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Leo's Gang 2022

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Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,235
4,496
OK, back to the stump-studded section, followed by the boring motorway... This has to be the track I find less attractive in the DH circuit...
Probably fun to ride but a total snooze fest from my view.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,653
3,093
OK, back to the stump-studded section, followed by the boring motorway... This has to be the track I find less attractive in the DH circuit...
Have you forgotten about the lower woods? It is raining there right now with more to come.... :brows:
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,374
1,610
Warsaw :/
Probably fun to ride but a total snooze fest from my view.
It's not super fun or at least wasn't since some of the park line jumps were really dumb and unsafe (ie. too short vs previous one causing you to land in a differnt post code)
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,071
1,308
Styria
I forgot about the sheer thrill of watching the riders tuck in the motorway, and how excited Rob seems to get about it!
And completely ignoring the huge impact changing wind conditions have along that ~30 sec long part of the track, which every rider who ever rode that track can attest.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,655
1,129
NORCAL is the hizzle
Wow so much bummer in this thread already. Keep bitchin' and maybe you'll get your wish and Leogang will be removed from the calendar.

All tracks could be better but personally I fall into the camp of "Every racer has to deal with the same course and regardless, it's World Cup DH, let's get it on!" :headbang:
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,061
24,591
media blackout
Wow so much bummer in this thread already. Keep bitchin' and maybe you'll get your wish and Leogang will be removed from the calendar.

All tracks could be better but personally I fall into the camp of "Every racer has to deal with the same course and regardless, it's World Cup DH, let's get it on!" :headbang:
World Cup? More like World Cry
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,653
3,093
And completely ignoring the huge impact changing wind conditions have along that ~30 sec long part of the track, which every rider who ever rode that track can attest.
Luckily we are back to skinsuits again. ;)
 

fwp

Monkey
Jun 5, 2013
410
400
Its no Val di sole but somehow some of the most exciting memorable runs have been in Leogang. Smith 2013, Gwins chainless victory, Legendary runs that will never be topped.
The Snowshoe track isn't great IMO but the racing is always exciting there.
Atleast its not EWS with 30+ second climbs added in to make sure Sam Hill doesn't win it for a 4th straight year. Now that is what you call a shit track.
 

fwp

Monkey
Jun 5, 2013
410
400
Troy Boy is back and he completely owned this track last year wet and dry.
He is consistently faster than everyone but 1 or 2 guys, and its always a different rider just barely beating him. Can't imagine the frustration level that must create? Seems to have a great race bike/ team, with his consistency he just needs to find the smallest of margins he could dominate the way Gwin did.
When he got hurt it was suprising because he doesn't crash nearly as often as the other guys running that top top pace. Or so it seemed to me.
Hoping he takes a series overall and a World champs win before he hangs it up.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,532
4,802
Australia
Yeah, that was cryptic. Post-concussion symptoms? Shitty either way.
Mental health issues perhaps? The lack of clarification seems to hint at that a little bit.

Hope hes back on it soon, guy is a great addition to the scene.
 

SuboptimusPrime

Turbo Monkey
Aug 18, 2005
1,659
1,636
NorCack
Mental health issues perhaps? The lack of clarification seems to hint at that a little bit.

Hope hes back on it soon, guy is a great addition to the scene.
IDK if I'd say mental health issues but maybe just not mentally in a place to race at his best? I can't imagine how hard it must be to stay in the headspace to really race on the edge with the top guys. Perhaps just recognizing he's not there and that pushing it is not going to work out for him? That said, I'd have to think that the all time greats that win time after time are either incredible at the mind game and/or able to successfully push themselves through those times when they are not quite in the right frame of mind.

Having seen live WC racing, what those boys and girls are doing is all fucking space magic to me.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,350
5,100
Ottawa, Canada

I'm glad he's still himself, despite working for "the man"! I miss his original line analysis videos, but he's still a pleasure to watch and listen to. definitely makes me appreciate the racing that little bit more.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,374
1,610
Warsaw :/
IDK if I'd say mental health issues but maybe just not mentally in a place to race at his best? I can't imagine how hard it must be to stay in the headspace to really race on the edge with the top guys. Perhaps just recognizing he's not there and that pushing it is not going to work out for him? That said, I'd have to think that the all time greats that win time after time are either incredible at the mind game and/or able to successfully push themselves through those times when they are not quite in the right frame of mind.

Having seen live WC racing, what those boys and girls are doing is all fucking space magic to me.
Re - incredible mind games and pushing yourself. I don't think a strong head is constant, sometimes you can get kicked out from the zone and even if you are one of the greats you can still be pretty damn stressed. I remember riding in the lift with Stevie Smith the last time Schlad had a world cup and he was tense AF. Hell you can see when the top riders feel more confident and when they do less. Weirdly Loic almost never seems confident. Whenever he talks about his training he is complaining about himself but then flicks a switch come race run. I wonder if that's a difference between a naturally racing suited mindset where you don't worry vs you having developed skills that help you tune the bs our for the race runs.

Regarding the pressure - didn't Manon Carpenter quit racing for the very same reason? Not being able to take it mentally? You may have the skills but not the head. As someone who competed in 3 sports but got beaten by weaker training partners in competitons nearly always I get it's hard to be in the right mindset. AS a weird tangent to this I think this is why Greg has been racing for so long. He seems to have been enjoying racing in the past 5-10 years so it's easier to push himself and work with the pressure. Him and Danny seem the 2 most zen people on the circuit.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,585
19,609
Canaderp
Re - incredible mind games and pushing yourself. I don't think a strong head is constant, sometimes you can get kicked out from the zone and even if you are one of the greats you can still be pretty damn stressed. I remember riding in the lift with Stevie Smith the last time Schlad had a world cup and he was tense AF. Hell you can see when the top riders feel more confident and when they do less. Weirdly Loic almost never seems confident. Whenever he talks about his training he is complaining about himself but then flicks a switch come race run. I wonder if that's a difference between a naturally racing suited mindset where you don't worry vs you having developed skills that help you tune the bs our for the race runs.

Regarding the pressure - didn't Manon Carpenter quit racing for the very same reason? Not being able to take it mentally? You may have the skills but not the head. As someone who competed in 3 sports but got beaten by weaker training partners in competitons nearly always I get it's hard to be in the right mindset. AS a weird tangent to this I think this is why Greg has been racing for so long. He seems to have been enjoying racing in the past 5-10 years so it's easier to push himself and work with the pressure. Him and Danny seem the 2 most zen people on the circuit.
Wasnt Manon also in school? Perhaps I'm thinking of someone else...

Maybe she graduated and realize, shit, I can have a way more fulfilling and longer career than tweeting out sponsor shills and risk getting hurt all the time.
 

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,388
826
I remember arriving at MSA just a few days before the WC and I saw MC just sitting there, alone and looking nowhere. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I remember thinking she didn't look to be in a good spot, mentally. IIRC, she announced her retirement a few days after and I don't remember if she competed at MSA or not that year.

I also seem to recall she had a big crash the previous race. That probably shook her up and destroyed her confidence. If that's indeed the case and she didn't feel good about racing anymore, it was a good call to quit. She is still one of my all-time favorite. She was so great to watch when she was on it.
 
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Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,486
20,287
Sleazattle
Reece seems like the kind of person who could overthink things too much. I'm guessing a lot of conscious thought on a race run is a curse. Someone like Amaury doesn't have that problem, he probably doesn't even think in French, but bike noises.
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,071
1,308
Styria

Marshy in Lederhosen is worth a watch. And then he even dumps some big secret stuff in a tire :D

And what a quote from Cathro :cheers:

 
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