pull tear/roll-offs though, I wonder if he hurt his hand in practice or something.
Dak's commentary from yesterday didn't age well.
Looked like he lost his hat when he jumped onto the crowd for a surf.
it looks like Dak's lines were going so much through giant puddles that he would struggle the whole way for clear vision. He pulled his tear off 69 times (well at least 6 times).. At the opposite, it looks like Armory had a way bigger mudguard and only pulled one tear off... I'm surprised nobody is using a wireless tear off. i remember Justin Leov using one this system many years ago..
The wireless tear off system went haywire more than once so people went back to mechanical.
I have a feeling it would work a lot better now w/ more compact batteries & advances in signal technology.
I would 100% use a RollOff system that had a button/clicker on the bars.
He sure did. KT Taped that damn hand to the bar on a beast of a track in the wet.
Commitment!!! Can see it his whole run, but really good at 4:12 https://youtu.be/0yY463qPEYk?si=dmTcqsHNNs8vbl1X&t=250
amaury's POV
Anyone who ever was on the fence about being a downhill racing fan, will get over that fence watching AP's run.
Downhill Racing 4 Ever.
fantasy results have been compiled and are processing, they should show up shortly. we went with how the UCI scored it, which is juniors earning points based on their qualifying results due to canceled finals.
same structure as if it was finals (1st place 60 etc, top 25 Jr Men and top 10 Jr. Women).
here are the standings PDFs that show junior results and scores since they didn't have an actual finals results sheet.
Junior Men (PDF)
Junior Women (PDF)
Les Gets is Round 5, Points (Position)
AP is so good, in a different league... Great to see him back at his best.
If I ever want to try explain how good DH racing can be, I show people his race run in Les Gets from 2019... got two more race runs to add to that list now.
When I think about race runs that have stood out to me over the years, to then get 2 back to back, both put down by the same guy? Phenomenal.
wyntv les gets finals
Marketing was going on.
so Dak did explain that the water was getting into the back of his goggle lens through the top vents , dripping from the visor/extension.. so rolloff/tearoffs were not helping him... shitty situation...
It's good to have these races that separate the COMPLETE riders (fantastic technique + mental strength).. You can hear AP nail the situation on track speed before and after the rain on this track.
The guys dropping early and late had completely different challenges on this track (icy patches vs vision issues, etc) but you would see the standouts in these conditions in the top 10..
In the women, I was surprised to see see Nina struggling, being stiff and rather clumsy.. a step below in technique and finesse compared to Mille, Eleonora, Tahnee, Pompon and Vali... it's like they were on a different category...
Hope the tracks are slowed down a bit, and are made more technical.
It sounds like this race rewarded the very technical but conservative rider. That's usually the riders able who are in the top but might struggle to find this last % that puts you on the podium (guys like Estaque and Thirion, Eleanora). These results might help them to get there in the future but it will be interesting to see how it shakes up on a consistent dry race. AP is a special case: I believe it when he said he was not pushing because he is so good (he was the only one cruising feet up in the steep backwoods). Will he be able to keep his dominance when everybody is full tilt?
BTW, I wish some races would not be as fast but more technical. Nowadays I don't think any features challenge the riders, everybody rides the A line with some subtle differences. The separation is just about pure speed. Imagine a track where a guy like Thirion could make more time because of the insane lines he can ride... maybe a bit more freeride into racing...
Surprised that Dak got such a small mudguard. Was personal choice? Did they thought a big mudguard might clogged the tire? Strange decision
Was curious b/c Dak's statement about covering the helmet ports was VERY specific.
Here's a comparison of the 4 top brands. Clearly a design weakness of the Alpinestars DH helmet.
Fox & 100% have ports exposed to vertical rain, but are more offset away from the crown. Water would stand to run around the face. TLD zero rain intrusions on the forehead.
The Missile Tech ports are closer to the center of the forehead. Funnel shaped.
From a frontal view they're even more further down the forehead. Great ventilation as you are moving.
But also a bucket for catching oncoming spray & dumping it on your face. (redesign incoming?)
Also went back to look at Dak versus Amaury's lines & he was hitting the same puddles but the splash in the one left hander looked way bigger for sure. Alternately, he took some other lines that were softer & drier.
Might have been a case of what the team had available. Max has a reputation for being super-prepared so I can imagine him having more options beyond the standard Fox mud guard that Dak ran.
I love the Rapid Racer Products ProGuard Max full fender. It's crazy long but doesn't rattle around.
Can't leave it on full time because the Rock Creek and WindRock racks don't like it much, but if it's wet, I 100% roll with that thing & stay cleaner b/c of it.
Otherwise, I run a Mini & it's more coverage than a Fox would be.
Heck their Mini version is longer and offers better coverage than most any factory matched fender.
I leave the RRP Mini on my bike 24/7. Most people don't even notice it's there because it blends in.
I think a couple other companies use the mold of the Mini
Would rather run a full fender for a race run than have crap on goggles.
I'm always surprised that with as much is on the line for World Cup racers, they don't run a downtube splash guard too.
Because its ugly af 🤣
Not as ugly as the 32 oz Gatorade bottles split in half like we used to run at Helen, GA for the monsoon...
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