Pietermaritzburg - 2012 WC DH#1
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http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/member/Cascades-World-Cup-Course-Race-Day-WC-Preview,3345/Too-Fast,31132/iamcycho,8958
looks like they did a lot of work to get the pedal section over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. Smooth as can be, slight changes in direction for improved gradient, and you come into it going faster then 70K.
Its got big jumps, they made the most of the area they had to work with, and if any DHer comes in thinking that pedaling is gay, they probably wont be competitive in any of the other races either. I'm amped for some racing!
looks like they did a lot of work to get the pedal section over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. Smooth as can be, slight changes in direction for improved gradient, and you come into it going faster then 70K.
Its got big jumps, they made the most of the area they had to work with, and if any DHer comes in thinking that pedaling is gay, they probably wont be competitive in any of the other races either. I'm amped for some racing!
this weekend has me psyched
Gwin looks strong, but no other big gun was racing.
Really psyched for the race!
Really psyched for the race!
mic hannah is not a "big gun"??? have you seen his past results on that course? he won qualifying last year and was looking strong for the finals and went down. did really well the time before also.
Troy Brosman isn't a big gun?
Mick Hannah is a serious contender on that course buddy and little Troy has been killing it lately.That said , to see him a whole 10 seconds BEHIND Gwin who had a CRASH kinda shows how strong the champ is compares to others ...
Yep, and Gwinn crashed and still won yesterday.
Jesus told Gwinn not to worry about the haters because he had alot of doubters too.
I think it's best to look at the results the same way you would timed practice at a WC. Interesting to look at and discuss, but not necessarily indicative of riders' full pace.
Yep, and Gwinn crashed and still won yesterday.
Jesus told Gwinn not to worry about the haters because he had alot of doubters too.
can we keep religion out of this please?
thanks in advance.
I should also add (on topic) that it's interesting Neko came out ahead of Troy in the race. I wonder if he's still pondering the "what could have been". It would be nice to see him consistently up there. Am I way off base in thinking he could finish top 20 this year if he stays healthy?
Haha, better talk to Mr. Gwin about that. He started it all!
^^
Lol, wut?
Last season was brilliant IMO, as Gwin was beaten at La Bresse, threatened at RSA by Minnaar (and probably Hannah had he stayed upright), and was beaten by some former mullet baby named Danny Hart in the World Champs (with perhaps the most exciting run I've ever seen). 2011 also saw the emergence of Troy, re-emergence (of sorts) for Bryceland, Brook MacDonald beating the amoral fack out of an Evil prototype DH bike (which you may have heard about), etc... Plus, it was broadcasted free! I <3'ed 2011
That said, with Sam (likely) back in the mix and some of the other "big guns" aiming to get back on top of the podium, 2012 promises to be even moar stokeful.
Trust me, Rock Jesus is beatable, as he even had a bad off at the US National Champs (and those rocks are round and soft because they are so much older than West Koast Rox). Although, I have to admit Jeremy R is correct about Jesus having a lot of naysayers - and he won everything back then on his 200 lb rig
Lol, wut?
Last season was brilliant IMO, as Gwin was beaten at La Bresse, threatened at RSA by Minnaar (and probably Hannah had he stayed upright), and was beaten by some former mullet baby named Danny Hart in the World Champs (with perhaps the most exciting run I've ever seen). 2011 also saw the emergence of Troy, re-emergence (of sorts) for Bryceland, Brook MacDonald beating the amoral fack out of an Evil prototype DH bike (which you may have heard about), etc... Plus, it was broadcasted free! I <3'ed 2011
That said, with Sam (likely) back in the mix and some of the other "big guns" aiming to get back on top of the podium, 2012 promises to be even moar stokeful.
Trust me, Rock Jesus is beatable, as he even had a bad off at the US National Champs (and those rocks are round and soft because they are so much older than West Koast Rox). Although, I have to admit Jeremy R is correct about Jesus having a lot of naysayers - and he won everything back then on his 200 lb rig
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I was praying someone would say this.
thank god, someone i agree with
I hope the heavens don't open up in SA this weekend.
Go Gwin!
Go Gwin!
Carbon Yeti 303 WC.
Wow, a carbon 303? That is a miracle.
ftfy.
what time does the race go off? GMT that is
Go to hell, I'm just trying to save the thread...
My top 5:
1.) Minnaar
2.) Rock Jesus
3.) Gee
4.) Steve Smith
5.) Samuel Hill (just for William)
Mick and Rock Jesus go 1,2. Not sure which order though...
I think whichever one has moar jesus.
i think i read it starts at 13:00 local time which is GMT +2.
I predict Minnaar podiums. and gwin wins. and gee's bike doesn't explode and he actually does pretty well. I'm expecting good things from hill this year, but I will be neither surprised or disappointed if they don't come through for him this race.
Actually, I'm going to apply that to the entire season. I'm predicting that the establishment will continue to be the establishment (gwin, minnaar, atherton, and hill for all the other races), and the "up and comers" who are about to dominate the establishment actually end up putting it off until next year, but make it clear with a few podiums here and there that "srsly guys, we mean business."
edit:
one more prediction: mick hannah will decimate the qualifying rounds, showing everybody how to properly prepare for the wrong race, consistently putting up 5-10 seconds on the competition, and then thinking they just take the best of for your two times.
last edit: I have mentally switched gwin and peat. Gwin is the establishment where peat used to be, and peat is the "up and comer that occasionally podiums"
Actually, I'm going to apply that to the entire season. I'm predicting that the establishment will continue to be the establishment (gwin, minnaar, atherton, and hill for all the other races), and the "up and comers" who are about to dominate the establishment actually end up putting it off until next year, but make it clear with a few podiums here and there that "srsly guys, we mean business."
edit:
one more prediction: mick hannah will decimate the qualifying rounds, showing everybody how to properly prepare for the wrong race, consistently putting up 5-10 seconds on the competition, and then thinking they just take the best of for your two times.
last edit: I have mentally switched gwin and peat. Gwin is the establishment where peat used to be, and peat is the "up and comer that occasionally podiums"
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i think we're gonna see hart on the podium more often this year.
What would jesus do?
yeah, i will admit that I'm not as certain on hill v hart. Hart is the only one I see as a potential podium regular (that I didn't list), and hill is the only "establishment" that I'm not 100% confident in.
and I'll mention that I only count gee as establishment if he isn't running tubeless. That guy is way to hard on bicycles to run tubeless.
does no one else have a weird feeling because the otter is not the first thing of the season....
I think what's so exciting this year is that there's so many riders with the potential to podium on any given weekend.
nah, everybody is feeling great about it after it worked out so well having nobody attend otter last year.
word!
Every time someone says last season was boring, it makes baby Jesus cry...
Hill's actually got him beat 4 to 3.
Does anyone else think that Hart is a bit over-hyped? Even though world champs is a very special race, it's still a single win. I think dominating the world cups like Hill or Gwin have done is more impressive and convincing that someone is the best. That being said, I love watching Hart and hope he does well.
Here's my "top 5" guess, for SA, and the season:
1 Gwin
2 Atherton
3 Minnar
4 Hill
5 Brosnan
Here's my "top 5" guess, for SA, and the season:
1 Gwin
2 Atherton
3 Minnar
4 Hill
5 Brosnan
Over-hyped by who? Giant and his sponsors? If they didn't hype up his win they wouldn't be doing their job very well.
As for hype from the rider/racer/forum community I think it due to more than just winning a single race, world champs or otherwise. It's the combination or watching his loose style all season, and the fairly dramatic race runs he put together round after round. He was the guy a lot of people looked forward to watching and rooting for because his runs were wild. Add that to his world champs run, the winning margin, and Warner and Page's aneurysm in the booth and they guys going to generate a lot of talk.
He has a 4th overall and a World Championship title. Plus, he's the last thing anyone remembers from last season.
As for hype from the rider/racer/forum community I think it due to more than just winning a single race, world champs or otherwise. It's the combination or watching his loose style all season, and the fairly dramatic race runs he put together round after round. He was the guy a lot of people looked forward to watching and rooting for because his runs were wild. Add that to his world champs run, the winning margin, and Warner and Page's aneurysm in the booth and they guys going to generate a lot of talk.
He has a 4th overall and a World Championship title. Plus, he's the last thing anyone remembers from last season.
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