Welcome, Pilgrims: Lourdes World Cup Trackwalk
The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to Marie-Bernadette Soubirous on a total of eighteen occasions at Lourdes, a small town at the foot of the Pyrenees that became a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of supposed miraculous healings. In more modern times Lourdes has a population of around 15,000, but it is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season, and this week it plays host to something totally different. The opening round of the 2015 UCI Downhill World Cup, and on a track that may very well become as legendary as the town itself.
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 Lourdes is bustling with Catholics from around the globe, and the services last well into the night. |
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| Candles for offerings are for sale all over the town, but the ones at the church vary in size from a foot to the size of a man. |
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| This flame continues my prayer. Candles lit for the needy and the ill burn in many metal offering bins filling the air with a smokey haze. |
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| Holy water receptacles come in all shapes and sizes here. From small fancy glass flasks to gallons, to Virgin Mary bottles. The healing waters of Lourdes have become big business. |
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| Often you'll find the city's streets packed full of very religious people. Other times, there's nun. |
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| The Chateau Fort Museum of the Pyrenees stacked up on top of the rocks in the middle of the city. |
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| The mosaic work is truly staggering. Some of the pieces are a full story tall. |
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| The devout gather in the cave on the side of the church for mass and a chance to be healed in the waters that run from the cave walls. |
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| Burned down candles are removed from the enclosure, and the wax is scraped in preparation for the next group of followers. |
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| Plastic Jesus, size large, yours today for under 30 euros... vac-packed to ensure ultimate freshness. Welcome to the mighty, slightly bizarre, Lourdes. |
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| Not the typical uplift systems here in Lourdes. One stuffed cable car at a time, up the centuries old funicular. |
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| The town of Lourdes as seen from the start gate. |
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| TWR crew, MacDonald and Leov, ride up towards 1000m to find out exactly what the weekend has in store. |
Once atop the old and slow funicular riders are faced with what may be one of the most full-on and technically challenging tracks seen in years. Where Meribel closed out the World Cup in 2014 with a fresh and widely praised track, Lourdes has stepped it up a notch with steeps and rocks mixed together with mastery to create a monster of an opening round. Out of the gate riders enjoy a brief view of the snow-topped mountain peaks in the distance before taking the plunge quite literally straight down the face of the mountain. Lines are taped wide in some spots to encourage some big and risky moves, and then tightened back up in others to force riders into tricky off cambers and steep chutes. For now the surface is dry and covered in dust and loam but come tomorrow we will definitely see numerous roots become exposed as rider upon rider rips into the ripe dirt. If we get rain (and we probably will at some point) things could really get wild...
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| At least you can't go too far wrong on the start ramp. And after that? Nothing's looking too easy... |
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| An iconic looking start to a potentially legendary race track... |
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| Sam Dale looking mean in front of the old school set-up. We're all hoping the tram has some powerful emergency brakes... |
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| Snow still clings to the higher peaks in the Pyrenees. Luckily, Pic du Jur is free of the white stuff for this first race of the season. |
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| Bits of green are starting to show through as winter releases its icy grip from the Pyrenees. |
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| At least spring has certainly sprung. |
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| The amount of jagged rock exposed on the Lourdes track is something seldom seen in the World Cup these days and crashing here will have serious consequences. |
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| Day one and the vultures are already circling overhead. |
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| The moss-covered rocks up top are grippy... for now. Everyone's got their eye on the weather reports. |
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| Thibaut Ruffin takes a look at the first rocks at the top after the funicular bridge alongside the Commencal crew, Thirion and Pierre-Edouard Ferry, of Rampage fame, here ahead of the new big bike launch. |
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| Pom Pon was one of the many riders wearing smiles today as they walked down the track. |
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| Eddie Masters isn't racing this weekend but is sporting some new hardware in his collarbone to help expedite his healing process. |
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| These sharp and ragged rocks exposed in the racing line are bound to be the nemesis of many many riders this weekend. |
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| Everyone warned us it would be cold, raining and possibly snowing in Lourdes in April. Seems everyone was wrong and it is bone dry here.... For now |
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| Pilgrim staffs abound for walking the Lourdes steeps. Jasper Jauch models the 160cm mahogany round head. |
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| A happy Brendan Fairclough is a fast Brendan Fairclough and we can't wait to see him get loose and wild in practice tomorrow. |
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| Rocks, more rocks, high speeds and multiple lines make up the final gully that lead to the finish arena |
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| Remi Thirion with his holiest Michelangelo impression... Expect him to do great damage here in Lourdes. |
Just about every rider on track today had a long, long look at each section as the line choice is far from simple, and as the track changes there will be even more options to choose from. Add to that the fact that sharp sniper rocks are hidden in the grass and on the worn in and previously used racing line and the confusion becomes even more complex. The only times riders even get the slightest chance to rest are on two smooth sections, but even these are riddled with jumps. Some big, some small, and a few quite huge.
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| The upper section is going to be steep and loose if it stays dry. If it rains, it will be slick as snot on a door knob. |
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| Danny Hart and Markus Pekoll take notes before the bottom drops clean out of the track for the steepest chute on the hill. |
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| Before the end of the chute is a distinctly flat shelf ready to claim anyone bold enough to attempt anything too close to a death grip. |
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| Though few and far between, there are a few straightforward and simple bits on the track... This is not one of them |
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| This track is so steep, it's better to ride it than walk it. Ben Arnott, Greg Williamson and Laurie Greenland having some troubles on track walk. |
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| Winner of the 2013 French national, Myriam Nicole ponders the friendly death-chute alongside Trek GG's Steffi Marth. |
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| Hipped road gap, with kick. The air time is gonna be big... |
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| Remy Morton on the takeoff spots the landing just past Brendan Fairclough. |
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| Glow in the dark Virgin Mary taking in the landing of road gap one. |
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| Leov and MacDonald taking stock of the track here in Lourdes. There is no doubt that this track will be remembered as a great. It is going to devour wheels, and push bikes and riders to their limits. We can't wait for practice to get under way. |
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| Brook Macdonald contemplating the sheer speeds he will be at as he enters the gully. |
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| Rachel Atherton commits rocks to memory... there's tons of line choice and the track certainly has teeth. |
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| Out of the dark loamy woods and into the light of Lourdes. |
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| The lower section of the track is one massive high speed rock studded gully. This track has everything in spades. |
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| Across a blown out sun-spot between the trees and back into the dark over some giant boulders in the lower third. Gee and Rach assess. |
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| Rough, rocky rowdy, and rooty. This is the way a downhill track should be. A life affirming experience. |
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| The middle line of this section is a flat drop that doesn't set you up well for the right-hander that follows... so you can choose the lip in front of Tracey and hip toward the man in blue, right of center. If you like... |
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| New team mates, Needles and Hannah, discuss their route and whether the left-hand, hipped, huck is on. |
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| The tracks end looks smooth and super high speed, before coming into an almighty bridge drop to the finish. |
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| It's going to be steep and fast all the way to the finish line, and if you've not managed to slow down, you can just boost the fencing on the catch berm. |
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| Crews are still working on the finish line today to make the finish line run out to UCI regulations. That included digging out under the arch to provide enough clearance for riders going Mach chicken across the line. |
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| Hammer time... Polish Pete treating Gee's whip nice and gentle. |
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| Emmeline, the angry crocodile, ready to devour the competition with her carbon Summum and well-matched carbon Full-9. |
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| The Polygon pits awash with new colors... |
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| Unlike last year's opening round in South Africa, there isn't a semi slick in site here in France. |
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| The remains of cut spikes could be seen on the floor of just about every pit this afternoon. |
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| Camp Mondraker, clean and pro for the bike builds. |
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| TV Taylor bulking up ready to roll fully elite for the first time in the morning... |
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| Brendan's mechanic, Ben, sourced this beautiful 10 to 7 speed cassette converter from a fabricator over the winter. |
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| Fairlcough's 'medal winning' Vaults. |
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| Holy water of all sorts are on hand to get through this weekend. Mechanics will need a strong drink at the end of the day after all of the wheels they'll be building. |
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| PB's Dave Trumpore sips deep on the healing holy waters of Lourdes. Results and any side effects announced tomorrow... |
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Who is the women with blond hairs at the top?i habe Never Seen here before,or am i just going wrong
dirtmountainbike.com/news/lourdes-world-cup-2015-breaking-news-sam-hill.html#jPzTixz02ZgKm5Kg.97
Why do they cut the spikes off the tyres?
Why didn't they just make the UCI Finish Line banner taller?
Woah I'm excited!
Am I missing something where's Josh Bryceland?
This track looks mental. I really like how they left some sections super-wide, giving riders numerous line choices. No shortage of techy rock sections and wooded sections that will surely be root-riddled by race-day. Oh, and it looks steep as f***!!!
Hoping all the riders make it thru this round ready for the next one!
dirtmountainbike.com/news/lourdes-world-cup-2015-breaking-news-sam-hill.html#k0QhJrkb70gxXxFl.97
dapilten.com/en/bike-parts/22-10-to-7-spacer.html
But where is the beer ? Sad wolrd....
Ya sabes....pura mercadotecnia
you money , when you buy a 2 for 1 virgin mary in the gift shop as you exit the show hall !!!!
will that be cash, credit or your soul?
paper or plastic bag? biodegradable of course.........