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frznnomad

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
2,226
0
a-town biatches
thats almost as impressive as bass getting signed on his first day on a mountain bike
and having never competed on a mountain bike, and to top it off winning crank works.

but non the less very awsome and congrats.
 

WBC

Monkey
Aug 8, 2003
578
1
PNW
thats almost as impressive as bass getting signed on his first day on a mountain bike
and having never competed on a mountain bike, and to top it off winning crank works.

but non the less very awsome and congrats.
Except that's slopestyle, and if slopestyle is really so hard (at the pro level - relatively), then why do so many average BMXers get into it and start cleaning up in a year? Not saying I throw tailwhips off 20 foot drops.

Racing against the likes of Minaar, Peat, Atherton, etc takes much more precision and concentration in a setting that is very unique. I am much more impressed by Gwin. It is something you don't often see.
 

freeridefool

Monkey
Jun 17, 2006
647
0
medford, or
I still cant believe it. I thought it was a fluke when qualifying times came out. Then to finish that high, is nothing less than the best american run at a world cup in alot of years. I just hope its not a one and done deal.
 

Santa Maria

Monkey
Aug 29, 2007
653
0
Austria
Except that's slopestyle, and if slopestyle is really so hard (at the pro level - relatively), then why do so many average BMXers get into it and start cleaning up in a year? Not saying I throw tailwhips off 20 foot drops.

Racing against the likes of Minaar, Peat, Atherton, etc takes much more precision and concentration in a setting that is very unique. I am much more impressed by Gwin. It is something you don't often see.
yeah right, you can't compare DH-Racing and slopestyle events at all.
What Gwin showed in the qualies and in his race run was awesome and a lot of pros who have been out there for years without one top 10 finish should be pretty shocked!
 

chriscarleton

Monkey
Aug 4, 2007
366
0
Portland Maine
I don't think in the past ten years that ANYONE has placed top ten at their FIRST world cup. This is just totally insane. It will be interesting to see how he does for the rest of the season.

I'm stoked.
 

ridea

Monkey
Oct 30, 2006
354
1
south west of England
Bet you US guys are pleased to finaly have a top world class racer again...7 month aswell!

Where did he come from BMX or motocross? Clearly cant have jumped on a bike for the first time and started winning straight away withought some kind of two wheeled experience.


looks like theyve steped him up to the worlds team now, hes not wearing the black jersy any more.
 
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EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
Hopefully they don't just toss him onto the full WC circuit like most US riders have been doing.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,861
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
This could really turn into a interesting story. Does not matter if he is American or not. If this is the story then its pretty damn cool.

I have a feeling he has a coach :)
 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
hell yea man thats pretty rad that he caught on that quick. every story i hear about a friend bringing their "moto" friend to the mountain rips it their very first time. you can tell he is from moto just from his head position and the rest of his body on the bike. cant wait to see what this kid can do over the next few years.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Hopefully they don't just toss him onto the full WC circuit like most US riders have been doing.
Umm...if he wants to get a paycheck he will do just that. Wht would you suggest? Go race NORBA Nationals, Diablo & Mountain States Cups & maybe get his pic in 1 or 2 US mags sometime next spring? Waste his time riding with people who are slower than him....?

Or maybe, get on the World Cup circuit immediately, get sexy pics from Sven, Flipper & Fraser published in international mags & be in the pits where al the US based bike companies actually have real support vehicles.....? Maybe get a few endorsement checks, maybe a few checks for exposure in publications? maybe race the guys he belongs with?


:crazy:

Only thing that concerns me is that if he doesn't get signed by a US company as the poster boy for US World Cup hopes & dreams, the paycheck he could get in 1 weekend of moto or tennis would blow away his year's salary on a bike.:brow:
 

EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
Umm...if he wants to get a paycheck he will do just that. Wht would you suggest? Go race NORBA Nationals, Diablo & Mountain States Cups & maybe get his pic in 1 or 2 US mags sometime next spring? Waste his time riding with people who are slower than him....?

Or maybe, get on the World Cup circuit immediately, get sexy pics from Sven, Flipper & Fraser published in international mags & be in the pits where al the US based bike companies actually have real support vehicles.....? Maybe get a few endorsement checks, maybe a few checks for exposure in publications? maybe race the guys he belongs with?
Since the USA throwing riders on the full World Cup circuit has worked out for so many riders.:bonk:

How about racing two or three WC races next year to get his feet wet and see how things go.
 

Salty4X

Monkey
Jun 17, 2006
222
0
He was a tennis player and dabbled in moto before entering the DH scene (from Darner). Cool guy as well, hope he slays some WC guys more often. If Yeti wont release him on the world, he'll still be riding hard and getting ready for his unleashing.
 

primo661

Monkey
Jun 16, 2008
412
0
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
I don't think in the past ten years that ANYONE has placed top ten at their FIRST world cup. This is just totally insane. It will be interesting to see how he does for the rest of the season.

I'm stoked.
Greg Minnaar got 12th at his first world cup when he was only 16 after only riding dh for a year after coming off a year of xc before starting dh and then moto before that. but he was by far the best moto talent around before he stopped, jumped over 16 cars in 7th grade. but to give you guys an idea of how close moto and downhill are, greg minnaar raced moto until he was like 14 and then went to xc then dh. then after winning the 2003 world cup(or champs???) he decided to backflip an mx bike to celebrate it all, ended up landing it on his 3rd attempt. then in 2006 he got onto an mx bike and was lapping 2nd place at the enduro cross on his final lap before dislocating his shoulder. and if you guys know anything about erzberg you'll know South Africa produce the best enduro riders in the world other than brittains David Knight. all this coming from a pro dh'er that hadn't touched an mx bike for years. i'd say they pretty dam close. i've also got alot of more examples of moto guys coming to dh and ripping it.

saying that though, MASSIVE props to gwin, what he has done is nothing short of amazing and nothing can take that away from him...
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.

Granted, what he did was pretty cool. However, its hard to call him the chosen one the US has waited for when the guy has only done 1 race. Lets see him get some consistent finishes, then I'll be more impressed.
 

Lex

Monkey
Dec 6, 2001
594
0
Massachusetts
Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.

Granted, what he did was pretty cool. However, its hard to call him the chosen one the US has waited for when the guy has only done 1 race. Lets see him get some consistent finishes, then I'll be more impressed.
I haven't seen anyone doing any of what you're talking about. Just commenting on how amazing his performance at that one race against the best in the world was. Time will tell.

x
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
thats almost as impressive as bass getting signed on his first day on a mountain bike
and having never competed on a mountain bike, and to top it off winning crank works.
Paul bas was riding 26s months before crankworx.

yeah right, you can't compare DH-Racing and slopestyle events at all.

Actually, guys like paul bas succeeded at slopstyle (god I hate that word) because they were doing the same shlt on 20" bikes for years.


Guys like gwinn kill it on dh courses because they were pinning it on motos for years learning how to corner, stay loose etc

So yes. There is a similarity. And a lesson. MTBs are easy compared to everything else :D
 
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BC VAN

Monkey
May 4, 2005
624
0
blowing someones candle out doesn't make your burn brighter...

yes actually! our country is excited, i wouldn't call it anything. it would be different if he posted a crap qualifier run and then it rained and he got a result....but that was a legit result...granted it was only one, but watching him come around over such a short time has been awesome.

its a good thing that opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one, and the fact that from what i hear people that write checks for a number of companies have him on the radar, show that the people that he needs to be impressed are,

injury aside, this kid if he wants it will be a threat on the W/C in time, i do agree with a comment posted before....he could use some seasoning and do a abbreviated tour next year on W/C to gain some consistency.

Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.

Granted, what he did was pretty cool. However, its hard to call him the chosen one the US has waited for when the guy has only done 1 race. Lets see him get some consistent finishes, then I'll be more impressed.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
..

So yes. There is a similarity. And a lesson. MTBs are easy compared to everything else :D
yeah...but the one place I can almost always smoke my moto buddy is in the rocks. You can still tell he doesn't quite get them. We'll fly into a section & I'll hop/skip/float/time them & he'll come in...beat them to a granite pulp, roll out really slow and just kind of stare back at them...:D
 

Salty4X

Monkey
Jun 17, 2006
222
0
Wow, I didn't know Canadians were such dicks. GFY

Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.

Granted, what he did was pretty cool. However, its hard to call him the chosen one the US has waited for when the guy has only done 1 race. Lets see him get some consistent finishes, then I'll be more impressed.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
You're missing the point Salty. What he did was great, but its amusing that people stop short of calling him the messiah or something. I'm just saying give the poor guy some time to get soem time under his belt, get settled, get some results, and THEN pressure the hell out of the guy to win everything. :)
 

offtheedge

Monkey
Aug 26, 2005
955
0
LB
Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.

Granted, what he did was pretty cool. However, its hard to call him the chosen one the US has waited for when the guy has only done 1 race. Lets see him get some consistent finishes, then I'll be more impressed.
Gosh, then once you're impressed can we all join in?

Hell yes we're stoked. It is impressive in it's own right and I'm sure many WC level riders would give him props for this effort. Only time will tell how he handles the future, but for now why wouldn't you be impressed?
 

BC VAN

Monkey
May 4, 2005
624
0
agreed

You're missing the point Salty. What he did was great, but its amusing that people stop short of calling him the messiah or something. I'm just saying give the poor guy some time to get soem time under his belt, get settled, get some results, and THEN pressure the hell out of the guy to win everything. :)
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
roll out really slow and just kind of stare back at them...

.......like "what the hell was that mess?" :rofl:






You guys are forgetting the most important part.


The huge bar hump at the finish.


Not only may the US have a successful racer on the horizon. We may have a successful racer with a personality and a sense of humor.

That my friends is quite an accomplishment.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
blowing someones candle out doesn't make your burn brighter...

yes actually! our country is excited, i wouldn't call it anything. it would be different if he posted a crap qualifier run and then it rained and he got a result....but that was a legit result...granted it was only one, but watching him come around over such a short time has been awesome.

its a good thing that opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one, and the fact that from what i hear people that write checks for a number of companies have him on the radar, show that the people that he needs to be impressed are,

injury aside, this kid if he wants it will be a threat on the W/C in time, i do agree with a comment posted before....he could use some seasoning and do a abbreviated tour next year on W/C to gain some consistency.
I think it is spectacular that we have any American do well in the WC.

But there is one opinion about mountain bike racing that does matter: Thomas Weisel. I wish that guy would throw some money our way.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Woo, again with the critical point. I dig your brain.

BCVAN, you will know more then anyone, so perhaps you can tell us what doing something like winning does to the racers brain. What kind of pressure does that put a guy under? Is it a crack or flourish sort of thing?
 

AlmostHeaven

Turbo Monkey
Jun 8, 2005
1,164
0
VIRGINIA
Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.

Granted, what he did was pretty cool. However, its hard to call him the chosen one the US has waited for when the guy has only done 1 race. Lets see him get some consistent finishes, then I'll be more impressed.
actually, give ME a fcking break. dude, you're from canada. i don't care if you have fast racers or not, that last sentence says it all. don't even get me started.
no one has called the kid a 'messiah' or the chosen one or anything close for that matter (as far as i've read).
when steve smith won the US open, how did Canuks feel? i'm sure you had a sense of pride, and no one from the US came here to sh!t on your parade. what do you tell a kid when he gets his first A on a test? "oh shut up, give me a break. there's no way you can do that again. you think you're smart? HA! let me see you do that again, and THEN we'll talk. until then, just shutup and know that it was pure luck."....????
 
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ska todd

Turbo Monkey
Oct 10, 2001
1,776
0
Give me a break. Is the US so pathetically desperate to get a top 10 rider back in DH that they will cling to anything that comes? Anything to puff out the chest and chant I suppose.
I seem to remember all you Canucks getting pumped at the greatness of Stevie Smith. I think you're all bent b/c the Canadians were on the back of the field and a 'Merican rode into the top 10 and a couple more were top 1/2 of the field.

-ska todd