on farkin there's a local aussie 4x result w/ kovarik getting 2nd...freakin' sweet! i can't wait to see him back in action.
kovarik back in it
- Thread starter c2001
- Start date
your so one month ago, get WITH IT
really, i'm that off the rear end? man, it's a dark day when the old piper gets his revenge!!!
A local race and Kovarik gets 2nd? Damn, who got first?
hahaha...werd...Pip3r said:
He's also growing the mullet again
Why is Mike Piazza throwing down gang signs in your avatar?Acadian said:
He is not being a very good role model for the kids.
hahaha..you foo!! You're like the 10th preson that tells me I look like Piazza!Jeremy R said:Why is Mike Piazza throwing down gang signs in your avatar?
He is not being a very good role model for the kids.
That's the new gang sign for E13 YO!
All those icky hairy legs... YUCK. Those guys need to learn how to shave if they want to move beyond the "local pro" level.
What a uniquely heterosexual observation on your part!SuspectDevice said:
that's what i hope for man...toodles said:Tell me about it
at my local club races (less than 100 people usually) we've got to race Kovarik, Rennie and Graves. Everyone else is racing for 4th.
so sick to chase those guys, its how you get better.
I thought you got faster by racing on Inedibles.
I want to have my local races that stacked. I cant think of anywhere else in the world that would have a turnout like that for a small local race. It happens in ski races all the time but in biking I cant really think of any towns or regions of the world that have an abundance of world class downhillers clustered together. Thats sweet!
VEGIMITE is the answerheikkihall said:
partsbara said:VEGIMITE is the answer
blah :eviltongu that just put a nasty taste in my mouth! haha
4X results
ELITE MEN
1. Nathan Rennie
2. Chris Kovarik (DylanDeanDesigns)
3. Cameron Palmer
4. Dennis Beare
5. Bryn Atkinson (DylanDeanDesigns)
6. Dave McLaughlin
7. David Wardell
8. Luke Strom
Ricky Boyer
Mitch Afflick
Jill Kinter
Tim Bardsley-Smith
Hell ya! Jill Kintner riding w/ the boys!
Thats sweet! I remember when anne caro raced with the guys at mt snow and schooled a bunch of them at the first ever norba mtnx race. That course was pretty good too.
Holy crap...I forgot about Kovarik's mutant calves...he is not friggin' human I tell ya! They are bigger than a set of moto shin pads????Acadian said:hahaha...werd...
He's also growing the mullet again
I noticed that too...SuspectDevice said:
Having said that, I finished up a date with a bathtub and a razor...maybe if you shave, you notice it more?
...Southern California, but our pros don't usually go to Fontucky races.heikkihall said:
To derail this thread a bit further, it seems pretty obvious that one big reason that the guys from Aus and NZ are so good is because they race all 'winter' while the rest of the North Americans and Europeans sit around and get fat. When is a northern hemisphere pro male going to get serious about competing on the worldwide level and start spending their winters south of the equator? Sure, the top dudes are training and hitting the few scattered races out in So Cal and Boulder City during the winter, but nothing where you're going to find the caliber of riding that they have over at a national series race in Australia or New Zealand.
Considering how many Aussies and Kiwis come up here during the summer and nickle and dime it around North America and Europe on tight budgets, it would seem very financially feasible for the northerners to do the opposite, especially when you take into account that by and large, the northern hemisphere guys are on the better side of the currency conversion. I can understand the desire to take time off, but you hear so many guys talking about their dream to go big time that it seems as though a few of them would pony up the dough and ambition to take the next big step.
I don't know . . . I guess it's just a random rambling by an American who remembers what it was like to see his own countrymen on the tops of World Cup Podiums. Sure, the U.S. pioneered the sport, but the days of guys like Tomac, Rockwell, and Palmer pulling off World Cup wins are LONG gone.
--JP
Considering how many Aussies and Kiwis come up here during the summer and nickle and dime it around North America and Europe on tight budgets, it would seem very financially feasible for the northerners to do the opposite, especially when you take into account that by and large, the northern hemisphere guys are on the better side of the currency conversion. I can understand the desire to take time off, but you hear so many guys talking about their dream to go big time that it seems as though a few of them would pony up the dough and ambition to take the next big step.
I don't know . . . I guess it's just a random rambling by an American who remembers what it was like to see his own countrymen on the tops of World Cup Podiums. Sure, the U.S. pioneered the sport, but the days of guys like Tomac, Rockwell, and Palmer pulling off World Cup wins are LONG gone.
--JP
So are you and Dave stashing away a little nest egg to smuggle Heiki and Seth down under for the winter?
Dave's always up for a good test.....
neaky:
Dave's always up for a good test.....
neaky:
Good point but it was a Brit running away with the WC and a French with the Gold. Is there is even better stuff going on in Europe?John P. said:
French: it's in zee waterCBJ said:
Brit: It's in the beer mate
I think you are right. I have been on a strickt Stella Artois diet for a year now and I am faster than last year hence Stella makes you faster.
Supposedly Cairns and Canberra are mountain bike trail meccas.
That's what i have been told from lesser know aussies........sounded like pretty much DH heaven down there. So not only do they ride all wiinter they are riding their brains out........those guys get wads of saddle time.
That's what i have been told from lesser know aussies........sounded like pretty much DH heaven down there. So not only do they ride all wiinter they are riding their brains out........those guys get wads of saddle time.
next winter im doing summer abroad in nz or aussy land for that exact reason
I have looked into it and hope to go abroad in the very near future. Preferably to the southern hemisphere. But last time I looked there were no programs that I could find in the regions of countries that I wanted to be in that would suit the needs for my major. Maybe a change of major is in need :devil:dexter said:
Are there at all any place with lift access. A little mini Whistler would be cool and worth a trip in the winter. I wouldn't mind two weeks of DH in February in Australia or NZ.
John P. said:
exactly...
CURRENCY = driven... AUD (peso) VS USD (big strong money
)... = we go fast and make some coin... not that the USD is much these days against the euro ..MORE VEGIMITE FOR THE AUSSIE ARMY !!!!!!!!!
fvck, i m pissed.. it time for bed..
Yea you could say its because they ride year round. Or that their competitive season basically never ends, which will only lead to constant progression. Or that there is so much talent packed into a small geographic area which only makes them more competitive. (somehow Sam Hill and Waddell grew up thousands of miles away from the rest of the pinners though) I just think theyre far more GNAR than anyone else on the circuit. Their country was started because a bunch of criminals and outlaws were banished to this island with some of the gnarliest surroundings that exist. I think the vegemite probably has alot to do with it too.John P. said:
and why is that? You don't even have the same insurance problems.
well we only have like 3 comerical ski mountains to start off with and therefore bugger all lifts.CBJ said:
you have to keep in mind our highest mountain is only about 6500 feet high and the rest of the country is pretty flat with a very small population and large distances between anything, so even if we did have the mountains for it it probably wouldn't be commercially viable to open up many other areas.
random fact: australia has a average of 6.5 people per sq mile of land where you guys have something closer to 70 people per sq mile.
There's two places in Aus with lift access, Mt Buller and Thredbo. Thredbo has one track (which is insanely long and tiring, 6:30 for dudes like Rennie), Buller has two (yep, only two trails) which are kinda polar opposites - one is fast and flowy from top to bottom, the other is slower, steep, and pretty technical. If you're used to having a variety of trails to choose from at any given venue, Australia is not for you! All the DH riding over here is on pretty much singular tracks, mostly out in the middle of nowhere, and there's very rarely another track at the same "venue".CBJ said:
In NZ, there's a number of places around Queenstown with lifted riding (Treble Cone, Cardrona etc). They also have some helibiking and stuff, and (real) mtb tours in/around Queenstown. Near Wanaka (which is like 1-2hrs drive from queenstown) there's HEAPS of trails, not lifted though. They have full on publicly-available trail maps and stuff available, as well as *decent* hire bikes.
If you're looking for a DH holiday... NZ is probably a better bet IMO. You really need a car to be able to do much in Aus, since Thredbo and Buller are freaking miles from anywhere.
I reckon it has a lot to do with the class system. You guys have Beginner, Sport, Expert, Semi-pro, Pro. We just have Sport, Expert, Pro/Elite. If you're a novice, you ride sport; if you're a decent rider you ride expert, if you're any good at all you ride Elite and have your arse absolutely reamed by dudes with speed coming out their arse. I reckon you guys are too segregated for your own good, sure you might have a better chance in whatever class, but maybe you don't get such a sense of "either I hit everything at mach 3 or have my arse handed to me". At the last club race I did, there were about 70 people there... and two (mighta been three) dudes who raced the world champs... and there's plenty of local guys who beat them too. And nobody here really takes it seriously either, they're just the guys you ride with on the weekends who happen to be faster than the rest of us. Virtually none of them are sponsored either (other than maybe given cheaper stuff by their lbs or a free jersey or something), and nobody really aspires to be sponsored (as far as I can tell).heikkihall said:
Edit: our surroundings aren't "gnarly" man. Nobody lives out in the desert! Most of the inhabited areas of Aus are just boring countryside/farmland or forests (or cities, duh). It's not like we're out there in 40deg heat every day slaving away trying to kill scorpions that we find living under our sand-igloos
It was a nationals round... check out the awesomely expensive podium.stoney98 said: