That totally sucks. 3 big races in Leogang in one year? The track isn't really that good (rode it ) and other Austrian venues would benefit from some exposure.
Sking world champs are 2013. Till then Schladming will be a huge building lot.
Are there any other WC worthy dh spots in Austria? Semmering is a smaller hill. Wagrain?
Kamikaze was not really good for the spectators not safe. Long races would also produce strange results. Imho we should all agree on one dh format and keep strange races to other events.
Were you there?
All wrong. Kamikaze was just as safe, if not safer, as any current DH race. It was great for spectators.
Yes yes! Exactly!
It's not a fireroad, it's an 8" wide patch of dirt in the middle of a fireroad. If you get off line you are in big trouble.
I've been trying to remember the first year a FS bike won up there.
Totally agree! Awesome track and I always loved the special bikes the companies brought to Mammoth! I still can remember the fairing'd Yeti, Intense and of course the Hanebrink. 
It's not a fireroad, it's an 8" wide patch of dirt in the middle of a fireroad. If you get off line you are in big trouble.
To be fair though, the last few years preceding the Bullet track at Mammoth some faces made the top of the podium, like Jeremy Purdy in 1997 that were usually farther back. He trained hard and prepared well(and the center of gravity in dh racing had already started moving to Europe). If you look at the margin and you look at the riders and you realize that he's from down the hill in Reno things start to make sense. Preparation and tactics is really important. Purdy prepared better(and had a sweet lockout on his shock!) and he smoked a few people that weren't expecting to get smoked.
Yes, I do have the full results from Mammoth '97 if someone needs them.
There are a few people in their late 30's and 40's that could smack down a few World Cup pros on that track. They know every corner, every braking point and how the pumice crumbles over the day.
From 1982 to ~1996 it was the biggest, richest and most prestigious race in the world. It wasn't easy then and it still isn't easy now. We need to respect and enshrine it as the beginning of DH racing outside of Ensenada and Marin. The first lift-accessed race, the first race with TV coverage, the first race with specific technology, the first NCS race won on a full-suspension bike- Kamikazee became a brand unto itself and the images produced there defined mtb racing in the minds of people all over the globe. Some people say that it wasn't a pretty image, but it was an image that sold potato chips, expensive Italian jeans, bottled water and personal stereos.
Mammoth, Mt. Snow, Big Bear, Mt. St. Anne, these are monumental places in the history of mountainbike racing. Look upon them with great reverence and forgive them for their perceived trespasses- blame the management.
If you walk straight up the hill and into the woods at any of those places you'll feel the history of our sport. There are chainring marks on logs and the faintly visibly trail beds from 25 year old tracks. You'll see the trees healing up from 15 year old handlebar scars. I still find Grundig course tape when i'm hiking the woods at Mt. Snow 16 years later. All the stories we tell happened somewhere. If you've been around for a while you'll see a rock or root in the middle of what's now ferny woods and you'll have the realization that it spun out your rear wheel during the first Bush administration. The mountains are still there and if you look around hard enough you can find the traces of really cool **** that happened a long time ago that most people don't care about. You can't ride the tracks though.
You can visit the Kamikkazee dozens of days a year, adjust your goggles and drop into that famous first sweeper.
That's special.
Yes-
It would be stoopid to hold a DH1 race on it. It would be awesome to have somebody else put up a hefty purse and allow open entry and see what happens... They did it at the last two National races they had at Mammoth without much promotion or a prizelist and I seem to remember people like Tomac and Bailey and Vories getting off the couch to coast down the track to destroy quite a few well respected full-time pros. With the technology and scinence we have available today some pretty impressive average speeds could be reached if aerodynamic drag could be kept in check.
If I recall the record winning speed was 57mph for a long time. 57mph is badass in 2011 just like it was in 2001 and 1991. It's a whole different sport up there, one that's been hiatus. The mountain will always be there, bothering me in the back of the scull every time I think about it...
That's my point, DH1 isn't the World Cup, so they can break the mold if they want to. Do we really need to see two races at the same tracks? (Of course, maybe we'll only see the DH1 race if Freecaster isn't covering the WCs).
But the point of it is to create an alternative to the world cup and maybe overtake the world cup. They aim at inviting top pros. They seem quite settled on how it will look like.
I just think it was cool Miles Davis raced!It's not a fireroad, it's an 8" wide patch of dirt in the middle of a fireroad. If you get off line you are in big trouble.
To be fair though, the last few years preceding the Bullet track at Mammoth some faces made the top of the podium, like Jeremy Purdy in 1997 that were usually farther back. He trained hard and prepared well(and the center of gravity in dh racing had already started moving to Europe). If you look at the margin and you look at the riders and you realize that he's from down the hill in Reno things start to make sense. Preparation and tactics is really important. Purdy prepared better(and had a sweet lockout on his shock!) and he smoked a few people that weren't expecting to get smoked.
Yes, I do have the full results from Mammoth '97 if someone needs them.
There are a few people in their late 30's and 40's that could smack down a few World Cup pros on that track. They know every corner, every braking point and how the pumice crumbles over the day.
From 1982 to ~1996 it was the biggest, richest and most prestigious race in the world. It wasn't easy then and it still isn't easy now. We need to respect and enshrine it as the beginning of DH racing outside of Ensenada and Marin. The first lift-accessed race, the first race with TV coverage, the first race with specific technology, the first NCS race won on a full-suspension bike- Kamikazee became a brand unto itself and the images produced there defined mtb racing in the minds of people all over the globe. Some people say that it wasn't a pretty image, but it was an image that sold potato chips, expensive Italian jeans, bottled water and personal stereos.
Mammoth, Mt. Snow, Big Bear, Mt. St. Anne, these are monumental places in the history of mountainbike racing. Look upon them with great reverence and forgive them for their perceived trespasses- blame the management.
If you walk straight up the hill and into the woods at any of those places you'll feel the history of our sport. There are chainring marks on logs and the faintly visibly trail beds from 25 year old tracks. You'll see the trees healing up from 15 year old handlebar scars. I still find Grundig course tape when i'm hiking the woods at Mt. Snow 16 years later. All the stories we tell happened somewhere. If you've been around for a while you'll see a rock or root in the middle of what's now ferny woods and you'll have the realization that it spun out your rear wheel during the first Bush administration. The mountains are still there and if you look around hard enough you can find the traces of really cool **** that happened a long time ago that most people don't care about. You can't ride the tracks though.
You can visit the Kamikkazee dozens of days a year, adjust your goggles and drop into that famous first sweeper.
That's special.
Yes-
It would be stoopid to hold a DH1 race on it. It would be awesome to have somebody else put up a hefty purse and allow open entry and see what happens... They did it at the last two National races they had at Mammoth without much promotion or a prizelist and I seem to remember people like Tomac and Bailey and Vories getting off the couch to coast down the track to destroy quite a few well respected full-time pros. With the technology and scinence we have available today some pretty impressive average speeds could be reached if aerodynamic drag could be kept in check.
If I recall the record winning speed was 57mph for a long time. 57mph is badass in 2011 just like it was in 2001 and 1991. It's a whole different sport up there, one that's been hiatus. The mountain will always be there, bothering me in the back of the scull every time I think about it...
