You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
the gwizard back to gwinning
Oh sorry there!! Just if you only just tuned in you missed some awesome racing throughout, worth watching it back.
It's a hell of a track and proved a worthy inclusion in the circuit
Ooh, what was Claudio's comment all about when Warner asked him why Gwin keeps on winning. Claudio said something to the tune of "I can't answer that because I'll get in trouble"
Taint of PEDs around Gwin???
His comments about Rachel Atherton training with her Brothers got him in loads of bother so I think just a reference back to that really
Maybe more to do with setup and stuff. Gwin doesn't even drink.
only for gwin the dh fantasy league would be bleek. had tracey hannah on the womens.
I assumed it was going to be a religious reference.
Yeh Bob I thought that was an odd thing for him to say
I assumed it was about having god on his side rather than any earthly advantage.
Rob Warner not saying something 'cause it might get him in touble *sadface*.
It was Claudio, mostly just him saying something when he didn't have an answer and people reading way to much into a throw away comment from a guy who hit the deck harder than an old lady on a cruise ship 😉
What happened to Bulldog?
Big crash
Was going fast, looking pretty tidy but then lost the front wheel on the dust and stacked it hard.
Despite the general scepticism beforehand, I thought it was actually a really good and testing track and made for great racing.
I must be living in a parallel universe didn't he qualify in first place.
Stupid new rules means that they don’t actually race in qualifying order. The UCI is full of geniuses...
It made for a good entertaining broadcast the new order, mixed things up and meant all of the top riders and the fastest qualifiers were on rather than missing a bunch who punctured etc, not good if you only tune in for the end but great for making a quality hour or so of TV, Red Bull have really stepped up this year I think with the saturday pre show and the slot after for discussions/debrief
I reckon the Woman's season is wide open this year. RA did not look faster than the rest of the contenders. Cecil was pretty bloody good as well.
Cecille is going to win this year, she's too good not to after only what, two DH WCs?
Good to see some other faces on the mens podium.
Great viewing, lots of cameras.
Are the juniors runs up anywhere to view?
Stupid new rules means that they don’t actually race in qualifying order. The UCI is full of geniuses…
Crazy decision. I can understand the reasoning of offering protected rider status to the top ten, but there has to be some incentive to push on during qualifying.
I didn't understand the running order at all.
Yeah the running order is crap. Really spoiled it for me. The fastest qualifier last down the hill is the proper way to do it. Creates much more drama
I wasn't sure about the track to start with but I did enjoy the race yesterday - still don't think the urban finish added much.
Rachel didn't look like an unstoppable force this year, so it'll be interesting to see what her pace is like at Fort Bill next (hopefully it won't be so muddy in the woods this year....).
The Syndicate boys looked pretty fast, as did the new Intense team but I can't see past Gwin (again this season). Hopefully someone will be able to mount a good challenge so it's not a case of competing for the other podium spots.
To Rach didn't look like she was actually pushing to me. Sure, she's always pretty smooth, but she wasn't pumping anything or really trying to find the limits of grip. She also didn't look as physically fit as previous years, ok, she's had an injury disrupted off season, but i wonder if she's starting to loose the "fire" to win? I mean, it's not like she's got anything left to prove is it!
The first round is never the round to go mad at, lots to loose and little to win.
Enjoyed the race over-all.
I think the new format is going to hurt some riders profile wise, I'm thinking of the likes of Gee Atherton, he's not really the big name in DH he used to be and based on my understanding of the protected rules he'll need to be top 10 over-all to get on Telly.
Track was cool, low distance meant 100% coverage for the first time ever, I wouldn't have chosen the last split to be down an alley, it lacked drama and it didn't seem that easy to gain or lose time (unless you had a flat) but hey a WC race is a WC Race! It's a shame it's such a long wait till Ft. William now.
Re the point of loss of incentive. Surely they still award points for qualifying? Not insignificant pounts even if gwim prefers not to bother chasing them.
Always a bit let down when gwin wins. Bit like Schumacher. He's actually awesome to watch though and it's genuinely astonishing that he's a class apart and still looks so smooth. Where does he find the time? All the riders who came down before looked on the limits of grip and control and he was still seconds ahead. He's just a natural talent and we've not seen such a cool race head ever before. He looks so relaxed which is ominous for the competition. Very impressed with Norton as well
What's happened to gee? He was so off the pace I'd assumed a crash. This can't be doing his ego any good. There's a definite generational shift going on, Danny Hart seems like a veteran now and he's only 26
I really didn't enjoy watching the track, it looked ugly.
The riders were epic though. Massive respect to anyone pushing hard down there.
What’s happened to gee? He was so off the pace I’d assumed a crash.
Can't always blame the bike, but he was a top 5 over-all riders he entire career until they moved to Trek, which coincided with a couple of big crashes I think, but his results have fallen off a cliff ever since. Even his career highlights section on the Trek Factory Racing site read like "why not to ride a Trek" it's a long list of podiums and wins then 2016 it's a 4th a Hardline and an 18th at Worlds last year.
It didn't slow Rachel down of course, but I'd almost forgot about him until I was picking my DH Fantasy league.
For some reason I always read it as Legoland lol.
Hoping for a good race - hoping that Danny H has a better race without the home crowd pressure.
Would also be great to see some of the other Brits do well, but I suspect it'll probably be an American (either on a YT or Santa Cruz) or French man that wins .
I reckon there are better British bets for a win there, Greenland will be getting closer, his relaxed attitude does him a lot of good.
I'd say with the speed of the track the SC boys look like a real good bet they have the form of the season so far
Sounds like they've made the track a bit better according to the Cathrovision track walk vid (on YouTube).
anyone seen a course preview vid? They don't seem to be coming out as early as last year
No Claudio course previews for a while as he had brain surgery a couple of weeks back after his course preview crash in Croatia.
Brendog did one for Fort Bill but was just a POV without commentary.
Interesting looking changes!
Yeah Needles! Not as excitable as Claudio, but certainly worthy of taking the mantle (hopefully only temporarily). Looks like a nice fast race to be had.
The Cathro stuff is great, real shame about the 3 minute time limit though. Wonder why wyn, gmbn, etc etc are allowed to do longer videos?
Quali results coming through, looks like something went wrong for Rachel out there but Luca Shaw hitting the front again!
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/qualifying-results-leogang-world-cup-dh-2018.html
Looks like a problem right from the off for Rachel as she was far back on every split time
edit: a crash apparently
Crash then bike tried to hold onto the pole.... Needs the benny Hill music
Would like Hart to be up there but just seems a bit off the pace at the moment. Interesting season this is shaping up to be.
Unless I'm reading it wrong, Harts time was quick but his result way down?
He has top 10 splits but was. Dropping back each split and then went well back in the last section.
They have certainly added some interest into the track this year, some much faster lines, but carrying a much higher risk of failure, as RA's run showed!
<b>what happened to Gwin? Or was he saving himself </b>
Not seen anything yet, don't think he has ever held back for a quali and given how tight it is looking this year skipping the 50pts for quali win is a big mistake
Phil Atwill looks to be in dead last, hope his season starts to pick up soon.
Well the Bulldog is looking more ragged than a ragged thing there!!
I here the tree's are asking for more pads
I see gwin has posted he's recovering from a dislocated thumb last weekend so he's happy just to be on the bike. Makes it all more interesting
Well that explains that then, Keeps the GOAT being all GOATy a bit longer 🙂 I thought Luca and Lois had that job going by the results.Maybe Sky need to get Kathy Sessler cooking for them!!
Wasn't it Atwill who criticised it for being too easy last year and was practicising it on hardtail or am I completely mistaken in my old age?
Yep. Got to get the attention one way or another if you aren’t fast enough to win.
Wasn’t it Atwill who criticised it for being too easy last year and was practicising it on hardtail or am I completely mistaken in my old age?
Just about every rider had a go at the course last year, as a Joke Phil did a run on his HT after Wyns track walk vid.
Yeah still took him 6 minutes to get down though.
Gwin was talking about not qualifying apparently, so his 13th with a dislocating thumb is pretty impressive.
Check the spread of qualifying times, crazy tight!! Less than 10secs for top 20
So any predictions? Women off in 20 mins.
Atherton to be back up there for the race run I think,
Mens - Hoping Luca Shaw can get his luck sorted out for one run here, certainly chance of another first time winner out there, Brook must be able to do something with all that form too
Can't see past Tahnee for the womensw, ahead high on confidence and fast here. Rachel looks out of sorts currently.
Anyone notice that Claudio is stumbling his words occasionally?
Well I think Rachel may spend a bit longer in the hot seat than she normally does!!
Well It's been a while since Rachel Atherton was an unexpected winner, Nicole lost it to the end there and I'd be expecting to see Seagrave taking a DQ for that excursion through the bank, making for some exciting racing so far
That wind should catch out a few people today I would have thought, although the men have now been warned about it.
I think that rules out Tahnee from the overall this year with Rachel and Myriam on form, very hard to make 150odd points up when you know your competitors will be up at the sharp end every time.
I’ve done the exact same thing as Tahnee on the same jump, had to switch onto the freeride track, the left hander after the jump before the stream gap is tight if you go too fast.
Close one for Nicole there - I'd have stopped on the course and had a little cry after that
Shame there isn't a slightly more complex system of penalties.
Deliberate corner cutting or advantage: Disqualification
Accidental advantage or equal: 5sec penalty
Took >10s to get back on track: no penalty
Really holding out for gwin, but would like to see norton or finn bag a win.
AlexSimon, you're forgetting one thing: it's the UCI and they don't deal in anything other than black and white rule decisions.
Unfortunately I'd say it needs to be black and white for this one, you have the don't go round a pole wiggle room but that is it. It's just about impossible to judge the time lost/saved etc.
Somebody needs to tell those new lads to calm it down out of the start!!
Good coverage and I'm loving the motorbikecam!
Motorbike cam and general coverage is indeed excellent.
Norton was flying there too, hopefully some of these young guys can hold form for the season - and Dean Lucas skipping a pole there
Times are so tight.
ohh, my fantasy league looking like a blinder for the first time ever
Gwin just monstered that last rooty secrion, almost like it wasn't there!
Blenky’s run, so cool
Well first of the big Guns down the track there!! On the limit from Gwinn, lets see what the kids have in them now!
Gwin saying he had little grip and had way more in the bag. Thought he was only going to get points.
Nice run by Wallace. Surprised how much time he made up near the end
Yeah, looks like there is time to be taken from Gwinns run there over the course, just need to get all those bits going green in one run, how hard can that be 🙂
Greenland mental as usual