[Closed] Go peaty

Right ive watched this thread long enough

It amuses me when people say track isnt world cup standards....What do you base your judgement on?

Multiple lines that are constantly changing, fast, steep, rocks, loose. Owt else its missing?

The riders themselves are generally honnest about tracks - look at SA for example so when they are pleased should give a decent good indication of its ability to anyone else

Oh and people seem to forget, downhill isnt about racing a competitor its about racing a clock. Fastest down wins, so yes people have good races and bad races, but to say Hill would have won is complete baws.

And 1.3 secs on an intense 2min track is actuallysome margin.

Si

Right ive watched this thread long enough

It amuses me when people say track isnt world cup standards....What do you base your judgement on?

You watched it long enough did you? The first third of the track was a grassy slope with some wood. I dont really think it needs anymore explanation than that.

Grassy slope maybe that was the fastest part of the track with some big holes blown in it come raceday. So what if they have to pedal a bit.

I thought fitness and endurance was all part of DH racing - my mistake obviously

MisterGnar-

I was there, it wasn't an easy course (OK granted also not THE hardest)

Much harder than the vid makes it look.

wow, singletrackworld in opinions about downhill racing shocker.

stick to what you know best, folks.

MisterGnar. Have you seen the videos? Gee crashing lots, Brenden doing well (meaning its a hard course), Kovarik crashing more than once, Rennie doing himself etc, etc.

All the riders loved the track which therefore means its a very good track well up with World Cup standards.

Although I am sure you could have ridden down there and shown them a thing or two, on a rigid singlespeed just to rub it in.

I'm well aware of the sanitizing effect that video will have on any trail. I was taking that into account when I said I didnt think it was wc standard.

I just happen to think the best racers in the world should be riding the most challenging tracks in the world. Tracks like Val di Sole, Maribor and Champery are imo more like what a world standard dh race track should be like - terrifying, steep and unbelievably technical. Just my opinion of course.

As for the "so what if they have to pedal" comment, I think there already is a race series for people who want to watch bikes being raced across flat fields to determine who has the best cardio.

But IT WAS technical!!! Look at the vids and see beyond what you consider to be a 'Flat' field. Why did Brenden do so well? We all know he is one of the least fittest top riders but technically one of the best.

Careful now, I wasn't refering to the whole track as a flat field - only to the very long pedally section at the top and I was using hyperbole which I thought was obvious. Yes it had technical sections but it was not massively technical.

I hardly think you can qualify your argument based on Fairclough's result.

So accorded to you fitness shouldnt be part of DH racing?

Well I guess that rules out tracks like Fort Bill and Mt St Anne then as WC standard.

I love all these armchair critics going on about what should and what shouldn't be a world cup track.
All the riders thought the track was up to WC standard, just as they thought South Africa and Canberra were a bit crap...
As for the pedalling thing, DH bikes have pedals, therefore they should be pedalled.
MisterGnar, maybe you should voice your expert opinions to the UCI.

Si

So accorded to you fitness shouldnt be part of DH racing?

Where did I say that? Riding a bike fast, down a track requires fitness. Doing it many times over the course of a race weekend is physically draining. So a reasonable level of fitness is a pre requisite. However it isn't and never should be a simple question of who is fitter. Like I said, there already are race series' like that.

[i]Careful now[/i]

Ok. So what your saying is that it shouldn't have had a pedally section AND that DH should be for fat, huckers and in fact being fit is just unfair?

[i]very long pedally section[/i] Its 15-20 secs. 15% roughly. Not that much really. And Fort Bill has a HUGE section of pedalling.

Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. I had difficulty expressing it for some reason but you were able to take what I said and translate it into english. Only fat huckers can ride technical sections quickly. Thanks for that.

You are welcome

I just watched the Freecaster coverage and the top section is insanely rough at those speeds. Top third?

RHSno2

I just watched the Freecaster coverage

So what the hell were basing your previous posts on?

Insanely rough? Why the **** am I trying to even have a debate with people who obviously have never even ridden a dh bike never mind a dh track. 35 mph on an 8 inch dh bike on terrain like that isn't exactly shit your pants material. Sorry to burst your bubble.

And for a rough guess it looks like a third wasn't too far out - it's the first 30 seconds of the course so approximately a quarter. Happy now?

[i]never even ridden a dh bike never mind a dh track.[/i]

hahahahahaa

Dirt TV stuff. Freecaster wasn't available.

Welll. The first 5-8 secs are DH ramp to huck to wooden ramp so that doesn't count in your 30 secs but I suppose some of them did turn the cranks on the ramp so that doesn't count. But hey, your the expert so I'll give in.

[i]35 mph on an 8 inch dh bike on terrain like that isn't exactly shit your pants material.[/i]

Damn it. You have burst my bubble.

[i]who obviously have never even ridden a dh bike never mind a dh track.[/i]
Whats the obvious part?

lol See we always knew that Santa Cruz was just good for pub runs Rob........... 😆

Ouch! Snappy snappy forks and frame!

[IMG] [/IMG]

Not my pic, taken from Swaussies great photos: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v216/swaussie/

Love the commentary:

"This man has done more for world downhill than Osama Bin Laden has done for terrorism" 😆

Why the **** am I trying to even have a debate with people who obviously have never even ridden a dh bike never mind a dh track.

Heh heh....that brings back memories of someone climbing a Swiss mountain on an Orange 224....about a mile ahead of me.

Same track for all of them, Peaty won with style, all hail the king.

It seems that some on here think that Peat only won because of the top 'pedally' section.

As fastest qualifier, Steve Peat was last man down, and he put in a classic run. The speedtrap near the top of the course had him 17th fastest, but at the first split time he was at second-place pace, at the second split time he was in the lead by a full second and he crossed the line in 2:07.14 to take the win by 1.27s over Hill.

So for everybody who thinks that Peat just out pedalled everyone else, your wrong diddly wrong wrong. Peat won the race by having the balls and the skill to carry more speed through the more technical bottom section.

However it isn't and never should be a simple question of who is fitter.

Which it's clearly not.

Insanely rough? Why the **** am I trying to even have a debate with people who obviously have never even ridden a dh bike never mind a dh track.

MisterGnar cementing his status as STWs resident DH troll.

grumm, i find it hard to believe the majority on here haven't even ridden off road.

Peaty won because he was quickest down on the day.

To be honest I only really ride a road bike these days*

I am very surprised that Peaty was only 17th on that top section. The guy does have power!!

* while I wait for the Commencal Supreme DH to be delivered and the 224 to be fixed (to sell)

brilliant isn't he!

's why i love downhill, the guys are clearly in good shape, but Steve's just had a winter off, building a new nursery, Mick Hannah has taken a YEAR off, chilling out in his alotment (or something - you know what i mean), it's just possible that these 2 aren't the fittest most powerfull athletes in the world right now.

or, maybe, the best training for Downhill is to do some building work, spend time with your family and friends, and take your mind off racing for a while...

I agree. DH is about the application of power, speed, endurance and all the bike handling skills to produce that flawless run. Take one of those factors away and you don't win.

Mick Hannah is a fit guy. Clearly. Watch him peddle and move the bike. Cross between Cedric and Peaty. One of the best to watch I'd say.

Just seen the full coverage.
Peaty was kahunas-out ragged edge on that track.

The thing about the World Cup is that there is a varying degree of tracks over the season.
If you compare this to Fort Bill, then I stand by my previous post, it doesn't hold a candle.

BUT, it does test the riders in another way, pedalling, overall speed wins, just using another technique.
Other tracks are wall to wall techy, but it there is a reason that everyone is so keen to compare against the likes of the Alps and Ft Bill,

It's a 5 minute track, with gnar, pedally open sections, techy and jumps. It's the most respected track in the season by pretty much ALL the top riders.

Bring on the rest of the season, I love it !

He's done it again in Andorra!!!!!!

He's now won more World Cups than anyone else. MisterGnar probably still thinks he's been lucky though.

jim the saint

He's now won more World Cups than anyone else. MisterGnar probably still thinks he's been lucky though.

Where the f*** did I say he was lucky you moron? I said him beating Vouilloz' record didn't change much seeing as Vouilloz racked up his wins in a much shorter time and frequently whooped Peaty when they were competing. Steve Peat is a great racer and a legend in the sport, and now he has the most wins BUT, Nico is unquestionably the faster racer.

Vouilloz was the best at the time. But with causes more technical and with bigger drops and jumps, Peaty would take hime every time. Vouilloz was the steve davis of mountain biking, very good but boring.