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highland ProGRT course preview video

Mulestar

Mulestar

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2007
1,061
0
in the dirt
Looks sweet. From the video I think its a tweaked version of last year's GES course which was AWESOME so it should be good times! Nice and rocky with little pedalling.
 
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adstock

Chimp
Sep 12, 2006
83
0
Wonder how much Highland paid off uci/whoever for progrt venue.

1:50-2:10 course time (depending on course changes) to determine US WC qualifiers? :rolleyes:

Not very tech, physically challenging, or pedally at all rly.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,094
6,028
borcester rhymes
adstock said:
Not very tech, physically challenging, or pedally at all rly.
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i didn't want to be the first to say it...but yeah...this course is largely maiden voyage, which was probably the worst trail at highland before they destroyed it to make this. It's actually very "pedally" as total vert is pretty low/aka it's flat...and some parts go uphill...but whatever. Should be some decent steep sections and some of the rock gardens are gnarly...but wooden bridges on a tier one DH course...sigh.
 
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wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
Sandwich said:
i didn't want to be the first to say it...but yeah...this course is largely maiden voyage, which was probably the worst trail at highland before they destroyed it to make this. It's actually very "pedally" as total vert is pretty low/aka it's flat...and some parts go uphill...but whatever. Should be some decent steep sections and some of the rock gardens are gnarly...but wooden bridges on a tier one DH course...sigh.
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correct me if i am wrong, but didnt le bresse have wooden features? wasnt that a bad ass mother trucking course?
 
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Commencal-guy

Monkey
Nov 25, 2007
341
0
Massachusetts, US of A
Rode the course this past weekend. It's a blast. A lot of steep loamy, rooty/ rocks on the top section and just high speed stuff towards the bottom. The addition their adding on this week will make it stupid fast:shocked:


its surprisingly long for such a small mountain.
 
Mulestar

Mulestar

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2007
1,061
0
in the dirt
yuroshek said:
not tech? yea right go ride it at race pace and report back. lots of rocks, slick loam and roots...
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I'd agree. They made a 100% improvement on maiden voyage to make this track. Who cares if there are wooden features on a race track? They're using them to cross other trails to create a MORE direct route. More direct, less pedalling, more speed??? I'll take the wooden bridges. All I know is I thought the GES track was plenty steep, fast, tech, and fun, so if they improved on that it should be great. I thought they had done a lot to create a good track for such a small mountain.
 
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epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
Whatever the case, I still think that the fastest racer will win the race.
 
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adstock

Chimp
Sep 12, 2006
83
0
epic said:
Whatever the case, I still think that the fastest racer will win the race.
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Well yea....

But the course is suppose to best exemplify/replicate 'x' or 'y' WC track the racers(who gather enough pts) will be competing on.

So, as a US citizen, I feel that USAC/UCI/whoever was involved in picking the venue, did a ****ty ass job because now, who knows if we'll have the most qualified rider to REPRESENT the USA and race 'x' or 'y' track. In theory, this could have +/- effect on US DH scene.

While we're on the subject...
How come these ProGRT racers aren't limited to US RIDERS ONLY!?! Especially when UCI pts are already soooo hard to come by..


/procrastination_from_final_exam_review
 
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yuroshek

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
adstock said:
Well yea....

But the course is suppose to best exemplify/replicate 'x' or 'y' WC track the racers(who gather enough pts) will be competing on.

So, as a US citizen, I feel that USAC/UCI/whoever was involved in picking the venue, did a ****ty ass job because now, who knows if we'll have the most qualified rider to REPRESENT the USA and race 'x' or 'y' track. In theory, this could have +/- effect on US DH scene.

While we're on the subject...
How come these ProGRT racers are limited to US RIDERS ONLY!?! Especially when UCI pts are already soooo hard to come by..


/procrastination_from_final_exam_review
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Dude you have no idea what your talking about...

go look at who is sitting 1st in Pro GRT points.
 
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adstock

Chimp
Sep 12, 2006
83
0
yuroshek said:
Dude you have no idea what your talking about...

go look at who is sitting 1st in Pro GRT points.
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So non-us riders points get dropped? I just remember seeing Bryn up top from last yr... Don't have time to look at results.pdf all day long here... have to skim stuff from homepages and such.

So does that make everything else I say invalid? If so, enlighten me.
 
jnooth

jnooth

Monkey
Sep 19, 2008
384
1
Vermont Country
adstock said:
Well yea....

But the course is suppose to best exemplify/replicate 'x' or 'y' WC track the racers(who gather enough pts) will be competing on.

So, as a US citizen, I feel that USAC/UCI/whoever was involved in picking the venue, did a ****ty ass job because now, who knows if we'll have the most qualified rider to REPRESENT the USA and race 'x' or 'y' track. In theory, this could have +/- effect on US DH scene.

While we're on the subject...
How come these ProGRT racers aren't limited to US RIDERS ONLY!?! Especially when UCI pts are already soooo hard to come by..


/procrastination_from_final_exam_review
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we dont have courses like champrey in the US and we never will. this course is pretty technical especially with a little rain. Dont forget this is new england and it does rain here... A LOT.

and about the course being short. that just adds one more bit of challenge to it. while it may not be as physically demanding, it does make it so you cant make any mistakes. I find short courses much harder to race then long ones. it makes things like line choice and bike set up far more important.

Just a few things to think about
 
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adstock

Chimp
Sep 12, 2006
83
0
jnooth said:
we dont have courses like champrey in the US and we never will. this course is pretty technical especially with a little rain. Dont forget this is new england and it does rain here... A LOT.

and about the course being short. that just adds one more bit of challenge to it. while it may not be as physically demanding, it does make it so you cant make any mistakes. I find short courses much harder to race then long ones. it makes things like line choice and bike set up far more important.

Just a few things to think about
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Don't get me wrong, I think NE is a GREAT place for a progrt, just not Highland... Moar rain = moar funnn ;)

Yes, the course is short and you don't have as much room for error, that's understood. But, if a WC track won't be like that, then why are we testing US riders on it...? Even though this is a little nit-picky, you never know if that difference could have been the one to put another US rider up there in a top40 or so..
 
gemini2k

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
adstock said:
Well yea....

But the course is suppose to best exemplify/replicate 'x' or 'y' WC track the racers(who gather enough pts) will be competing on.
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Uhhh, newsflash. There's NO resort in the US that has anywhere near WC caliber trails to race on. Few resorts really even have a challenging pro-level race course. Maybe...Mt. Snow, Mammoth (chainsmoke), Dogbone at N*. That's probably about it.

Edit:

And who cares about length? Why do people always feel like "ZOMFG so little vert, better make it really flat and pedally so the times look high and legit!1"

Edit2: course looks fun
 
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adstock

Chimp
Sep 12, 2006
83
0
gemini2k said:
Uhhh, newsflash. There's NO resort in the US that has anywhere near WC caliber trails to race on. Few resorts really even have a challenging pro-level race course. Maybe...Mt. Snow, Mammoth (chainsmoke), Dogbone at N*. That's probably about it.

Edit:

And who cares about length? Why do people always feel like "ZOMFG so little vert, better make it really flat and pedally so the times look high and legit!1"

Edit2: course looks fun
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Uhhh, newsflash. No.
 
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Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
adstock said:
Well yea....

But the course is suppose to best exemplify/replicate 'x' or 'y' WC track the racers(who gather enough pts) will be competing on.

So, as a US citizen, I feel that USAC/UCI/whoever was involved in picking the venue, did a ****ty ass job because now, who knows if we'll have the most qualified rider to REPRESENT the USA and race 'x' or 'y' track. In theory, this could have +/- effect on US DH scene.

While we're on the subject...
How come these ProGRT racers aren't limited to US RIDERS ONLY!?! Especially when UCI pts are already soooo hard to come by..


/procrastination_from_final_exam_review
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You should see the courses we get to race in Australia... doesn't seem to have stopped a fair number of Aussies making it into world cups. Where Sam Hill is from is one of the flattest parts of an already flat country too!

Seriously all you're doing is bitching and moaning about a hypothetical load of crap. The best riders will win no matter what the course is like. If you're not good enough to get UCI points in the first place then like you have any chance whatsoever of doing well in a world cup, so that one's a fairly moot point IMO.
 
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Lions

Chimp
Sep 16, 2008
47
0
Big yellow land
Jim Mac said:
Can someone repay me for the 2 minutes this thread (minus the awesome preview video) just stole from my life?

302 Found
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Seriously. Y'all need more to do. Course looks fun I think, and Highland is an outstanding venue. Sure it isn't Champery, but then again none of the people bitching are Sam Hill so it seems about on par.
 
Inclag

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,752
442
MA
Rode the course this past Sunday. It's fun, but definitely not the style of course I prefer racing on (High-speed, multiple line course which unfortunately hardly any place in the Northeast has progressed towards building in the 10+ years I've been racing). Highland does a fine job with everything they do so I'm sure everyone will have a great time.

Good luck to everyone that will be racing.
 
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Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
Yep, Highland is small and everybody racing there is aware of it. It is the quintessential "mountain out of a mole hill", meaning that they have turned a hill into a great place to ride. I don't think anyplace has done more with so little.

On top of that, what they may lack in terrain they make up for with a phenomenal atmosphere, passion and un-paralleled support for the gravity sector of MTB. I would rather go to a place like this than vise versa.

The exciting thing about such a short course is there is no holding back whatsoever. The times will be stacked and the racer who can run at the redline for 2 min without mistakes will win. And lets be honest, even if the UCI points were a factor, the guys earning them will be competing at Winham and Northeast Canada, not Champery.
 
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