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I didn't used to think that Gwin was a very stylish rider as most of the stuff you see of him is clipped in and route one but there's a video on Redbull TV I watched after the race yesterday that completely changed my mind. It's called something like "Aaron Gwin's off season is better than yours" and it's pretty cool. Shows he's every bit as much a flair rider as Ratboy or Fairclough.
I do think YT are going to try and pull some personality out of him by getting some edits out regularly but I think he'll always be hard to warm to as he's very much all business. This is after all a job to him and he's taking it as seriously as he thinks he needs to.
moving teams for cash thing never sits that well.
Always amazed when people say this, are you saying if you had the option of doing the same job at several different companies you would purposefully not take the highest paying one you could for some weird reason? Some kind of martyrdom? Especially when you only have a few years the career is viable.
he's very much all business.
Agreed and this shows in his race style absolutely.
Some of you might enjoy watching this blast from the past from when Gwin was a newbie in MTB...
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/mojo-diaries-ep2-part2-2010.html
Seems quite a nice, normal lad and lots of style on his trail bike. Saw this years ago and I've only just got the hang of the scandi flick myself.
mikewsmith - MemberWith the likes of Bryceland he was throwing whips over some of the jumps. Fun to watch but I have to wonder if it's the best approach in a race.
I'll hazard a guess they know better than you...
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bigjim - Member
Always amazed when people say this, are you saying if you had the option of doing the same job at several different companies you would purposefully not take the highest paying one you could for some weird reason? Some kind of martyrdom? Especially when you only have a few years the career is viable.
I think it was the manner it was done tbh - iirc he had signed a letter of intent or at least shook hands on a deal and then f'ed off to Spesh for a suitcase full of cash at the last minute. I may be wrong but I think he did one to Bell at the same time. I think the'd just come out with a line of Gwin replica lids and he switched to TLD.
While "just business" it doesn't sit well with most people and is slightly counter to his godly persona.
what happened to sam dale? all the results say is DNS (assuming did not start) but not read/seen any reasoning?
While "just business" it doesn't sit well with most people and is slightly counter to his godly persona.
I think he's every right to go wherever he wants to be honest, it's his body on the line after all and compared to other sports like football which are much lower risk with longer careers he does right to milk it for every penny he can. He could easily break his neck tomorrow.
bomberman - Member
I think he's every right to go wherever he wants to be honest, it's his body on the line after all and compared to other sports like football which are much lower risk with longer careers he does right to milk it for every penny he can. He could easily break his neck tomorrow.
If you'd ever been on the other end of a business deal where the other party, a long time collaborator or friend has gone "absolutely, yes, yeah, err, no". you may think differently.
Specialized got a good rider and Gwin proved that he's probably the most complete rider by taking a "budget" brand bike and winning on it the first time out.
Maybe it's because I'm 40-odd but I find his approach to racing far more appealing to the throwing horns, poking tongue, uber-gnar approach of some riders/teams.
The Gwin moving for money argument is boring.
what happened to sam dale? all the results say is DNS (assuming did not start) but not read/seen any reasoning?
I was thinking the same thing. Also what happened to bryceland in the top section to lose 3 seconds? Would have been a good finish if it wasn't for that section.
I'm amazed how many people (including the commentators) think that any of the bikes would be a advantage/disadvantage.
They all take their mechanics with them, they all have factory-tuned shocks.
I can't say I've ever watched a race-winning run and thought it was anything to do with the bike.
It was brilliant, what a fantastic, made for telly sport. The top men were all flat out and it was heart in the mouth stuff all the way.
British Women top three, just wow, I'm in total awe of them all.
I'm glad it's not about the bikes. I'm a bike geek and I'd be interested but quite rightly it's a sideshow, it's all about the riders. Formula 1 is what happens when it becomes all about the machine.
Come on BBC, here's some ready made sports rights with British interest that you can surely afford??
Come on BBC, here's some ready made sports rights with British interest that you can surely afford??
Whilst the racing coverage is getting better and better, some of the spark and humour of the commentary from the Freecaster days has been lost since moving to Red Bull. I can only see that being worse if it was on the Beeb which would be a great shame. I'd love to see DH get the exposure it deserves though.
I know any pro rider moving to a new brand will say the new bike is better or suits them better but the difference between Gwin's Demo and Tues is pretty consistent with what he likes in a bike - reach and head angle are similar, chainstays longer and the leverage is curve is much more progressive, which suits how hard he likes to run his suspension. He'll be able to run it a bit softer through the earlier portion of the stroke so it'll sag a bit more (keeping the BB height the same) and have more grip. Bear in mind that Specialized even made a custom linkage for their pros to give the back end more ramp up.
With such different conditions compared to practice and qualifying I bet it was really hard to choose the best lines, especially as it wasn't bone dry so many of the high/off-camber lines would be quite a gamble.
I don't think Gwin will have it all his own way this year - Bruni/Bryceland/Brosnan/Atherton/Minaar/Smith/Hart/Thirion are too quick when they're on a good charge, and only one of them has to be lucky enough with a clean run on the ragged edge to beat him. He's very very very good but all the next best riders are almost as good and there are a lot of them!
Come on BBC, here's some ready made sports rights with British interest that you can surely afford??
Oh man.
Just imagine it: Clare Balding presents, adding the common touch for casual viewers by asking a couple of washed up ex-pros inane questions ("So, just how many gears does a down-hill MTB-bike have on it?"), before an audibly confused Hugh Porter mixes up all the riders' names in between reminiscing about a 'Rough Stuff' ride he did in 1956, until they cut to some regional semi-final crown green bowls match just before Bryceland hits the track.
**** no. 😯
chiefgrooveguru - MemberI don't think Gwin will have it all his own way this year - Bruni/Bryceland/Brosnan/Atherton/Minaar/Smith/Hart/Thirion are too quick when they're on a good charge, and only one of them has to be lucky enough with a clean run on the ragged edge to beat him. He's very very very good but all the next best riders are almost as good and there are a lot of them!
He's consistent though - wet/dry/steep/pedally/whatever he's right up there. Any one of the above could beat him on their day, but they need five or six of those days to beat him to the top spot
Come on BBC, here's some ready made sports rights with British interest that you can surely afford??
Oh man.Just imagine it: Clare Balding presents, adding the common touch for casual viewers by asking a couple of washed up ex-pros inane questions ("So, just how many gears does a down-hill MTB-bike have on it?"), before an audibly confused Hugh Porter mixes up all the riders' names in between reminiscing about a 'Rough Stuff' ride he did in 1956, until they cut to some regional semi-final crown green bowls match just before Bryceland hits the track.
**** no.
😆 😆
You're right, I've changed my mind...
I reckon the Red Bull commentary with Rob and Claudio is bang on now. They still get excited in the right bits (see: Bruni's run) and their knowledge of the field, the bikes, the course and previous form is good. If anyone remembers the Eurosport commentary from the 90s world cups, which was impossible to get excited about, or the BBC commentary from most Olympic XC races, which was as dire as mintimperial imagines... we're lucky to have Mr Warner and co broadcasting coverage of decent calibre for free.
Enjoy Claudio's restrained comments on his own riders too. Cool to see Fairclough upping it a notch - not sure he'll ever win one though
Slugger not even making past the qualis shows how fast all the riders you've never heard of are going, Sam hill may be as quick as he's ever been but everyone else has got faster. More races at better tracks, excellent.
Agree that it's more competitive than it's ever been.
Still can't believe how much speed Peaty manages to get for the speed traps! 2nd fastest!
Sam hill may be as quick as he's ever been but everyone else has got faster.
Nigel Page said on the NP blog that Sam was off the pace actually.
I do agree with you though, we're seeing several riders pull out a Sam Hill-worthy run in each round - and Gwin's still beating them most of the time without looking like he's on the edge himself.
what happened to sam dale?
Had a crash on saturday and had to go to hospital, so did not ride on sunday. He's ok though. (saw this on Wyn TV, or maybe it was Eddie TV).
I'm no expert on DH but Gwin seems to be able to choose whether to ride smooth and stylish or ugly and nasty depending on what's required, must be nice to have a choice.
Cool to see Fairclough upping it a notch - not sure he'll ever win one though
I think Brendog is a really skilled rider but his 'off the back' riding style just doesn't eke the last bit of grip out of the turns as he's riding so much off the rear wheel and not getting full benefit from the front tyre.
Ironically I was discussing this with a friend on a long drive to Wales and then whilst MTBing there I had a bit of a revelation and started riding more from the hips/feet/rear wheel myself and found a whole load of extra speed. But at the pointy end of pro DH I think Gwin's more motocross posture drives the bike harder through the longer turns and over the rough.
nice one chiefgroovegure, you're making some excellent points 🙂
Mugboo - MemberI'm no expert on DH but Gwin seems to be able to choose whether to ride smooth and stylish or ugly and nasty depending on what's required, must be nice to have a choice.
Yup. Even in the same run, like at Windham, where he was blunt force trauma up the top and then floaty grace down the bottom.
They should rename it Gwindham! I've seen this so many times and it still blows my mind:
http://www.mtb-downhill.net/aaron-gwins-insane-winning-run-windham-uci-world-cup/