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Barel and Peat.......

Greyhound

Trail Rat
Jul 8, 2002
5,065
365
Alamance County, NC
Now, before you give me the "welcome to last year" spiel, just know that I don't scour the Internet of every little video out there.......But happened to run across the vid of Les Gets from '04 on Freecaster last night. Peaty and Barel in the finals---and I just had to say something about it.

First off, I was completely blown away by how fast Fabien appears to be on camera. It literally looked like someone was speeding up the film during his run. The bravado of his line choices, the complete disregard for personal safety, the cornering.....it was all just a thing of beauty to watch. It barely looked like his tires touched the ground the whole time. He was just skipping across the tops of everything. I must have viewed that vid ten times--each time saying out loud "Holy sh*t, that's amazing!!"

Then, I got to the vid of Peaty's run---last man on the hill. Barel's time is on the board. Peat would really have to move it to beat him I thought. Obviously, I knew the outcome, but to see it go down was where I noticed the vast contrast in styles. He looked.....that is, looked slower than Fabien the whole way until he crashed. His bike was stuck to the ground at all times......no skipping, no sketch, no hyperactivity--just smooth as butter the whole way. Yeah...he looked good, but there's no way he could beat Barel looking that slow---that is, until I saw the split time. Peaty had him by a full second at the split. "What?!!" I said out loud. My wife was walking by at the time, and I told her to check out the two racers and tell me who she thought would be the fastest. She chose Fabien as well based on how he looked on course. When she saw the split time, she too, was trippin' on it. Amazing. If he hadn't got too far over the front on the washout turn, there's no doubt he would have killed Barels time.

So what's my point?

Nothing, really. Just pointing out that there's more than one way to skin a cat----unless you're wearing a skin suit. :think: :)
 

Cant Climb

Turbo Monkey
May 9, 2004
2,683
10
Peat should start his race season about 1 month before world champs.....thats when he seems to be at his best.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
I remember watching those vids over and over again as well.
They were awesome.
I think the strangest thing about watching the Pros ride is how different their riding styles are, yet how close their race times are.
You have big burly dudes like Rennie and Peat, and when they come through you actually feel sorry for the mountain.
Then you have super naturally smooth looking dudes like Barel and Minaar, just natural talent.
And don't even get me started talking about Sam Hill, he looks like a fairy floating down the hill, but then he crosses the finish line and crushes everybody's time.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
I remember something similar from a while back. The UCI world cup at Big Bear. Palmer beat Nico by a small margin. Looking at them come into the finish line there was a series of jumps and corners. Nico looked aggressive and had a little style in the air, he looked like he wanted it bad. Palmer went through the section earlier with his tires just skimming over the doubles and looking smooth, almost relaxed.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
Zark said:
. Palmer went through the section earlier with his tires just skimming over the doubles and looking smooth, almost relaxed.
Have you ever watched him race boardercross?
His competition looks like they are pushing the edge of control all the way down, flailing arms for balance etc.....
And Palmer is just cruising down for the win, barely even moving his body. You can't teach that stuff.
 

sayndesyn

Turbo Monkey
I noticed at Willingen that many of the mid-pack guys looked way faster than the likes of Minaar and Hill, but they seemed to be on a different course mentally.. I know you can learn line choice, but they don't think about it as they are picking the fastest and smoothest way down the hill.
 

stiksandstones

Turbo Monkey
May 21, 2002
5,078
25
Orange, Ca
Same can be said about Sam Hill, I think he has the worst style (for a top rider), and one of the slowest looking riders, but always seems to place well.
 

Cant Climb

Turbo Monkey
May 9, 2004
2,683
10
I asked someone once who rode with Sam Hill , "what makes the guy so fast ?".........he said, "i can do everything he can do but he just does it faster"......
 

blt2ride

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2005
2,333
0
Chatsworth
Cant Climb said:
I asked someone once who rode with Sam Hill , "what makes the guy so fast ?".........he said, "i can do everything he can do but he just does it faster"......
When I saw him race at "Fontucky," he could take the turns faster than anyone I have ever seen. To be honest, it's almost like he didn't slow down before he entered the turns, he just leaned and railed them.
 

Sverre

Monkey
Aug 26, 2004
400
0
Norwaii
That video totally rocks. Those guys are so skillled, it's sick. I feel bad for Peaty every time I watch it though..
 

Pip3r

Turbo Monkey
Nov 20, 2001
1,112
0
Foxboro MA
stiksandstones said:
Same can be said about Sam Hill, I think he has the worst style (for a top rider), and one of the slowest looking riders, but always seems to place well.
worst style? Its totally unique in that yea it looks like hes going slow, but thats because hes got so much damn controll. He sure as hell didnt look slow at the top of the course at this years worlds. I was watching with my old man and even he was going nuts at how much faster he looked.
 

jake133

Monkey
Jan 21, 2005
373
0
SLC, Utah
thats funny because when i saw that video i thought peat looked way faster. but i see what you mean about peat sicking to the ground all the time. i think that is one of the reasons he is so damm fast
 

bomberboy11

Monkey
Jul 15, 2005
665
0
At a computer...duh
I think Peat has about 6 inches or so on Barel - he could be going the same speed but he'll look like a tank going 40 mph compared to a Honda (car, not that new rat-trap) going the same speed. The Orange he rides is loooooong too.
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
...yeah I saw that vid when it was first posted on NSMB. Fabien looked pretty sketchy, but Peaty was sooo smooth. In my experience the riders who look like they are doing the least (not stepping out the rear, getting sketchy through turns, or getting lots of air off of jumps) are the ones who are REALLY hauling ass.

It was mentioned earlier that Sam Hill's technique for cornering is practically mindblowing. He is INCREDIBLY fast upon entry into a corner - smooth - and exits with nearly the same speed he had when entering. But overall he is SMOOTH.

In that vid Peaty was hauling it, but when compared to Fabian in the same section, he came into that last corner a bit too hot. As a result Peaty pushed the front end into the ground beyond its traction point... damn shame. It was a fine run.
 

gonzostrike

Monkey
May 21, 2002
118
0
Montana
someone who "looks" fast rarely is.

the fastest are the most stable and most in control. Peat. Hill. Minnaar.

Minnaar occasionally shows flash by airing huge, but watch him in the rough choppy stuff -- he's stable on the bike and square to the fall line, hauling arse and skimming the very top of the track.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
I equate that clip to what they know so well in downhill skiing. The guy's come down and you see this dude ripping up a roost of snow everywhere and aggressive as hell in every turn...tearing up the ground like monster...then Tomba would come down the course...silent, smooth..boring looking. But the commentators would slam on Guy #1 b/c they were pointing out how much speed he was scrubbing in all the turns and losing precious time in every turn.
Peat might look slower than Barel but if he's not scrubbing speed and arcing the turns...he's coming out faster...even if both of them didn't have chains on their bikes. But where Peat makes time on so many people I think is when he puts the horsepower down on the pedals.
 

2wlsdh

Chimp
Aug 4, 2005
7
0
bizutch said:
I equate that clip to what they know so well in downhill skiing. The guy's come down and you see this dude ripping up a roost of snow everywhere and aggressive as hell in every turn...tearing up the ground like monster...then Tomba would come down the course...silent, smooth..boring looking. But the commentators would slam on Guy #1 b/c they were pointing out how much speed he was scrubbing in all the turns and losing precious time in every turn.
Peat might look slower than Barel but if he's not scrubbing speed and arcing the turns...he's coming out faster...even if both of them didn't have chains on their bikes. But where Peat makes time on so many people I think is when he puts the horsepower down on the pedals.

Hookin' up is a goooooood thing!!!!