[bdamschen]

So I've been a fan of world cup dh for ever and ever, like since it was on TV.

And I love to race and have been doing it for ever and ever, like since DH racing on my 1993 GT avalanche.

So I like to think I have a pretty good understanding of the sport.... except for one thing: Why do pros at WC races get to go ripping out of the start gate before the final beep?

I wanted to link to the helmet cam of Ratboy's Mont Saint Anne race run where he takes off with 5 seconds left on the clock but it appears to be private.

 

[ocelot]

I'm guessing that the beeps aren't a countdown. They're probably just indications for the rider to sprint out of the gate. The riders' reaction time isn't factored into the timing, making the racing much tighter.

 

[TrumbullHucker]

my guess is its a somewhat time window that you can start whenever you want ( within that time frame )


theres no dumb questions on ridemonkey... just shimz

 

[Sandwich]

theres no dumb questions on ridemonkey... just shimz

man I'm here though.

yeah I think it's the start of the window. I want to know what happens if that window closes and you haven't bolted out the gate. Do you turn into a newt?

 

[SinatorJ]

So I've been a fan of world cup dh for ever and ever, like since it was on TV.

And I love to race and have been doing it for ever and ever, like since DH racing on my 1993 GT avalanche.

So I like to think I have a pretty good understanding of the sport.... except for one thing: Why do pros at WC races get to go ripping out of the start gate before the final beep?

I wanted to link to the helmet cam of Ratboy's Mont Saint Anne race run where he takes off with 5 seconds left on the clock but it appears to be private.

I am also an old school racer as well the way it works is you can depart the start house any time within the beeps. The clock does not start until you break the light beam at the actual start line. Your time stops when you break the beam at the finish.

 

[Jeremy R]

Those beeps are my favorite sound in the world.

 

[UncleHowie]

You have to start in the last five seconds where it beeps and the time is counting as soon as you go through the gate. That's how the guy from the UCI explained it to me last time I was racing.

 

[mattmatt86]

Yea, it's a 5 second window at the end of the minute interval between riders. The actual time doesn't start until the front wheel crosses the sensor which is usually a couple feet out of the start gate. If there was a 5 on the clock in the video when he starts his run by the he crosses the starting sensor it's within the 5 second window. The start window is to avoid people trying to jump the clock in the start gate.

 

[hmcleay]

I've always wondered why they don't start further back.
Is there a rule preventing this?

If you could start 5 metres back from the beam, then you'd already be moving pretty quick by the time you pass through it, which would be a significant advantage.

 

[EVIL JN]

I've always wondered why they don't start further back.
Is there a rule preventing this?

If you could start 5 metres back from the beam, then you'd already be moving pretty quick by the time you pass through it, which would be a significant advantage.

Not allowed to. Usually there is somekind of line where either the front or rear wheel should be at or zone you have to be within. I wonder how many years before we start to see people practicing starts for dh? If you loose by a few tenths or hundreths, getting out of the gate fast starts to become important.

 

[Kanye West]

Not allowed to. Usually there is somekind of line where either the front or rear wheel should be at or zone you have to be within. I wonder how many years before we start to see people practicing starts for dh? If you loose by a few tenths or hundreths, getting out of the gate fast starts to become important.

Starts are ALWAYS important, no matter the type of racing.

It's not AS important in individual time-trial stuff like DH as something like MX or XC or whatever. In those, you could be the best at the middle parts of the course, but if you don't have the starts nailed, you aren't anything. In DH or any time trial, the start is where you can lose bike-lengths of time with a slight flub out of the gate. Not gonna win a race with the start, but you'll sure lose it.

Acceleration/velocity profiles of the WC guys in the first 100' or so of the course would be very interesting to see.