It's A Boy...! Vallnord World Cup Qualifying
As the mainstreamers of the world fuss over that royal baby that's on the way (did it happen yet?), a more important re-birth of a very different ilk was proposed today in the forests of Andorra. Sam Hill made an advance on the DH throne, dropping jaws with a mighty solid run down Cedric's course to re-appear from his lengthy top-step sabbatical, come upper-podium hibernation... albeit just for qualifying. How significant is such a turn-up? Well of course it will mean little without a good showing in the main event. But the bed has been made, will he manage to get his head down before someone else gets the sheets dirty come Sunday?
Anyway, that's the latest burning question headlining all the tabloids since the royal baby was born (Google says it was born). What's most exciting is that both Hill and Gee are fresh in town, while multiple other big names including Minnaar (in 2nd by a fragment of a second) have been in La Massana, riding this track on and off for two weeks. A troubling thought for the Southern hemisphere chap and the other well-practiced riders. Without further ado, here's a full pack of photo highlights and a pile of gossip from throughout the day...
Anyway, on a more sincere note, we had to know how Cedric's track was so particularly non-jump and berm oriented coming from such a renowned purveyor of ludicrous style.... Here's what he had to say:
Anyway, that's the latest burning question headlining all the tabloids since the royal baby was born (Google says it was born). What's most exciting is that both Hill and Gee are fresh in town, while multiple other big names including Minnaar (in 2nd by a fragment of a second) have been in La Massana, riding this track on and off for two weeks. A troubling thought for the Southern hemisphere chap and the other well-practiced riders. Without further ado, here's a full pack of photo highlights and a pile of gossip from throughout the day...
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 What a day for Nukeproof and team. Sam Hill mashing down the first spot and bikes getting prepped for tomorrow's last day of practice. |
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| UNLIMITED FREE SAINT COMPONENTS given away all day long or until the container runs dry! So who's coming to Andorra to watch the final on Sunday? Plus today we're giving away unlimited free wild speculation. |
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| So bears are rare in Andorra, but you still shouldn't walk the forest unaccompanied. That's what Cedric did and it took an elbow-parry just like this followed by a squirt of pepper spray to deflect a savage attack. Steve Peat was actually first on the scene, so he can tell you the whole story. |
Anyway, on a more sincere note, we had to know how Cedric's track was so particularly non-jump and berm oriented coming from such a renowned purveyor of ludicrous style.... Here's what he had to say:
 | There's one jump because it's the only space we had to make it 'cause it's so steep and gnarly already haha! But you know we can jump from rock to rock and corner to corner 'cause the bottom is super steep. There's a lot of bunny-hopping if you want to avoid stuff. Every jump I've done since yesterday I never hit the same rut or line it's just crazy and it's hard to make it all the way down without a crash too. We're not used to such a downhill anymore, this is what MTB used to be for me...you know... not machined everywhere! We cut out some trees, made it natural, let the rider ride and that's why a lot of people are stoked on the track. Also scared! It's not a track you ride without attacking... You can't cruise, you need to hit it hard with man balls! Haha! - Cedric Gracia, CG Racing Brigade |
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| A perfect nook to stow away the energy juice at camp Atherton...so long as the trail you're riding's a little more gentle than Vallnord DH. |
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| The boys checking out some of the XC action across the street from the pits. |
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| Miami checking out all the latest updates of the Royal Birth. It's so inconvenient being stuck in the woods when all the interesting and meaningful stuff's going on back home. |
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| Face to face with a man who you could describe as 'totally off his box' when it comes to bike riding. Remi Thirion has been the talk of the town these last days for his habit of remaining off the ground and slamming turns like no one else. A brief 'Franglais' communication led to only a small amount of info as to how he was finding the course (read- 'what is actually wrong with his soul'). |
| The track is for my style, I like it steep... I have a good feeling about it. I love my bike with the BOS suspension.- Remi Thirion, Commencal Riding Addiction |
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| Remi's telemetry set-up for his BOS front and rear had his Commencal looking a little bit like a telegraph pole in downtown Calcutta. Rest assured the computers had a lot to think about after qualis as he smoked into fifth later on! |
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| Sam Hill has openly mentioned that this is his favorite track in years, that it mixes the finer aspects of Schladming and Champery--both tracks that helped seal Hill firmly into DH racing lore. |
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| Morgane Charre warming up in the early morning light. |
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| A flash of the goggles through the trees, but no flash in the pan. The teenager from Nice would hold his run of deadly form once again later on. |
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| Tweaker on the brow... 11th at Val Di Sole Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo was having a great time sessioning the track with the Evil Vengeance Tour crew, rolling in 24th for qualification. |
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| Brosnan and Gwin talking line choice on one of the trickier steep sections. |
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| Now that is a Prime, A-Grade racing rut. Sam Dale slithering through. |
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| Josh Bryceland pinned through the lower section of the track. |
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| Take one half-cucumber. Dice. Sprinkle your breadcrumbs generously and smatter with the citrus zest you prepared earlier. Mix in the liquefied onion peel and cover in the banana skins and tomato pips. Shake. Smother in mustard. And that's how you'll stay hydrated and energized throughout your full day's riding at world class level. Lunchtime with Stevie Smith |
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| Lorenzo Suding parked his 'Frecia tricolore' in the hangar number 6 today. |
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| Tough day for Bryn Atkinson, but the fact he's racing here is great--he broke two of the floating wings on his vertebrae at Val di Sole and has only been cleared to train again for two weeks, which is simply not enough time to prepare for this monster of a track in Andorra. |
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| This is Peaty. The old dog might drop some numbers off his plate after this weekend. 14th in qualifying and showing no signs of slowing down at 39y/o. |
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| Cedric, playing in his backyard. 76th (CG, thanks for saving my life today!) |
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| Pom Pom crashed out today in her seeding run, but being a protected rider she will be back at in on Sunday. |
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| Manon Carpenter may have found the right track to deliver some decent competition to Rachel Atherton. Born and raised in the Welsh valleys Manon loves a bit of the steep stuff, 'innit butt'... as I am lead to believe people from that particular vicinity say. |
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| Fixie riders will occasionally have skid competitions to see who can lay the longest skid--I can guarantee Troy Brosnan and every other racer here in Andorra laid a skid on this section of track that'd put even a NYC bike messenger to shame. |
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| Pins, sticky rubber, springs, cleats, whatever... Blenky, firmly attached to his bike, 8th fastest. |
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| Brendan Fairclough could be about to get himself back in the zone... 9th this afternoon! |
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| Neko Mulally's intensive training is paying off. 10th fastest qualifier. |
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| Daniel Algarra Navarro squeezed between the usual names of the junior field, 2nd fastest in fact. |
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| Heckling materials check. Triple air horns attached to a pump.. TLD grips included. |
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| Bulldog getting a few practice laps in, however due to a minor recent injury he decided not to ride the seeding run. As a protected rider, we will be seeing him smash the course on Sunday. |
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| Top junior in seeding today: Michael Jones from Great Britain. Seems as if every World Cup this season has seen a different junior rise to form, unlike last year's battle between Loic Bruni and Richie Rude. |
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| The break between the junior's and the women's race is just too long... even for the course whisperer himself. |
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| Tawnee Seagrave cutting it mighty close to a fine Pinoideae specimen... |
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| Nice blue groove... The topsoil on this section of track has been cut down to a fine gray-ish blue clay that means, "what brakes?" |
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| Morgane Charre delivered a great contrast with the background wearing that world champ jersey in the qualis. 4th fastest lady on track. |
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| Rachel Atherton with the GoPro on her final practice run before qualifying... evidently Rachel missed something while reviewing the track--an off the bike pushed her back to second behind Manon Carpenter. |
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| Blue dawn... Zarja Cernilogar does her utmost not to clash on track. Representing the Blackthorn GT, Slovenian contingent, she wrenches for herself and no monkeying, she bagged another top ten this afternoon after 2 out of 2 in Scotland and Italy. |
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| Manon Carpenter on top for the day. "I watched some helmet cam footage of Harry Heath's practice run and spotted a few new lines, and that certainly helped out. Hopefully I can hold on to it come Sunday" |
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| Danny Hart pump tracking through the mid section of track. Seems he's getting closer to putting it all together again; twelfth on the day. |
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| Joe Smith grabbing a handful of "whoah!" on the lower section of the track. |
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| Get yourself an iPhone and become a "real" photographer... |
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| A fine start went south on the lower slopes according to Aaron. The smoking mists of curiosity currently enveloping the American may have turned into a more tangible thick soup by Sunday afternoon. It's never been less clear how Gwin is riding. Still he will have put in a time some 52 riders before Hill comes screaming under the finishing arch. Will he be found sipping 'Bull and applauding sympathetically from the plush upholstery of the hot seat? |
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| It's half an hour before his qualifying run and he's on the trainer looking about ready to tear somebody's face off. Nothing like a bit of Swifty to get you in the zone before your run. Still, not really the time to tap Gee on the shoulder and make a recommendation...Thank god for that soothing cool-vest. |
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| On track Atherton looked classically in control and classically breath-takingly rapid. |
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| Man of the day Sam Hill completely pinned down the course. The steep and quite fast track is a perfect matched course for Hill. After a long spell of injury and bad luck, the king is possibly back for sure. Certainly maybe... k tell you Sunday. |
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| The man...the myth. |
Author Info:
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
Must Read This Week
Great captions whoever wrote it!
Can we have a top 20 list though?
Go on Hill!
due too its nonsense about hype and online jokes....
And then you go and get us excited with that Saint giveaway BS. I can't even get past the first two photos. You are a bastard of a tease.
I can't stand this. Where's my Valium....
...2nd qualifier doesnt make the photo cut...maybe just too fast for the lense
Though the pureed onion skin... That stuff can't be chewed, it's like indestructable paper. Can't stand the stuff, we only use for stocks at my cafe. Certainly not to eat.
More photos: www.facebook.com/MTBfotoPhotography/photos_albums