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We know its hard. We know the 'black snake' is the gnarliest course of the year. But what does that actually mean?
Watch Brendan Fairclough, an actual WC racer, and Red Bull Rampage backflipper, actually shitting his pants and struggling to get down on his factory spec fancy enduro bike.
Honestly, worth a watch, and for those of us who've never been up to watch at Fort William for instance, just shows how big the gap is between those of us who would claim to be pretty competent mountain bike riders, maybe dabble in a bit of racing, hit a few jumps etc - and the guys who literally go race pace down these trails every weekend.
Its wild!
Haven't watched the video yet but I have been to Val Di Sole a couple of times. That track is horrible and it's in much worse condition now than it's ever been.
However steep it looks on screen it's steeper. However big you think those rocks and roots are they're bigger. The speeds are high, the impacts are massive and there's no easy bits to rest on.
It's not the kind of track I'd ride for fun anymore.
I'll check the vid when I finish work.
IMO there's DH tracks and there's DH TRACKS. I'm a distinctly average rider and could previously give Fort William a fair go, but Val Di Sole is another level of ridiculousness. I've ridden Champery too and rode it all in a fashion (well, all that was open to the public a few years ago) - but I don't fancy trying the Black Snake which looks utterly brutal.
Fort William WC track fastest time in 2022 was 4m37. For comparison, I managed about 7min with a couple of brief stops and the slightly slower/longer public options (rather than the road gap, etc), not exactly race pace:
Yep, long long time ago but I remember doing Fort William and getting down in just under 8 after a few attempts, I was chuffed to bits. We watched the race the week after and the top times were almost half. Impressive stuff.
The Val Di Sole track looks next level though.
Put some knee pads on ya great big knobba
What’s the fastest time on the megavalanche? 40 odd minutes?
Took us most of a day… (with a lunch stop, plus others, but still)
Me too snotrag, 2004 two weekends before the WC race at Fort William, I rented a Kona Stinky and FF helmet + lots of pads.
I was pretty fit then and the first run was over 16 minutes while I tried not to die. Local guy gave me some coaching and after 6 attempts I was 8 minutes 5 seconds. There is no way I could do another run, I was so tired and everything hurt (for the next week in fact).
I've walked down the Champery course in 2007 and hats off to ally I was scared on my feet never mind on wheels. These days I get phased by a 2' step down!
Lol that's epic. They're all nutters!
Put some knee pads on ya great big knobba
We know it's rough as anything but I sense a bit of hamming it up for the camera, given he's riding it with no pads, no full face. He really didn't look out of control at any point.
I’ve ridden Champery too and rode it all in a fashion (well, all that was open to the public a few years ago)
I went down that too.
Only on my arse, shoving the bike in front! I didn’t care if it broke.
I’ve also done the “bum slide down bits of Champery “ ride. It’s less fun than you’d think in real life. Also “ridden” the track in Andorra. House sized jumps and sections so steep that releasing the brakes gets you to warp factor 9 in the length of a wheel base.
We did Champery in 2012 and looked at that daft steep chute Danny Hart rode in the wet 2011. Errr nope, not even in the dry!
Riding Fort William possibly <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">lulled me into thinking WC DH tracks are mostly ridable by mere mortals. Champery was a wake up call and from what I've seen of it (on video) Val di Sole is another step up again from that. In comparison Fort William's fairly tame and it's possible to pick your way slowly down, whereas the steepness of Champery needs full commitment. Not sure I intended commiting to some bits there, but I survived.</span>
I tried Vali’s Hole in Leogang in the rain with a worn out high roller on the back.
It was horrific, just no control at all.
I think Rob Warner commented that the average slope was 24% at Val di Sole. That’s extreme, when you consider all the boulders and stumps and roots.
Visited VDS in June, from the chairlift on the way up I could see it was super steep. Anyone who can get down the current track is a seriously good rider.
Danny Hart was there a week later and he mentions the state of the track on a YT vid he did, made me feel better about sticking to the other tracks.
Puts into context how hard Camille Balanche must be - to ride that with a not long broken collar bone to secure the overall? Nuts!
I watched that a couple of nights ago.
Has he now given up racing etc ?
Pah! Smith's Combe on a rigid Inbred with v-brakes is a the real challenge.
There aren't many WC tracks that I would fancy a go on these days. Leogang in the wet this year looked particularly horrendous.
VdS is very much at the bottom of the list though.