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Ontario Cup DH - Course Preview

May 24, 2012
by Tuf Rack  
O Cup DH#1 Course Preview

by tufrack
Views: 18,196    Faves: 30    Comments: 3


Here's a little course preview for the first race of the Ontario Cup Downhill series being held at Horseshoe Valley Resort this weekend - May 26/27. The weekend promises to be filled with good times and fast runs so make sure to check it out if you're in the area. For more information check out tufrack.com/events

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109 Comments
  • 635
 Looks like a 6" track to me. I could go way faster on an Enduro bike there.
  • 75
 c25porter your so right.
  • 461
 It's Ontario... We make do with what we have!
  • 156
 In Ontario, if you get going fast enough, you'll want the big bike
  • 70
 ya really dont need the big rigs in ontario DH, my buddy won a few years ago on a 5" commencal 4x bike
  • 46
 why is it so short? like times are gonna be well under 1:30.
  • 32
 because they didn't show the whole track.
  • 60
 Yeah they did, horseshoe is a small hill. Great looking course, looking forward to this weekend!
  • 60
 Last year fastest time was like 54s. Love the effort they put into the race to make it happen.
  • 20
 Eastern half of the continent does a more English style DH. Our mountains are small but our course is tech. Most ski hills east of the Rockies are only 1000ft (~300meters) tall.
  • 41
 I have 5 technical corners at the back of my house on a super steep wooded bank thats about 100 metres long, There super fun to session. You just make do with what you've got.
  • 50
 Horseshoe has about 300 feet of vertical to work with.

Also, from what I understand the course was designed with an eye to progression, so the noobs/groms are not overwhelmed and they have an environment to progress on, but also the fastest lines are the "advanced" so rougher, bigger jumps and drops
In other words depending upon the line you choose, you have a beginner thru advanced.

This hill has a total of 6 DH trails (including the new O-Cup course) that are open for all riders throughout the season.
They range from being able to keep the wheels on the ground to big drops and step-up gaps.

And yes here in Flatario we wish we had more to work with, but like the man said, we make do with what we have.
  • 30
 This is why I moved from Ontario to Alberta. Hello Rocky Mountains!!
  • 10
 C2sporter: word... short travel DH bikes would KILL on that course (and be a ton of fun) I'm imagining a TR250 set down to 6" with a 170mm fork would be SO fun, or maybe a Commencal Metta-SX... god DAM that'd be SO FUN aye.
  • 322
 Ontario DH news on the homepage pf PB?! Shit son this is sick. Stoked for this weekend!
  • 71
 Friggen rights
  • 10
 is there an under 18 hard-tail division? how do i sign up fo this shit?
  • 160
 Why all the criticism? We should be celebrating the fact that Ontario has a healthy downhill scene that promotes and grows the sport. For 90% of the riders, the actual race is secondary to riding the hill and meeting up with friends and competitors to share the mutual respect for a sport we all love. True DH riders will ride any hill any time and be thankful for any time on the bike.
  • 140
 looking good guys. It may be "Just Ontario" but riding courses like this is soo much fun. Looking at the first Canada Cup DH of the year, I maybe wrong, but I did see a ton of Ontario top 5 riders in every class...we have fun here in Ontario!!!! Lets rip it up this weekend!!!! So pumped!
  • 161
 how is this better than kelso?
  • 151
 Amen brother.
  • 81
 I second that.
  • 41
 It's definitely not.
  • 10
 ya i mean im sure it'll be a fun race it usually always is...but i would like to see kelso reappear on the race schedule
  • 10
 yeah, even for the XC o-cups, kelso was an awesome place to race
  • 10
 Kelso's ecosystem's and shit have to rebuild, and racing on it every year and building new trails is supposidly harming it tremendously.
  • 20
 I have a very hard time believing that the impact of some mountain bike trails compare in any way to the winter operations there with respect to erosion, soil movement, clearcutting the forest, or general non-natural development.
  • 32
 Kelso was the most expensive venue to lease for a race and unfortunatly a few veterans or the series convinced the new promoter that everyone was sick of Kelso.It was an awesome venue for our sport,had the biggest attendance of racers and spectators.If the racers ever want to race at Kelso again,let the race organizer know how you feel.They are open to hosting DH races there but the organizer needs to hear the voice of the whole community.Bringing back racing to Kelso is a real possibility for next season and would be a fantastic thing for our sport.Don't have to be a dick about or anything,Just mention it.
  • 80
 Reguardless if the track reqires a full dh rig or not. I'm glad to see this on pb front page and im stoked that horseshoe is steping it up a notch this year. Things can only get better from here.
  • 80
 No matter what it should be a good time for all specially if the weather holds up! Hats off to the Tuf Rack boys for putting the work and time in to keep the series alive!!!! Cya all Sunday..
  • 60
 There was a conscious decision made to build the track wide with many lines. The hope being that the race will be more wide open. A ton of effort was made to add the berms (all built for the race) which will certainly add to the fun, but also makes it not a natural, flat turn style of course.There was a fair degree of effort made to add features that don't need alternate lines - the idea being you take it at speed you double it up or carry to a deeper transition. In retrospect and looking at other similar courses (Sea Otter) the approach might mean that instead of adding some bigger more 4X features, it ended up being a little too approachable.

Still it will be a good weekend. What is of note is that the track was built by a metric ton of volunteer effort. Those volunteers will be there for the next race. If it's not tech enough, it'll be corrected next time around. What Ontario has is a vital and committed race scene. Everyone races Bromont, Mountain Creek etc and understand what bigger mountain DH racing is all about. They key here (I believe) is to try and build courses that can keep the elite riders entertained while continuing to encourage the participation of as large a group as possible.
  • 80
 Looks like good flow + some airtime + high speed berms = good times!!!
Well done
  • 90
 hey, if they're riding bikes and getting stoked, it's all that matters...
  • 10
 That's all that really counts brother! Solidarity out of love for the sport and making due with what you have. I ride Chicopee for fun in Kitchener, Ontario. It is better than nothing!
  • 80
 Yeah, it's not so gnarly. Fun looking track though. Smile
  • 40
 Ontario is not that bad for riding . They have short fun corses that are over in a blink. Most of The real fast guys outta Ontario spend there time in bromont or Move out to bc. And all the other just make do with what they have And go out and ride and that's what its all about just getting out and ripping it. Right
  • 40
 People really need to stop complaining about the lack of difficulty or length of trails, the trail builders in Ontario pour their heart and soul into everything that gets built just like every single other place in the world. There might not be the best terrain, soil or land managers around in Ontario (speaking from experience) but awesome trails like this get banged out and the riders absolutely love it. As a trailbuilder myself, nothing makes me happier than watching riders enjoy the hardwork that I've done and nothing makes me angrier than kids hiding behind their keyboards talking mad ish. You think you can build something bigger and better? Get out there and see how that goes! Big shout outs going out to Shane, Jon and the whole army of volunteers that got this track built!
  • 30
 Hey pinkbike I dont understand why you cover the Ocup with such a small easy trail like this for kids and you cover pratically nothing about qc cup.... Remember tremblant around 4min for elite... Bromont this weekend... really technical ant the twice or triple longer than this trail.... Dont want to talk in bad of ontario... I mean ... Why do we see nothing about the dh scene of quebec on pinkbike???
  • 10
 The write up was submitted by the official organizer of the O-Cup series. If you want Q-Cup coverage, write something up and submit it to PB. I would love to read about the Q-Cup.
  • 10
 I couldn't agree more about QC coverage. A great example is the Bromont Classic, I only heard about it last week. Ask around, get people involved. Look what a great job the Lama Cycle folks have done with their team. I think we would all like to hear more about the races and any upcoming events.
  • 30
 Most of these people that are bitching don't understand that Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario has probably the flattest land around. lol im from Winnipeg , Manitoba, Canada and I wish we had a course like this! all we have is xc trails and some dirt jump spots, that's it.....
  • 20
 I learned dh basics riding at horseshoe and blue

I've applied those basics and have ridden at Whiteface, Mte Ste Anne and Silver Star (in BC)

I didn;t get judged about where I learned to ride, I;m just thrilled that I can ride almost anywhere

You would be surprised where some of the best riders come from.
  • 51
 people ride small race small travel bikes every year, but continually get beat by a rider on a big bike.
  • 10
 No haters I have 110% fun on my 8" bikes I love how I can walk up the hill and then destroy past the competition ...with out the need for all those pointless gears to ride up hill... .even the xc riders are dropping to 1x10 and 2x10 these days ! fun is at the top of my ride list Big Grin
  • 30
 Looks fun.. but not difficult.. but it's fine for had a good race with friends..
  • 10
 I'm not a racer, I'm just a guy that likes to rip it up with any free time i have outside of work. This looks like a fun fast rip. All i have ridden is at Blue Mountain, so this little rip looks like a blast.
  • 53
 thinkn the same thing.... bottle rocket with small block 8 tires rip down that track...
  • 70
 super soft sandy soil, i'd pass on the SB8's
  • 10
 Kelso's better but this seems like a good first race, i wish i still had my hardtail though cuz it would be better than a DH for this lol
  • 10
 I rode it last weekend, it's a lot more fun to ride than it seems on the video. I hope they keep it for the rest of the season.
  • 53
 Air DH? Looks like you just need to know how to corner to do good.
  • 53
 Could be run on a hard tail..
  • 31
 we always race on hardtails
  • 20
 I'm sure they still sell a shitload of DH bikes in Ontario!
  • 22
 No.Most of the new bikes are owned by guys who ride for shop sponsored teams who get a sweet deal then sell them on Pinkbike at the end of every season.Everyone else rides used bikes that they got off Pinkbike.
  • 10
 I rode it last weekend on my hardtail....i felt like it would be faster then on a dh bike...tones of fun.
  • 20
 Looks extremely tame...Not bagging on it, looks sweet.
  • 10
 Taff buggy in Wales last weekend was tougher than this but looks like an easy and fun ride
  • 20
 I'd love to ride there. I don't have a DH rig so this would be perfect.
  • 20
 bigg-ups to my friend coming dead last on his wallmart bike Big Grin
  • 20
 British Columbia ..I'm never leaving you.
  • 12
 Yea just a point i would much rather race a 6 inch bike here then my DH bike or maybe ill get a straight line quick stiffy lol
  • 20
 1:33 wallride?
  • 10
 not bad trail.. its more like xc i guess and not a dh. i dunno!
  • 22
 Well that looked easy compared to B.C downhill tracks
  • 20
 BC has mountains..
  • 11
 That is way easy compared to Vancouver island cup
  • 10
 looks fun! mini DH!
  • 10
 you guys are all so mad
  • 12
 wow if thats a downhill track i should quit the sport man it looks like a 4 x baby track
  • 35
 looks lame, last year there was atleast jumps....
  • 23
 thats way too short
  • 24
 This really isn't a downhill track...its way to....mellow
  • 13
 looks a very lame track to me...
  • 13
 this course looks unbelievably boring.
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