World Championships 2011 - Final DH Practice
Sep 4, 2011 at 1:54
With some serious downpour last night the track is looking a bit muddier and slipperier than it has been all week. Check out these shots from yesterdays practice session and then try to imagine everything wet and slippery, who's going to come out on top in these conditions? Check back in a few hours for results or watch it on Freecaster!
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 Aaron said he had a cruiser yesterday and was 5 seconds up. He has been doing one or 2 runs a day at most, just staying fresh and having fun. He wants to work on scrubs when he gets home so he can have even more fun next year. 2012 will be interesting. |
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| Moseley's looking to defend, but on this track... |
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| With Floriane Pugin likely out due to injury sustained during training, Emmeline Ragot has shifted to an odds on favorite despite her injured knee... |
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| A lot of people wondered about Gee Atherton's not finishing the timed training run. The timed training run is basically a show. It doesn't count for seeding or qualifying. But you have to at least start in order to race, almost like a protected plate. Gee rolled the start and pulled off, as he'd banged his head pretty hard the day before and wanted to take it easy. |
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| Markus Pekoll demonstrates how ridiculous the lighting conditions are in the woods. Imagine going from sunshine, to complete darkness, to spots like this... on the steepest track of your life. |
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| As usual, Brendawg manages to find something else to jump that no other racer is doing. |
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| Ben Reid sending the stepdown to flat. |
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| Justin Leov is looking solid. It's taken him a couple weeks since Val di Sole's nasty crash to get his game face back on. |
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| Lorenzo Sudding has managed to stay on his bike most of the week, a rarity for the Italian stallion. Not wanting to change up his regime too much at worlds, he did have one huge off this week. |
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| This isn't Filip Polc, but it is one of his junior countrymen showing the same style. |
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| Tracy Moseley has been one of the first on the chair every morning since the XC eliminator. Rainbow defense sometime around 1:30pm tomorrow... |
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| I'm running out of captions after 7 days. Troy is still looking fast. The track is still steep and my knees and ankles are completely flogged out. |
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| Riiiiiicccccoooooollla! |
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| Last minute fine tuning on Aaron Gwin's Fox 40... |
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| Jacy Shumilak gets some moto tape applied to Troy Brosnan's DH bike. This may be the closest shot of his bike you'll see this week of Rivers' demo. It will also be the only one from inside the Monster Energy Specialized pits. |
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| XC World Champs went down today, and Canadian Pride took the Women's elite race with Catharine Pendrel taking top honors. |
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| Already packed up... Cam Cole's sled is boxed up and shipping out to New Zealand. Cam will have a sore neck for a while and a new plate in his arm. It will be a couple months before he's back on track. |
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| Give it more cowbell! |
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| Andrew Neethling ripped this line even a bit higher than most in an effort to find traction. |
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| It's kind of odd, riders have to race in national kit, but that doesn't mean that teams don't all of the sudden quit training together. Danny Hart with the same line as Needles. |
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| This was definitely the faster, but much riskier line; and NOT one that will likely go in the wet. But partially healed shoulder or not, Sam Hill is here to play hard ball. |
From Leslie Pitts:‘Twas the night before Worlds
And in the hotels
Not a racer was stirring
Not even Mitch Delfs
The knee pads were hung
On the balconies with care
In hope that the stench
Would float away on the night air
The racers were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of the podium danced in their heads
Mechanics were turning the bolts one last time
Wheels trued, brakes ready to stop on a dime
When down in the garage there arose such a clatter
The wrenches wondered, what was the matter?
This wasn’t Italy, with threats of the mob
Stealing all of the bikes, what a bad karma job!
Not Whistler, either, or Mont Sainte Anne
Where the Fox truck can be opened like a tuna can
These are the Swiss, with their Swiss Army knives
That deter the worst thief, in fear of his life
Calvin, now armed with a huge pedal wrench
Was stealthily hiding behind the work bench
Calling for aid, he scared them away
All was well! Get more bikes prepped for the next day
Some racers convened in the lobby, awake
Not lucky, recovering from miscellaneous breaks
ACLs, wrists, concussions and femurs
For the race, they’d resemble a big pack of lemurs
All the tape in the world, and ice from the freezer
Could not patch up those poor old geezers
Arriving as racers, ending as spectators
On the side of the race course to become motivators
Earlier that day, massages were had
By racers whose muscles were feeling so bad
Keep those pedals turning, the PTs were told
Armed with ibuprofen and tape, competitors were bold
The course was so steep, hard to stay on top
With a good night’s rest, hearts still ready to pop
The juniors, excited to see Peaty and Hill
Minnaar, Fairclough, Blenkinsop, Fabien Barel
With the best of support, they were all in this place
Components all shiny, ready to race
Will Gwin do it again? We all wished him the Goldl
When the race is all over, war stories will be told
In just a few hours, the race will be history
The winner no longer will be such a mystery
For the rest of us waiting patiently at home
Freecaster bringing the splatter and loam
Our heros on the best the world has to offer
Beloved bikes that empty the coffers
Put to the test against the world’s top riders
Some of whom now have babies on Striders
To the gladiators ready to drop in from the start gate:
Sleep well, have fun and please stay safe
Tomorrow the biggest event will be run
The world will have a new 2011 champion Photos by
Colin Meagher and
Fraser Britton
