Courtesy of Chipps' twitter feed.
Bike Forum
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Olympic mountain biking...
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Posted 1 year ago #
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As i've said on twitter, i think i'm one of the rare few that aren't bothered by this location...Early days yet but i'm sure the course will be great
Posted 1 year ago # -
Its early days, but that looks woeful,
Posted 1 year ago # -
is that an uphill or downhill bit?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Looks like a slightly uninspired 4x track!
Posted 1 year ago # -
it's woeful, and won't even survive as a legacy facility
Posted 1 year ago # -
Posted 1 year ago # -
I can't help but thinking it looks like the Teletubbies will be riding there.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Houns, that looks as gnarly as Lampton Park
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hmm technical isn't it!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Actually, for an xc race - which is, imo, designed to be ridden at speed that's probably as 'gnarly' as you want it to get.
I think those rocks on the run out will cause problems when the bunch goes through though...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Agree with wwaswas..It's for an XC race, it's not going to be a super technical/steep/rocky black run at a trail centre designed for "all mountain" bikes
Posted 1 year ago # -
Second picture is better, All the XC circuits from the previous olypics have always been overly tame. Olympic XC is just like a rode race these days, hopefully the site will have potential to be upgraded so to speak after the event has finished
Posted 1 year ago # -
Looks like a cross bike would clean up on that course.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Actually, for an xc race - which is, imo, designed to be ridden at speed that's probably as 'gnarly' as you want it to get.
rubbish, course design should test everyone's skills including the leaders
All the XC circuits from the previous olypics have always been overly tame. Olympic XC is just like a rode race these days,
Bejing (sp) got sorted before the Olympics and was quite technical in the endhopefully the site will have potential to be upgraded so to speak after the event has finished
private land issues mean tHe course will be "lost" iircPosted 1 year ago # -
Having watched the latest Trek video on BikeRadar I have to say that the world champs XC course looked like a serious proposition.
Agree that there is a long way to go to 2012 though.
Are the Dalby people involved at all?
Pity it will be lost afterwards, bad management that.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Looks like a cross bike would clean up on that course.
the first rule of XC course design should be to make sure that cross bikes would be at a significant disadvantage
Posted 1 year ago # -
What big'n'daft said, XC races aren't road races anymore, there'll be more technical bits than that, most of the top courses are more technical than trail centres these days. It's still a long way off, I think it'll be great.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Just a real shame that the course won't remain open, would be somewhere else for folk to ride
Posted 1 year ago # -
It'd be a 12 minute lap or something though, not exactly a new trail centre.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Trust me, living in the flats of east anglia it would be a good alternative to Thetford forest or local bridleways!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
It'd be a 12 minute lap or something though, not exactly a new trail centre
so is Lee Quarry, apparently that's a trail centre
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hornet600 - Member
Trust me, living in the flats of east anglia it would be a good alternative to Thetford forest or local bridleways!!
Too right, this is the real kicker.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Big n D, if you can do a circuit of Lee Quarry in 12 minutes, then you should be in the **** Olympics.
Posted 1 year ago # -
time is based on the results of the race series there so actually achievable
although not by me
Posted 1 year ago # -
But that's not 100% of the riding there, there's a skills area etc as well. You could do a 12 minute lap of Swinley in an XC race, but there's still hours of trails.
Agree it's a shame, but they are building it solely for this one race, there'll be an MTB legacy course at the Olympic Park.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The Dalby course was very XC technical and if Emily Battys Blog, after the race, represents the views of the elite racers, then the more technical the better. Emily gave Dalby the big thumbs up, said it was one of the best courses she'd ridden and she would want it to be the 2012 Olympic course. There possibly might be different views from Euro XC racers who've come from a road background, but none of them have nice arses, so I wasn't interested in their views.
Posted 1 year ago # -
There's more money in road, there's very few top XC racers to have come from road, usually vice versa. Courses are getting much more technical, the 'ride around a field' days are long gone, which I think is good. That's not to say they're all good bike handlers, but at the top end there's no real muppets.
This was in the Champery XC course:
Posted 1 year ago # -
more stuff and pictures here:
http://www.essexlegacy.org/hadleigh-farm/about-hadleigh-farm/venue-plans/
more stuff on the Sally Army website as well as they own the site.
Posted 1 year ago # -
There possibly might be different views from Euro XC racers who've come from a road background
well Dalby got voted the best XC event by the UCI so I think it got fairly universal aclaim, tbh.
Posted 1 year ago # -
rootes1 - Member
more stuff and pictures here:
http://www.essexlegacy.org/hadleigh-farm/about-hadleigh-farm/venue-plans/
Actually, that's quite positive:
The course would need to be adapted in order to make it safe for use by the public, however it is anticipated that many of the key features could be retained. Any proposals would be subject to a further planning application and further public consultation. We will keep you updated as this develops.
http://www.essexlegacy.org/hadleigh-farm/hadleigh-farm-website/
Posted 1 year ago # -
that first picture is tragic, xc racing should be as technical as can be gotten away with
TV always flattens courses and makes them look easy the olympics wouldve been a great opportunity to showcase some of the amazing riding in britain and an xc race against the spectacular backdrop of say ...south wales would have been awesome
considering that the 1st choice of venue was decided to be too flat by the uci/ioc it doesnt surprise me that the course design of this one is so uninspiring
Posted 1 year ago # -
Not this again, FFS!
1. It's the London Olympics, not the UK Olmypics, like it or not, the IOC are very hot on that. Yes, the sailing is in Weymouth, there was no venue closer that could support it
2. Mountain biking has the fewest spectator tickets of any sport in the Olympics, it's not a huge pull, the IOC don't really care!
3. South Wales would be sh1t, the course is designed to be good for spectators and TV, a course which heads out into the wilderness, with no spectators, to return 30 minutes later would be rubbish. Having a short cloverleaf course which loops back on itself several times is vastly more interesting.
Posted 1 year ago # -
on your points
1. my understanding is that other London entric venues were suggested but turned down
2. I imagine they do care, it's one of the reasons that DH mtb or 4x aren't on, they are far more TV friendly but don't fit the criterea (and would have been a good medal chance for GB)3. course design is course design, south wales doesn't mean 30 min laps into nowhere
The legacy stuff looks to have moved forward, however I'd expect to see family friendly trails remain there not Olympic standard XC rom the comments
Posted 1 year ago # -
Does anyone else find xc mtb'ing a crap spectator sport (on the TV anyway)? Personally I find it really boring. I have similar issues with Squash, I like playing it but world class people on the TV just make it look too easy.
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
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