Video: World Championships Practice

Aug 31, 2013 at 4:24
by Matt Wragg  


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Member since Oct 29, 2006
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83 Comments
  • 98 9
 Downhill needs tracks like this to grow to a wider audience. Sure, its not the roughest or the steepest but it's ridiculously fast and the jumps are huge. Whenever I'm trying to show off downhill to someone who doesn't know what it is I find that they're way more impressed by the huge jumps of PMB than somewhere that's a bit rough or steep - the technicality doesn't come through until you've tried to ride it yourself.

Oh, and on the 26 vs 29 vs whatever front... don't restrict the bikes through legislation, let the bikes develop naturally so we get what's fastest. Imagine if back in the day they put in a rule to say that all bikes raced in downhill had to have a head angle of 70 degrees and clip pedals?! I don't mind that people race on different bikes, it keeps it interesting IMO.
  • 6 1
 I totally agree with you!!!
  • 11 0
 i had the same problem , i showed a girl i was trying to impress, a video of dh (because she wanted to know what sport i do ) so i chose danny hart's world cup winning run and she said this is rubbish right until the end where he pulls that massive whip . after that she was like a dog on hot chips .
  • 4 1
 I think that a compromise needs to be made, it would be cool if DH tracks could have some Rampage-esque drops and technical sections as well as flat out jumps. I feel that the courses need to be designed to that a DH bike really is needed to do well.
  • 8 1
 The trouble with demanding that all DH tracks be designed so a conventional full DH bike is needed is modern AM/enduro/whatever-you-want-to-call-them bikes are getting very, very good. With the same component spec and enough commitment you can ride the slacker enduro bikes almost as quick as a DH bike on most downhill bits of track - so to completely remove the temptation to ride an enduro bike you couldn't have tracks with any sort of a reasonable pedal on the calendar. Personally, I like that there are some physically demanding tracks for world cups as I think the variety is good as it drives the riders to be all round athletes and it goes some way to guard against one rider being able to win all the time.

I think that if a track is good to watch and enough riders enjoy it then that's a perfectly good reason to keep it in the schedule. I also think it's pretty important to have a southern hemisphere track in the schedule if we're going to call it a world cup!
  • 3 11
flag merlinmarlee (Aug 31, 2013 at 14:37) (Below Threshold)
 Its a tough call for sure.I think downhill should now be evolving for spectators and television.One way to do this is to half the length of the tracks,make them more knarly so theres no way you could use a enduro bike.By having 2 minute crazy tracks the riders would look faster on tv,more of the track would be viewable.This way you actually get to see the riders on nearly all of the track.Because the tracks would be shorter,the concept of only having 1 run wouldnt work as such,so i think to see whos the best and most consistent rider of that track on that day,there should be 2 runs for the top 20 timed riders.Maybe on the 2nd run the line could change slightly.Anyways this is the only way i can see how Downhill should evolve.
  • 8 0
 Ride your bike hard have fun and keep building is all u should be doing. im not out there for tv or multiple runs its about fun. period.
  • 7 3
 @merlinmarlee... did i read that right? Are you insane? You think all DH courses should evolve just so people can watch the 6 world cup races a year better? That may be the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard. Downhill is about pushing the limits of yourself and your bike, not about showing off to people sitting at home behind a computer. That's why modern tracks are incredibly long and incredibly difficult. These guys don't ride for the sake of your entertainment, they ride because they love it, because they are damn amazing at it. I'd love to see you go up to a group of World Cup riders at an event and suggest that to them. You'd get laughed out of the village.
  • 2 0
 UCI tried taking it to the masses about 8 years ago. It produced some of the worst races in history eg: 1:20 course at MSA, Calgary, Willengen etc...
  • 2 2
 @OscarJames... no it doesnt sound like you heard that right.Of course in all sports the competitors do it for themselves,thats a no brainer.But thats not how it works when a sport tries to get more coverage for the greater mases.What i said is what would need to be done for that.Look at other sports and how the formats have had to change to keep the general mases entertained.Yes its still great for us riders as we understand the sport.What we see online at the moment is great dont get me wrong,but it has the potential to be even more envolving and entertaining for the public by using the methods i explained.Why would i go up to a group of world cup riders and explain that,coverage of world cups have nothing to do with the riders.Yes for us its about the riders,but for the teams and sponsers its about coverage.
  • 3 1
 Facepalm
  • 1 2
 Smile
  • 28 0
 Nice to see all the riders in different Jerseys, shows that it is the World Champs. I would love to see Stevie win it for a first for Canada.
  • 8 0
 Such a siiiiiiic video!!!!! STEVIE FOR THE WIN!!!!
  • 6 0
 ya wish there was a longer clip of Steve. he was looking comfy on that bike. super quiet body movement and still pinned and centered
  • 28 2
 Wow. Graves on that Yeti is a scary sight. So quick !
  • 6 2
 so stoked for the race tomorrow!
  • 2 0
 Looked damn fast on that tight stuff at least, interesting race going to be... Smile
  • 18 6
 Nice video horrendous music!!
  • 6 2
 Glad I am not the only one...I had to mute it!
  • 11 1
 Where was Peaty's section!!!
  • 7 0
 In the background of Minaar's at 2:05!
  • 6 0
 My two cents is to follow. Being a Canadian citizen (I'm a gaddamn immigrant from Jamaica), I want Mustache Smith to win. That said, however, I'd be happy to see any one of the top lads take it, too. I'd love to see Hill win after having clawed his way back to form. I'd love to see Aaron Gwin take to for the same reason, and also to hear "'murica" being shouted on PB, for the fun of it, and also because he's a nice chap. Mick is due. Peaty coming from out of nowhere would have me shouting for joy. Crap, I like every racer, quite frankly. They all work so hard and watching them ride is a pleasure. My own quasi patriotism aside, one of the many cool things about this sport is how so many from different countries simply choose a favourite racer regardless of nationality. I think that is bitchin'. Sure, we may tend to go for our home town guy or girl; but, and the end of the day, we're all a collective, a global community where borders don't necessarily mean anything terribly important.

"Come on, Stevie! Pedal like a mad man, mah bru."

May the best man and woman win.

Cheers, everyone.
  • 2 0
 Hahahaha. I was watching this thinking to myself that this is the gayest song I've ever heard. Then my wife walks past in the background and asks, and quote " what is that song saying, I'm looking for a man hole????" End quote hahaha

I laughed my ass off
  • 1 0
 I just find this really interesting how there are DH bikes, a 29er, and an enduro specialist bike, should throw some wild card results. maybe if Mitch wins this the DH scene may go 29er. And Jared Graves on his yeti should be a good one, he has the fitness from enduro so I guess anything can happen in PMB that's the great thing about it
  • 1 0
 Graves looking PINNED at 0.48. Loved watching the full speed sections, just made the slow-mo parts even more frustrating. Oddly, all i ever see is comments about overuse of slo-mo, yet every vid still overuses it. Apart from the slo-mo, epic vid. Great to see the riders smashing it SO fast.
  • 4 0
 Im a big fan of Stevie but i wish Good guy Greg can take the win!
  • 4 1
 Mitch was pounding that 29er.
  • 4 1
 Graves so stylish on that enduro bike!!! Can't wait for tomorrow!
  • 3 0
 mitch ropelato just seeded 2nd on a 29ER!!!!!!!!!
  • 3 0
 Wish I could have seen Graves boost the massive tables on his SB-66!
  • 2 0
 Looks like they are going to have a camera at the tables tomorrow, so you might be in luck
  • 1 0
 some epic shredding is gonna go down tomorrow, can't wait! so many fast guys in the field these days, guess i'll be cheering for all the riders
  • 3 0
 Gee needs to ice his cake
  • 1 0
 This is frat year following WC DH. What is world champs? Is it a separate title from the overall points? Can someone enlighten me?
  • 1 0
 **first
  • 2 2
 separate race, not tie into WC points or standings. One day race for the stripes.
  • 1 0
 Ah, thanks for the info.
  • 2 0
 What is that bike Stevie Smith is riding, unless my eyes deceive it's no wilson...is it a Dixon? Or a proto?
  • 3 0
 Missed the article? www.pinkbike.com/news/Steve-Smith-devinci-prototype-world-champs.html
  • 1 0
 Just judging from the video I'd say Sam is looking faaaaast! My top three not in any order: Minnaar, Hill, Hannah....Gwin and Smith as alternates.
  • 1 0
 Personally I loved this video and the music. It's not often that I have seen such a well produced edit of actual DH racing (practice or otherwise). Two thumbs up!
  • 1 0
 Great dynamics in video, good music as well " The Parkin Brothers" quite often,
have good, " music cherries" in their videos .
  • 1 0
 There should be a law against music like that in a DH video. Most music today just plain sucks.
  • 1 0
 This is one of the videos which explains to me why i ride downhill and why i have started it.. One love.
  • 4 2
 Johannes Fischbach will win
  • 3 1
 I want to ride now.....that's all.....great edit!
  • 1 0
 Looks like I'm not riding tomorrow now......... Just spectating.. This is a race I don't want to miss
  • 1 0
 That's why you should of gone out this morning :-)
  • 1 0
 Ain't work a bitch.....
  • 1 0
 Ahh unlucky!
  • 1 0
 Holy shit the boys are lookin so fast! Its gonna ge so bad ass tomoro morn!!!! WOOHOO
  • 4 5
 Ironic, is it not, to slow down riding that is purely about going fast? I hate watching racing in slow motion. A few clips slow here and there are fine, but this was too much. At least it wasnt accompanied by dubstep
  • 5 0
 I like watching things like the practice runs in Slow-Mo. Don't get me wrong, whilst Rod Warmer is commentating, I want to see real time, full speed race runs.
  • 2 0
 Steve Smitthhhhhhhh!!!!!!
  • 2 0
 Stevie! Had to rewind his section four times, so sick!
  • 1 0
 I think they should really make another worldcup dvd like the freecaster one! It was purley awesome. ???????????
  • 1 0
 Anyone know if some with accommodating bikes are choosing to run them in their lower travel settings?
  • 1 0
 Searching for a miracle... A miracle... a miracle... a.. (blows his head off to stop the music in his head)
  • 1 0
 I know people who have the word "downhill" all wrong.....pls knock some sense to their thick skull dh gods!
  • 1 0
 i'm so stoked..!! cant't wait to watch those single crowns rule the DH Smile (evil laugh)
  • 1 0
 I honestly want ropelato to win now, watching him rip that 29er is scary shit
  • 1 0
 Looks so wet, spikes all the way for that track in these conditions
  • 1 0
 I think the song the miracle from Muse
  • 2 0
 Hurts miracle the music
  • 1 0
 where can I watch this live tomorrow?
  • 1 0
 redbull.com/bike
  • 2 1
 if they cut it out again w 4 riders to go. Frown
  • 1 0
 I like that dry ground! Sam will be glad...
  • 2 0
 When are the qualifiers!
  • 1 0
 i cant get these videos to play wtf any one got any ideas
  • 1 0
 I wanna see an upset, I want Peaty to win! Smile
  • 1 0
 I would love to race that track
  • 2 1
 what a shitty song...
  • 2 1
 Whats the music?
  • 10 4
 the worst EVER!!!
  • 2 1
 Rebecca Black? Dubstep? The music was airy and boring, but worse is certainly out there. *Smile.*
  • 1 1
 Does anyone know name of the song ?
  • 1 0
 Lots of jumps
  • 1 0
 that was good .
  • 3 4
 Minaar to win win to Minaar Smile !
  • 4 7
 Hate to see how pinkbike doesn't give any credit to the Parkin Bros when posting DirtTV vids....
  • 4 0
 um, on the homepage "The Parkin Brothers deliver the goods from PMB"







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