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2011 World Cup Finale - Val di Sole

slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,316
5,068
Ottawa, Canada
so... time for a new thread on the last round of this year's WC...

from what I can tell, the weather is looking pretty dry this week in Val di Sole.

If it's dry I'm predicting on the podium:

Gwin
Gee
Minnaar
S.Smith
Bryceland

If it's wet:
Minnaar
Gee
Gwin
MacDonald
Hart

I don't think Beaumont's been having a year that would lead to a repeat.

For the ladies I predict
Mosely
Rachel
Floriane
PomPom
Ragot

I hope to be able to watch it... not sure if there's wifi where I'll be vacationing...
 
M

MFrider

Monkey
Jul 10, 2009
138
0
The East
I hate the finals, means the end of another season.... already.

I think Gwin wants revenge on this course, he was on a winning run last year when he went down.

What a great year.

I think everyone knew Gwin was the real deal, but I think his results were beyond what anyone expected. A class act on top of that.

Gee, would have been interesting to see the points without his wheel issues, but mechanicals are part of the game.

Minnaar, is he stepping it up like he has done over the years to match the next great rider?? His run in La Bresse was impressive.

Peat, time is not against this man, still getting podiums.

Young guns; Mcdonald, Hart, Bryceland, Brosnan just to name a few have really been impressive this year, cannot wait to see what they bring next season.

Blinky, what happened?? Just an off year I hope. Would be nice to see him challenging the top 5 again.

Smith, always up there, soon to get to the top step of the podium?? One could only hope because he seems to work hard and also seems like a good kid.

Neethling, it seemed he was going the way of Mik Hannah, great qualies and then crap out in the finals, so glad to see him on the podium at Windham.

Hannah, how bad was his crash in South Africa, he crushed in qualies and then has not been the same since, struggling to get into the top 20, hope he just needs to shake off some nagging injuries and be back at the top of his game next year.

Sad to see another season end.
 
rosenamedpoop

rosenamedpoop

Turbo Monkey
Feb 27, 2004
1,284
0
just Santa Cruz...
A theory on Blenki this season:

The new Lapierre does not seem to suit him. He's said post race "I just couldn't keep my feet on" at least twice this season. That bike has a significant amount of pedal feedback designed into it... Sam's on flats. Cam doesn't seem as effected, and he's clipped.

I want to emphasize that this is not Lapierre bashing, it's just that no one thing works best for everyone.


.
 
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M

MFrider

Monkey
Jul 10, 2009
138
0
The East
I looked through some pictures and it does look like he raced Windham on the new bike (3rd) and the Worlds at Mt St Anne (8th).

Just an off year???
 
G

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
He switched to the new bike for round 3 at Leogang last year and promptly qualified in 1st place, and qualified 1st again the following weekend in Champery. :thumb:

I heard he gained weight in the offseason
 
bizutch

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
At the top, when you're on, you're on. When you're off and you've been on as long as guys like Blenki, sometimes it is tough to figure out why you're not hitting on all cylinders. I can only assume he's off because Fraser has too many flashes.
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,316
5,068
Ottawa, Canada
Pslide said:
Not sure I'm going to be able to watch this one. Does anyone know how long it takes Freecaster to get the replay up? Is it a matter of hours or days?

Val di Sole is such a rad course...
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In my experience, this year it's been hours, maybe even "hour".

Oh, and my advice is to avoid the DH Forum, or even the Lounge, and any other mtb "news site" or you might be in for a spoiler. and then you'll want to b!tch at people for ruining it for you....
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,316
5,068
Ottawa, Canada
Pslide said:
Cheers slyfink. I will definitely avoid all internet contact! Still don't think it will be the same as watching it live...
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I've had to watch the re-broadcasts of 5 out of 6 races this year (it's hard to find the time to watch live with a kid under 1; he does not respect the UCI calendar!)... it's actually not too bad though, as long as you stay away from the news sites... plus you can skip through the bottom 40, and start wherever you want... if you so desire!
 
Ian Collins

Ian Collins

Turbo Monkey
Oct 4, 2001
1,428
0
Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA
about blenkinsop...these are just vague musings on my part, but i personally don't like the idea behind that bike, and there was a video after south africa where he was saying his bike just felt rough for no reason, or words to that effect....not sure what video, but he seemed like he was hinting that his bike just wasn't quite dialed....i could be reading into it a bit much, but either way, i thought he was going to really blow it up this last season and the one prior....the competition has also stepped up alot recently too....
 
G

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
Ian Collins said:
about blenkinsop...these are just vague musings on my part, but i personally don't like the idea behind that bike, and there was a video after south africa where he was saying his bike just felt rough for no reason, or words to that effect....not sure what video, but he seemed like he was hinting that his bike just wasn't quite dialed....i could be reading into it a bit much, but either way, i thought he was going to really blow it up this last season and the one prior....the competition has also stepped up alot recently too....
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I think you nailed it on that last point, as he showed last year that he can clearly kill it on that bike (qualified 1st his first two races on it).

As for not feeling dialed on the bike I think all of us, racer or not can relate. When you are riding well everything seems to feel great. I won a local race some years ago and noticed the next day I had been riding with my stem crooked the entire time. For someone in Blenki's position, to know you are a contender and each weekend see that you have to push a bit more can really mess up your riding. Few guys can 'force it' and end up with a good result (Minnaar being the most consistent exception). Every race ups the ante to perform and can compound the problem. I'm impressed with Neethling this year in particular because he managed to overcome a pretty lackluster start to a year in which he really needed to do well.

In such a mentally driven sport a rider on top of his/her game makes for a great bike more so than than the other way around. Mic Hannah seems to be going through a similar struggle are the moment.
 
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Cant Climb

Cant Climb

Turbo Monkey
May 9, 2004
2,683
10
Those LaPierre's looked and sounded like flaming piles of poop at Windham.

Yeah i'm not sure what work they've done on them set-up wise. I've never ridden one. I've no clue what the design is supposed to do. But just watching them on the track they look and sound like junk.

It's one of those situations where i'd be really curious to see Cam and Blenki on Carbon V10's or Demo's just to see how they would fare.....
 
JCL

JCL

Monkey
Aug 31, 2008
696
0
I think any of those guys could podium when their heads are in the right place. That said, Pendbox makes zero sense to me.
 
Ian Collins

Ian Collins

Turbo Monkey
Oct 4, 2001
1,428
0
Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA
General Lee said:
I think you nailed it on that last point, as he showed last year that he can clearly kill it on that bike (qualified 1st his first two races on it).

As for not feeling dialed on the bike I think all of us, racer or not can relate. When you are riding well everything seems to feel great. I won a local race some years ago and noticed the next day I had been riding with my stem crooked the entire time. For someone in Blenki's position, to know you are a contender and each weekend see that you have to push a bit more can really mess up your riding. Few guys can 'force it' and end up with a good result (Minnaar being the most consistent exception). Every race ups the ante to perform and can compound the problem. I'm impressed with Neethling this year in particular because he managed to overcome a pretty lackluster start to a year in which he really needed to do well.

In such a mentally driven sport a rider on top of his/her game makes for a great bike more so than than the other way around. Mic Hannah seems to be going through a similar struggle are the moment.
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yeah, it's weird...he hasn't had any horrible race runs it seems...either way i personally think the old Lapierre 920 was sick...not sure why they changed it, but interesting to hear him grumbling...i'm going out on a limb, but i have a feeling the suspension on the new one is a little on the rough side... especially considering how the suspension pulls on the pedals a bit throughout the stroke...hopefully he pulls a solid result together in Italy...definitely one of my favorite riders to watch....
 
numerik

numerik

Monkey
Jul 22, 2005
473
8
Slovenia, Europe
Never riden Pendbox, but I would guess it works in a similar way as GT's I-drive. Great pedaling efficiency, but not the best thing in rough stuff. However, Beaumont won last years WC in Val di Sole, the roughest track of all. Blenkinsop needs to get cliped in ;)
 
'size

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
from the pits:

gamut guide with slider instead of roller?
v10 carbon rear
 
atrokz

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
Note they're running Coil shocks vs the air Vivids. I guess the air units aren't as dialed in the rough as some people would have you think.
 
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