I've watched this three times now and it absolutely blows my mind how he is that controlled and precise with the speed and pace he carrying. Absolute masterclass.
I know Vali and some others has had some big winning margins. But that was probably the most dominant performance since Rachel at the lenzerheide world champs. Just on a completely different level from the competition. Not only on the clock but simply visibly. Well done!
Just blown away at finding that kinda time over the top finishers. Granted, a track like that is gonna separate the pack obviously... But 5 seconds up. 8 seconds on riders like Bruni. I'm sure Dak knows of places where he could have made up a second. Or two. But I dunno if he can honestly say he's aware of where to make up 5 seconds. It just implies Amaury had seemingly a perfect run on the track least likely to provide you an opportunity. It's a mistake/risk management track. And Amaury truly raced it. Not survival mode.
There's only a couple mechanics do it. And don't think they advertise it. It's not a secret.
But man, I would LOVE to see some local...
There's only a couple mechanics do it. And don't think they advertise it. It's not a secret.
But man, I would LOVE to see some local yokal anal retentive racer boy try it while I see how their first ditch effort at guessing what glue and how long it sets up and the outcome when they get up there for a one shot race run without a World Cup mechanic behind them.
tubular glue was quite common when 29er downhill tires were being developed from 2017-2019
The Syndicate actually made some tubulars back in the day. Glued Minion treads to tubular carcasses and had custom tubular DH rims from Enve. Didn't end up going anywhere, but it was cool to see!
Just blown away at finding that kinda time over the top finishers. Granted, a track like that is gonna separate the pack obviously... But 5 seconds...
Just blown away at finding that kinda time over the top finishers. Granted, a track like that is gonna separate the pack obviously... But 5 seconds up. 8 seconds on riders like Bruni. I'm sure Dak knows of places where he could have made up a second. Or two. But I dunno if he can honestly say he's aware of where to make up 5 seconds. It just implies Amaury had seemingly a perfect run on the track least likely to provide you an opportunity. It's a mistake/risk management track. And Amaury truly raced it. Not survival mode.
I haven't validated it but per the Downtime Post Race show it was a perfect run (fastest in every sector) and the first one of the season (or did Vali do it in Leogang too?).
For Amaury to do it on that track in those conditions just over a year after his injury beggars belief. Absolutely bonkers!
Things like he was going fast enough to catch perfect backside before the big step down in the mid-lower wood so he got max distance/speed of the actual step down. This ranks up there with the very best race runs we have seen, ever.
I think the most impressive part of Amaury's run (and there were many) was his ability to cross lines at will. He looked like he was basically able to turn anywhere he wanted on a dime, on a track that was eating people alive for being 3" off line. He was turning in ridiculous places, which allowed him to straighten and smooth out a lot of chunky bits and braking points. Super cool line choice that was visible on the livestream and the head cam.
I think the most impressive part of Amaury's run (and there were many) was his ability to cross lines at will. He looked like he was...
I think the most impressive part of Amaury's run (and there were many) was his ability to cross lines at will. He looked like he was basically able to turn anywhere he wanted on a dime, on a track that was eating people alive for being 3" off line. He was turning in ridiculous places, which allowed him to straighten and smooth out a lot of chunky bits and braking points. Super cool line choice that was visible on the livestream and the head cam.
There's something to be said for everyone else being aware he's the guy to beat b/c they're riding with him in practice & know he's comfortable when they're not.
When you're at a race & you see a guy not struggling & you qualify close to him & it took something extra from you, you push to try to take a bigger chunk than you normally would.
When you look at the guys qualifying in top 10, most of them pushed too hard to get the win & their splits are all over the board. Don't really think the track caused their meltdowns as much as knowing they had to do something special to push past a comfortable Amaury.
He's the closest to Peaty's style of racer I've seen. You know he's going to ride wet conditions well. Has the wingspan to take the bomb holes in stride. And power to put down pedal strokes that just do more.
I think the most impressive part of Amaury's run (and there were many) was his ability to cross lines at will. He looked like he was...
I think the most impressive part of Amaury's run (and there were many) was his ability to cross lines at will. He looked like he was basically able to turn anywhere he wanted on a dime, on a track that was eating people alive for being 3" off line. He was turning in ridiculous places, which allowed him to straighten and smooth out a lot of chunky bits and braking points. Super cool line choice that was visible on the livestream and the head cam.
Do you think running full mud spikes might have been part of that? I didn't catch what tires Finn and Troy were on but I thought they might have been on less aggressive mid-spikes.
The Dirty Dan is a pretty grippy tire on roots and rocks compared to other mud spikes, so... maybe? I know a lot of the French racers run like to run super low tire pressure and bounce off their rims all the time, so that wouldn't hurt on wet roots and ice-rink greasy clay sections. Ultimately, my gut says it wasn't about tire choice on Saturday, just the rider being in the right head space. His interviews were super interesting. Seemed like he thought he was in a great tactical position for a win in tricky conditions, which would set him up well to just ride his race.
Using TV on the Radio is just unfair. Any footage looks great with that backing track. A man walking down a sidewalk goes from mundane to badass once you play that bop. Love it.
I need to go to an event and make one of these one day. Sadly just missed the Summit one. Need to check the schedule.
lol these are brutal to watch now. I made a channel that did this. And GoPro took the channel down (with strikes) right before they started uploading the same thing. I love that they are at least doing them, and didn't just nuke my channel for funziez. But now I can't really play with my passion project
Just stirring shit up here. I wonder why a top team like Mondraker and Dak don't have access to the Fox electronic stuff. It sounds like Dak would be interested, he demonstrated that he can provide great feedback. He is one of the few guys on the podium with "stock" suspension.
Is it because Dak sets his bike differently and doesn't follow what the church says? I've seen it in multiple videos/podcasts Jordi from Fox said there is mostly only one way to set a DH bike that would perform and he sounded like he was targeting Dak as being on the wrong route.
Just stirring shit up here. I wonder why a top team like Mondraker and Dak don't have access to the Fox electronic stuff. It sounds like...
Just stirring shit up here. I wonder why a top team like Mondraker and Dak don't have access to the Fox electronic stuff. It sounds like Dak would be interested, he demonstrated that he can provide great feedback. He is one of the few guys on the podium with "stock" suspension.
Is it because Dak sets his bike differently and doesn't follow what the church says? I've seen it in multiple videos/podcasts Jordi from Fox said there is mostly only one way to set a DH bike that would perform and he sounded like he was targeting Dak as being on the wrong route.
Forgive me if third hand shuttle info is inaccurate, but in the past few years, Dak's mechanic & he were doing the lions share of shock study/tuning/tear down/rebuild in house & in conjunction w/ Intense home office. They kept most all of their tinkering between them so Jordi wasn't as involved.
It's that way with several teams. with Fox acting as parts/information support when needed.
I took Jordi's quip toward Dak as taking a different path to get to the feel he wanted and that's b/c of his unique body position.
I've watched this three times now and it absolutely blows my mind how he is that controlled and precise with the speed and pace he carrying. Absolute masterclass.
There is no match when it comes down to sustained intensity. Iles' face on the hot seat when Pierron beat everybody by 5 seconds captures it all.
I know Vali and some others has had some big winning margins. But that was probably the most dominant performance since Rachel at the lenzerheide world champs. Just on a completely different level from the competition. Not only on the clock but simply visibly. Well done!
Just blown away at finding that kinda time over the top finishers. Granted, a track like that is gonna separate the pack obviously... But 5 seconds up. 8 seconds on riders like Bruni. I'm sure Dak knows of places where he could have made up a second. Or two. But I dunno if he can honestly say he's aware of where to make up 5 seconds. It just implies Amaury had seemingly a perfect run on the track least likely to provide you an opportunity. It's a mistake/risk management track. And Amaury truly raced it. Not survival mode.
The Syndicate actually made some tubulars back in the day. Glued Minion treads to tubular carcasses and had custom tubular DH rims from Enve. Didn't end up going anywhere, but it was cool to see!
I haven't validated it but per the Downtime Post Race show it was a perfect run (fastest in every sector) and the first one of the season (or did Vali do it in Leogang too?).
For Amaury to do it on that track in those conditions just over a year after his injury beggars belief. Absolutely bonkers!
Things like he was going fast enough to catch perfect backside before the big step down in the mid-lower wood so he got max distance/speed of the actual step down. This ranks up there with the very best race runs we have seen, ever.
weekend of photos and interviews from jack rice
https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/photo-blast-and-podium-interviews-val…
I think the most impressive part of Amaury's run (and there were many) was his ability to cross lines at will. He looked like he was basically able to turn anywhere he wanted on a dime, on a track that was eating people alive for being 3" off line. He was turning in ridiculous places, which allowed him to straighten and smooth out a lot of chunky bits and braking points. Super cool line choice that was visible on the livestream and the head cam.
There's something to be said for everyone else being aware he's the guy to beat b/c they're riding with him in practice & know he's comfortable when they're not.
When you're at a race & you see a guy not struggling & you qualify close to him & it took something extra from you, you push to try to take a bigger chunk than you normally would.
When you look at the guys qualifying in top 10, most of them pushed too hard to get the win & their splits are all over the board. Don't really think the track caused their meltdowns as much as knowing they had to do something special to push past a comfortable Amaury.
He's the closest to Peaty's style of racer I've seen. You know he's going to ride wet conditions well. Has the wingspan to take the bomb holes in stride. And power to put down pedal strokes that just do more.
Do you think running full mud spikes might have been part of that? I didn't catch what tires Finn and Troy were on but I thought they might have been on less aggressive mid-spikes.
The Dirty Dan is a pretty grippy tire on roots and rocks compared to other mud spikes, so... maybe? I know a lot of the French racers run like to run super low tire pressure and bounce off their rims all the time, so that wouldn't hurt on wet roots and ice-rink greasy clay sections. Ultimately, my gut says it wasn't about tire choice on Saturday, just the rider being in the right head space. His interviews were super interesting. Seemed like he thought he was in a great tactical position for a win in tricky conditions, which would set him up well to just ride his race.
val di sole banger edit from roman tunbridge and b practice podcast too #horns
Using TV on the Radio is just unfair. Any footage looks great with that backing track. A man walking down a sidewalk goes from mundane to badass once you play that bop. Love it.
I need to go to an event and make one of these one day. Sadly just missed the Summit one. Need to check the schedule.
lol these are brutal to watch now. I made a channel that did this. And GoPro took the channel down (with strikes) right before they started uploading the same thing. I love that they are at least doing them, and didn't just nuke my channel for funziez. But now I can't really play with my passion project
Being 2 bike lengths ahead at only 22 seconds in is some horsepower.
Just stirring shit up here. I wonder why a top team like Mondraker and Dak don't have access to the Fox electronic stuff. It sounds like Dak would be interested, he demonstrated that he can provide great feedback. He is one of the few guys on the podium with "stock" suspension.
Is it because Dak sets his bike differently and doesn't follow what the church says? I've seen it in multiple videos/podcasts Jordi from Fox said there is mostly only one way to set a DH bike that would perform and he sounded like he was targeting Dak as being on the wrong route.
Forgive me if third hand shuttle info is inaccurate, but in the past few years, Dak's mechanic & he were doing the lions share of shock study/tuning/tear down/rebuild in house & in conjunction w/ Intense home office. They kept most all of their tinkering between them so Jordi wasn't as involved.
It's that way with several teams. with Fox acting as parts/information support when needed.
I took Jordi's quip toward Dak as taking a different path to get to the feel he wanted and that's b/c of his unique body position.
Post a reply to: 2024 Val di Sole World Cup Downhill