According to my mate, and it’s starting to get on my nerves (let’s call him Stan). He’s barely ridden in few months and is chronically unfit but he’s signed up to race the Redbull Foxhunt so he’s been getting out on the bike a bit and I’ve been heading out with him to give him some “friendly” encouragement.
He’s not the fat one though. In fact I don’t think he’s 10 stone. He has another riding friend who is maybe 6’2 and just shy of 20 stone and has a similarly chronic lack of fitness (let’s call him Ollie). When they go out together, apparently big Lou leaves him for dead on single track if there’s even a slight downhill gradient.
I’ve argued that he’s maybe just a slightly better rider, off the brakes a bit more and knows how to carry speed but no. It won’t sit with Stan at all .
He concedes that in actual DH racing skill and stamina play a bigger factor than rider weight, but is insistent that on singletrack where (at least in his mind) skill is less of a factor, the big rider will always have an advantage.
I thought I would throw this one out to the STW collective and see what gems are unearthed.