AUS-pocalypse Now - WC XC Finals Photo Epic
It's been a wild week in Australia. We arrived to find a lush jungle and monsoon rains of biblical proportions. The pits had more mud than a tractor pull arena. It was all slipping, sliding, and fighting the elements. This has been one of the toughest World Cups for everyone involved (including our camera equipment). Come Saturday, the rains had subsided and it was amazing just how quickly things dried out. By Sunday, there were but a few patches of water left pooling on the course, and tires could finally roll without getting caked with 10 extra pounds of mud. Notably absent was Nino Schurter, as he was off road racing. There were solid performances by Aussie favorites and AUS National Champs, Bec Henderson and Dan McConnell, who finished tenth and fourth, respectively. At the end of the weekend, there were no reports of anyone succumbing to poisonous snake or spider bites, nor where there reports of people consumed by crocodiles. Just a bunch of really damp, smelly clothes that are in bad need of washing and camera gear that is in desperate need of some tender loving care.
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 They are absolutely bananas for Dan McConnell and Bec Henderson down here. |
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| Despite all the stories we have heard about how dangerous things are in the jungle, we've seen plenty of folks walking about throughout he undergrowth and climbing trees with bare feet and and not a care in the world. |
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| Julie Bresset leads through the feed zone on the start lap. Things wouldn't go as planned for the World Champ, as she DNF'd for the day. |
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| Eva Lechner was a powerhouse today. She took an early lead and held on to it for all but a brief moment. |
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| We've seen and heard about plenty of deadly things here in AUS, but this tree frog isn't one of them. |
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| Crocodile rock was the only Croc eating anyone out there today. The big slab is much steeper than this photo makes it look. |
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| Jolanda Neff led Eva Lechner for a brief spell, but she just couldn't keep up the pace. |
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| Jolanda Neff looks back to check if Irina Kalentieva is gaining on her after she was passed by Emily Batty. Batty had a fantastic ride to second place. |
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| The entry into the Jacobs Ladder rock garden is fast and riddled with berms. Then, it's on the brakes to get your hard tail through the rocks. |
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| Sabine Spitz still has what it takes. The German pushed hard to finish fourth place. Not too shabby for a woman who is almost twice as old as the rest of the field. |
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| Georgia Gould giving everything she has left on the final lap. Gould was sitting in the front of the field, but a crash put her just outside the top ten. |
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| Eva Lechner took off like a rocket from the start and never looked back, finishing fifty two seconds up on second place, Emily Batty. |
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| An elated Eva Lechner congratulates Emily Batty after her second place finish. |
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| Maja Wloszczowska left nothing out on the track today. She wouldn't be able to keep in stride with her South Africa performance, however, coming across the line in fourteenth place. |
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| Dan McConnell gets the hole shot. He would be over taken half way through the first lap, but would finish fourth. |
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| Nino Schurter was missing form the World Cup in Cairns to do a little road racing. We leave you with Simon Gegenheimer for the XC style points of today. |
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| Mathias Fluckiger pushed hard today, and it payed off. Mathias led for two laps before Absalon reeled him in and overtook him. Fluckiger finished second. |
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| Julien Absalon flatted on lap four, and lost some ground. He clawed his way back up through the field to take the win in two laps time. |
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| Great day for the young American SRAM TLD rider, Russell Finsterwald, finishing 27th after starting back in the fifth row. |
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| Maxime Marotte had a solid day on the track at Cairns. He rode consistently, and was able to keep that number three plate into the next round. |
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| Andrew Blair battles the heat at the feed zone. 85F degree temps (29C) and high humidity made staying hydrated and cool a loosing battle. |
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| Julien Absalon has done it again. He has now notched up 28 World Cup wins, making him the greatest XC racer in history. |
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| Nothing left in the tank. Aussie Andrew Blair hasn't raced on an international level in years. Some estimates put his last big race around Cairns, World Champs. He came across the line in the top thirty, spent, and happy at what he had accomplished. |
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| Kohei Yamamoto feeling the sting of battle. He left a fair amount of skin out on the course, but he still came across the finish line. |
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| That's two for the flying Frenchman. Julien Absalon cools down after the race. |
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Oh and xc racing and road racing are really not the same thing; not the same exercise duration, not the same muscles involved, and shifting bewteen climbing and downhill are more frequent in xc.
(+ I don't really like guys accusing someone of doping without any proof)
“They stayed for a fortnight. I trained with them in the Dolomites and taught them how to do vitamin injections and how to take EPO and Synacthen.”
Rasmussen claims the riders left with haematocrit values of over 48%, close to the limit of 50% and achieved excellent results.
“Chris Sheppard was sixteenth at the World Championships, Seamus McGrath was sixth or eight...and Ryder Hesjedal finished second. Hesjedal would have won Olympic gold if he hadn’t punctured just before the finish. In 2012, after a number of good years on the road, he won the Giro d'Italia.”
New Ultimate Carbon 31,6 x410 complete =130g
So u have around 420g weight difference.
Sure I can ride the same stuff on a 130 bike but def not same pace/control as 150-160ish
Also, Nino raced road instead? What a major let down from my favorite rider.