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2012 team rumour and speculation

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
not really team related, but 2012 season related. the XC leaders jersey and DH leaders vest from the incredible rocky roads designers:

I could have done a better job if I had no limbs and the only body part I painted them with was my penis.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,029
Ottawa, Canada
Holy eff! Brosnan is on a tear: http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/2012-Australian-National-Championship-Final-DH-Results,433

I thought maybe Sam was soft-pedalling it in the off season as he was recovering and getting back up to speed, but I doubt that would be the case at Nationals. and it was a stacked field for the men.

also, it seems Tracy is charging hard for the ladies. she's really going to make thngis interesting in the womens field this summer.

I can't wait for South Africa!

p.s. anyone know why Mick didn't race? he doesn't appear on the results board.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
TBH I expected better results from Jared. Everyone claimed he is going to tear dh a new asshole when he goes full time but for now it isn't happening. That said I'm a fan and I hope he proves me wrong.
 

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
I thought maybe Sam was soft-pedalling it in the off season as he was recovering and getting back up to speed, but I doubt that would be the case at Nationals. and it was a stacked field for the men.
TBH I expected better results from Jared. Everyone claimed he is going to tear dh a new asshole when he goes full time but for now it isn't happening. That said I'm a fan and I hope he proves me wrong.
with the first wc in a few weeks then 9-10 weeks before round 2, maybe not everyone is at their point in training where they plan to be once the season gets consistent from week to week? sam has been injured forever and jared has had to almost completely change his body type and training. just speculating as i have no idea when anyone's training is designed for them to be 100% up to form and peak.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
with the first wc in a few weeks then 9-10 weeks before round 2, maybe not everyone is at their point in training where they plan to be once the season gets consistent from week to week? sam has been injured forever and jared has had to almost completely change his body type and training. just speculating as i have no idea when anyone's training is designed for them to be 100% up to form and peak.
Time will tell. CG has had great results after he went DH only. Gee is also a great example. The changes in results were noticable.
 

jrewing

Monkey
Aug 22, 2010
236
142
Maydena Oz
Wait til next weeks National series race...its alot closer to a proper WC style track. That should give a good indication where everyones at...or more like 'How much Brosnan will be Favourite for this years WC'.
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
Keep an eye on Dean Lucas - check out his time in the U19s, he qualified faster than Hill... and he's still 16! The kid is an absolute freak on a bike.
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
Wait til next weeks National series race...its alot closer to a proper WC style track. That should give a good indication where everyones at...or more like 'How much Brosnan will be Favourite for this years WC'.
I like brosnan, I'm looking forward to watching him on the circuit, but right now, you'd have to be a complete n00b to bet on anybody other then gwin and minnaar. Gwin literally just destroyed the entire circuit, consistently, minnaar is on the podium 78% of the time (or something nutty like that). They are consistently the best. If Hart can get his sh1t together and ride like he did a champery everywhere else he'll be up there, but I'm not expecting that.

I'd love to see Sam make a comeback, and it'll be fun to see brosnan get 2nd or 3rd at one or two races, but brosnan is a far cry from a favorite just because he's one year older. He was definitely racing on the adult field last year, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly twice as fast now that he's a year older.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
I like brosnan, I'm looking forward to watching him on the circuit, but right now, you'd have to be a complete n00b to bet on anybody other then gwin and minnaar. Gwin literally just destroyed the entire circuit, consistently, minnaar is on the podium 78% of the time (or something nutty like that). They are consistently the best. If Hart can get his sh1t together and ride like he did a champery everywhere else he'll be up there, but I'm not expecting that.

I'd love to see Sam make a comeback, and it'll be fun to see brosnan get 2nd or 3rd at one or two races, but brosnan is a far cry from a favorite just because he's one year older. He was definitely racing on the adult field last year, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly twice as fast now that he's a year older.
His speed built all season. At his age he most certainly could make huge gains in 1 year based of physiology alone.

He's won every singe Aussie National round convincingly against good competition. And while this might not be an accurate predictor of WC pace it does show that his speed is consistent and his confidence is high, and that is a hugely important going into the season.

I've got to disagree with you on this one. I think he's headed for a true break-out season if he's healthy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has the best Sr debut since his teammate in '04.
 

jrewing

Monkey
Aug 22, 2010
236
142
Maydena Oz
I like brosnan, I'm looking forward to watching him on the circuit, but right now, you'd have to be a complete n00b to bet on anybody other then gwin and minnaar. Gwin literally just destroyed the entire circuit, consistently, minnaar is on the podium 78% of the time (or something nutty like that). They are consistently the best. If Hart can get his sh1t together and ride like he did a champery everywhere else he'll be up there, but I'm not expecting that.

I'd love to see Sam make a comeback, and it'll be fun to see brosnan get 2nd or 3rd at one or two races, but brosnan is a far cry from a favorite just because he's one year older. He was definitely racing on the adult field last year, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly twice as fast now that he's a year older.
Haha...we'll see. He'll match it with Gwin and Minaar. At the world champs last year did he put the 2nd fastest time(?) on a slicker track...anyway i'll reserve judgement for now until i see him at the Awaba national race. Bring on P'burg
 

jrewing

Monkey
Aug 22, 2010
236
142
Maydena Oz
His speed built all season. At his age he most certainly could make huge gains in 1 year based of physiology alone.

He's won every singe Aussie National round convincingly against good competition. And while this might not be an accurate predictor of WC pace it does show that his speed is consistent and his confidence is high, and that is a hugely important going into the season.

I've got to disagree with you on this one. I think he's headed for a true break-out season if he's healthy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has the best Sr debut since his teammate in '04.
Well said General..
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Keep an eye on Dean Lucas - check out his time in the U19s, he qualified faster than Hill... and he's still 16! The kid is an absolute freak on a bike.
Can you give us some Aussie info and tell us if Connor and Rhys are doing the full WC circut this season?
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
well, if either of you are interested on betting on who is going to have the better year, I'm willing to put up 10 bucks saying gwin will do better, and 5 that minnaar will!
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
Can you give us some Aussie info and tell us if Connor and Rhys are doing the full WC circut this season?
I don't know about the full circuit, but as far as I know, Connor is on the Kona WC squad this season so he should be out there for at least a few races. I have no idea what Rhys is doing. Pretty sure Kovarik isn't doing any WCs anymore, he runs riding clinics in Whistler and the Gold Coast nowadays. I haven't actually been to a race for almost a year though so I don't know much other than what you can find on the internet.
 

MFrider

Monkey
Jul 10, 2009
138
0
The East
Nice to see Kovarik can still show up and keep pace with some really fast riders.

Is there any WC team running Intense this year??
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,458
388
The suspension centre team is running intense, not sure if they're going to all WC events though.
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,458
388
Does Intense need a big team? They don't have a new DH bike coming out (that I know of) plus they have a huge fan base and don't need to advertise, their mystique/reputation/history is enough to sell bikes.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Does Intense need a big team? They don't have a new DH bike coming out (that I know of) plus they have a huge fan base and don't need to advertise, their mystique/reputation/history is enough to sell bikes.
Around here much more intense bikes were sold when the team was visible in the media. Maybe if intense advertised on pinkbike and in movies it would do the same for them but for the most kids unless you are currently visible in the media you are dead. We live in a short attention span world.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Strange. My last bike that had a current and strong presence on the dh race scene (at least in yurp and in terms of really fast riders) was a 2003 or sth like that Czech ride Rock Machine Adrenaline 7000 (I was 16, get over it) Adam Vagner used to ride.
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
Strange. My last bike that had a current and strong presence on the dh race scene (at least in yurp and in terms of really fast riders) was a 2003 or sth like that Czech ride Rock Machine Adrenaline 7000 (I was 16, get over it) Adam Vagner used to ride.
yeah, but there are a lot more crazy euro brands out there, and mountain biking is more centralized. in CA where I am, all of the brands that make DH bikes also have race teams - and you can tell how big a company is by how big their race team is. local small companies, local small races. Bigger national companies, national teams. Bigger world companies, bigger worlds teams. Kona is the only exception that I can think of.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Don't know about Canada and US but my current rig - Banshee has a very small ~50th place 2 person wc team. No national presence at all. Before that was Lapierre when only Nico was testing stuff for them. No real crazy euro brands. My rock machine was the only bike of mine that was ridden by a lot of fast guys around here. **** I miss that bike, even the dnm shock that used to overheat so much the bike became a hardtail and I had to use a computer radiator to help that.
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,458
388
I'm only 25 but i still think Intense and think of Palmer, Page, Lopes, Kirkaldie, Hill, Longden, Kovarik, Athertons to name just a few. Admittedly a lot of those people rode their M1's under different names.

The point I was making was people who have been around the sport for even just a few years will recognise Intense as a name with great pedigree and a brand to aspire to owning. With or without a race team that reputation stays.

Admittedly with a race team there is more press and that legacy is continually being carried on by the next generation.

P.S. I don't have a particular soft spot for Intense, if anything I'm a Santa Cruz fan, still got my old chameleon which I first bought at least 9 years ago.

p.p.s I can definitely see the irony in saying that Intense doesn't need a race team to sell bikes, due to the brands legacy left from their previous race teams
 
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General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
I have no basis for this, but i'd speculate that Intense may be focusing more on diversifying and expanding their line up to position themselves to be more than a DH only brand (or at least that perception). The Carbine is a new model, the Uzzi has been reconceptualized, and I would be surprised if there wasn't a carbon M9 in the works. For all their race pedigree they remain a relatively small company with no where near the resources of some of the competition. Maybe not having a top tier international racing presence is freeing up resources to bring more products to market?

100% speculation
 

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
Lee,
This is the internet. Get that sense making talk outa here.

I have no basis for this, but i'd speculate that Intense may be focusing more on diversifying and expanding their line up to position themselves to be more than a DH only brand (or at least that perception). The Carbine is a new model, the Uzzi has been reconceptualized, and I would be surprised if there wasn't a carbon M9 in the works. For all their race pedigree they remain a relatively small company with no where near the resources of some of the competition. Maybe not having a top tier international racing presence is freeing up resources to bring more products to market?

100% speculation
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
if this were the internet, we'd be speculating that intense is going out of business and they can't afford to pay their athletes. Clearly, that must be reality.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
Don't know about Canada and US but my current rig - Banshee has a very small ~50th place 2 person wc team. No national presence at all. Before that was Lapierre when only Nico was testing stuff for them. No real crazy euro brands. My rock machine was the only bike of mine that was ridden by a lot of fast guys around here. **** I miss that bike, even the dnm shock that used to overheat so much the bike became a hardtail and I had to use a computer radiator to help that.
Isn't Adam Bryton on one? And also the number 2 or 3 German guy behind Klausmann is on one.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Isn't Adam Bryton on one? And also the number 2 or 3 German guy behind Klausmann is on one.
Didn't know any Germans not named Klausmann even qualified to the WC. Chravat and Bryton are the official wc team. They get good results but nowhere the exposure even some smaller companies get.

Lee - that would make sense. The am/enduro market is growing and is far more profitable than the dh racing niche.