Anton Cooper hit out at the Albstadt World Cup XCO course for not being technical in enough in an Instagram posted yesterday. The Kiwi racer, who finished seventh in the overall last year, has arrived a bit early for some practice on the course that is due to be raced a week on Sunday and is clearly not happy with what he's found.
He said:
| I'm not normally one to complain about a course, as after all we still all have to race the same track. I'm also well aware of how much hard work goes into building a race track... BUT is this really what the spectators want to see us race on and what will showcase the best riders' skill? Not the direction I feel most of my fellow competitors want to see the sport heading either!—Anton Cooper |
In the comments, Emily Batty, Maxime Marotte, Geoff Kabush and Raphaël Gagné have all posted in support of Cooper's criticisms.
Albstadt has been on the World Cup circuit since 2013 and has always been one of the tamer tracks on offer. However, from looking at the pictures Cooper has posted, the track has been hard packed for this year and even the technical sections, such as the rooty, tight left-hander after the bridge and the steep rock garden, have been sanitised.
The rooty chute (left) has been bridged, while the rock garden has been filled in and gravelled. Photos: Cooper
With tracks on the World Cup circuit becoming generally more technical and exciting in recent years, this does seem like a backwards step from the Albstadt organisers. However, as was proved last year, the weather can make a huge difference on this season opener. Stay tuned next week for all the coverage from the race.
Willigen (mid 00's) downhill world cup track was a giant BMX track,with probably one of the first man-made rock gardens featured on a WC track.
Last week there was a race in Germany, and some of the top Riders decided not to race because of the snow and rain the days before. Some weeks ago there was a race in Italy with heavy rain, and even Nino had to walk at some point because of the conditions of the track.
Probably they don't want an Albstadt 2013 where the final result was partly decided by mechanicals.
Anton Cooper arrived to Europe some days ago and hasn't raced during April-May in Europe, so I believe he isn't aware of all of this.
We were riding in Wagrain,whicj for all i care is one of the mellower parks around and doesn't offer any serious challenge although there are some fun root and rock section in the upper part which are a lot of fun when ridden fast.
Anyhow, we met this guy with a fully blinged out demo with ENVE wheels who approached us complaining about how he's gonna drive home now because the park sucks big time. When asked why he was of that opinion he told us there are way too many roots and rocks in there and it's totally unrideable and no fun at all.
What i'm getting at is that an increasing number of people expect instant gratification. No matter what bike they ride, they have never learned to embrace the challenge in sports but rather to expect and demand to be catered towards to soothw their ego. Imho it's more a symptom of the "generation participation trophy" in general rather than ebikes.
Turning everything into a flow trail is silly. Turning a World Cup into a Green Flow Trail is stupid.
Haha, my thoughts exactly. I would have loved to show him a real track!
To this day i can´t get it out of my head how infuriated he was!
He did only one run and decided to quit because the park sucked.
I was so shocked in that moment, i wasn´t even able to give a witty response or anything.
I just stood there like "yeah, uhm...i don´t know...i like it".
This has set a dangerous trend because all these people who started MTBing only knowing flow trails believe that's how all trails should be. You're seeing these people directing how local trail networks should look like. I call these people bike park rats. They're the people who can hit a 30ft. table no problem, but are clueless coming across some wet roots and think rock gardens are too dangerous. These are the people who complain about trails being "too rough" or "not flowy enough". They're a plague on this sport, more so than e-bikes or the UCI. We're also seeing this in DH at all levels. Its completely possible the next generation of riders will never know what a root or rock likes like.
These are scary times we're living in, people.
While i totally agree on your reasoning for flow trails, i would argue your average park rat, while certainly enjoying their flow trails, is more of a shredder than 80% of riders. Even on roots and rocks. Sure there are some who gravitate heavily towards jump trails, but the species we´re talking about here makes up such a small minority of todays bikepark visitors, they´re not even factored into the resorts planning.
Maybe it´s different in the states or canada, but around here, the park rat scene is tiny. Mostly a feww tenagers and/or locals, that´s it.
The biggest threat to gnarly park trails are so called enduro and allmountain riders, who visit a park to "get rad".
When they go to the park and pay money, they don´t expect roots and rocks, but rather to get something that they don´t get on natural trails, buffed trails and a feeling of achievement (speed and flow). People who endure natural alpine trails for the scenery, but would trade them for smooth flowy trails in an instant. So these types bitch about lack of maintenance, overly demanding obstacles and brakebumps, because the one time they pay money to feel good about their ability, they don´t.
The bikepark crowd has shifted from going to a park in order to ride proper gnarly terrain to going there in order to get a lifestyle experience.
That said, before anyone complains, i don´t wanna hate on any enduro or allmountain riders, nor do i blame these people (i am annoyed though). I know they´re not all the same and there are proper shredders among each group. It´s just my observation in my region where parks like Leogang and Saalbach are heavily drawing in these crowds by marketing and catering towards them, that there´s an increasing number of people who flock to bikeparks to be a weekend hero (gotta show the wifey that sweet sweet GoPro footage later!) and to achieve this, parks adjust like themeparks by offering cheap but approachable thrills for the masses.
I can't stand this crap... My hometrails have way more features and we have at least one trail I could not ride complete. It wasn't even a jump trail. Never ever have I seen something in a Bikepark in Germany.
@Loki87 not true that Enduro riders want this out from parks, all my mates are Enduro focused like I am and I dont need a DH for DH tracks with roots and massive rock gardens. We love all together technical demanding trails , same for Bikeparks.
Even most locals around my place are the same and almost anyone who is fast here rides a Enduro.
As i said, it´s enduro and allmountain riders, not ALL enduro riders. It´s a label, not a definition.
You know the type. Middle aged men (and sometimes women) who bought a Enduro/AM to "shred", yet are in over their heads on most trails. They still label themselves AM/Enduro, even though they can´t ride blue trails properly.
Nobody is going to take away all of the challenging and unique trails. If you want to ride a bunch of stuff that won't hold up to traffic and eventually will turn into something that is only rocks and roots and genuinely pains you to ride, go rake yourself a crap fall-line trail. It'll be fun for a couple years until a couple hundred people ride it and it turns to marbles and roots that are like cross barriers. Try to remove your head from your bottom and understand that more people getting into a sport will mean better gear, more options, more respect, and above all more people having fun on bikes. Let's talk about how a World Cup race course shouldn't look like this, but let's not get angry and suggest that if you don't like riding tech and do like riding long-lasting, well constructed trail that you're a dingo!
I think you misread what i was saying my friend.
It´s not ALL middle aged men ride like that, but the group i refered to largely consists of said middle aged men.
Not meant in any derogatory way, it´s just an observation. I should maybe have added "who RECENTLY purchased a bike".
Again, everyone has a right to ride what they like. So if they want to ride in a park, sure i´m all for it. And i know people who shred way harder than me and are way older. I don´t have my head that far up my ass ;-)
Upon looking more into the offset thing it's explained exactly as I felt it...the new geo and no offset keeps the bike more controlled, doesn't turn as tightly, more planted. To me...kind of dead. Ruined what I like so much about this bike.
And it's been my opinion that the 29 wheel is a symptom of this as well...easier to ride over stuff, more stable, etc.
At my local trails I've seen rooty/rocky areas covered with wood "sidewalks", removing any opportunity to learn how to ride with finesse and technical skill.
It seems more and more the activity of "mtn biking", "trail riding" is getting dumbed down in a way, softened. Bikes are easier to ride, more comfortable, less fatiguing, etc.
Personally, I want to bounce of roots and rocks, kick my tail in the air, sweat, work hard to clear a section...feel the bike!
Man made features don't interest me..I want raw nature paths and a bike with stiff suspension so it pops off things when I want.
Oh well...I'll be over here trying to fit retro parts onto modern frames and cutting my own trails! ha ha
"Sorry, that the current work on the track leads to such a misunderstanding of what happens on the course. We are doing our best to prepare a course, which is rideable under every weather condition, especially after the experiences and feedback in 2018. Due to weather circumstances with snow this spring, we are later with the preparation than usual. But not too late. What you can see on the pictures is not the final result." https://www.instagram.com/p/BxK006UJKHV/
People walking into the Shop buying softer tires because they can't corner as hard as the pro rider they've seen the other day...
A friend of mine runs a bikeschool an i usually tell people that a two hours private lesson cost about the same as a set of tires. People still just buy the tires and hardly ever book the coaching.
Kinda helps me run my business but it's still hilarious.
I'd dig that! >> youtu.be/r6bpmj2uoAU
The recent addition of technical challenges has brought the mountain biking back to cross country and that's brought me back to watching it. It's been great the last couple of years.
This is an excellent way to kill it again. UCI at its finest. Looks like Ill be riding instead of watching, so maybe not all bad.
I could ride my wife's Townie around this course now from the looks of things.
What is also dumb in the method you describe is that over time, the stone layer compresses further into the soil below it, and you end up with having to repeat the process. Just let things naturally evolve, and every now and then chop off the tops of a few ruts, and provide a drainage route as and where needed. Trail building is not as hard to do as so many make it out to be.
HOWEVER, a substantial amount of work is done on technical trails. But the type of work is done in keeping with the janky, raw, nature of those trails. Therefore the work does not show to the casual eye. Not trying to demean but to the non-local non-regional builder one can barely see the amount of work done on the Squamish tech trails (to point back to your example - Angry Midget has a fair amount of work)
This is my experience as someone who works on flow and tech trails side-by-side on Seymour and who used to do the same on Fromme. The ratio is like 10 hours to every 1 hour of trailwork respectively. And the ratio of riders is on the order of 20 to 30 to 1. Not complaining or singling out different riding preferences; just relating experience-based anecdotes
That being said, I would like to see what some people in these comments are calling technical trail. In my geographic region, the people who chastise "flow trail" and say trails need to me more "tech" are usually the same people who say super tech trail is better because it is slower and you don't get hurt as bad when you fall.
At the end of the day, the fun part of riding, IMHO, is going fast. Now...the trail can be buffed out with rollers that can be doubled/ tripled or can be root/ rock infested with some natural gap options...but at the end of the day...all trail needs to flow if going fast is how you have fun on a bike.
As for the person who said the WC tracks are becoming "flow" trails or "Bike park trails"...the elite racers just make it look like that in video. I've ridden at least 2 recent WC tracks and they all flow so they can be ridden at speed but I bet 80% of the people on here demanding more tech trails would be over their heads on some of the rock/ root sections on these courses.
Looks like I'll need to put the 28s on the road bike, but.
So for me this is no surprise at all and its also what happens when you let hardcore roadbiker style folks who are afraid of everything do a WC XC course.
By the way I don't ride my enduro bike around here any more because of this, mainly in Switzerland and France nowadays.
2x rider error on a tame track
Maybe they need to find the perfect mix between those extremes.
But after all, RedBull has pushed so much to have difficult races for the show. This isn't good either and not really in the spirit of "cross country", which, well, litterally means crossing countries...