The Best Tech From Val di Sole Downhill World Cups
Rough, steep, long, and full of holes, Val di Sole is notoriously brutal on bikes and bodies. It's a place where mechanics show their true worth as they nurse bikes through a weekend while eking out every advantage they can. it's also a great testing ground for new kit and can show up a weakness in any prototype idea, so we tend to see plenty of testing going on here too. Put it all together and it's a great space for spotting tech. Here's the best we've seen since 2010.
2010
In 2010, we were keeping a close eye on the Specialized Monster Energy team as they were testing out a new Demo but we also spotted this interesting 6-speed cassette from SRAM. We've seen everything from 4 to 10 cogs on the back of racers' bikes but what made this special was the fact it went down to 9 teeth on its smallest gear. Most cassettes start with a 10-12T cog but this goes one lower. Why does that extra tooth make a difference? Well SRAM told us it allowed racers to run smaller chainrings, which gave more clearance when Specialized designed a bike with a lower BB.
DT Swiss stepped in with a custom made freehub body that accepted smaller cogs. We never got confirmation on how it worked but we'd guess it was similar to Shimano's commuter intended Capreo group that also uses a 9 tooth small cog.
2011
The trackside at Val di Sole is a treasure trove for yard sale parts.
Danny warms up in the sun but in a couple of weeks' time, he'd cement his place in mountain bike history in the pouring rain.
A mechanic's arsenal on display from the VdS pits
With the dappled light hiding the rooty terrors on the length of Val di Sole's Black Snake track, lens choice is key. Baby Brosnan goes for clear as possible here.
This is how you know a corner is tricky.
A D.I.Y GoPro mount to help spot lines in 4X from Guido Tschugg.
The full carbon Santa Cruz V10 made its debut in Italy in 2011.
2012
2010's winner Marc Beaumont is not afraid to give his own dials a spin before heading out for another practice run.
The magic number for Minaar's V10. This had grown out to 36lbs last time we did a bike check on Minnaar's 29er bike in 2017.
Nick Beer putting his Redbull sponsorship to good use after slamming a pedal into his Achilles Tendon.
The carbon Demo was being kept under strict wraps in 2012.
You know you're fast when you have your own RockShox tune.
2013
Sam Hill's pink race bike tradition continued after joining the Nukeproof team. This pink Pulse was raffled off for breast cancer research.
A long journey from one wheel battering track in Fort William to another in Val di Sole in one week meant some late nights for the mechanics.
Wyn Masters' wrist brace came from Texas-born, Allsport Dynamics, who have become almost standard arm adornment for a lot of motocross riders in the states. Wyn was so impressed he reckoned he would be getting a second one for his other wrist as a preventative measure as he was so impressed with the range of motion and security of the guard.
2015
Tempting...
The mechanics resort to silicon spray, moto foam, and mudguards to keep the slop at bay but for the riders is a bit of an easier job.
Mondraker's special blend of extra strong sealant keeps the tubeless tires welded to the DT rims.
Time to make those cages as short as possible. Those rocks bite.
Brook MacDonald smashed his knee cap out of place during his final training run before qualifying but it popped back in and he was able to register the 11th fastest run later that day.
2016
Ben Arnott breaks out the copper paste to stop Ti bolts sticking to the aluminium components on his team's YT bikes.
2016 was Val di Sole's second World Champs. Here's a selection of some of the coolest custom stuff starting with Minnaar's V10.
A close up of the detail on George Brannigan's Commencal.
Trickstuff and Hope making their riders' brakes look fresh
Luca Shaw's custom helmet.
The Boxxer Worlds run alongside the World Champs and are the mechanics' chance to show that they're the fastest in the world. 2016's was one of the rowdiest in recent memory. Evan Warner's chugging skills saw him take it from Kev Joly on the line, a video of the final is below.
2017
As the tracks the get steeper, the stacks get higher.
Jeff Steber showing off a raw version of his M29 frame ready for decals.
Intense delivering the most important tech with these custom fidget spinners.
If you're a WC mechanic this is how your Wednesday afternoon looks.
A Carbocage chain device complete with a 3D printed lower section.
Cecile Ravenel was running a Quarq brake monitor that measured torque using a modified version of its Prime crank power meter. SRAM was hoping to understand more about how much riders drag their brakes and there was no better place to do that than Val di Sole.
Quarq's Qollector combines braking and rpm information with GPS software and can transmit that data wirelessly.
2018
Emilie Rilat, who races for the AM Dorval team, was the last racer to regularly use a gearbox on the World Cup circuit.
Keeping an eye on braking temperature in the Canyon pits.
By contrast, Scott's Gavin Black was turning up the heat.
Flo Payet's ginormous raw frame.
2019
Titanium goodness from Pro-Bolts gracing the Commencal team's bikes.
CNC machined Hope derailleur pulleys are a thing of beauty.
Some neat cable management from the Polygon UR mechanics.
The Commencal team had plenty of options to play around with when it came to shock position.
Mick Hannah's tribute helmet to the late great Italian DH racer Corrado Herin.
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As vital point out, you never know where in the hub poe you are - anything between 0° and 15° for your 24poe example.
The Ochain always starts at 0° until the chain pulls back on it.
As the tracks the get steeper
lmao get that second "the" outta there