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yet most of the best WC DH riders and teams arent there
maybe they dont want to be? A few years ago Minnaar came to do the commentary. He brought his bike too, sat at the top of the road gap for an hour and didnt do it.
And that is the greatest racer of all time.
This year Gee described the road gap as the easiest of the big features and the one to do first.
Respect to Kolb for withdrawing gracefully, takes a lot of guts to say you cant do it, especially when riding for the Atherton team at their event.
it just shows that its more hype than substance.
It's more for the riders than it is for us. Like Rampage is. I guess that's your problem
It’s more for the riders than it is for us
Really ? I have no idea how much it costs to put it on, but the logistics on the hill and the numerous lorries carrying all the kit I would say well over £100k.
If it was for the riders it wouldnt be on Red Bull TV
Have to say though the race day was the was disappointing day out of it all, all the vlogs look like it was more fun and 'for the riders' at the start of the week
Have to say though the race day was the was disappointing day out of it all
In what way ?
Agree I thought Rachel’s commentary was awful
I really enjoyed Rachel Atherton's commentary. I thought it was insightful and added some much needed balance to Rob Warner's unbounded excitement. There were a number of times when Rachel was saying something interesting and Rob seemed to talk over with something less interesting.
Still like Rob though. I thought it was a good pairing.
I do think the Athertons did not do as good a job of the course this year.
BK's crash on the jump should never have happened, and there is no way the racers should have been testing the course to check it is actually ridable. The adjustments made to the jumps showed they got it wrong.
The berm blowing out is also not acceptable, and there was concern raised on the softness of the berms in the early track walk.
More hype than substance? Hmm.
For what it's worth my missus and daughter actively watched most of Hardline with me yesterday, they barely last 10 minutes of a UCI DH or XC race.
For me, I enjoy watching DH and seeing at which point I reckon I could mince my way down to before having to call it quits. For Hardline it'd be a very short run, even at my slow pace! 🤣
I love Hardline, as does my daughter, it’s the only unmissable event we will watch each year. The skill and courage of the riders is immense 🙂 Jackson’s run, that was something else!
For me, I enjoy watching DH and seeing at which point I reckon I could mince my way down to before having to call it quits. For Hardline it’d be a very short run, even at my slow pace! 🤣
Me too!
I reckon Fort Bill is the best bet, think I could make it (slowly) to the deer gate. Some have a mandatory gap basically at the bottom of the start ramp (Lourdes) that I'm pretty sure would kill me.
For Hardline it’d be a very short run
Reckon I could just about get to the lip of the cannon out of the woods before I started crying.
Don’t think I’ve ever been the speed required to clear it on an MTB…
This is a good bit of insight
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/i-said-i-wont-come-back-when-i-win-10-rider-interviews-from-red-bull-hardline-2022.html
Just read that.... they seemed to enjoy it 😀
I've watched a lot more Hardline than any of the WC DH this year. Been fascinating to see how the riders piece all the terrifying bits together into a run. And I'm really glad that riders like Kolb can feel they can "nope" out of it if they're not up to it.
Bernard Kerr's finals video has a 10 min gopro headcam from the lonely wait at the top to having a quiet alone sit down after. Gutted for him.
Oof. (Slo mo of Bernard Kerr’s front wheel giving up on the 90ft (nearer 110ft where he landed) landing.)
Bernard Kerr’s finals video has a 10 min gopro headcam from the lonely wait at the top to having a quiet alone sit down after. Gutted for him.
Yeah, this.
BK’s crash on the jump should never have happened, and there is no way the racers should have been testing the course to check it is actually ridable. The adjustments made to the jumps showed they got it wrong.
Dan Atherton and the build crew test every feature as they're building them. The hardline competitors aren't the first people to try them out.
It's an invitational event, the riders aren't obligated to do this and can say no if they don't think it's safe
Dan Atherton and the build crew test every feature as they’re building them.
Is Dan injured? A few years back I'm sure he said he would never build something he didnt want to ride himself. Him and Gee also feel the responsibility to do it first before expecting others to do it.
With Gee only just returnnig from his injury I can see how he wouldn't have been able to test it. Respect to Kerr for stepping up, although if he'd gone earlier to help test then people would moan that was unfair too!
Dan knocked himself out, iirc on the Lilly pad feature, last week. That’s why he didn’t ride.
Kaos had also tested the jumps before the riders turned up the week before.
Kerr did the same for the step down last year.
Edit - The link above suggests they didn't do that this year which is unusual. On the vlogs people were definitely saying Kaos had hit them already but perhaps they meant the on-off only?!
Kerr was just the first of the weekend from what I could tell.
I don't think the build crew got it wrong based on the crash. Kerr went deep and his wheel failed.
I like world cups but this is something different. I expect the top racers could all do it but only would if they made it the world champs course!
Dan knocked himself out, iirc on the Lilly pad feature, last week. That’s why he didn’t ride.
I’m sure Rachel or Rob said something to that effect during the race.
It’s bonkers, but apart from BK’s incident it didn’t cause any issues on the day.
I don’t think the build crew got it wrong based on the crash. Kerr went deep and his wheel failed.
They took the lip off the jump as he went way high as well as long.
The landing had o be shallow as they were travelling so fast that it was easy to overjump. Having a downslope to properly match it would have resulted in much bigger accidents.
BK is incredible to have gone from that crash to qualify 1st. Full respect.
I haven't watched the last runs yet but plan to do so when the wife goes to bed. Was a little disappointed that Redbull saw fit to blab the result on the link age for the reply so even if you managed to stay off the internet before watching it was staring you in the face. Not that it's a big thing but ruined the cliffhanger.
I was surprised I've managed to watch a couple of world cup replays this year a day or two later without them blabbing the winner, it seemed like they had learnt from past complaints.
I haven’t watched the last runs yet but plan to do so when the wife goes to bed.
I'm hearing you.
I managed to watch them while my wife read cookbooks on the sofa (although i'm pretty sure she ended up watching)