Meribel World Cup Downhill Finals Track Walk Slideshow

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<b>#1 in Frog-land. All eyes are going to be on Josh Bryceland this weekend. With two 1st place finishes this year, we know he can handle the pressure, but having a series title on the line adds some significant weight. We believe, Ratty. We believe.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>From here to the end, the speeds push the sound barrier and it's flat out to the finish. Any mistakes are going to be visible from the finish arena come final runs and the crowd noise will be ringing through the hills.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>The gnarliness of this course will definitely beat riders into a hallucinogenic state. Bryceland in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Troy, still within sight of the overall #1 plate and jersey. Troy's team manager and experience guru, Eric Carter in the audio.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Your current World Cup downhill leaders. In just a few short days, they could be your World Cup Champions or the riders who fell short, giving up their lead to any of the others in the running. Eric Carter, continues in the audio.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>A start with view. Although these may not be the highest mountains in the Alps, the terrain and gradient is perfect for downhill racing.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Manon Carpenter has had the leader's jersey for most of the season, so pressure is nothing new for her. The World Cup over all is close, with Ragot just 70 points back. Between qualifying and race day, anything can happen.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>This track has it all and some. What a track for a World Cup final?! Pedaling is an after-thought, big rocks, roots, drops and turns blend splendidly with the widely-taped course. Marc Beaumont contemplates the endless possibilities. </b> -Sven Martin
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<b>It's not often you see Sam Hill smiling at the camera. He can hardly wait for this weekend's racing and we can hardly wait to see how he shames the track into submission.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Got grip? Sam's using a little extra metal for the seriously-rowdy lines he has planned on this track.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Happy? Yes! Widely-taped open-piste turns for the win. Sam Hill in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>When Claudio Caluori isn't making you smile during Red Bull course previews, he's either running the GSTAAD/Scott team or working as a Chippendale dancer over the winter. Claudio figures out that Power Ranking predictions aren't easy.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Off the back of an Air DH win at Crankworx, Mick Hannah is back up to strength and will be looking to make up lost time this season. Surrounding him are 18 bikes that were somehow lost on the flights from Whistler for Team Hutchinson UR.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Insert scrub here. TV platform assembly for the 17 cameras this weekend. The live feed coverage is going to be spectacular.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Worldwide supplies of steel have dwindled due to the increased production of 8-inch rotors. Steep, non-stop and all the way to the bottom.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Lots of roots remain hidden, waiting for the loam to cut up. It won't be smooth sailing on the open sections by any means. Mike Jones in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The World Cup travel schedule means mornings and evenings blend together and pass by like so many headlights.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Plenty of room for lines among the natural, off-camber terrain with hardly a berm in sight. Roots, rocks and a good amount of flow mean this course should provide plenty of smiles.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>Dreaming of a Kiwi summer. Brook MacDonald in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>The weather in the Alps is notorious for changing in an instant. The weather forecast looks dry, but is hardly a certainty. A lot of the riders fancy a wet race and we wouldn't mind either!</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Sven doesn't know how to make collages, so Duncan assembled this. 6 days in Whistler and it's all a blur.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>The Meribel valley is a beautiful place and a great setting for the final round of the UCI World Cup downhill.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>10:53am and the Silverback emerges from his nest. He's situated next to the GT pits so that he doesn't have to get out of bed to shoot his morning lifestyles. Wednesday morning wearing Sunday's Whistler party clothes. #lostbag</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Within 200m of the start gate, things are already full-on, and they don't ease off until you have passed the finish line. Rachel Atherton in audio.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>It's steep, twisty and all the riders love it.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Can Sam Hill grab the Rat by the tail? Dave Trumpore providing the rich caption.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Joe Connell has his own way of testing the track cambers thanks to an abandoned ski left next to the track.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Laura from Harris and Ross stretches Rachel Atherton's legs out. A taller rider will cope better with all the drops on the top of the course. Rachel hopes to reach 6-foot by tomorrow.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>I thought Crankworx was last week. B.C.? Nope, France.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Slick-rock-roll-to-slick-mud. Will Longden isn't afraid to run it out though!</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Gas-to-flat-to-finish-to-potential-crash-mat-to-rail-smash. We predict 26 stoppie-nose-wheelies and 18 kicked-out, one-handed skids from the 80 or so final racers.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Yes we do.</b> -Duncan Philpott
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<b>Steve Peat's custom lid predicting the activities for Saturday night as the 2014 World Cup downhill season officially comes to an end.</b> -Sven Martin
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<b>That's it, that's all. Stay tuned for the action from Sven, Duncan and the rest of the crew. It's going to be a doozy!</b> -Sven Martin
Take a deep breath. This is it, the end of the line for the 2014 World Cup Downhill season. The overall points race is incredibly close in both Men's and Women's classes and the circus has landed in a brand new venue. The course is very steep, there's hardly a berm to be found among the natural terrain and the officials have left the tape extremely wide, so there will be line choice galore. Competitors are stoked on the course, but those in the running for the overall have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Dig into the track and the minds of the racers with photos and interviews by Sven Martin and Duncan Philpott.

Claudio Caluori's Meribel World Cup Course Preview


Vital Power Rankings, Meribel World Cup



6 comments

View replies to: Meribel World Cup Downhill Finals Track Walk Slideshow

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onenerdykid*
10 years ago
So awesome. you can literally hear the excitement in Sam's voice when he talks about the track. Meribel takes us back to the natural, gnarly tracks that he used to own time and time again. While I always want Sam to come out on top, it would be totally fucking awesome to have him win here at Meribel.
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Pininator
10 years ago
So many tight title races and quite possibly the perfect track to settle it all. It doesn't get any better than this!!
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c50 Tyrone Biggums
thehorseman
10 years ago
Sven's/duncans collage was insane.

Sam is about to bring the heat this weekend, I think everyone and their mother is beyond stoked for this grand finale
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sideshow
10 years ago
I'm not ready to be done vicariously living through these slideshows. We need an 8-race season, plus Worlds, because we all love it so much.
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sspomer
10 years ago
wanna change your username to slideshow instead? haha. i'm not ready either. at least there's world champs, too.
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sideshow
10 years ago
That actually made me laugh out loud - clever! I'll stick to what it is for now. I'm fired up to see the coverage for this weekend, the track looks properly wild.