[NOOP]

If you race, or are passionate about downhill racing, you have to read this...

It's the "Worlds Fort William" post (should be at the top)... the English translation is below the French:

http://www.fabienbarel.com/blog/

 

[bent^biker]

damn, nothing cept respect for that guy. and his nwd 8 segment was killer

 

[karpi]

good post, love the mistisim

 

[frznnomad]

okay i deffinatly see him in a totaly different light now man. thanks for sharing.

 

[Damo]

Read that yesterday and thought it was one of the deepest write-ups ever. He is certainly passionate about the sport and serious about what he does. Damn nice guy too.

 

[SuboptimusPrime]

great post...interesting to see how he manages the mental component of racing.

 

[tlproject7]

awesome. respect for that kid. i use to not be such a fan, not sure why, but now hes the man

 

[Jeremy R]

"In one deep breath, I release all the tension in my body in order to fill myself with the love and happiness needed to attempt to come close to excellence."

I need to learn that trick.
That was an awesome read.

 

[John P.]

Thanks for the link! Great story.

Having had the good fortune to talk with Fabien on a few occassions, I can vouche for what a friendly, thoughtful, good guy he is. Very bright and intuitive, too - he's really attentive to detail regarding his bike setup.

I've never understood why so many people have negative opinions of him; he's really just a great guy.

--JP

 

[bizutch]

...
I've never understood why so many people have negative opinions of him; he's really just a great guy.

--JP

He's frenchie...it's a fake hate. We really love them and those fry sticks they gave us.

But seriously...you can tell by that read why every single French rider was raised on a culture of accuracy, proficiency and excellence. Every little bit of that read tells you just how much education, training and calculation goes into their race culture as a whole.

Is there a single US rider who can even claim to put in that much forethought and study to win a race? 90% of his preparation wasn't even on a bike but you could see how taking care of so many specific things outside of being on the bike itself gave him a huge advantage before even stepping off the plane!!

 

[dante]

"In one deep breath, I release all the tension in my body in order to fill myself with the love and happiness needed to attempt to come close to excellence."

I need to learn that trick.
That was an awesome read.

Huh. So that's why he's a world champion and I'm not. Usually my mental process is "pedal, pedal, pedal, root, rock, pedal, f*ck I'm tired, root, flow, flow, pedal, pedal, dammit, why did I drink so much beer last night, pedal, god I'm hot, is the race over yet? dammit, not even to the flat pedally section, focus, rock, rock, rock, TREE!!!!!!!"




edit - there's usually a "wait, that wasn't the line..." thrown in there somewhere as well.

 

[W4S]

This is my favorite part:

"My friend & mechanic, Paul Walton kindly agreed to expand his involvement to become a test rider. Slowly moving around on crunches on the side of the training tracks, I observed Paul riding with a lot of dedication & providing me with important feedback needed to tune the bike. A difficult task that he completed beautifuly as he finished the training sessions with very interesting trial times."

I imagine Barel making this guy ride so far above his head he had to be ****ting his pants.

 

[LMC]

yeah i read that a few days ago when i was trying to find out about the new subaru team.

He has been my favorite rider for quite some time now.
I admire his professionalism and attitude to the sport, also his reluctance to conform to the 'cool' image that others feel the need to.

During the worlds i wanted him to beat hill, and i think he would have done if the weather had not deteriorated. The booing at the finish line when his name was announced was a real let down! if they dont like the rider they could have at least had some respect for his achievement in coming off crutches and coming in on the same second as the world champion in the same week.

 

[AlmostHeaven]

definitely one of, if not THE, best blog posts regarding racing that i've ever read. never heard of anyone else besides Nico becoming so intertwined with the spiritual aspect of the sport. its pretty inspirational actually, i can only strive to imitate that level of dedication.

on the other hand, it is muuuuuch, much easier to put such focus into your performance when you have an entire country's technical support and the backing of your large team to make sure your bike and equipment is brand new and working 100% perfectly. we all know that many people have the same type of support, but i bet none of them have the same approach as Barel.

oh, and if we don't get our sh!t together, America will NEVER reach a level such as this. keep on trying D.Riff!

 

[evolutionbike]

Have heard alot of bad opinions of the man around he pits. Although my dealings with him have always been very nice. He seems incredibly dedicated to his sport and it is great to see some writing so passionately about it. The NWD 8 segment was the hihlight of the whole film for me.

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

They were booing him @ Ft. William? That is weak! I hope it's not based on when he won Worlds @ Les Gets when Peaty crashed just before the finish when he was on his way to the win a few years ago. Probably.

Nice read and thanks for sharing that! He's always been one of my top-5 riders on the circuit just from his approach to the sport and that blog just solidified his place on that podium in my mind.

Mind-boggling how two of the top four at Worlds were gimps, figuratively speaking.

 

[bizutch]

Rabbit toothed hooligan brits booing a frenchie...whoda thunk it...?

On a lighter note...anybody besides me read the newest Dirt where the Brit Junior says they clocked a little girl in the back of the head with a rock...?

 

[Cant Climb]

Dirtmag did an article interview on him like 2 years ago.......was excellent. Have read it several times.....

Fabian is great at collecting his thoughts, processes, ideas and using them in his preparation and ultimately excuting them.....he has a Masters Degree in Engineering to boot.

 

[Whoops]

There was a bit of Dirt inspired hate a while ago - I think against Barel - for riders that chose to ride without a peak (aero benefit).

The in-crowd thought it made the sport look gayzor (like skin suits... which they ALL wear when it really matters... hypocrites), and Barel (if it was him they were hating on) just did his own thing.

Throwing rocks? Dumb, but not as mental as some of the Welsh local chav's who shoot at you with bb guns...

 

[Cant Climb]

There was a bit of Dirt inspired hate a while ago - I think against Barel - for riders that chose to ride without a peak (aero benefit)..

True.
They were on that for awhile......then gave it a rest.

 

[dhkid]

edit: was wrong about the booing, my bad.

and as for barrel, it truly amazing. i wanted him to win the worlds too. amazing how he was the only close to sam even after an injury. his blog gives more insight into why.

 

[beaverbiker]

interesting,i do that breathing thing too, but i don't really think about love and happiness. i just do slow deep breaths to calm myself down. might have to try the love thing. i could probably think about philly cheese steaks to accomplish that.

plain and simple, barel is the man. to ride like that all gimped out is incredible.

 

[Transcend]

guys, get your facts right, there was NO booing at the worlds. it does sound like someone is booing in some of the footage, but its not. and its confirmed by ppl who were actually there at the worlds.lthumbsdown:


and as for barrel, it truly amazing. i wanted him to win the worlds too. amazing how he was the only close to sam even after an injury. his blog gives more insight into why.

There was booing, it wasn't widespread, but it happenned. I was there. It was completely classless.

 

[bizutch]

There was booing, it wasn't widespread, but it happenned. I was there. It was completely classless.

nah...probably just the chiclets in their mouths making it hard to go "Wooooohooo"...

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

nah...probably just the chiclets in their mouths making it hard to go "Wooooohooo"...

OK, I will make it a point not to drink a beverage when I read your posts. Luckily I was only drinking water, as it's easier to clean up.

 

[General Lee]

interesting,i do that breathing thing too, but i don't really think about love and happiness. i just do slow deep breaths to calm myself down. might have to try the love thing. i could probably think about philly cheese steaks to accomplish that.

plain and simple, barel is the man. to ride like that all gimped out is incredible.

i think some of the love and happiness stuff is a byproduct of some translation software as i'm sure the original was written in French.

 

[LMC]

There was a bit of Dirt inspired hate a while ago - I think against Barel - for riders that chose to ride without a peak (aero benefit).

The in-crowd thought it made the sport look gayzor (like skin suits... which they ALL wear when it really matters... hypocrites), and Barel (if it was him they were hating on) just did his own thing.

Throwing rocks? Dumb, but not as mental as some of the Welsh local chav's who shoot at you with bb guns...

thats exactly it, not to name names here but one top british rider has made certain comments on video and through Dirt, blatantly aimed at Barel, all of a sudden he is a figure of hate among the british crowd.. and gets booed when he comes 2nd?!
it was an embarrasing disgrace in my opinion.

This same rider has offered advice to aspiring DH racers to not 'be a sheep'. Barel decides to do things a little differently by wearing a skinsuit etc and gets called out because it results in race wins!

Noone said anything when Tracey Moseley won at fort william in a skinsuit, likewise i dont recal any abuse directed at Gracia and ACC for their 'muscle' skinsuit so i dont really understand it.

Barel has my utmost respect for not bowing to pressure to wear something that may not be the flavour of the month in some circles. It seems the tides of public opinion are turning a little of late, read what josh bryceland had to say about his skinsuit in the latest dirt.. or what chris porter of mojo had to say an issue or two ago. In my opinion for the sport to progress and be taken seriously it needs to shed the whole "training/armour/appropriate clothing is not cool" attitude that has developed.

 

[davetrump]

a lot of the insults directed toward fabien for wearing a skinsuit and no visor is a result of breaking a signed gentleman's agreement/petition in 2002 or so.

the top 25 in the WC standings agreed to run visors on their helmets in WC's so they looked less ridiculous on TV coverage. there were photos of the signatures next to everyone's name etc all over the internet when this went down... but what did fabien do? wore a skinsuit and no visor despite being one of the rider's to sign the agreement.... LAME. he caught a ton of flack for that, and rightfully so.

it is a small thing, but he lost the respect of his peers a time back and while he has regained it for the most part, he is still an easy target for the haters.

don't get me wrong, you can do whatever you want within the rules to try and win... but when EVERY male rider at mont st anne wore jerseys/shorts/pants and fabien came down in a skinsuit, everyone collectively rolled their eyes... including me.

tracy mosley and sanner did the same thing, and in the pits they were the butt on many a joke for getting smoked by the rest of the women.

skinsuits are hated on by 99.9% of DH racers... this is common knowledge. top racers will go to crazy lengths to win, from light parts, cut down tires, etc, but they WILL NOT wear skinsuits, it is just agreed upon that they are a bad image for the sport... except fabien, and rightfully so, he gets **** for it.

 

[Zark]

Noone said anything when Tracey Moseley won at fort william in a skinsuit, likewise i dont recal any abuse directed at Gracia and ACC for their 'muscle' skinsuit so i dont really understand it.

No one complains when a female athelete wear tightly conforming clothing....Why is this I wonder????irate2:


btw, Barel is a ripper

 

[pelo]

Tits and as.

 

[LMC]

a lot of the insults directed toward fabien for wearing a skinsuit and no visor is a result of breaking a signed gentleman's agreement/petition in 2002 or so.

the top 25 in the WC standings agreed to run visors on their helmets in WC's so they looked less ridiculous on TV coverage. there were photos of the signatures next to everyone's name etc all over the internet when this went down... but what did fabien do? wore a skinsuit and no visor despite being one of the rider's to sign the agreement.... LAME. he caught a ton of flack for that, and rightfully so.

it is a small thing, but he lost the respect of his peers a time back and while he has regained it for the most part, he is still an easy target for the haters.

don't get me wrong, you can do whatever you want within the rules to try and win... but when EVERY male rider at mont st anne wore jerseys/shorts/pants and fabien came down in a skinsuit, everyone collectively rolled their eyes... including me.

tracy mosley and sanner did the same thing, and in the pits they were the butt on many a joke for getting smoked by the rest of the women.

skinsuits are hated on by 99.9% of DH racers... this is common knowledge. top racers will go to crazy lengths to win, from light parts, cut down tires, etc, but they WILL NOT wear skinsuits, it is just agreed upon that they are a bad image for the sport... except fabien, and rightfully so, he gets **** for it.

i didnt realise he signed that agreement, if he signed he should have kept to the agreement. Steve Peat said in an Dirt interview that a few others signed and broke the agreement a few hours later. well wore skinsuits anyway, im not too sure about the visor.

i think most of the flak aimed at skinsuits is due to the hideous design of 99% them.. in my opinion with good colours and lines they can look half decent, although being well built generally helps..
I think the muscle skinsuits that the cannondale team wore looked well cool. also i thought the all blue suits of the italians at the worlds also looked half decent.

Fabien normally races in baggies anyway, aside of course from at the worlds where all top riders wear a suit, so i still dont understand why he is singled out..

 

[norbar]

skinsuits are hated on by 99.9% of DH racers... this is common knowledge. top racers will go to crazy lengths to win, from light parts, cut down tires, etc, but they WILL NOT wear skinsuits, it is just agreed upon that they are a bad image for the sport... except fabien, and rightfully so, he gets **** for it.

Man it's just plain lame. It's about racing not about showing off. Imo it's similar to not allowing black people to take part in tv in 60's becuase it would look bad for the show. Now everybody are obsesed about everything looking gay(well the gay looking guys get 10x more chicks than the "true men" but **** that). It pisses me off when bikers see only 2 possible images for a biker from which both are icredibly stupid(gayzor vs. hardcore extreme wowawiwa ).

Still remember the time when using light parts (ie from xc) was evil and gay(at least in my biking community) so I hope this will also change.

No offence for any riders that were for the agreement as for now most of the bikers think like that.(But probably if most of them wore skinsuits people would just get used.)

BTW. People love Nico and he wore a skinsuit.

 

[Transcend]

It's ridiculous that 1) people are NOT doing whatever they can to win. It's a race, not a fashion show. 2) Peaty and a few others had custom short peak visors to cut down on air resistance.

 

[Jester]

I have a friend that is interested in a skin suit for next season, where would this friend go about purchasing a good skin suit for downhill??

 

[General Lee]

gonna take a lot more than a skin suit to catch Sam Hill . . . and all sports are a fashion show to some extent

 

[norbar]

You also need bushy eyebrows to catch him
.
Top speed set was posted somewhere on RM.

 

[LMC]

It's ridiculous that 1) people are NOT doing whatever they can to win. It's a race, not a fashion show. 2) Peaty and a few others had custom short peak visors to cut down on air resistance.

exactly!!

its what i was saying about professionalism earlier.

Hill had some sort of mod to his visor too, thats just like saying "hmm well id really actually like to take this damn thing off, but imagine the stick ill get from the lads.. ok best just go half way and modify it a little, maybe they wont notice"

 

[LMC]

I have a friend that is interested in a skin suit for next season, where would this friend go about purchasing a good skin suit for downhill??

friend eh?

you can get adidas ones and the like on ebay, but most of them dont look too good, or buy 3/4 length bib shorts and get an under armour top and have the logos of your choice printed on.

i have a friend too

 

[Transcend]

Verge has them for sale.

 

[pelo]

Barel is a cool rider. I hope there will never wear skinsuits in the world cup or as race-standard outfit.
I´m pretty sure snowborders and skiers would do longer airs and more complicated tricks with tight clothes, but there is just more in to it then just funktion, even for a time-ticking sport like downhill...
It´s supposed to look fun and cool, tights will never be cool for the initial DH-rider at young age.