Afterbang - The Final Chapter: Hafjell and Leogang

Scotland, Italy, Andorra, Canada, Norway, Austria….. Class of 2013: dismissed. Into the history books goes another season of hard-fought bicycle wars, one that concluded with an unforgettable head to head. Downhill is maturing at a rate nobody can get to grips with. Suddenly we’re at a point where Cedric Gracia is retired, Troy Brosnan is a well-established elite and Sam Hill’s domination of the late-2000s is cobweb-coated vintage. The fact is these are still the early days in our sport's evolution. ‘Remember when Stevie Smith took his first overall?’ we will smirk. And we’ll think back to the days where wheel size was bitterly debated, people had to make back-protectors out of cereal boxes for UCI regulations and laugh at all those low resolution 16mp photos of retro gear we used to froth over. Well, before we draw a line under this season we should pause to reflect and savor it a little. School is out; the shrill sound of the bell is hurting our ears, but we can’t go yet because we need some more pictures for the yearbook.



Rewind with us two weeks, to a fairy-tale land of grass roofs, forests, trolls, Vikings, Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf. Come back to a time before Stevie Smith had sealed his fate as the 2013 season title-holder, to the climbs of the Scandinavian Olympic village, Hafjell, Norway.































With a mustache soaking up the Brut for a second time, Smith had turned the tables and split the season dead in two. What began with Atherton firing on all cylinders ready to steamroll the season, the other side of Thirion's Round 3 win had swung around in the Canadian's favor. Although you could see Smith didn't plan to stop for a moment, Atherton still narrowly had the series in a headlock and you'd still count on him to snap its neck and take it home from Austria.



The Leogang course received a hostile reception from most riders, but it quickly became clear this was a battle that would entertain if it were held in an underground car park. This was the kind of bare-knuckle match that Gwin had stamped out in two seasons of domination... Finally a true face-off, and the people were baying for blood. The views were breathtaking in any case, and by the time the riders had roughed things up, we were back on track for an alpine epic. Minnaar, the winner of the previous year at the champs was hurt and after qualifying just those 3 irrelevant points stood between another Stevie massacre or a deja Gee.























Unbelievable that in Hannah's two years off the scene he was totally bike-celibate... He quit. Now he's back 6th in the overall looking to take wins on any track. The full 'Sik comebak' just missed this time, but Cairns better be ready for his deadly smooth speed-tuck.










'Just charge and focus...' Stevie Smith, the champion 5 years in the making with trainer Todd Schumlik, finally rises to the top. 3rd at Fort William, 2nd at Val di Sole, 4th at Vallnord and taking wins at Mont St Anne, Hafjell & Leogang in a total clean sweep of late-season obliteration. Bronze would have been enough to take the title home, but he stomped a clean victory over everyone of 1.3 seconds just for good measure. 2013, year of the great mustached chainsaw massacre!