How many times have people said that freeriders can't compete at a world cup level lol? I think some of the top guys in either discipline are pretty well rounded these days.
Really?? I mean seriously?? Sure the kid it pretty good at crankworks and all that gnarly stuff that he's good at but his DH vid part in NWD dust and bones was shit! He handled that DH rig like it was going to hurt him or something and his DH segment on that mountain he was on I could ride my stumpy down that thing
I totally disagree , semenuks section in the closing sequence of strength in number was out of this world , the speed he got in those corners and the lines he chose were perfect on full Nelson !
Few years ago Soderstrom went to a 4X world cup race somewhere in Europe and got top 10 quali on singlespeed bike. Most of those freeriders have great techique and flow but dont train hard so would not perform that good on real DH track (MSA, FW,...). Would still be fun though.
I'm not surprised he is up there, of course he can handle a bike fast, that is what he does for living and has been doing that at the top from the early days, he is The Claw. What I simply cannot understand is how can the WC guys can pull 10 seconds on this insanely fast race run that we just saw, it's just amazing.
I am am surprised at the number of people that are shocked at his top 30 finish. These pro FR guys have to be able to move to hit some of the senders you see in all these videos. Think about all of the movie clips you have seen of matt hunter going balls to the wall fast. The claw and those guys who ride their big bikes a lot ride gnarly terrain all the time. They just dont always have a clock on them.
so true -- i don't think it's that people are doubting claw though, just impressed that he can keep up with some of these WC dudes who are really an elite group of athletes these days. At the same time I totally agree with you
I was thinking the same thing. At the end of the day both racing and big mountain freeride are about picking lines and smashing gnarly terrain. And the top guys, both freeride and racers are incredibly gifted and most could probably excel at either discipline if they focused on it.
Yep these guys get out and ride normal dh trails just like everyone else. You can bet they pin as hard as they can go everytime when they are doing it.
What I like about helmet cams, especially on pros, is that you get to see how hard they're working not just their bike, but their body. This sh*t aint easy. A lot of people seem to think it is.
Helmet cams make everything look flat. Only his speed is evidence of how steep the terrain is. When I show friends video I have taken I'll point out the extra gnarly sections, and they look the same as everything else except how much the camera is bouncing around and how blurred the trees are.
That is definitely true. Helmet cams always make everything look flat. I've watched videos of trails and thought one thing, then almost shit my pants when I actually saw it. I also have video of myself riding some pretty gnarly stuff on both bikes and snowboards and when you watch the video it looks like nothing.
Thats why the chest mount is cool, but it doesnt provide the same sense of speed from the chest mount. Idk why but I tried them both and helmet cam provides speed, and the chest provides the actual gnar
Chest mount works well for bikes but its a no go for snowboarding, stuck with the helmet mount there. The head is the only part of the body that always faces forward when snowboarding.
Awesome video. Just the raw sounds of everything happening around him from the dude at the gate, the people chanting backflip and freeride lives, to Claw's changes in breathing. Its like I was piggybacking Claw the whole time. Fantastic.
ya I was just pointing out how TheDirtyNomad clearly missed the joke the hecklers were throwin at claw. of course it made him go faster. those who were there know, also, those with ears
You know, you got to hand it to Darren, to have fun on his bike, going out of his area of ridding and doing pretty good. I bet that he had no thoughts of winning, but got together with some buddies, and said lets go have fun, support this event, and had a blast, same thing when Cedric did the Rampage, a racer going that big. Hats off to the guys that go to have fun, support the biking community and show fans that they can to if they want.
So much love shown for the Claw! Good on him for doing something a little different. Good on the DH scene for being so accepting of a freerider in their sandbox.
I am speechless... He ended 30th but for me it's like he won. When you consider everything else he can do on his bike - huge backflips, frontflips, 360s, tailwhips... incredible stuff! Don't forget building and shoveling on his Bearclaw invitational and everything else he is doing for our sport... Man is a legend!! Just for fun he tries a race and beats so many guys who are focused only on speed... nothing else! That's simply amazing! He has my undying admiration since ROAM where I first saw him, but he amazes me again and again.
watching this makes my heart pound, gives me raging butterflies, brings a taste to the back of my throat, makes me nervous and excited. up until the point where there are screaming fans it feels like im on that run.
well done claw,an awesome all round rider.
Now THAT was kewl. Finally just some raw footage to absorb vs. a posted movie with music and trailers etc. Kind of wish there was a bit more of both on the posts. To have each team that does a team segment have a race vid for each rider, then a team vid with music etc. to showcase their weekend would be sweet. One thing for certain, Claw seemed to be breathing pretty heavy after only just a minute plus, likely the reason he finished a little farther than most hoped. Gotta remember, those WC athletes are just that, WC athletes, conditioning wise they're all at the top of the game....it would be hard for someone like Semenuk or Soderstrom to really do well here without really pushing themselves to condition for the long hauls. Kind of like the Danny McCaskill video, raw talent, but no conditioning, it's just not his business, just like Gee says...there's no need, so why bother pushing yourself too much in that respect....
As some people said before, I am pretty sure Aggy and Semenuk are very fast riders.... not fast enough to win a WC for sure.... but way faster than we think!!!
I was hoping someone would catch that, we both joked about it later. He told me he may reduce his cheese intake after this weekend. Hehehe. Darren was a real treat to see race.
Mate nobody is saying he's the next Sam Hill. But it's a damn respectable run for someone that doesn't race downhill. Shows that talent is talent and it transfers across riding genres.