Am I reading that right - Minnaar took 2 seconds back from Gwin after split 2?
Pietermaritzburg - 2012 WC DH#1
- Thread starter toodles
- Start date
Rude in 45th!
I'm slightly surprised given the course, but I just think he IS the guy to watch. I think Sam Hill is going to be in an akward, uncomfortable position all year long. Like in the back seat of a Volkswagen beatle akward, uncomfortable.
Isn't that about how much he lost it to Gwin last year?
Last year was .241 seconds. Close, but this year's time difference is only 3% of that.
the important split is the first one. sam hill not being up there in the peddaling part isnt all that surprising.
if you just compare the first split before the crappy part of the track you get quite a different picture and probably a better indicator for the tracks to come.
Yeah, Sam was only 1.4 seconds off Gwin at split 1 and 5th place.
I am not too worried about his seat in pegboys beatle...especially when we come around to the 'real DH tracks' (<-- not my words haha)
I am not too worried about his seat in pegboys beatle...especially when we come around to the 'real DH tracks' (<-- not my words haha)
Awesome to see so many US riders Qualify. I remember a few years ago we were lucky if there was more than 3 Americans qualifying for a WC final.
Edit: Looking at it a second time I think that every US racer that entered qualified!
Edit: Looking at it a second time I think that every US racer that entered qualified!
How have I never heard of Aurelien Giordanengo? 8th position in qualies these days is pretty fast...
gwin v minnaar this race, nobody else matters, calling it now. Also pretty pumped on my Minnaar, gracia, N. Beer, Hill, and T. Hannah fantasy team. Also, looking at the other top teams, it seems I wasn't the only one to think N. Beer was way under valued the fantasy team picker. He's on everybodies team.
I'm hoping for gwin to take it though. Gwin for 'Merica!
Also, does brook get to race? was he protected because of last years top 20? because his season/overall is fycked if he doesn't.
gwin v minnaar this race, nobody else matters, calling it now. Also pretty pumped on my Minnaar, gracia, N. Beer, Hill, and T. Hannah fantasy team. Also, looking at the other top teams, it seems I wasn't the only one to think N. Beer was way under valued the fantasy team picker. He's on everybodies team.
I'm hoping for gwin to take it though. Gwin for 'Merica!
Also, does brook get to race? was he protected because of last years top 20? because his season/overall is fycked if he doesn't.
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Should be a good race. I want to see Minnaar win. And I'm always stoked to see Cedric mixing it up with the top guys.
Exactly. And as I'm sure you know the Sam Hill who apparently can't pedal has to his credit a 4th in Canberra and in RSA in '09 (ahead of Gee both times), and missed the podium in RSA last year by like .4 seconds. Wondering what the guy has to do before the internet figures it out?
Would I pick him for the win? No. But he's certainly proven capable of a podium here.
Top ten times are going to be TIGHT.
Well that seems to be pretty telling as well..1.4 sec less than 2 minutes in, and while everybody else seems to be at least 1 sec out at that point; Brosnan is off by a tenth.
Clearly my non-experienced e-speculation oppinion outweights any validity that your carreer real world experience may hold.
* just to clarify, I am only speculating that Sam is not going to be top dog on his current team this year (as far as results go) which I think will sit far worse than not being on top of the standings.
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The only thing I can tell is it's qualifying, and you can bet the fast guys outside the top 20 ranking were first and foremost making sure they made it into the finals (gracia, hannah, hill, graves, beer, atkinson).
Everyone's saving something for Sunday.
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with 2 days between quali and finals how much are they really saving? i'd think anyone serious about this season is going for maximum points at every opportunity. minnaar and gee especially have got to be hyper-focused and determined to not let gwin walk away with it (the overall) again.
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Funny he is again faster on the tech part of PMB. I wonder if his super stiff suspension has something to do with that.
A few observations:
Brendan's comeback might not be as phenomenal as had been touted. I know he says he was using this race as a gauge to see where he's at with his rehab and prep, but I kinda expected him to be higher than 31st in qualies. I hope to eat my words on Sunday.
Bryn seems to be back on form. Glad to see it.
37th in qualies is not a bad spot for Riffle to be at on his first race on his new bike. 29th for Strobel on a new bike is great to see too.
Someone asked: Fearon is in 49th position.
edited to add: what happened to Stanny? flat? that sucks.
Brendan's comeback might not be as phenomenal as had been touted. I know he says he was using this race as a gauge to see where he's at with his rehab and prep, but I kinda expected him to be higher than 31st in qualies. I hope to eat my words on Sunday.
Bryn seems to be back on form. Glad to see it.
37th in qualies is not a bad spot for Riffle to be at on his first race on his new bike. 29th for Strobel on a new bike is great to see too.
Someone asked: Fearon is in 49th position.
edited to add: what happened to Stanny? flat? that sucks.
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I think they were asking about Shaun O'conner (ex-yeti rider), not Conner Fearon (kona Jr.).
"‏@brendog_1 ummm interesting, a lot learnt few mistakes cost me big."
anyone know if brendog and ratboy ran clips like they hinted at?
edit: i though josh mentioned clips somewhere but can't find it now, may have been thinking of someone else...
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Didn't Mick have some injury or surgery and has been off a bike for awhile? Or was that Cole?
I'm sure riffle is disappointed. Last year he qualied 7th and finished 14th I think. 37th is a pretty big drop. Particularly now that they're only showing a recap of the 30-40th, and live showing the top 30.
Also, whats the word on brook? for somebody who is fast enough to shoot for a top 5 overall, if he doesn't get to ride that's going to kill his overall potential.
Also, whats the word on brook? for somebody who is fast enough to shoot for a top 5 overall, if he doesn't get to ride that's going to kill his overall potential.
wasn't brycleland clipped in most of the season last year? I thought he ran flats at la bresse, lost a foot, and decided that flats sucked.
No, Mick raced on the this same track last weekend and smoked everybody but Gwinn.
i edited my original post - i thought he was flats all year but i may be thinking of someone else.
With 2 days between qualies and finals it's a bit premature to start over analyzing the times as indicative of anyone's form. Lot's a speed can be found in 2 days time, some guys never seem to raise the bar much in qualifying (it's less than 1/10th the pts given in finals), and at this particular round only 16 guys had automatic spots in the finals (Brooke being one of them). No one wants to sit out Round 1.
As for saving it for Sunday. Yes, with a pedal section like that it would be pretty easy to wear yourself out during the week and lose 2 seconds (and 10 places) come finals.
We've got quali times from a less technical and more pedally track than usual (doesn't mean it's bad), 3 months before rd 2, and some people are already predicting who's going to be off the back. Internet brilliance!
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Yup, that pretty much sums it up. I don't think brendan will ever run clips.
On a similar note...Who was the last person to win a WC on flats other than hill? Blenki?
http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/2012-UCI-World-Cup-Pietermaritzburg-South-Africa-Day-1,3370/Slideshow,0/sspomer,2
Slide 7 of 21. He said he was off the bike for 6 weeks after Christmas with knee injury, had surgery just before Australian Nat. Champs, and hasn't raced (before last weekend) since Worlds. Still pretty impressive.
Yeah, no denying Hannah is a total beast.
Gee in Champery 2010.
Lots of guys on the podium in flats in the past several year, but not on the top step (pretty sure only 3 different people have won a world cup in the past 2 seasons, and 8 in the past 5).
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stoked to see that he had a solid qualifier.
You beat me to it- GO STROBEL!!! Psyched that we'll get to see him race with redbull screwing us over on coverage*
*I better just write that I am KIDDING about that part, since I see redbull as a great thing to come to WC, I hope I'm right
Now that I've seen a few of these posts pop up, it's interesting to note that the Red Bull coverage is going to greatly change how riders see being in the top 30 or 40. I think. When you have a chance of being seen live, or on the webcast, I would imagine those first top 40 spots are going to mean a lot to sponsors and therefore riders.
You don't think 2 days is enough time for a pro athlete to recover from a 40 second sprint?
Anyone know what time the finals will be on pacific time?
Right, because riding the rest of the track all out for 4+ minutes doesn't require any sort of pacing during a 4 day event. To quote Steve Smith: "solid quali today. Track is tiring but so fast and fun . . .
But hey, if you want to believe they all went balls out hard as they could on the 2nd day of the season then go right ahead.
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I think 6:15am?
05:15 - 07:00 according to live.redbull.tv.