Video: The Sport of Hard Knocks

Sep 4, 2013
by David Craft  
The Sport of Hard Knocks

by Muc-OffCrew
Views: 7,782    Faves: 8    Comments: 0


Hadliegh Farm gained its tough reputation after several high profile crashes and DNFs at the 2012 games. This year was no different. With Dave Henderson taking a fall in practice that would knock him out of the race entirely, training alone was enough of a test. The lads put on a brave face and started strong, but with mechanical failures and a few rough patches, it just wasn't to be.

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69 Comments
  • 123 25
 I feel so honored to be the first comment. All of my hard work and dedication has paid off. Getting the top comment has been a dream of mine for many years, and i would like to thank those who have helped me along the way. First and foremost i would like to thank god for giving me this opportunity. Next i would like to thank my parents. I want to thank my friend Josh Arcaro, for being really skinny and always there for me. I would also like to thank my pet tadpole for surviving against all odds for over a week. Next i would like to thank the squirrel that lives in my backyard for climbing trees because that gives me inspiration that i need to get through the day. This is a special moment in my life and i would like to thank any of my unmentioned friends and family that have helped me along the way. This moment will be a moment that i will never forget. I just remembered a few other people i would like to thank; facebook, the fish i caught in the third grade, my light in my room bc i wouldn’t be able to see the keyboard without it, the internet for letting me go on facebook, my house because without it i would be homeless, and last but not least i would like to thank all the people out there that actually took time out of their day to read this. I cannot stress how much of a big deal to me this is. I have been trying to be the first comment on a post for years, but that has not been possible until this amazing day. Hopefully my good luck will continue, but this is undoubtedly a rare occasion. If you asked me how i did this, i would say, you can achieve anything u set your mind on. To all the kids out there reading this, i would like to tell them to follow their dreams. Being the top comment is amazing, thank you everyone
  • 58 7
 virgin^
  • 72 19
 He spent half a hour writing this comment and It is still the first one. Thats because the thread is about XC and here on PB no one cares.
  • 7 1
 @knolly20 that guy kills me......lmfao
  • 13 5
 He had it pre written and copy n pasted
  • 4 3
 epic
  • 8 2
 He just copy and pasted from previous PB article
  • 3 2
 LMAO!! Knolly that was simply epic!
  • 2 0
 you got that from obama's inauguration, didn't you?
  • 33 18
 XC isn't F1. It's more like a 24 hour nascar race. No fense to the XCers out there. It's like a 24 hour nascar race because it takes lots of endurance, but not much technical skill. DH is more like F1 because it takes lots of skill and focus, but they don't do large periods of racing. Enduro is like Le Mans, because it takes technical skill and endurance.
  • 7 5
 Also the sheer expenditure on bikes, research and technology in DH to gain those precious few thousands of a second (seems to me) is much more than XC. I mean take Stevie Smiths and Nick Beers rigs for the recent WC
  • 45 3
 Enduro is definitely more like rally, and then 4x would be rallycross. XC, I personally find would be best compared to Le Mans, because it does require a high level of technical ability despite its reputation, and ridiculous endurance. Go and ride a high level XC course, and then imagine a seat up your a$$, super narrow bars, slick tires, suspension that is all but negligible, zero protection, and a bunch of other people rubbing elbows and bumping tires with you. It looks lame compared to DH, but when you actually try it, you realize just how good those guys are.
  • 7 1
 That's a good example for enduro also. I ride an XC bike for DH and I do know how hard it is. I also have done a couple XC races and it is a lot more fun than it looks. Even on the downhill. In saying that, in Le Mans you have cars that are anything from race specific to highly modified road cars( despite being aston martins, Ferraris, etc). That to me is very much like enduro, because you see guys all the time using DH bikes or XC bikes in an enduro race. Also XC focuses on endurance and strength. Just because Nascar looks boring doesn't mean it's not hard. Those guys are under a lot of g forces and things can go wrong real fast. XC=Nascar. But I do agree with you a lot @nation.
  • 29 5
 XC takes an incredible amount of skill! Have you tried going through a proper XC course with your seat way up your ass on an aggressive frame that keeps you pointed square over your little 100mm fork?
I still don't understand why people don't think that requires skill. Most of the courses they ride are what some of the tough Pinkbikers would call "All Mountain"....and you kids are going at it on 6 inch bikes and pads...and rest assured you are going slower than these pros.

We can make lycra jokes all day, but don't say XC requires less skill than downhill. That is an asinine remark and proves you have never ridden XC.
  • 8 2
 ^This
  • 9 2
 XC requires equal and/or more skill, I mean try riding a intermediate technical course down, with your seat up your ass without almost any protection, on a 100mm hardtail, yeah i forgot, you have to get up the same hill 6-7 times in a row...
  • 1 0
 DH is nothing like F1 , we do 1 lap off road , DH is more comparable to the WRC , shorter stages , off road , one chance. But saying that Enduro is comparable to WRC too...
  • 1 0
 That's what makes DH great, its not really like anything. The format is closest to DH skiing (solo time trial on closed course), as is the gradient, but the bikes, setup, r&d, focus and actual performance are somewhere in between moto and rally IMO. Its like a point-to-point moto. DH is a constantly evolving fusion of many different racing styles and formats, and like it or not the bigger wheels are going to add another element which just means more variables in the 'Formula'.
  • 2 0
 1) as long as you ride, you're good 2) let's not get carried away comparing racing two wheels to racing four
  • 10 0
 Do you think you got enough "Muc-off" shots in there...seriously that was way too many!
  • 9 0
 What do you mean..? Did Muc Off have something to do with this video..?
  • 3 3
 muc off..worst scam ever...$$$$
  • 2 1
 That muc off thing... It rings a bell... Like I saw it somewhere
  • 5 0
 Comparing biking to car racing, mistake.
In my opinion; XC is the birth place of all your other off road bike sports with Cycle-X being a close match.
Hardcore or not (which who gives a flying suck), if you ride your bike off-road, you owe it to the sport of "hard knocks".
  • 1 0
 ^^
  • 6 1
 XC riding, when done seriously (as in falling a lot w/ no pads at high speed on sketchy singletrack) makes DH riding in a park a hell of a lot more fun when you get the chance to do it.
  • 8 4
 On the MTB/four wheel motorsport scale, XC is more touring car racing(BTCC or DTM), DH is trophy truck racing, Enduro is rally racing. IMO, XC is the toughest of the three disciplines I mention.
  • 1 0
 i'd say DH was pretty tough if you aren't coordinated... riding an xc track may be a bit easier for people without skills.
  • 6 2
 I want more XC coverage on Pinkbike not because I like XC more than any other type of riding, but because PInkbike's coverage of other stuff is so. damn. good.
  • 6 1
 Surely the extra weight of a pair of lock on grips would have been beneficial there?
  • 5 1
 Wow what an XCiting video ;o) I think these guys could learn a thing or two from the syndicate team videos.
  • 4 3
 If XC is like F1 then curling must be like NHL hockey.

Seriously though, I have noticed that a few of the WC courses have indeed gotten gnarlier and actually has some jumps strewned in. and a number of the top 20 guys are indeed excellent technical riders (and with some style), who would do well in an Enduro.

Unfortunately, here in the mid-atlantic, XC at the amateur level is dominated by leg shaving dirt roadies. They reroute trails if a rock is over 3 inches in diameter, or god forbid, have to ride over roots.

So i guess, my prejudice is shaped by my local environment, elitist attitudes of most XC riders/racers i've encountered. I just don't get all that excited by XC. sorry.
  • 1 0
 I was there for this race and trust me, you needed plenty of technical skill to get through the weekend without stacking it. Lots of people crashing and leaving for the hospital.
  • 1 0
 I hope pinkbike does more coverage on XC subjects, i dont like the comparison to 4 wheel motor sports, but if any i find DH more likely to be drag racing.
  • 5 3
 In a word, no. But would you want to be F1? That means money, corruption and procession to me.
  • 4 1
 not an F1 fan I take it?
  • 9 10
 "it's sorta like F1, you got the lightest bikes possible and the fittest athletes possible" umm same can be said for downhill and road.... so no xc is not like F1, if anything it's road because road has the most funding, hell xc doesn't even have Di2 yet but seeing as F1 is also exciting to watch we can't forget downhill, seeing those racers rip through val di sole is like nothing else, so out of the three xc is the furthest removed from F1
  • 2 0
 What was the guy at 4:46 doing? Lubing the tires? If so, that is a pretty good practical joke.
  • 3 0
 5:05...they drink the stuff too...
  • 4 3
 Fabien Barel does not agreed that XC is the F1 of MTB, he clearly states that DH is(in the intro of the video F1rst by Clay Porter).
  • 9 6
 Lycra was not meant for men
  • 2 0
 i think they try to push muc off... oh my gosh there is more muc off bottles in this vid than bikers
  • 4 1
 Dry ya eyes and muc off
  • 7 9
 Love the Speech at the Top! HAhahahahah.
XC is not like F1. F1 is Exiting, Fast paced & Cool.
XC would be more like marathon running. Boring yet admirable. The best thing i have seen in XC is Emily Batty.. Phew!!
Don't get ya Knickers in a twist folks... Any Biking is Great, Cricket!, now there's a boring sport Wink
  • 1 0
 I don't see any need for me to use muc off for my enduro race, it may result in a scratch or a bruise.
  • 5 5
 Pretty sure Clay Porter summarised the sport of DH MTB as the F1 of cycling. Buy hey... XC....
  • 2 3
 Technical and hard... My ass! I wemt to hadleigh farm to watch the olympic qualifying and to be fair My local cross country track is about 10 times harder!
  • 1 0
 F1 of MTB? I always thought of it as closer to NASCAR.
  • 6 6
 Is Xc like F1?- yes, they're both shit.
  • 1 0
 Needs more Muc Off Stuff
  • 4 7
 Lets be honest with ourselves. Lycra ..... ain't no-body got time for that!
  • 5 4
 I don't see what is wrong with lycra
  • 6 3
 I wanna see you ride an hour and half, at full pace, up and down, in something that's not lycra...
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