If you can convince Gwin to quit racing??
2011 World Cup Finale - Val di Sole
- Thread starter slyfink
- Start date
World Champs is Gwin's to lose
Something about the broadcasts potentially ending if there aren't enough passes purchased for the WChamps feed.
I think Dirt said sprained/injured ankle from AM practice.
Edit: Dirt:"Steve Smith was out with an injured ankle from this mornings training"
Best race I have ever seen on Freecaster. Warner's voice was practically non-existent by the end of it! His 'look at the time' when Gee crossed the line was legendary! But best of all was Hart's roost!
Won't have to.If you can convince Gwin to quit racing??
6 seconds says otherwise. So year 3 MTB racing for Aaron? Still has more to learn. May have another few years to hit his apex!
Best race of the year, maybe of all of Freecaster? Great coverage of the course, still some transmission hiccups, but the racing action more than made up for it. You never knew who was going to go down or where...pure awesome.
You think most guys were on 2.7" tires? I know I would!
Can't wait for worlds!
You think most guys were on 2.7" tires? I know I would!
Can't wait for worlds!
super stoked for T-Bos finally rocking the box. That kid has had a phenomenal season, pity it's somewhat overshadowed by all the Gwinning going on. Talking of which, anyone have a clue what's the secret Sauce to Gwin's incredible season?
growing up on moto-x, getting trained by tomac
figured as much, but what exactly does Jonny T bring to the table that's so vastly different from what's fed to the other Elites?
the fact that he's John Tomac? and eats rocks and ****s gunpowder?
His nickname is 'The Legend' and his kid (who he also trains) races pro Moto. He brings decades of championship building experience and horses.
I think the off-season prep, ongoing training throughout the season, and being on the right team help as well.
It's a program. He's got it all together, seems to focus on each race as it comes, and has equally focused teammates. Once again, Whitley puts together a talented team. The riders probably have few worries day-to-day.
Or, micro-sectioning. You pick.
I'm trying to watch the replay on Freecaster, and I'm about to go postal on my PC. The damn feed cuts out and sends me to the fvcking page with all the different video options. It does this about every 30 seconds, and then I've got to start it all over and find where I was in the replay. Is there a way to fix this???
+1 for ReTread referenceHis nickname is 'The Legend' and his kid (who he also trains) races pro Moto. He brings decades of championship building experience and horses.
Gwins had an absolute killer year for sure, but it would be silly to think that everyone else won't step it up for next year. It's the same cyclic pattern we see all the time in many sports, we seen it in '07.
Troy/Hart (IMO) are the boys we'll be talking about the most next year but I imagine it'll be Greg that takes the fight to Gwin.
Troy/Hart (IMO) are the boys we'll be talking about the most next year but I imagine it'll be Greg that takes the fight to Gwin.
I think the world of WC DH was just turned upside down today! The young guns have arrived in a big way...best race of the year so far.
The most dynamic World Cup series in years wrapped up this weekend in Trentino, IT.
We saw the tightest, taught-est, ballsiest and most precise racing we've ever seen in 20(!) years of World Cup racing.
America's Aaron Gwinn had the series wrapped up before he crossed the border- and was going for a record-breaking fifth win of the season to firmly cement his place in the pantheon of riders, mostly French, that have laid waste the hope, hard work and aspirations of dozens of other riders over the course of a season.
But;
A raft of youthful loose cannons have been on the brink all year, dynamiting out of corners and blasting through the chunder like jockeys down the last straight at Churchill Downs in the Bluegrass silt- confident, compact, sometimes stunted and always cracking.
These boys are loose. They ride with the sanitary confidence of the videogame generation- the kids who started riding in the modern era, with good bikes, the heralded 3rd Wave. Their generation isn’t all mopheaded grinning shufflers searching for their retainers on Saturday night. There is a plurality of stock DH personalities from awkward to boisterous walking through the pits. They walk the track 4 times more than they ride it, they dress questionably and you see a dozen roving the track from the sidelines geeking-out come finals. Juniors are fast now.
The current crop of u-20 riders show more talent and more promise, collectively than any generation that has preceded them. It's the 3rd wave- the beginning of the 3rd epoch, a f7cking awesome sight.
There is no way we can discount the O.G. cat's in the twilight of their careers. Klausman, Moreno, Pascal, Peat, even Gracia and Barel- These dudes still strap it on and beat kids who are 20 years their junior every weekend.
They represent the 20th century world of fat contracts, big trucks and early bed times. Gritting their teeth and shuffling their priorities allowed them to hang on through the dark days- the days that spawned the second great wave of champions, antipodeal flat-pedal rippers.
Maybe the short flat OZ tracks upped their cornering, likely they were just hungrier. All we know is that they came to the US, camped out in Big Bear and brought a whole new game to the table just as geometry and suspension finally reached a point where tracks made a permanent leap forward in terms of difficulty and danger. I'd posit that the 1st wave was able to move foward because of the exceedingly high level of professionalism they were accustomed to.
This steady trickle of young Austalians was matched by the irrepressible bloom UK downhill. No longer was DH wed to the BCF. Some of the passionate kids from the 90's grew into dedicated race promoters. Spades, rakes and lager expanded the dh trail network into an impressive web of tracks, sufficent tracks and numerous passionate promoters. Strong media and publishing houses helped to raise the profile of the sport just high enough to ensure a trickle of outside money to shore up the foundations of the lycra-less aspect of the sport. D.I.Y.? I'd say so.
By the middle part of the last decade we saw the writing on the wall. Danny Hart, in all of his suicide pinball Glory was already filling full pages in Dirt. In 2004 a 95 pound Bryceland was sideways on the Cover of Dirt.
The new kids, call them the u-20 crowd, but I'll call them the third wave, grew up riding bikes that would still make it down a track today. Starting at a higher level technically than the generation before gave them a huge leg up. They are teamates with the strongest, most experienced riders of the last 5 years (some of whom seen to be nearing their expiration date prematurely), which certainly can't hurt, but I see that one of their biggest advantage is their ability work with all of the first generation riders like Voillouz or Tomac as coaches and the likes of Peat, Pascal and Barel who seem keen to share their knowledge.
Gwinn-
What do we know about this guy?
We know that some dude who goes by "Griz" met him by chance. We know that the biggest little magazine that nobody reads, Decline tried to pimp him- we know that someone named Conroy had faith in him and that a '90's kid mentored by Tomac, tangentially related to Carter, and sibling to a world cup winner managed to broker the most spectacular program we've seen since Commencals days at Sunn.
We know more about Gwinn's team than we know about about him.
An ardent fan of DH racing should recognize these people.
-Chris "Monkdawg" Vasquez.
Monk was the wrench backing up Giove after she left Cannondale, Lopes post Stik, Yeti and Schwinn in the 90's among other gigs. What's that mean? He knows the tricks, the tactics and, most importantly he knows how to calm a rider down. A good mechanic brings trust and confidence.
-Martin Whitely. It's hard to express how deeply Mr. Whitely is involved with DH. He's the best person since John Parker(look it up kids) at finding talent. He serves or has served as an agent for everyone from Kyle Strait to Minaar. Before the owner of Arai Mt in Japan started funding his powerhouse Global racing team he ran the entire World Cup series for 4 years. It goes on and on but it's a lot like racing on a F1 team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. Heck, he ran the cycling end of the 2004 Olympics.
-Jon Tomac. Tomac. John Tomac. Tomac is Roger Decoster, Mert Lawill and Greg Lemond all rolled up into one package with a pinch of Jordan thrown in for good measure. He destroyed mtb races in every discipline, he raced as full time euro road racer, a pro bmx racer and perhaps most importantly for Gwinn, he got his game dialed in well enough to become a multimillionaire with a sweet ranch. The dude had full page Oakley ads in RollingStone(take that Aaron). Tomac Incorporated was, and still is John and his wife Kathy Johnny took all of that professionalism and capital and helped his kid become a bigtime moto slayer.
Tomac possesses some sort of unfathomable, indescribable magic inside of his head, some sort of extra gear. I think it comes from his confidence in his preparation. There really isn't any other way to understand the situation. Hypnosis?
The rest of Aaron Gwinn's program is amazing as well, a bike company with infinite resources, what appears to be a fantastic strength and conditioning coach.
Clearly 95% of Gwinn's domination this year has been mental Yes, he appears to be stronger and fitter than everyone, his riding is phenomenally smooth and his confidnce is supreme but does it add up?
Sport science lays out the pre-existing conditions for flow. Optimal challenge-skills balance. That's the definition of Flow. We can scale both sides of that equation up until we get 6 second victories in theory but the last 20 years of racing have never seen these vast differentials from week to week. Perhaps Giove and Chausson over the rest of the womens field, but we all know about the staggering lack oh depth in Women's racing.
Will the rest of the field crack the code over the winter? Is it as simple as training like a full-time professional athlete using the latest training modalities?
I don't think anyone really knows at this point.
The 2011 series is in the books now.
Worlds is going to be twice as thrilling as finals. So many turns, so much risk, so many bats#it crazy young riders.
The thrill is back!
We saw the tightest, taught-est, ballsiest and most precise racing we've ever seen in 20(!) years of World Cup racing.
America's Aaron Gwinn had the series wrapped up before he crossed the border- and was going for a record-breaking fifth win of the season to firmly cement his place in the pantheon of riders, mostly French, that have laid waste the hope, hard work and aspirations of dozens of other riders over the course of a season.
But;
A raft of youthful loose cannons have been on the brink all year, dynamiting out of corners and blasting through the chunder like jockeys down the last straight at Churchill Downs in the Bluegrass silt- confident, compact, sometimes stunted and always cracking.
These boys are loose. They ride with the sanitary confidence of the videogame generation- the kids who started riding in the modern era, with good bikes, the heralded 3rd Wave. Their generation isn’t all mopheaded grinning shufflers searching for their retainers on Saturday night. There is a plurality of stock DH personalities from awkward to boisterous walking through the pits. They walk the track 4 times more than they ride it, they dress questionably and you see a dozen roving the track from the sidelines geeking-out come finals. Juniors are fast now.
The current crop of u-20 riders show more talent and more promise, collectively than any generation that has preceded them. It's the 3rd wave- the beginning of the 3rd epoch, a f7cking awesome sight.
There is no way we can discount the O.G. cat's in the twilight of their careers. Klausman, Moreno, Pascal, Peat, even Gracia and Barel- These dudes still strap it on and beat kids who are 20 years their junior every weekend.
They represent the 20th century world of fat contracts, big trucks and early bed times. Gritting their teeth and shuffling their priorities allowed them to hang on through the dark days- the days that spawned the second great wave of champions, antipodeal flat-pedal rippers.
Maybe the short flat OZ tracks upped their cornering, likely they were just hungrier. All we know is that they came to the US, camped out in Big Bear and brought a whole new game to the table just as geometry and suspension finally reached a point where tracks made a permanent leap forward in terms of difficulty and danger. I'd posit that the 1st wave was able to move foward because of the exceedingly high level of professionalism they were accustomed to.
This steady trickle of young Austalians was matched by the irrepressible bloom UK downhill. No longer was DH wed to the BCF. Some of the passionate kids from the 90's grew into dedicated race promoters. Spades, rakes and lager expanded the dh trail network into an impressive web of tracks, sufficent tracks and numerous passionate promoters. Strong media and publishing houses helped to raise the profile of the sport just high enough to ensure a trickle of outside money to shore up the foundations of the lycra-less aspect of the sport. D.I.Y.? I'd say so.
By the middle part of the last decade we saw the writing on the wall. Danny Hart, in all of his suicide pinball Glory was already filling full pages in Dirt. In 2004 a 95 pound Bryceland was sideways on the Cover of Dirt.
The new kids, call them the u-20 crowd, but I'll call them the third wave, grew up riding bikes that would still make it down a track today. Starting at a higher level technically than the generation before gave them a huge leg up. They are teamates with the strongest, most experienced riders of the last 5 years (some of whom seen to be nearing their expiration date prematurely), which certainly can't hurt, but I see that one of their biggest advantage is their ability work with all of the first generation riders like Voillouz or Tomac as coaches and the likes of Peat, Pascal and Barel who seem keen to share their knowledge.
Gwinn-
What do we know about this guy?
We know that some dude who goes by "Griz" met him by chance. We know that the biggest little magazine that nobody reads, Decline tried to pimp him- we know that someone named Conroy had faith in him and that a '90's kid mentored by Tomac, tangentially related to Carter, and sibling to a world cup winner managed to broker the most spectacular program we've seen since Commencals days at Sunn.
We know more about Gwinn's team than we know about about him.
An ardent fan of DH racing should recognize these people.
-Chris "Monkdawg" Vasquez.
Monk was the wrench backing up Giove after she left Cannondale, Lopes post Stik, Yeti and Schwinn in the 90's among other gigs. What's that mean? He knows the tricks, the tactics and, most importantly he knows how to calm a rider down. A good mechanic brings trust and confidence.
-Martin Whitely. It's hard to express how deeply Mr. Whitely is involved with DH. He's the best person since John Parker(look it up kids) at finding talent. He serves or has served as an agent for everyone from Kyle Strait to Minaar. Before the owner of Arai Mt in Japan started funding his powerhouse Global racing team he ran the entire World Cup series for 4 years. It goes on and on but it's a lot like racing on a F1 team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. Heck, he ran the cycling end of the 2004 Olympics.
-Jon Tomac. Tomac. John Tomac. Tomac is Roger Decoster, Mert Lawill and Greg Lemond all rolled up into one package with a pinch of Jordan thrown in for good measure. He destroyed mtb races in every discipline, he raced as full time euro road racer, a pro bmx racer and perhaps most importantly for Gwinn, he got his game dialed in well enough to become a multimillionaire with a sweet ranch. The dude had full page Oakley ads in RollingStone(take that Aaron). Tomac Incorporated was, and still is John and his wife Kathy Johnny took all of that professionalism and capital and helped his kid become a bigtime moto slayer.
Tomac possesses some sort of unfathomable, indescribable magic inside of his head, some sort of extra gear. I think it comes from his confidence in his preparation. There really isn't any other way to understand the situation. Hypnosis?
The rest of Aaron Gwinn's program is amazing as well, a bike company with infinite resources, what appears to be a fantastic strength and conditioning coach.
Clearly 95% of Gwinn's domination this year has been mental Yes, he appears to be stronger and fitter than everyone, his riding is phenomenally smooth and his confidnce is supreme but does it add up?
Sport science lays out the pre-existing conditions for flow. Optimal challenge-skills balance. That's the definition of Flow. We can scale both sides of that equation up until we get 6 second victories in theory but the last 20 years of racing have never seen these vast differentials from week to week. Perhaps Giove and Chausson over the rest of the womens field, but we all know about the staggering lack oh depth in Women's racing.
Will the rest of the field crack the code over the winter? Is it as simple as training like a full-time professional athlete using the latest training modalities?
I don't think anyone really knows at this point.
The 2011 series is in the books now.
Worlds is going to be twice as thrilling as finals. So many turns, so much risk, so many bats#it crazy young riders.
The thrill is back!
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Enjoyed reading that long write up. But is Danny Hart part of the third wave, or long lost son from the first ever wave?
And since I'm posting pics, what tires is Gee running (click to enlarge)?
PS - Such an awesome race today, got to love this sport!
And since I'm posting pics, what tires is Gee running (click to enlarge)?
PS - Such an awesome race today, got to love this sport!
Somebody please tell me that they got a shot of Brosnan blowing up that berm in front of the fencing on that final stretch...
That kid blows my mind.
And Mickey, you said "oh" instead of "of".
That kid blows my mind.
And Mickey, you said "oh" instead of "of".
Stayed away from a computer all day to make I got to see this like it were live. Just got done and I have to say...Thank you Freecaster for giving me the most awesome DH World Cup experience of my life!!!
This course delivers the boom!!!
This course delivers the boom!!!
Jesus is the new flat bar.The most dominant factor on the 2011 WC circuit
Did you mean Hart? That one was BEAUTIFUL!!!
Can't wait for Champery......
Mickey, really enjoyed that little write up...good stuff
Does anyone know if Worlds is going to be iPhoneable?
Someone +rep SuspectDevice for me.
Someone +rep SuspectDevice for me.