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14 minutes of Dan Atherton headcam from stage 5 at the Whistler round of EWS!!!
I'm knackered just watching it...
That's pretty impressive. He was blowing hard by the end...
I heard the commentator at the end say third, where did he place overall?
Incredible levels of fitness (and skill)!
Pffft. Not a patch on Swinley.
He finished 12th overall, 1 minute 31 seconds behind Richie Rude. On that stage he was 30 seconds off the winning time!!! 😯
That is absolutely frickin' INSANE!
Some things strike me:
1) There is absolutely NO margin for error at that insanely full-on committed speed level
2) He appeared to make absolutely no errors whatsoever - every move seemed so deliberate
3) How does anyone's brain work that quickly??
4) And... let me guess, he's not even the fastest, right?
How the heck did Rude put 30 secs onto that?! 😯 He looked completely pinned throughout, maybe a couple of corners he stalled on and maybe Richie pedalled harder on the fireroads, but 30 seconds?! 😯
Remember few years back Sam Hill won Crankworks, top to bottom on mostly black the course I think and got down in 14 minutes or something. I chose my own mix of black and red to come down top to bottom to see how long it would take me. Got down in 25-27 odd minutes I think. I was completely F***ED at the bottom. Thought my thighs were going to explode.
Some incredible riding there. Full of admiration for the skill fitness and sheer commitment needed to do that at that pace. There were a few moments when I thought "yeah I could do that" but those sections were seconds long and that was 14 chuffing minutes. As people have said can't imagine what 30 seconds faster looks like>
Damn I want to go to Whistler - that looks awesome.
This has to be the best POV that I have seen to date, hats off to Dan and to anyone else who dares to ride that fast
It's alright, but it's no Sook's Pipe... let alone That Bloody Awful Pedally Crap Tweedlove Stage That Everyone But Tenacious_Doug Hated, Rightly.
Ridiculous isn't it. I guess I [i]might[/i] be able to ride that in one go, maybe. Quite likely not. TBH it'd take me so long that I might as well stop for a couple of breathers, maybe a snack, for all the difference it'd make to the time. It's just a different thing.
I feel a little reassured that he was struggling to keep his breath, admittedly I would have been there about 12 minutes before.
Depressed he put 2 minutes into me on that stage alone.
At the end of a full days racing too, he was pretty flat out.
Wow. Echo above, the best head cam footage I've seen. A couple of times in the vid I'd have sworn he was heading straight for a tree
About 7 mins in he becomes quite wheezy and tells himself to chill, just wondered if he's an asthmatic and was becoming a little anxious about it?
Respect to Dan and others - amazing riding skill and fitness...
That video should be the reference point the next time someone says something like "I was doing enduro 2o years ago fully rigid" or "who the hell needs 160mm of travel anyway etc etc".
Very impressive. It's easy to see how Rude could have put that time into him though, it's such a long track that tiny, marginal gains everywhere would really add up. Rude is a beast, when you see him in person you'd know he's a professional athlete but you'd probably guess cage fighter, not cyclist. I'd love to see his run, or Barrelli's or Graves' for that matter.
And I still want a go....
Love the one word "calm" half way, we have all had that word with ourselves...
Bookmarked to watch at lunchtime
Absolutely fantastic ! nice one Dan
About 7 mins in he becomes quite wheezy and tells himself to chill, just wondered if he's an asthmatic and was becoming a little anxious about it?
I think it was just that he was breathing fast and shallow, and had to force himself to breath deeper.
Videos like that confirm for me that I'm not really doing the same sport as those guys.
Yes, we're both on bikes. Yes, we're both on trails. But no, we're doing different sports!
Bloody hell. Think you cold see a couple of early corners he over cooked* but the speed into the tight sections was absolutely terrifying. If you got one of those wrong there'd be a face-tree-interaction of biblical proportions
*this from someone who'd have walked half of it
Hmmm rattly bike and his breathing sounds awful he needs to get that seen to
Videos like that confirm for me that I'm not really doing the same sport as those guys.
couldn't have said it better than that.
FWIW, I reckon at about 10 mins in he's pretty much done in and for about a minute while he recovers I think he has to back off just a fraction, then he's back on the gas again. Amazing levels of fitness, skill and determination though. Top man. (I've such a man crush on Dan)
Finally something from a GoPro I actually want to watch...
Whistler ski resort drops from over 7000 feet to 2000 feet so a little heavy breathing can be forgiven!
Videos like that confirm for me that I'm not really doing the same sport as those guys.
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LOL - and that top one's really not shopped (OK, it is, but for only for touch up)
That was the final stage too, so while I can't be bothered to check how much riding he'd done up to that point....he'd done a shit load of riding up to that point.
Astonishing. I'd've stacked it on almost every single rock, tree and loose corner. I don't even descend that fast on a road bike on open roads.
Inspirational too - makes me realise how much I could improve.
But one thing bothers me... how do you spit when wearing a full-face helmet??
Looking at that reminds me that enduro has to be the most aspirational competitive form of MTB to the common man. So much better that XC or DH. Why did it take so long to be invented?
convert So much better that XC or DH. Why did it take so long to be invented?
Pffffft. I was doing it 25 years ago fully rigid. But back then I called it "Uphill Downhill Overland Cyclo-adventure-orama-me-bob". I suppose it just wasn't a catchy enough name.
"Uphill Downhill Overland Cyclo-adventure-orama-me-bob"
Ah yes, that well remembered COMPETITIVE genre.....
bookmarked for later viewing
amazing!
One of my local "enduro" runs is 4min long. At the end, i can hardly even sit on my bike i'm so knackered. After 14m of that fairly technical stage, Dan even managed to style the final Stepdown into the arena! Respect to the man 😀
[i]One of my local "enduro" runs is 4min long. At the end, i can hardly even sit on my bike i'm so knackered.[/i]
+1
We've a load of long trails 'enduro' trails where we are, and even though Northwind complains:
[i]It's alright, but it's no Sook's Pipe... let alone That Bloody Awful Pedally Crap Tweedlove Stage That Everyone But Tenacious_Doug Hated, Rightly.[/i]
It still takes fitness/effort/skill to get down them both quickly and safely.
blimey and they were complaining about having to pedal down spooky woods a few weeks ago!
That is just nuts.
Don't helmet cams usually make everything look flatter too!
There were a couple of bits he manualled across that looked like pan flat trail to me.
Crazy levels of strength, fitness and skill.
Bloody hell hes shifting.
There seems to be hardly any marshals on that run. Is that the norm on these events?
But one thing bothers me... how do you spit when wearing a full-face helmet??
Sheer talent, just like the rest of it.
I wonder what servicing regime his bike has - a full suspension service and wheel re-tension every day?!
Also remember this is a guy who sustained an injury about five years ago that had a high chance of being fatal and a good chance of leaving him paralysed. Cohones in abundance as well.
One thing - I always understood that enduro involved climbing to the top of every descent - I wouldn't like that climb!
Most do, i think this round used some chairlift access but still:
Whistler Enduro World Series. ... 2,300m of climbing, 3,300m of descending
They have a mix of lift and pedal liasons. Still a lot of pedalling though.One thing - I always understood that enduro involved climbing to the top of every descent
http://www.enduroworldseries.com/events/canada/
convert - MemberLooking at that reminds me that enduro has to be the most aspirational competitive form of MTB to the common man. So much better that XC or DH. Why did it take so long to be invented?
It's been around for a long time, the first series of what you might recognise as 'Enduro' started in 2003 - it's no coincidence that Spesh have been calling their longest, slackest XC bikes 'Enduro' since 2004.
Even here in the UK Kona were Sponsoring the 'Mash-Up' Series from 2007 - not many people were familiar with the format when I raced them, but it made a lot of sense straight away because it was basically what my mates and I had been doing forever. Riding trails - chatting and taking it easy on the climbs then racing like hell on the descents, they were fun, not too serious events held at Afan on the normal Trail Centres trails, so if you could complete a lap of White's without dying, you could race.
It was only when the EWS started and riders like Dan Atherton and Cedric Gracia quit DH to compete it got any coverage in MTB Media though.
I don't know why so many riders get upset about it, they say "Enduro, what's that, it's 'just' mountain biking" like it's some grandioso title or something - but what's the alternative - call it the "Mountain Bike Race Series" how arrogant would that sound.
14mins at that pace! incredible - only a couple of minutes shy of the fast lads' total time over 5 stages of the ard rock at the weekend! stage one took me just under 6 minutes and could hardly stand up at the end of it!
P-Jay - MemberIt was only when the EWS started and riders like Dan Atherton and Cedric Gracia quit DH to compete it got any coverage in MTB Media though.
That's not right... In the UK at least, Singletrack and the Future mags were at the UKGE back in 2011 for sure, pretty sure Dirt had coverage from earlier Inners ones that (imo) mark the start of the modern uk enduro thang.