tape measures at the ready..
regardless of the exact measurement of the drop, it's no bigger than anything you'd find middle aged trail centre riders riding on the average red route.
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XC World cup round..
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Posted 1 year ago #
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That's a different drop...
(and that one is more like 2ft)
Posted 1 year ago # -
GW - that's not the same drop...
regardless - XC racing is more about fitness and finesse than being able to do drops (of whatever size) - imo - they'll end up with beefier bikes which will slow them down.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@wwaswas well why don't they ride cyclocross or on the road if you just want fitness? (assuming that was a genuine comment and not a troll)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have to say that my thoughts on drops are that they polarise people, you can either ride it, or you can't.
You could survive that with a bit of balls and not much skill, conversely plenty of riders/races with plenty of skill will decide that the 5 seconds they may gain are not worth the risk of it ending the race/season. I'm sure there are plenty of people on here who'd ride that on their 5" travel bikes and think it easy, but are not even close to having the skill set the top XC racers have.
Techy descents are a better addition IMO, there's a real reward for being able to hit things fast, and ride them smoothly.
Edit:
it's no bigger than anything you'd find middle aged trail centre riders riding on the average red route.
Bollocks, complete and utter! And the 'average middle aged' rider will have paused for breath at the top so be relaxed, not have 150 riders right infront of him, not ridden it 7 times previously, not be at 95% their max HR, not to mention the fact they'll have stopped to drop their seatpost on their long travel bike with relaxed angles, 2.3" tyres and wide bars.
Posted 1 year ago # -
same drop, different race, no?
Posted 1 year ago # -
it's a different ( or modified) drop, look at the number of vertical supports.
Posted 1 year ago # -
xc-steve - err, 'cos it wouldn't be mountain biking if they did?
I'm not saying they shouldn't have obstacles and they certainly shouldn't be riding roudn the edge of a lawn with some artificial humps on it like what cross racers do but cross country racing is really about speed over all else and my personal view is that if it gets to the point where drops are being inlcuded that would force the riders to 'bulk up' their bikes to cope then it's probably gone too far. The stuff in these pics isn't too bad (although I woudln't ride it) if it gets bigger then that's too far.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I agree njee, IMO technical courses are what's needed to set XC racing apart from "CX in the woods", whether it's rocks, roots, steep chutes, jumps or drops or a combination of all of the above, something to challenge their riding skills rather than just fitness levels. by all means put in chicken lines to penalise those who choose not to ride these sections but I'd like to see them bring in time penalties for running a section when others can ride it, it's obstruction in my eyes. plus seeing XC racers pansying down stuff carrying/pushing/running after their bikes, just looks lame !
Posted 1 year ago # -
IMO it should be 50% horsepower and 50% bike handling skills... or something like that...
Posted 1 year ago # -
but I'd like to see them bring in time penalties for running a section when others can ride it
That's absolutely impossible to enforce, simple as that!
If it was like DH with riders going one at a time then you could maybe do it, but not a chance with 200+ riders at once.
So... first lap, 50 riders come into the first descent.
-Riders 1-30 get through cleanly,
-rider 31 dabs but gets through,
-rider 32, who is actually Steve Peat, crashes due to rider 31s ineptitude, he can't remount/it's not worth the time losses, so he runs down,
-riders 33-40 run down, having been held up by Steve Peat,
-riders 40-50 have waited at the top, then manage to ride down at the back of the group more slowly than those who ranWho gets penalised, and by how much?
Posted 1 year ago # -
i was about to ask...GW...do you reckon you could do that section on your bike with all those other riders around you going for the same line?
or do you not realise that this changes things?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yeah, njee, I know, What I'd like and what's feasable are two entirely different things 8). what the designer did with that little section at champery is the way to do it, put in difficult sections but include an easier but much slower choice.
I still think getting off infront of another rider to run is obstructive riding, if you are going to run a section shouldn't they at least get out the way first?Posted 1 year ago # -
I like the fact that a cross rider did it on an HT with carbon rims and tubs
boring courses are er boring! more of this kind of stuff might tempt be back...
Posted 1 year ago # -
it's a different ( or modified) drop, look at the number of vertical supports.
is the tree to right not the same tree? note the same shaped missing section of bark (under the shimano tape in the WC race pic I posted)? the designer/builders would have done work on the supports before the WC same as they did with the DH as it all fell apart with the rain at the last Chapery WC in 07
Posted 1 year ago # -
???
and how do you do that with that number of people?
rider 50 at the back calls out "i can ride this get outta my way"
??
oh sorry riding god, you'd hop the group and on landing clear the root section...on your dh 'rig'
Posted 1 year ago # -
Scotia - do you mean the steep section in the vid or the lil drop in the pic?
answer to both is yes!
<EDIT> what are all your ??? for?
someone crashes, you go round them, simple really
a big pile up is different, but you can design a course fairly easily to string out the riders so there's less chance of big groups heading for the one linePosted 1 year ago # -
in the video muppet
Posted 1 year ago # -
so the drop is modified then GW. and the general consensus is that increasing the size is part of this mod.
either way, I think a lot of competent trail riders would struggle on those drops with their hearts at 170bpm on a sub 19lb saddle up race hardtail in the wet
Posted 1 year ago # -
You might well be right actually - I think it is the same location. the thing is though that in the first pics posted. there's a log forming the edge of the drop that isn't in your pic of Absolon airing it so it's higher in the earlier pics.
No log
Log (the rider's pretty much sitting on it)
It's clearly been built up and strenthened to make it into more of a drop off plus by the looks of it, the landing area has had rocks buried in it to make it more robust.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Evening all,
Just got back from Champerythis afternoon! That drop was 3ft MAX and frankly it was pathetic how many riders choose to walk it!!! The riders might be fit but many clearly aren't all that skilled!
Posted 1 year ago # -
scotia - I wouldn't have had to ask if you'd been able to word your original question clearly in the first place.
correct use of punctuation could have also helped your failed attempt at calling me a names (rather than randomly inventing a new Jim Henson character).Posted 1 year ago # -
I assume you borrowed one of their bikes and showed them how to do it then?! Repeatedly of course, at a similar intensity.
Posted 1 year ago # -
nickegg - Member
Evening all,Just got back from Champerythis afternoon! That drop was 3ft MAX and frankly it was pathetic how many riders choose to walk it!!! The riders might be fit but many clearly aren't all that skilled!
at last.. a GOOD EGG!!!
njee - what intensity do you think DH racers ride at?
would you say higher or lower than the intensity XC racers descend at?Posted 1 year ago # -
How many people here have actually raced XC races and won?
Posted 1 year ago # -
how many people here have raced XC and actually ridden the entire course?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Probably a lot.
Check out some of the SXC stuff to see people that can climb silly fast then make you feel bad about your descending ability.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I was expecting more skill from the worlds best riders TBH. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic....and no i didn't show them how to do it, that would have been very embrassing for the riders
I was sat next to the Merida team at dinner last night and the drops on the course were certainly a talking point, which must be a good thing surely. If they have to ride technical climbs, why not put in technical descents?
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
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