Went last year but don’t think i can make it to watch this time around. Was good fun spectating at the finish line especially with the big drop in for the riders to deal with. Still wince when I remember the bloke who landed on his top tube 😕
Must say I fancied this, was thinking of taking my 5 year-old son too. However it’s on a Saturday afternoon and I live the wrong side of the city to be messing around trying to get past Hillsborough when Sheffield Wednesday are playing at home. Seems like poor planning date-wise. Shame cos I would have gone otherwise.
Thanks for your feedback tracknicko. I haven’t entirely discounted going, but there’s no denying that the timing makes it a far more difficult prospect than it needed to be when the likelihood is that my son will be bored after an hour when the novelty of the fast bikes has worn off, and he wants to go home to watch Scooby Doo.
I’ll be “racing” too- most likely last place in the vets category.
I went up last week for a quick play, the track is really nice and flowy, just a shame it seems likely to rain non stop till the weekend, will be very slippery….
the new track is brilliant, I spent a couple of hours there last week. Hope the rain stops though otherwise the flat corners in the middle muddy section are going to be interesting. I was 2 wheel drifting off the track last week and that was before about 3 inches of rain
docrobster – I’ll challange you for that last place in vets 😉
I’ll be racing and were sponsoring the Elite Prize. Should be a cracking day. New track is fantastic, although I’ll be skipping that gap jump in the middle.
Time Table
8:30Registration opens
9:00Course open for Practice
10:00Registration Closes
11:45Course Closed for Practice
12:00First runs
4:00Finish
4:30Prize Giving and Raffle
Well i have walked the track yesterday as me and my partner are staying in sheffield at the present.
It looks like a fantastic cyclo cross downhill,but thats it, was not what i expected from a downhill race!! apart from a jump its very tame indeed and CYB trail centre is far more technically challenging!!!
and i thought wharncliffe was supposed to be a challenge huh!
i probably need a winky face on that last post. right? either way, wind ya neck in. people have put a lot of effort into building a nice approachable track there fella.
tracknicko ok, i just though that with it being a downhill race it would be just that and not like cross country-cyclo cross.
the last race they was all wearing full amour goggles and it was a flat course.
i just dont understand why they should wear all the full garmenets and protection..
im all for safety but this hmm.
yeh i do agree its badly sold, being advertised as a ‘dh’ race. we ride the old (and now the new) courses of part of our xc loops, and very nice they are too.
i ride HT, no need for any more than that really. DH bike would indeed be proper overkill.
fairhurst – you should definitely get someone to show you the ‘proper’ downhill tracks on the other side of the road if the one in Greno is too tame for you. There is some really good, technical stuff.
A lot of it is beyond me and has been responsible for smashing up several wheels, helmets, ripped knee pads etc
yep. having raced DH for a few years, traveled and worked in the alps for the last 10 years or so, i can hand on heart say there a bits of WC that are the hardest tracks i have ever attempted.
short. but HARD.
and no it wont be on tv for the people asking. im not really sure what you guys think this race will be.
it aint the Bahrain GP. more of a mates race/regional DH vibe i think
Fairhurst, assuming you’re not just trolling, you should check out some the race reports on last years event. You would see that Chris Akrigg had a big crash and had to retire due to concussion. The course may require a bit more pedal but to get the bottom fast still takes a lot of skill.
Anyway I like it, allows average riders to compare themselves to the elite and realise how slow they are even on a “flat cyclocross course”.