Team Videos: Lenzerheide DH World Cup 2017
NS Bikes Factory Racing
It was a busy week at the World Cup in Lenzerheide! But what a week it was, actually the most successful one in the history of the team so far. It all started with making the trip back from Andorra to Switzerland. Long hours on the road and finally setting up the pits on Tuesday. But since Switzerland is familiar territory for the team this was pretty easy going. Sunday was here and everyone was in good spirits, but nobody knew what was going to happen! What followed was one of the best days ever. Slawek had a massive run into 16th spot (Career best). Noel proved once again that his consistency is getting better and better with his 25th place (Career best). Moritz matched his best result with a 4th place and Carina had a solid run into 11th spot.
MS Mondraker
The MS Mondraker Team did a double podium with Danny Hart and Laurie Greenland with 3rd and 4th place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. This is the first Elite podium for youngster Laurie Greenland and the second podium in 2017 for double world champion Danny Hart.
Propain Dirt Zelvy
As one of the most gifted bike handlers on the circuit, it was only a matter of time before Atwill started hauling in the results and this season has been so good for him so far. Ninth in Vallnord proved his potential and now to podium on a track he doesn’t even like shows just how fast he is this year.
YT Mob
Last year in Lenzerheide Aaron Gwin came within 96/100ths of a second of winning his first World Cup on Swiss soil and was highly motivated to take the victory this weekend at Round 5 of the World Cup series. A last minute crash on Thursday saw Aaron in the doctor’s surgery requiring four stitches to his right knee yet despite this injury, he went on to win the qualifying race and set the tone for the weekend. Gwin meant business. On finals day, as the last man down, Aaron turned the interval clocks green from the outset, up at sector 1 and 2, and then impressively up by 1.5secs at sector four before a puncture brought his run to an end.
Polygon UR Team
A tough week of racing for the team but still Tracey on the podium and always a positive spirit.
Canyon Factory Racing
Fifth World Cup for the Canyon Factory Team, in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Troy Brosnan had an amazing run and finished 2nd. Mark Wallace takes 17th place. Next stop for the team is Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada. Video: Lucas Stanus Videos.
Norco Factory Racing
From day one of practice, it was all about getting a handle on the limits of the track. To be fair, this track seems to catch a few riders off-guard. More specifically, sometimes it hard to know whether one is going quick or not on this track. Maybe this is what makes this track so difficult mentally. It’s just hard to know whether you’ve got a hold of the beast or not.
For Saturday’s finals, there’s not much to say. All guys had good practice, and with it being just being past the halfway mark in the World Cup season, strong finishes and points are on the line. With Henry up first, it was great to see him racing in the finals. Unfortunately, the top rock garden (maybe the toughest of the year) decided to pull him off his bike. Getting back up, he finished his run with a decent time considering a big fall. Hank finished up 75th on the day. Next was Sam, simply put, this track has not been tough over the years (never finishing inside the top 20). As some of you can appreciate, sometimes you just can’t get a handle of certain tracks or trails. With a steady run, Sam came down an impressive 6 seconds quicker than qualifying, finishing 33rd on the day. Last was Joe, steady and slightly conservative (his words) might summarize his run best. So this made his season best 19th place finish even more impressive. A good day.
The team is now off for a few weeks, besides Henry racing Canadian National Championships in 2 weeks, the remainder of the team gets a bit of a chance to rest and recover after a 6-week straight race tour. Next big events, Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup, and Crankworx Whistler, including EWS Whistler.
Dorval AM Nicolai
Mélanie Chappaz our female junior is heading the overall junior ranking with a second place during finals this week. Mariana Salazar from El Salvador had many crashes during training and hurt her left elbow, she finished 13th during finals with a crash on the top of the track. Our boys Benoit Coulanges and Maxime Ciriego finished 52th and 69th in the qualification and they both had a flat tire in the middle of the track during finals. The team is now resting, in 2 weeks there will be the French championship and quickly followed by the world cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Video: William Klock
MENTIONS: @The-YT-Mob / @norcobicycles / @NS-Bikes-Factory-Racing / @Roc-Vtt / @PROPAIN-Bicycles
It was a busy week at the World Cup in Lenzerheide! But what a week it was, actually the most successful one in the history of the team so far. It all started with making the trip back from Andorra to Switzerland. Long hours on the road and finally setting up the pits on Tuesday. But since Switzerland is familiar territory for the team this was pretty easy going. Sunday was here and everyone was in good spirits, but nobody knew what was going to happen! What followed was one of the best days ever. Slawek had a massive run into 16th spot (Career best). Noel proved once again that his consistency is getting better and better with his 25th place (Career best). Moritz matched his best result with a 4th place and Carina had a solid run into 11th spot.
MS Mondraker
The MS Mondraker Team did a double podium with Danny Hart and Laurie Greenland with 3rd and 4th place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. This is the first Elite podium for youngster Laurie Greenland and the second podium in 2017 for double world champion Danny Hart.
Propain Dirt Zelvy
As one of the most gifted bike handlers on the circuit, it was only a matter of time before Atwill started hauling in the results and this season has been so good for him so far. Ninth in Vallnord proved his potential and now to podium on a track he doesn’t even like shows just how fast he is this year.
YT Mob
Last year in Lenzerheide Aaron Gwin came within 96/100ths of a second of winning his first World Cup on Swiss soil and was highly motivated to take the victory this weekend at Round 5 of the World Cup series. A last minute crash on Thursday saw Aaron in the doctor’s surgery requiring four stitches to his right knee yet despite this injury, he went on to win the qualifying race and set the tone for the weekend. Gwin meant business. On finals day, as the last man down, Aaron turned the interval clocks green from the outset, up at sector 1 and 2, and then impressively up by 1.5secs at sector four before a puncture brought his run to an end.
Polygon UR Team
A tough week of racing for the team but still Tracey on the podium and always a positive spirit.
Canyon Factory Racing
Fifth World Cup for the Canyon Factory Team, in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Troy Brosnan had an amazing run and finished 2nd. Mark Wallace takes 17th place. Next stop for the team is Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada. Video: Lucas Stanus Videos.
Norco Factory Racing
From day one of practice, it was all about getting a handle on the limits of the track. To be fair, this track seems to catch a few riders off-guard. More specifically, sometimes it hard to know whether one is going quick or not on this track. Maybe this is what makes this track so difficult mentally. It’s just hard to know whether you’ve got a hold of the beast or not.
For Saturday’s finals, there’s not much to say. All guys had good practice, and with it being just being past the halfway mark in the World Cup season, strong finishes and points are on the line. With Henry up first, it was great to see him racing in the finals. Unfortunately, the top rock garden (maybe the toughest of the year) decided to pull him off his bike. Getting back up, he finished his run with a decent time considering a big fall. Hank finished up 75th on the day. Next was Sam, simply put, this track has not been tough over the years (never finishing inside the top 20). As some of you can appreciate, sometimes you just can’t get a handle of certain tracks or trails. With a steady run, Sam came down an impressive 6 seconds quicker than qualifying, finishing 33rd on the day. Last was Joe, steady and slightly conservative (his words) might summarize his run best. So this made his season best 19th place finish even more impressive. A good day.
The team is now off for a few weeks, besides Henry racing Canadian National Championships in 2 weeks, the remainder of the team gets a bit of a chance to rest and recover after a 6-week straight race tour. Next big events, Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup, and Crankworx Whistler, including EWS Whistler.
Dorval AM Nicolai
Mélanie Chappaz our female junior is heading the overall junior ranking with a second place during finals this week. Mariana Salazar from El Salvador had many crashes during training and hurt her left elbow, she finished 13th during finals with a crash on the top of the track. Our boys Benoit Coulanges and Maxime Ciriego finished 52th and 69th in the qualification and they both had a flat tire in the middle of the track during finals. The team is now resting, in 2 weeks there will be the French championship and quickly followed by the world cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Video: William Klock
MENTIONS: @The-YT-Mob / @norcobicycles / @NS-Bikes-Factory-Racing / @Roc-Vtt / @PROPAIN-Bicycles
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No one wants to fall on a rock, not even a knee pad.....
Extremely difficult, extremely techincal, extremely gnarly but rideable and predictable is 100% preferred over a track that is not inherently more difficult or techincal or gnarly but rapidly deteriorates and is very unpredictable.
But, let me break it down for you, just so you can follow along:
Natural, super challenging, steep, technical tracks (which deteriorate in an acceptable way) = what every racer wants
Bike park, motorway tracks that are sketchy AF to race (which deteriorate in a bad way) = what no racer wants
The risks associated for the first option are very different to the risks associated with the second option. If you don't understand the difference between "difficult" and "sketchy" and how the risks for each are different, then you need to ride more.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEGULHaWQNw&t=29s
Enjoy it
#longlivechainsaw