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Nothing about Port Angeles?!

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
As the 'US grand prix' I thought it would get more attention here. There were some pretty big names in attendance ...

Tbh, I'm surprised at the nearly 3 seconds separating Smith from Gwin. I'm gonna guess Gwin and some others were there more for fine-tuning than actually winning the race? I'm not trying to take away from smith's accomplishment either, I'm totally stoked for him, and have no doubts be can pull out the win against the world's best. It's just that it's a big spread on such a short course.
 

tuumbaq

Monkey
Jul 5, 2006
725
0
Squamish BC
This isnt very much different than last year results...With being said, Stevie beating Aaron by 3sec on a 2 and a 1/2 minutes course is damn impressive !!!Granted that Smith is on pretty much the same bike than last year, you'd think that Aaron should feel very comfortable on his new ride by now.

Never understood why Gwinn doesnt always seems to give is 110% at none WC races...I understand the consequence for him but I find this A : super lame for his fans and B : not all that great for his sponsors.If those 2 reasons are not at the top of your priority list as a WC racers, then perhaps it might be time to re-asses your priorities ;-)

Than again , when Gwinn puts the hammer down at Ft William and win by several seconds over 2nd place, I bet none of his fans will remember about today's race ;-)
 
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'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
never said I did...still find it interesting that others in a similar situation than him would still race flat out pinned all the time even if its not a WC
sorry - you guys sure know a lot about everyone.

yes i'm being an ass, i think i'm hungry.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,188
19,155
Canaderp
Who knows about going full out or not... But these are racers and there is some cash to be won. It makes no sense to me why any of them would not try to win it. Maybe not even for the cash but for the reputation and respect. Or perhaps there wasn't enough rocks on this course to satify Rock Jesus
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,882
447
It seems like Minaar, Hill and the Athertons have done similiar at regional races. It's too bad, but I think full speed even if you're a bad ass rider has more risk, and since WC is the number one priority I think it makes a bit of sense. But maybe this is just a sign of things to come from Smith this season!
 
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General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
you guys sure know a lot about gwin.
Yeah, and they know even moar about racing apparently.

Even at his peak you can't expect a guy to win every single race he enters, even with 100% effort. That's sort of the nature of racing. That said, Gwin has had 2 completely dominant seasons and it will increasingly harder to have a 3rd as other riders rise to the challenge. I think he's still a wise bet for the WC overall, but I expect it will be a lot closer this time. I really want to see another down to the wire battle like we saw with Hill/Minnaar and Gee/Minnaar in '09 and '10
 

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
...Gwin has had 2 completely dominant seasons and it will increasingly harder to have a 3rd as other riders rise to the challenge....
i can't wait for the reactions and elevated gwin hate (and i'm guessing more Specialized hate as well, if that's possible) when that does (and it will) happen. :rolleyes:
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
i can't wait for the reactions and elevated gwin hate (and i'm guessing more Specialized hate as well, if that's possible) when that does (and it will) happen. :rolleyes:
who the hell hates gwin? he's got a ton of fanboys (myself included) and there are a bunch of people that strongly "meh" him and disdain the fanboys, but he doesn't do much to inspire hate.

I agree with Lee, and I am also of the opinion that chances are, none of them are putting a full 100% checkers or wreckers attitude toward this race, since my understanding is that many of the top racers have clauses in their contracts for bonuses for winning world cups as well as the prize money the actual event. I would be in no way surprised to hear that smith was going 95% and that he could be putting up even more speed in the WC's, and same deal for gwin. I'm always dubious of regional race results predicting WC results, even if there happen to be a bunch of wc riders at one.
 

Kevin

Turbo Monkey
never said I did...still find it interesting that others in a similar situation than him would still race flat out pinned all the time even if its not a WC
Because appearently you know that he didnt pin it...
Im glad that we have such experts that go to all these races to see if people are pinning it or not and then report to the ridemonkey.
Seriously.
 

thad

Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
388
21


Stevie won last year. Gwin didn't go hard last year either. Good result for Fearon.

Scott and Casey are killing it with this race. Best DH race in the USA?
 

tuumbaq

Monkey
Jul 5, 2006
725
0
Squamish BC
Because apparently you know that he didnt pin it...
Im glad that we have such experts that go to all these races to see if people are pinning it or not and then report to the ridemonkey.
Seriously.

Never said that either, learn how to read, you are distorting my words ...I'll say one more time Gwin DOES NOT SEEM to go flat out when he's is not racing a WC...Never said I know for a fact that he's not pining it for the win, where the **** did you get that from?

Simple statistics proves that, look up Aaron's track record and you'll see for yourself that the man is a complete dominant force on the WC circuit but appears to tone it down a bit for other races...

Now give it a break, I was just pointing out a fact and thought others would share the same opinion...seriously :thumb:
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
Never said that either, learn how to read, you are distorting my words ...I'll say one more time Gwin DOES NOT SEEM to go flat out when he's is not racing a WC...Never said I know for a fact that he's not pining it for the win, where the **** did you get that from?

Simple statistics proves that, look up Aaron's track record and you'll see for yourself that the man is a complete dominant force on the WC circuit but appears to tone it down a bit for other races...

Now give it a break, I was just pointing out a fact and thought others would share the same opinion...seriously :thumb:
Starting with last season's lesser race results at the USGP/GRT: 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st.....1st Pro GRT overall, 1st at national champs. His win last week at Sea Otter doesn't really fit your statistical model either. And since you mention it, though he dominated the World Cup in terms of points, his last 3 international races saw 2 crashes and a mechanical take him out of contention. Last win was Windham. Put that on your spreadsheet

Here's a crazy idea for you all. This is preseason. This is not a World Cup. It has neither the practice time, prestige, tech support, importance, atmosphere, routine, pressure, or pace of a World Cup. When riders don't win it's not for lack of trying or desire, it's the nature or racing. The best racers in history have all lost more races than they have won.

Gwin got 4th against a Wold Cup field. .02 behind Fearon, and .5 behind the fastest guy never to win a world cup, and 2.5 seconds behind the fastest guy at the end of last season.

This all reminds me of last year's offseason when RM decided Gwin wasn't strong on muddy tracks, this after he won the overall and took 5 wins despite it being a pretty rainy series.
 
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Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Never said that either, learn how to read, you are distorting my words ...I'll say one more time Gwin DOES NOT SEEM to go flat out when he's is not racing a WC...Never said I know for a fact that he's not pining it for the win, where the **** did you get that from?

Simple statistics proves that, look up Aaron's track record and you'll see for yourself that the man is a complete dominant force on the WC circuit but appears to tone it down a bit for other races...

Now give it a break, I was just pointing out a fact and thought others would share the same opinion...seriously :thumb:
Ok maybe its my reading comprehension, but does anyone else find those post slightly contradictory?
Im not joking or anything, what youve said in this thread doesnt make sense at all.
 

weedkilla

Monkey
Jul 6, 2008
362
10
I reckon Connor Fearon was going flat out into 3rd. Woohoo! Great result for him.

I saw Walter Rohl drive in a Targa Tasmania race in a museum piece Porsche, for the first two days he kept saying in interviews how he was taking it easy and looking after the car. By day three he obviously ignored the bosses from Porsche and smoked all the vintage racers and a huge chunk of the modern field and the interview afterwards left me with a quote that has always stuck with me "I go flat out, or I go nothing"
 

epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
I lied Bryceland's comment. Something about trying to take it easy, but "when the tire breaks the beam it's flat out".
 

thad

Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
388
21
Last year, in a video interview, Gwin said about the P.A. track "The track is tight, rooty and greasy... all things I need to work on. So it's good!" So, yeah, mud is not Gwin's strength by his own admission.

Gwin is the most professional racer, and he is paid to win the world cup. In world cups, he qualies first for points. ProGRTS, he qualies out of the top 10.... not taking any chances.

I may reform this opinion when I see Gwin lose to Connor Fearon, Logan Bingelli, Waylon Jennings in a world cup race..... yeah I don't see that happening. Gwin puts is all on the line WHEN IT COUNTS.
 
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UncleHowie

Chimp
Feb 9, 2011
76
0
Switzerland
I reckon Connor Fearon was going flat out into 3rd. Woohoo! Great result for him.

I saw Walter Rohl drive in a Targa Tasmania race in a museum piece Porsche, for the first two days he kept saying in interviews how he was taking it easy and looking after the car. By day three he obviously ignored the bosses from Porsche and smoked all the vintage racers and a huge chunk of the modern field and the interview afterwards left me with a quote that has always stuck with me "I go flat out, or I go nothing"
Walter Röhrl is a legend, a true perfectionist!
 

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
How is Gracia beating Graves? Is Graves more washed up then him?
I think it's safe to say Gracia is a better DH'er than Gruby in terms of the skills required to go fast on these types of courses. Not a knock at all on Graves, but this is a wet rooty DH track, and Gracia has quite a bit more experience at it and has still shown flahses of his old self time to time, and let's face it, a Cracia at the top of his game is probably one of the best bike handlers on the planet.
 

tuumbaq

Monkey
Jul 5, 2006
725
0
Squamish BC
I may reform this opinion when I see Gwin lose to Connor Fearon, Logan Bingelli, Waylon Jennings in a world cup race..... yeah I don't see that happening. Gwin puts is all on the line WHEN IT COUNTS.
yeah my point precisely...isnt it a bit wrong for race supporters/peoples that actually keep the bike industry alive that we only get to see him shine a handful of time through out the year ?Shouldnt it COUNTS the moment fans are lining up a race course to watch it rather then when it only makes sense for their health and/or financials ?

I totally get why a racer would think that way but still think its a bit lame for fans and probably isnt the ideal scenario for sponsors either from an exposure point of view.Im not saying Aaron is the problem here,Im sure he's not the only one and if anything , he's probably the guy with the most to loose at the moment but some other riders dont seem to adopt the same strategy for non WC races...

Money is obviously a big problem and Im sure every one would go balls out all the time if big money was always waiting for the top guys at the end of the run...;)
 

epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
Did you guys watch Berrecloth's helmet cam? the track didn't look rooty or wet or really anything except pedally. I'm sure the GoPro squashes things, but it's hardly Schladming.
 

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
Did you guys watch Berrecloth's helmet cam? the track didn't look rooty or wet or really anything except pedally. I'm sure the GoPro squashes things, but it's hardly Schladming.
Watching Rampage via helmet cam makes me thing *I* can ride it.......
 

blackohio

Generous jaywalker
Mar 12, 2009
2,773
122
Hellafornia. Formerly stumptown.
Why does it have to be about someone holding back? These guys are racers, professionals at that. They arent there just to be there. They are there to race AND win.

Steve Smith beat'cha boy. /end of story.