Video: Stage 5 Crashes and the Root of the Cause

67 Comments

148 7

dhstreip (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:46)

More like Rootorua -- am I right?!

Seriously, guys, am I right?

beater32 (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:00)

Yeah , pretty much !

rigodon777 (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:04)

You are all right... I guess.

31 2

AllMountin (Mar 29, 2015 at 18:20)

Does rooting for them to crash make me evil?

krisrayner (Mar 29, 2015 at 20:20)

I see what you did there...

5afety3rd (Mar 29, 2015 at 21:50)

they really went to the root of the problem.

13 0

rory (Mar 29, 2015 at 23:31)

You're on a slippery slope starting all these puns again!

Boardlife69 (Mar 30, 2015 at 1:22)

I fell for it.

timmytuckshop (Mar 30, 2015 at 4:57)

that section is bROOTal!

ethanhagle (Mar 30, 2015 at 5:12)

Slower was definitely slower here. All the guys/gals that kept it pinned looked to clean it up much better

jiimmm4 (Mar 30, 2015 at 7:51)

Looked to me like whoever took the high line didn't fall off or dab a foot.... High line ftw!

78 4

medievalbiking (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:29)

Is it bad that this makes me want to race enduro more?

17 4

neimbc (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:34)

Not at all - it makes you bad ass!

16 0

adsjabo (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:48)

Those trails look like so much fun. Getting me so stoked to ride soon!

scott-townes (Mar 30, 2015 at 5:04)

Watching people ride with half lids and goggles has that effect.

boyblue1973 (Mar 30, 2015 at 12:31) (Below Threshold)

I ride a lot of sections like this in Canada, rocks, roots and ruts and etc, I don't think its badass, as a rider I like the fun stuff and technical challenge, but as a spectator, it looks stupid.

scott-townes (Mar 30, 2015 at 14:09)

^ A true sign you don't actually ride that kind of stuff that's displayed in the video.

medievalbiking (Mar 30, 2015 at 17:12)

If stupid = rowdy, then I agree with boyblue

58 0

kudos100 (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:38)

When Sam hill is getting a foot out, you know it is a tough section.

20 6

WillCoates (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:06)

I bet all that was going through his mind was "Thank GOD for flats"

davefw (Mar 30, 2015 at 1:22)

That's what Tracy Moseley was thinking at 00:55. At 00:57 she was thinking "Oh F*ck, I'm not on flats"

MatthewCarpenter (Mar 30, 2015 at 3:44)

Props to Iago Garay Tamayo (ESP) for clearing this section smoother than everyone else - as seen from 1:00 in orange. *thumbsup*
(he got 29. overall, in case you wonder)

shankes3 (Mar 30, 2015 at 11:25)

I started the video and thought, that section doesn't look so bad, then there's Sam Hill dabbing a foot and I know I'm an idiot.

Narro2 (Mar 30, 2015 at 14:38)

thought exactly the same, cameras are never fare when showing how technical a section really is.

44 0

polarproton (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:02)

It's a shame videos almost always fails to depict reality. I mean, it doesn't look that nasty on my screen, seems almost dry. Truth is, if you'd asked me if i would clear the section before i see the crashes i would have undoubtedly answered yes. Yet, virtually all of the best riders in the world aren't exactly at ease with the section so i think my pants would take the color of the ground even before i fall down.

mbl77 FL (Mar 30, 2015 at 10:16)

This part is in fact dry. But its off-camber with dust-covered roots. And as the day went on, the roots got more exposed with the consequences you see above.

16 0

Carloso (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:11)

I wanna try; I think I learned watching the video

11 0

marko369 FL (Mar 30, 2015 at 1:00)

Me too, HIGH LINE

10 0

Foxbat (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:49)

That sh*t is crazy if all the pros are sliding on their butts. Between the roots, the monster huck drops and the DH course stage, NZ looks like an awesome place for the EWS to visit!

Verbl-Kint (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:09)

The video doesn't show justice to how difficult this section really is.

uglyguy (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:04)

Last dude thought about getting back on the bike for a second then was like, you know what I'll just run this one.

raybao (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:42)

After watching this and the other clips on Vital, one burning question I have is... 'Why wasn't anybody running [cut] spikes?'

Maybe one of the pro's who competed (and reads Pb comments) can chime in. I'm genuinely curious as it seems that all the videos I see, the riders' tires are just absolutely caked with mud and every one is sliding all over the place.

ReformedRoadie (Mar 29, 2015 at 18:04)

Jerome Clementz won on a Michelin Mud front.

BrynClarke (Mar 29, 2015 at 19:50)

Loads actually were but the native bush mud sticks to anything

mbl77 FL (Mar 30, 2015 at 10:18)

Yeah, there were plenty people on spikes. Only stage 1 was really muddy. The section here is actually dry.

AMGoran (Mar 30, 2015 at 12:05)

But if it was dry why was it slippery? just can't wrap my mind around it haha

mbl77 FL (Mar 30, 2015 at 12:51)

Off-camber, and loose roots. Dry is also a relative term in the native forest

AMGoran (Mar 31, 2015 at 0:10)

@mbl77 aha think I understand a bit better now I´ve never experienced conditions like those so can't really imagine it but thanks

Maverickdh00 (Mar 31, 2015 at 10:19)

ride this trail a bit and have raced it a few times and in full blown mud, its very very off camber and steep off camber, roots and is narrow where it is benched, its very undulating with minnie drops step ups over roots that will sap your momentum if you dont flow and theyre are many obstacles mentally that make that hard of you dont like off camber or roots, its one of the best legal trails in the forest though, everyone finds it tough first time, she does not give up her virginity easy, how it should be, the wide sections are the most off camber and rooty, u need to carry speed into those sections and stay high, almost high off the trail and drop back into the next section , both this trail and Katatore stage1 are all about entry in entry out all the way down the trail, so if the pros did not ride in practice much then they'd struggle, plus I think tire selection here is critical, too small a knobs when cut up would be tough, Minon Highroller or Magic Mary front minimum for, last few weeks conditions, mainly due to the rain the previous week and sheer amount of riders practicing and cutting up the trails. The trails or stages are pretty beat now, but theyres some goodness tougher than this and untouched, except by me haha beyotches!

briceps (Mar 29, 2015 at 20:44)

Glad to see Nico Lau is human. Those other videos from this weekend made him look like a superhero.

BuDDaH77 (Mar 29, 2015 at 22:32)

that's Gerd going down at 1:21. Nico was wearing an fullface helmet all the time

ConorCraig (Mar 30, 2015 at 0:25)

No it's Nico Lau, look closely he;s running the number 4 plate, Greg was running number 16

BuDDaH77 (Mar 30, 2015 at 1:56)

@ConorCraig: you're right...
i mixed that one up... my bad

hayden (Mar 29, 2015 at 18:40)

Wow, lots of top dogs having trouble on that section. Can't imagine how other categories managed

Buggyr333 (Mar 29, 2015 at 19:46)

I could ride that easily! Just a whole lot slower. And there would probably be some swearing involved.

Hardy73 (Mar 30, 2015 at 10:24)

Hhahhah easy try doing the same amount of roots in the Scottish hills, on a enduro when its 2" deep in mud then you can complain.. lol

beeboo (Mar 29, 2015 at 21:03)

Slow reaction time on that by stander kid when the last guy comes down and nearly misses him by having the front time hit the tree! What a lucky break he had there!!!

mbl77 FL (Mar 30, 2015 at 10:21)

Ha, that was me, kid. I caught a few bikes on Saturday. There was a reason we were all standing behind trees

warrioreternal (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:33)

Very technical!

minus8 (Mar 29, 2015 at 18:56)

God damn do I hate roots. Props to the riders that sailed through, making it look easy!

dthomp325 (Mar 29, 2015 at 20:38)

I think those spectators must have been making things a little more exciting by spraying the course down with PAM.

tkoberle (Mar 30, 2015 at 6:22)

Its visible that the ones who are committed make it through. Those that are trying to avoid charging the terrain fail

WECustomizeBikes (Mar 30, 2015 at 15:19)

So much for THE wheel size debate

Primoz (Mar 30, 2015 at 10:52)

Arent full face helmets mandatory in EWS?

woolin (Mar 30, 2015 at 7:02)

Iago made it look easy.

gaoxiang89 (Mar 29, 2015 at 19:03)

nice

macross87 (Mar 29, 2015 at 21:06)

That one guy almost ground his nuts on the tire...

Kainerm (Mar 30, 2015 at 3:03)

I wanted to hold back on that one, but honestly... there are downsides to wagon wheels. This is one of them.

kusanagi72 (Mar 30, 2015 at 3:27)

Thank god those 29-ers at least roll more easy and have more grip

arnon1997 (Mar 29, 2015 at 17:32)

Iago did very well, faster than Jerome in this section Go south america!!

Allier (Mar 29, 2015 at 19:42)

ehhhhmmmm...sorry dude but Iago is from Spain.

arnon1997 (Mar 29, 2015 at 20:11)

R u sure...?? Shit

brownpowbomber (Mar 29, 2015 at 22:43)

That one dude was a chick so she almost ground her taco on the tire.

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freeride-forever (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:39)

Root cause is lack of skillz. I'll take it the thing was off camber even though it didn't look like it in the video, but an overpriced bike with the latest wagon wheel technology can't make you a better rider. If ya suck, ya suck.

23 0

ldhbaker FL (Mar 29, 2015 at 16:45)

Hardly. These are seasoned professionals. Sometimes it's actually just a tough section of trail. But hey, if you're a dick, you're a dick...

ParkerJonesmtb (Mar 29, 2015 at 19:49)

Burnnnnnnnnn

fatenduro (Mar 29, 2015 at 21:16)

26's might have done better for this section. Big wheels look like they'd get caught root on root without much contact on the dirt in between.