Can’t remember what year it was but back in the Commencal days he built that weird (awesome) hip to wall ride, which was used the next year by 2 or 3 other riders in their runs.

Gee said that the wallride was made much easier in the following years. I don’t know how, but I seem to remember a few people saying it.

I wonder how much of Brycelands race success is due in part to being part of sps and getting advice from Steve and Greg, surely two of the riders with the most race experience under their belts and still riding at or near the top level. Wonder what Fairclough would be like if he had been given (taken) the same opportunity?

AlexSimon – Member
Gee said that the wallride was made much easier in the following years. I don’t know how, but I seem to remember a few people saying it.

It was a proper WTF? moment when he hit it for the first time, warp speed!

Wonder what Fairclough would be like if he had been given (taken) the same opportunity?

you mean like when he was on specialized?

Someone else built Gees Gap to Wall the year before IIRC but didnt land it, Gee hucked it to perfection.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Red-Bull-Moments-2010-Gee-Atherton,5309/bturman,109

Wonder what Fairclough would be like if he had been given (taken) the same opportunity?

He’s not been short of opportunity…rode for the Honda DH project, rode alongside Sam Hill at Specialized, is now lead rider at Scott….these are big companies with well funded efforts.

He needs to tone down the jumps and whips and knuckle down to some training, it may mean he loses some of that unique ‘Brendog’ style that is so popular but he needs to start appearing on the podium on a regular basis.

re. Atherton’s skill set; he has some incredible talent, the Redbull Rampage videos should dispel any doubts…he just takes racing very seriously and why shouldnt he?….its how he makes a living after all!

He can turn on the style and pull tricks when he wants to, the Rampage videos are essentially him dicking about with Freeriding….but he’s not daft, he knows that isnt the fastest way down the hill so why do that at a world cup race?

As others have said, he now has two WCs and a couple of WC-series titles too…he has left his mark on the sport, i’m not sure Brendan has yet.

I wonder how much of Brycelands race success is due in part to being part of sps and getting advice from Steve and Greg, surely two of the riders with the most race experience under their belts and still riding at or near the top level. Wonder what Fairclough would be like if he had been given (taken) the same opportunity?

Didn’t Peaty “take him under his wing” for a while?
And didn’t he ride on the same team as Minnaar for a season with Honda?

He’s been at it a while now…

Yep, if anything Bryceland has been slow to develop….people seem to think he’s young and has come out of nowhere, he was Junior WC in 2008 and then spent the best part of the next six seasons trying to make the transition to success at Elite level.

Compare that to Gee who was runner up twice at Junior WCs but then started posting top-10 results with the big boys straight away….as did Sam Hill.

Maybe Bryceland had a talking to from Peaty?…maybe Santa Cruz threatened to let him go?…either way he came dangerously close (in my opinion) to squandering his talent but something positive has happened this year and he’s finally lived up to his potential.

scruff – Member

Someone else built Gees Gap to Wall the year before IIRC but didnt land it, Gee hucked it to perfection.

What I loved about Gee at that Rampage was the way while everyone else was doing second runs, trying to improve or pushing their luck he just went “Happy with that, I’m offski”. Not many people have the confidence and self-knowledge to know when they’re done, and stop.

Looking at the 2014 WC final rankings Briceland is about the right age (24), rider’s need to hit a bit of a peak in their early to mid twenties to carry their career on to ~30+ IMO…

The younger riders in the top ten Bruni (20) and Brosnan (Finished 2nd overall, aged 21) are already pushing hard now, Hart (23) had a trickier season and pulled in 11th (by just 9 points) and is a grafter, I would expect to see him back in the top ten next year…

then you have the Rider’s like Hill, Gee (29), Minnaar (33), Simonds (27), Gwin (27) are at the “Older” end of the scale but still very competitive…

Stevie Smith (25) Missed races due to injury and wasn’t quite on his 2013 form when he did come back and still managed to finish 17th, He will be back in the mix next year, as will Mick Hannah (31) who finished 15th again held back by some injuries…

Then there’s Peaty he’s 40 now, has arguably taken his foot off the Gas now and he still finished 10 places ahead of fairclough…

Set against all that lot; Fairclough is 26, and finished up 30th, over 1000 points down from Ratboy…

Is his Heart really in it?

Realistically Fairclough has got to step it up within the next two years or so if he really wants to keep Racing WC DH, surely sponsors will be eyeing up the amount of coverage that the top ten finisher’s get, and be assessing their investment in “Brendog”…

I can see him “retiring” from the sport by 28 having never really made his mark, while his peers go on to race internationally well into their early 30’s… That would be very sad.

Looking at the 2014 WC final rankings Briceland is about the right age (24), rider’s need to hit a bit of a peak in their early to mid twenties to carry their career on to ~30+ IMO…

The younger riders in the top ten Bruni (20) and Brosnan (Finished 2nd overall, aged 21) are already pushing hard now, Hart (23) had a trickier season and pulled in 11th (by just 9 points) and is a grafter, I would expect to see him back in the top ten next year…

then you have the Rider’s like Hill, Gee (29), Minnaar (33), Simonds (27), Gwin (27) are at the “Older” end of the scale but still very competitive…

Stevie Smith (25) Missed races due to injury and wasn’t quite on his 2013 form when he did come back and still managed to finish 17th, He will be back in the mix next year, as will Mick Hannah (31) who finished 15th again held back by some injuries…

Then there’s Peaty he’s 40 now, has arguably taken his foot off the Gas now and he still finished 10 places ahead of fairclough…

Set against all that lot; Fairclough is 26, and finished up 30th, over 1000 points down from Ratboy…

Is his Heart really in it?

Realistically Fairclough has got to step it up within the next two years or so if he really wants to keep Racing WC DH, surely sponsors will be eyeing up the amount of coverage that the top ten finisher’s get, and be assessing their investment in “Brendog”…

I can see him “retiring” from the sport by 28 having never really made his mark, while his peers go on to race internationally well into their early 30’s… That would be very sad.

That’s about the best post I’ve read on STW.

The facts are there – stark – in black and white.

Come on Brendan – prove the old, fat(ish) gits like me wrong, get serious, do some training and then totally own it next year!!

On the Atherton thing, he is a great racer but has the misfortune to look miserable a lot and look like he is sulking if things don’t go his way. Imagine how long the face would be if he had been beaten by a 1 footed Bryceland.

Surely this is exactly the attitude you want from someone who’s career is defined by winning and losing?

+1 and amen to that

Brendan is a boss and I’ve enjoyed his antics since he was busting out Dirt covers aged 12 however Scott need to go fully GI Jane on him this winter:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhsvgx3B7c0[/video]

Looking at the 2014 WC final rankings Briceland is about the right age (24), rider’s need to hit a bit of a peak in their early to mid twenties to carry their career on to ~30+ IMO…

The younger riders in the top ten Bruni (20) and Brosnan (Finished 2nd overall, aged 21) are already pushing hard now, Hart (23) had a trickier season and pulled in 11th (by just 9 points) and is a grafter, I would expect to see him back in the top ten next year…

then you have the Rider’s like Hill, Gee (29), Minnaar (33), Simonds (27), Gwin (27) are at the “Older” end of the scale but still very competitive…

Stevie Smith (25) Missed races due to injury and wasn’t quite on his 2013 form when he did come back and still managed to finish 17th, He will be back in the mix next year, as will Mick Hannah (31) who finished 15th again held back by some injuries…

Then there’s Peaty he’s 40 now, has arguably taken his foot off the Gas now and he still finished 10 places ahead of fairclough…

Set against all that lot; Fairclough is 26, and finished up 30th, over 1000 points down from Ratboy…

Is his Heart really in it?

Realistically Fairclough has got to step it up within the next two years or so if he really wants to keep Racing WC DH, surely sponsors will be eyeing up the amount of coverage that the top ten finisher’s get, and be assessing their investment in “Brendog”…

I can see him “retiring” from the sport by 28 having never really made his mark, while his peers go on to race internationally well into their early 30’s… That would be very sad.

Sorry, don’t think the UCI page is correct, at all!

Sam Blenkinsop certainly didn’t finish 3rd overall, nor did Sam Hill & Aaron Gwin only just sneak into the top ten

Maybe Bryceland had a talking to from Peaty?…maybe Santa Cruz threatened to let him go?…

On the latest TIP, Bryceland revealed that he was contractually obligated to get a top 2 finish in the WC this season. No mention of what the repercussions would be if he failed, but I found that very interesting.

Correct final standings here:

http://cycling.sportresult.com/results/cm/2014/47790_DHI_ME_Standings.pdf

That’s a bit of a leap BoardinBob.

He said he had a ‘top 3’ clause. Could just mean he gets extra money for a top 3 finish.

Sorry, don’t think the UCI page is correct, at all!

Sam Blenkinsop certainly didn’t finish 3rd overall, nor did Sam Hill & Aaron Gwin only just sneak into the top ten

I might be wrong but I think there’s different standings for the World Cup and overall UCI Rankings. Not sure how they’re different, but the UCI Rankings page maybe goes back further in time?

Sorry, don’t think the UCI page is correct, at all!

Sam Blenkinsop certainly didn’t finish 3rd overall, nor did Sam Hill & Aaron Gwin only just sneak into the top ten

you’re right, it does look a bit wrong, looking on RideIO:

Although It would seem Hill and Gwin finished higher up in the rankings and Fairclough ended the season in 17th, ahead of Peat, but still not setting the world on fire is he/…

How come the UCI’s own Results page is such a shambles?

I had gone and linked UCI rankings, which seems to be based on the last 15 or so UCI accredited races each competitor has taken part in from national level up I guess…

Either way He needs to knuckle down…

torsoinalake – Member

That’s a bit of a leap BoardinBob.

He said he had a ‘top 3’ clause. Could just mean he gets extra money for a top 3 finish.
That’s how I interpreted it too.

Two years ago at Fort William I managed to follow Josh’s dad and the syndicate boys on the course walk. It was really interesting to hear(eavesdrop) what he was saying. He basically said Peatys got him on a very strict training and support regime. I think what I like about Josh is that he absolutely loves riding bikes(he said he would do something else if not) and that clearly rubs off on his riding. Gee on the other hand, sometimes looks so stressed out to get the result that is expected of him, doesn’t look like he is enjoying it.

Was gutted for Rachel, but Manon rode great.
I think Tahnee will become better than both though.

In the 90s I would never have thought Saracen would have better race credentials than Orange. Say whaaaaaaat

What I loved about Gee at that Rampage was the way while everyone else was doing second runs, trying to improve or pushing their luck he just went “Happy with that, I’m offski”.

iirc his bike was so shagged he didn’t have a choice

Does anyone know if Bryceland has gone under the knife yet, and how he is?

Josh would have won if he hadn’t stood on that rake

6079smithw – Member

In the 90s I would never have thought Saracen would have better race credentials than Orange. Say whaaaaaaat

To be fair, if Orange had gone out of business and been resurrected as an effectively new company, they’d have had to invent new bikes and wouldn’t still be racing the same downhill bike they were in 2001- the 222 Evo Evo Evo Evo 😆 (if things had been different, Manon would be racing on a Halfords Sarcin Raw 2)

legend – Member

iirc his bike was so shagged he didn’t have a choice

Don’t spoil it 🙁

Maybe Bryceland had a talking to from Peaty?…maybe Santa Cruz threatened to let him go?…either way he came dangerously close (in my opinion) to squandering his talent but something positive has happened this year and he’s finally lived up to his potential.

It could’ve just been a confidence thing – he’s been getting better as this season’s gone on, then since Loic Bruni (?) crashed & handed him that first win he’s just stepped up & absolutely flown.

Don’t hold your breath on Fairclaw getting it together race-wise, he’s had his chance and it’s not really worked out. And the top of the field has got so fast now.

Scott will want a new lead rider next year, surely. Did I see something about Blenki?

Makes sense for Lapierre to focus on Bruni since he’s French and so bloody good.

So whos going over to Intense?

scruff – Member
So whos going over to Intense?

All American Hero Gwinn?