12 of Japan’s 16 foreign born players are Japanese citizens I think, and the majority of them also went to school/university in Japan. I think it’s a little unfair to criticise them in that regard, especially given our own use of the residency rules.

As everyone else has said, get low, then get back, but you still want some weight on your hands as otherwise your front wheel has no grip. You want the bike to keep rolling as if the front wheel hangs up it’s easy to go otb when it’s really steep. Heels dropped, wrists dropped, head looking forward. Be very mindful of where your breaking traction is coming from and be ready to feather the brakes accordingly. If there’s steps you’ll probably need to easy up on the front break a little as you go over it. It’s mainly practice and over coming the mental aspect. If the chutes are soft it’s a touch easier as you know it won’t hurt so much if you crash. The 2nd stage of the EWS in Whistler this year started on Jaws which averages 40% gradient. It’s steep af the whole way down. Go watch Paul the Punter or BC Pov struggle their way down it to make yourself feel better :P

@Nobeer – I live in Canada, so it might be a problem in the south, but I can’t speak to that. They’re growing in popularity here. One problem is education, ie folk not knowing where they can and can’t ride. That falls on both the retailers and the owners imo. The retailers don’t care to educate and the owners assume they’re mountain bikes so ride them where they usually ride, even if they’re not meant to.

@doomanic I am seeing problems. Not many, but enough. It’ll only become more prevalent too unless something is done. I’m on a bike btw. Where I am most of the trails are designated non-motorized which rules out ebike use. On many trails this isn’t too much of an issue at the moment but they’re explicitly banned (as in its explicitly mentioned that ebikes are forbidden) on one of the alpine trails which gets enough traffic as it is. Its meant to be a long relatively hard ride to help limit numbers. Ebikers seem to have no qualms about riding up there anyway. This jeopardises not only that particular trail but also all the other stuff that is in planning stages. Again, it’s dicks on bikes not the bike itself yada yada yada, but it’s still a problem. It doesn’t help with manufactures and retailers pushing them so much, especially in areas where there’s not that many places they’re actually allowed to ride.

I’ve never encountered an ebiker off road where they either shouldn’t have been riding or were riding like dicks. I guess we’re now starting to see the user conflict and other trail issues that the nay sayers said would happen. It’s all very well hand waving and saying aye, but it’s just the riders who are dicks, but if there’s dicks everywhere all the time then there’s a problem that needs fixing.

 next thing they are going to push is the dedicated piste / groomer / detuned race skis.

Could believe it. It’s the only real gap in my ski selection. I tried a set of Head SuperShape things last season and they were stiff as ****, and absolutely ripped. A set of the new blizzard firebirds would be sick too.

Depends on how much you ski really and where to an extent. Having your own kit means no queueing to pick up rentals, you get to ski on them a lot and really figure out how the ski feels and how best to ski it. Maintenance isn’t a big job, waxing is super easy and edges are pretty simple too. Plus, skis don’t have to be mega expensive, ski hire for a high end ski is what, £100 a week or so? 5 or 6 weeks and you’ll be getting close to breaking even.

Get a couple of long poles and a big f-off net above the fence. Angle in such a way that the ball can’t get into your garden and just gently rolls back down to the annoying kid. Done.

Often Tories, yes, but the rest of that is pretty off in my experience.

Potential spoilers in the thread title?

Can’t feel too sorry him. 3 GT’s in a row, even if carrying over from 1 season to the next, and to be up there in the top 3 is still mighty impressive.

I’m not in Vancouver, rather Whistler. If you get a day and make it up here I’d be happy to show you around the valley trails.

I’ve got a 2018 Patrol – awesome bike. Not light by any means but comparable to other big alloy bikes like the new nomad etc. It can feel a little plodding if you’re not giving it some beans but if you can open it up it works so so well. It’s not just a monster truck – it can but, but it feels great on flow trails too. Has the typical ‘Transition feel’. The shorter travel versions aren’t any lighter but do you really need a 170/160mm bike? I’ve not ridden a Scout but I reckon it’d be a weapon and plenty bike for most places and people. FWIW the Sentinel and Patrol sizing is the very similar if not the same. 450mm reach on both iirc. They don’t feel huge when you ride them but anything shorter now feels tiny for me. I’m 5’7 and get on great with the medium.

The paint does suck though, get it wrapped asap if you buy or accept that it chips more easily than it should. I’m happy to live with it, but I know a lot of folk wouldn’t be.

Croatia a little hard done by I think. Easily the best team in the 1st half, but France go into half time 2-1 up with 1 shot on goal. Never a penalty and a soft free kick leading to a goal. France much better the 2nd half, but I still really feel for them. France have been clinical if not too inspiring.

Is it actually a new sport?

Well it’s not mountain biking, so it must be.

Meh, I had no problem with it. A bit silly, a bit WWE, but whatever. Didn’t detract from the night.

Ngannou vs Lewis should be super fun also

Well that didn’t go to plan….

Tragic news :(

not great that this whole affair became public

Exactly. With this result we should have never known there was even a potential issue. Whoever the leaker was, I suspect they’ve achieved their aims.

Too much focus on boys who are big and strong rather than skilful. From the grassroots all the way up to some of the hammer throwers in the SPL.

The motorists in question has told the police that the sun was in her eyes and it’s not her fault…

FFS :(

No advice, but hope she heals up well.

I’m a skinny guy, 63kg, 170cm, but I got up Hardknott during the Fred Whitton on a 34-25. It’s doable you just need to keep muscling the pedals around. I wasn’t even particularly fit at the time, average speed for the day was about 13.5 mph. Get her done on the gear you have and stop worrying about it.

Pish, weird game this.

Take away it’s pudding.

Var has been fine, it’s still open to interpretation and clownshow refs though

The two are pretty inseparable, no? Throw in the behaviour of the players who now have an incentive to over act to get things reviewed and I see potential issues.  Rugby doesn’t seem to have these issues, but maybe it’s just the mentality of the players in both sports.

I’d go with Liniker’s assesment that it’s more right than wrong and it’s finding some of that in the box set play stuff that was being missed.

It is, but we’re going there far too often. And the Por pen should never of been given, again, this is maybe a case for more training, but I don’t think the system is adding much. The offside call in the other game – perfect use.

The VAR stuff is becoming a bit of a farce. Maybe it’s just the refs needing more training, but the Portugal game was silly. Players rolling around and exaggerating reactions more than ever before, it’s getting out of hand. Do we need to use a system like the NFL where the coach or the captain gets a certain number of challengers per game so we a) don’t waste time and b) players stop play acting quite so much?

Embarrassingly bad defending and goal keeping in this game

I had a DHF on the rear all last summer. Bit slow but worked fine. Got a DHR2 on now, bit quicker, grip feels just as good. Id get whichever is cheaper.

Could this also help kick the UCI into gear to support mountain biking a bit more? DH especially needs more support at the lower levels and clear pathways for progress to the upper levels. If the EWS and the UCI can work well together then maybe there’ll be a trickle down/across effect to the other disciplines.

Chris Ball used to work for the UCI so I assume he knows what theyre about and  the dialog they’ve been having is constructive and will let the EWS keep the control they feel need.

I hope this doesnt lead to either an increase in costs due to extra rules. The EWS rule book is notoriously short and simple and has been kept so as much as possible. The UCI on the otherhand…. It’d be really shit to see manufacturer teams dropping out or less privateers racing due to silly uniform rules or frame testing requirements.

Whats the Trophy of Nations? Will that be the world champs for Enduro?

Some of the UCI stuff will be a benefit, anti doping regulations etc but things will go downhill quickly if they start placing demands like they do for DH on to the series….

We hired a speed boat and went water skiing last time we were in Penticton, lots of fun and not crazy money. Can hire the boat with a drivers licence.

Bears won’t be a worry in Whistler, they’re Brown bears and are generally pretty laid back. Just don’t get too close or leave food lying around. The rockies on the otherhand have grizzlies which are a different matter. Bear spray is a good idea. Still unlikely to need it but better safe than sorry. I rode and hiked around Banff and Canmore and just made sure I wasn’t too quiet.

Road biking around Whistler isn’t much fun as there’s not much apart from the highway which is very busy. Other parts of Canada may vary.

I’ve heard some of the Maxxis 2.6 tyres can be a bit flimsy in the sidewalls, any of you lot having problems? Or do they feel pretty solid? They’re lighter than the 2.5WT (in a minion anyway) which I thought was a little weird.

I agreed with the red card. It was tough on the player, but after the slight contact he wasn’t in a position imo to realistically challenge for the ball. At that point he makes the wrong decision and goes for it anyway. It’s harsh, but the rules are there to protect the players, and as we can see when it goes wrong it can lead to head injuries.

Not to try and derail the thread, but the 2 issues above (PM VS FM etc and brake fade) are the exact reason I don’t want discs anywhere near my road bike.

Not technically the best photo I’ve ever taken, but the lighting was exceptional.

Tunisia – the Motherwell of the world cup.

Couldn’t quite see the match out. Still, entertaining to hear the commentators losing their shit.

And Daniel Hourcade has quit as Argentina coach. He’ll see out the Scotland game next week then step down.

Russia have just given Canada another hammering, although at least Canada put a few more points on the board.

A few red cards today too, the choke hold was pretty special, especially the refusal to instantly let go when the ref is right there.

Falls unlucky (more so Barrett), but also a bit reckless, can’t be having players land on their heads, even if the intent and ‘challenge’ were not malicious.

The merits of independence can (and will) be argued until the cows come home, but you can’t argue at how badly the Scotland (and Wales and NI) have been treated in the brexit discussions so far, and Scotland in general since the indy ref.