Since the return of Nico, how has he been doing fairing up to todays competition. I haven't heard anything about him since his return this season?
Nico Vouilloz
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There is no "return of Nico" He has simply chosen to do a few races...not make a comeback. Champery was his first world cup back, and weather aside he did great. Qualified 5th ...having to pass 3 low seeded riders who started ahead of him...who knows how much that held him up...Like 29 other riders he had a tough time of it in the rain for final. I think he plans to race maribour.
Last I heard Maribor is indeed on the table, and is one of the reasons I am going. There will be no grand scale return as dondon said, he is having too much fun in rally to make a full comeback to a sport that is having issues at the moment.
I dont think the guy has lost any of his skills, he really hasnt been out all that long and Im sure he has ridden lots while being out of competition.
Hes also still in top notch condition physically with the whole rally thingy so im not surprised at all if he finishes on a podium in a world cup any time soon.
Only problem for him is that now Sam Hill is in the game and even compared to Vouilloz he is the real alien.
Hes also still in top notch condition physically with the whole rally thingy so im not surprised at all if he finishes on a podium in a world cup any time soon.
Only problem for him is that now Sam Hill is in the game and even compared to Vouilloz he is the real alien.
With all due respect to Sam Hill, I really don't think you can call him the ''real alien'' Sam is in a league of his own now, just like Peat and Minnaar were a couple of years ago.
The real ALIEN was and will always be Nico. When Sam will wear is 12th rainbow jersey and have more than 17 World Cup wins, then you can start calling him the ALIEN.
The real ALIEN was and will always be Nico. When Sam will wear is 12th rainbow jersey and have more than 17 World Cup wins, then you can start calling him the ALIEN.
I didnt really mean that Hill took his place as the alien, maybee i said it a bit wrong. What Nico has done is incredible and in terms of achievements Sam is a very long way from that.
But in terms of skills, right now, Nico (or anyone else for that matter) aint got dick on Sam... In terms of durability Nico will probably remain the Alien forever.
But in terms of skills, right now, Nico (or anyone else for that matter) aint got dick on Sam... In terms of durability Nico will probably remain the Alien forever.
Have you ever seen Nico raced in his younger years?Obviously not... Hill is an amazing with freaky skills rider yes but Nico was as, if not more impressive to watch...
Nico has more wins and glory's than most riders that are today winning.Look at what he's won in all these year as a pro racer.Don't forget Nico is still the Nr.1 DH racer off all time and he's a legend in the sport as well.
Champion of the world of Descent VTT: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 (Elite category) Champion of the world junior of Descent VTT: 1992, 1993, 1994 World cup of Descent VTT: 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 (2e: 2001; 3e: 1994) (Elite) Champion of Europe of Descent VTT: 1994, 1997, 1998 (2e: 1995, 2000) (Elite) Champion of Europe junior of Descent VTT: 1993 Champion of France scratch of Descent VTT: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999 (2e: 1995, 1998) (Elite) Champion of France of descent & Dual VTT: 2001 (Elite) Cut of France of Descent VTT: 1995, 1996 (Elite) Cup Avalanche of Tightened in VTT: 1994, 1995 (Elite) Champion of France Junior by Descent VTT: 1991
Ive seen Nico ride in his earlier years but the clock speaks for itself.
Right now Hill is in another timezone in a way Nico never was and hes doing it without the Formula 1 type support Nico had from Olivier Bossard. Im not saying that is the reason Nico won all his titles but it sure as hell had a good part in it caus they were way ahead of the rest of the field...
Hills wrappin the field up in the worst conditions by 8 seconds and the **** he pulled in Champery must have blown the **** out of Nico as well.
Trekrules
Dont come acting like your the allknowing mountainbike master when your just a friggin n00b with acces to Google...
You probably didnt even know who Nico was untill you saw this thread.
a lot of people are about to hate you
Good thing I dont care about what other people think then. 
Care to explain why you're saying you dont care about what other people think but still care to reply to them when they say you really don't know what you're talking about? Go on educate me if you're so smart...Good thing I dont care about what other people think then.
When Sam Hill matches the victories then you can call him a legend of the same status. I'm not saying Sam is not amazing,I'm saying respect what Voulloz has done.
If you had a time machine and bought a young Vouilloz forward I think you'd find he'd lift his game to whatever standerd needed to be on top. There's no answer to who would win.
If you had a time machine and bought a young Vouilloz forward I think you'd find he'd lift his game to whatever standerd needed to be on top. There's no answer to who would win.
kevin-stop now
nico had a lot of wins on pre-bossard equipped bikes. He won a couple titles on GT LTSes and some other relatively standard ride. The LTS was never ahead of its time, but definately a good bike. When he rode for SUNN he did better but his bike still wasn't voodoo. I've read complaints by him that while his suspension was great, the frame itself was lacking.
I am a big fan of Nico and I doubt anybody will come close...the competition is too tight now, and it's doubtful that he'll ever come out of retirement to fully train and commit to be where he was before.
Lastly, don't forget that the team was what made Nico great...his suspension tuners, his bike mechanics, the investment made by the sponsors...planning and replanning lines, walking up to do sections over and over....I'm not sure anybody else has the commitment that he did, even if they do have the physical aptitude.
I am a big fan of Nico and I doubt anybody will come close...the competition is too tight now, and it's doubtful that he'll ever come out of retirement to fully train and commit to be where he was before.
Lastly, don't forget that the team was what made Nico great...his suspension tuners, his bike mechanics, the investment made by the sponsors...planning and replanning lines, walking up to do sections over and over....I'm not sure anybody else has the commitment that he did, even if they do have the physical aptitude.
People have taken note. case in point
Greg Minaar/Honda.
The team support that guy has is incredible. Honda guys all over the course, taking notes and getting feedback. Does Greg have the focus, skill, and determination like Nico? I dunno man, but he's got the support.
i don't even see how you can compare the 2. it's a different time, with different riders, different styles, different courses and different technology. that's like wondering how well Bobby Orr would do in today's NHL with new rules. just my 0.2cents
look at the 1 mile 50 years ago look at it again. nothing has changed. same track, shoes basically the same. athletes progress.
You should learn to read before you start acting like a smartass.
I said I dont care if people get mad at me. I wouldnt be on a forum if I didnt care what other people think.
Everyone whos got sand in there vaginas cause Im saying Hill has more (pure riding) skill right now then Nico has ever had should learn to read.
Like I said Nico is still the alien and I dont think anyone will ever match his career but right now Sam is the better rider.
I dont think it has a much to do with general rider progression cause Nico still qualified 5th in Champery but with Sam punishing whats probably the hardest track ever in a WC downhill race, riding in the wettest conditions, crashing and still setting a mindblowing time is on another level all together, that speaks for itself.
And no comparing the 2 isnt fair at all but in my first post I wasnt really comparing anyways.
I just made a statement about Nico still being an awsome rider with more skill then most in the WC field today.
Some people just had to open their mouths a bit too wide when they thought someone was talking bad about their downhill god...
Sure they have the team and sure Minaar is a friggin awsome rider, but Sam is allready putting 6 or 8seconds between him and the rest of the field sometimes without telemetry and all the rest.
If he had the same support as Nico had in his glory days that would mean even more seconds...
I dont think Greg can be compared to either one but let me just say I think hes an awsome rider before someone gets upset about it...
it's one season, and only a couple of races he's dominated, stop wetting yourself.....
You're right, it wasn't like he won Schladming for 3 years running with a minimum margin of 5 seconds, or smacked down everyone at Champery by 10 seconds (quali time in the dry, the only fair comparison) or put 4 seconds into everyone at Rotorua last year...
Come on man, nobody else has so frequently slapped the whole field around like that. When he wins - and he doesn't always - he very often does it by a fair friggin way.
i think that nicos reign of dominance will never be repeated. The level of competition in this sport has progressed too dramatically. This is the same reason why you don't see .400 hitting in baseball. Its not that the players/riders are worse, far from it, the players/better are better. Its just that all of the players have gotten better, and all of the players are approaching the limits of human ability. Nico's winning abilities, paired with his longevity will most likely never be repeated, simply becase there are two many riders riding at the highest level. Sam hill might win alot of races this season, and even next season, and peaty might beat nicos WC wins record, but that combination of longevity and dominance is achievable only to superhumans. In the same way the best hitters today can be far better than hitters from the first half of the century, yet still be unable to break .400, any of todays top DH'ers would have dominated the early years of the sport, but due to sheer numbers that is no longer the case...
I don't have any hero's, I think all pro's are kick ass though.....I take that back....Tomac kicks all their asses and I bow down to his supremecy
[whiney voice]My hero is better than your hero!! So there.[/whiney voice]
Grow up fan-boys
lance armstrong is soooo much better than sam hill. you know its true. he won the tour de france like 50 times and sam will never do that.
Yeah but I dont think he was just using monster energy. There way that road cycling is going its hard to believe that anyone is riding without some wacky vitamins.
Nico hasn't really put his heart....or time into racing in a while. He was on another level for a decade. I've only spoken to each one of those guys once- Nico on a lift and Sam souting his lines and I must admit Nico was much friendly. Therefore I conclude he had better Karma for speed.
I think it's hard to sompare the two. Without really knowing, I'd say that there may be a question of strength in depth, between these two guys. On the other hand I think it's a weak argument to say that someone's wrong in sayingthatr Sam Hill is on hte same level or above as Voullioz, just because they don't have the same track record. If they were really tied for victories there would be no real thinking about it, just statistics. The greatness of a rider can be measured in more than just wins, the way in which the wins are executed are just as important, just look at roadies (I for one have a huge amount of respect for them, regardless of whether they are drugged or not). We are fortunate to enough to be in a sport that sometimes tries to measure the unmeasurable, and sometimes the sport in richer if we all go along.
ya but the training has changed, riders are more focused... suspension technology has changed tons. again, that doesn't discredit nico for anything. he still was/is an amazing rider. what he accomplished i doubt anyone will be able to repeat. but i think that things have just become way more specialized when it comes to training and technology that there's no way to compare. you can compare nico and sam now, on the same course...but nico in his prime to sam now? u have to remember the courses changed over time with the technology. nico wasn't riding an old GT LTS on the same maribor course (i don't think so at least)... he was definitely ahead of the curve when it came to training and having his suspension tuned per course...but look at honda today, or even the new line of products from any of the suspension builders. either way they r both amazing riders...sam just hasn't proven himself as 100% dominant yet, like nico did during his racing career. that doesn't mean he's better or worse; he just hasn't been around long enough. 10 world championships to 1. there's still a lot of time to see what evolves.
lol sam just doesn't talk. DW factored that into the equation when sam was created along with the sunday.. we can't know about that secret anti-matter power sunday which can instantly slow the clock down and float down the course at whatever speed is deemed necessary
forgive me if i sound like a dumbbutt right now, but i thought peaty had the most world cup wins all time?
technically, it's 10 to 3. Vouilloz's 10 rainbow count includes his 2 junior titles in '93 and '94. Sam has 2 jr. titles too.
ahh yes i forgot about the jrs. thanks for the correction
oster_oops:
Im allready sorry for the whole Sam vs Nico discussion but from the other side it is kinda interesting.
Thats why Id like to mention that Bosses suspension design on the Radical is still considered one of the best to this day. Like Barel stated in an interview, its still the best but it just wouldnt sell today because its no fun to ride... Just saying it to fuel things up a bit, enjoy!
Thats why Id like to mention that Bosses suspension design on the Radical is still considered one of the best to this day. Like Barel stated in an interview, its still the best but it just wouldnt sell today because its no fun to ride... Just saying it to fuel things up a bit, enjoy!
Does that then go for the Contact System on the Commencal bikes aswell?