Throwback Thursday: 9 Years Ago Leogang Was Pretty Gnarly

Jun 6, 2019
by James Smurthwaite  
Leogang wasn't always known as the 'bike parky' stop of the World Cup tour and when it first debuted in 2010, we were seriously impressed with it. We said, "It's a mixture of steep rooty technical sections, interspersed with pedalling bits. The rooty bits are going to be mental if the predicted rain shows up. There is slick grass, slick roots and gravel with tons of grip. Steep berms, big drops into huge holes and more than a couple of pointy rocks. Leogang is on the schedule for 3 years, it's going to be fun!"

Yes, the middle pedalling section has always been a feature here but on either side of it were steep, burly tech sections through the woods. There were some open sections too but these were either grassy turns down the piste or beaten up trail sections that developed deep holes throughout the weekend. On top of this, rain fell on Saturday and Sunday making the root sections a particularly difficult challenge.

Greg Minnaar took the win from Gee Atherton in the men's race and Sabrina Jonnier led out a French 1-2-3 in the women's. We also got our first taste of how good Gwin could be as he picked up his best ever result in third. Full results are here.

Check out our write up from course walk here, or the daily videos below from MTB Cut.

Practice

Views: 22,684    Faves: 117    Comments: 17


Qualifying

Views: 19,907    Faves: 107    Comments: 10


Race

Views: 35,578    Faves: 111    Comments: 10


Author Info:
jamessmurthwaite avatar

Member since Nov 14, 2018
1,770 articles

74 Comments
  • 54 6
 Love how pinkbike has been calling out how trails are being turned into dirt sidewalks. This 'progressive' style of trail building is gets old fast. Give it a take off and let it be!!!
  • 6 0
 I like Greg's 90mm stem on a downhill bike.
  • 3 1
 @vjunior21: Greg said recently he finally has a bike that fits him how it should regarding his new V10
  • 3 0
 @bman33:

Nothing like the good old days where you had small wheels, IRC Missiles to help slide on the roots, 80-90mm stem on the DH bike, and specialized was the only 4bar linkage due to patent rights.
  • 12 0
 we ride bigger, gnarlier bikes than ever on smoother trails? i get that feeling
  • 1 0
 *give it a rake off
  • 2 2
 @bman33: Funny how he never figured it out on his own, eh? He has been on a factory team for a long time but never thought "Hey maybe I should increase the reach by 100mm and see if the bike fits me better". This is why I laugh when the average Joe claim the Pros know what they are doing! The pros know how to ride that is it!
  • 2 0
 @SintraFreeride: I am sure he did, maybe Santa Cruz wasn't up for sinking that much money into R&D back then? Also, changes usually happen incrementally, not wholesale. There are exceptions of course . The Honda bike was a bit longer if I remember...
  • 20 0
 WC racer drinking a coke on track walk. Classic
  • 2 0
 i almost forgot about the track walk style they rocked back then: black socks, black skate shoes, single water bottle, tank top or sponsor tee, backwards hat.
  • 14 1
 @cuban-b: back then...lol. Look to the Fort bill pics last week...same shit.
  • 5 0
 @MikeyMT: The shorts have gotten shorter though. They went from mid calf to mid thigh.
  • 3 0
 Check out some local bars on a WC weekend and youll see some of them even drink Sprite!
  • 3 0
 Flip flops on track walk. Worse idea than skate shoes. Hikers never look cool to the kids.
  • 1 0
 @nskerb It might not have been Coke Classic...
  • 1 0
 @Sycip69er: I was literally thinking this reading the fort bill coverage and seeing skate shoes on a track walk in the pouring rain, not a boot in sight. Style over practicality prevails it would seem
  • 17 2
 When there was loads of WC vids going around before Redbull took control of all content!!
  • 11 0
 Add Windrock to the WC circuit.
  • 9 0
 What’s crazy about those results is how many names are still relegated nearly a decade later
  • 17 0
 Relevant*
  • 8 7
 @kleinblake: there's an edit button
  • 5 0
 @SnowshoeRider4Life: No after you leave the page/refresh the page and come back
  • 4 0
 @SnowshoeRider4Life: I’m on mobile ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • 2 1
 @kleinblake: at the very bottom of the page is the option to view the desktop version of the website. From there you can edit
  • 8 0
 Love how the top three are still serious contenders
  • 6 0
 f*ck...I’m getting old but still Loving this kind of tracks. More roots and off-cambers and less Bikepark
  • 7 0
 Gwin must be a vampire..that guy didn't age at all????
  • 10 3
 when 26'ers still ruled the roost
  • 13 3
 I'm sure Minnaar wishes he could be back on that 20" BMX bike he appears to be riding
  • 5 0
 2010 was not a long ago but all the clothing-bikes-video quality feels like it's from the 90s or something
  • 5 0
 Blenky on Lapierre, Gee on Commencal and Bryceland and Peat on Santa Cruz. The good old days
Smile
  • 2 0
 +Ben Reid being a lunatic
  • 3 0
 And Ben Cathro was still a wee lad.
  • 4 0
 blenkis grills are pretty lit
  • 4 0
 Gwin didn't age a day
  • 1 1
 he looks the same but sounds like he has a mouthguard or a retainer or something in his mouth. has a weird speech impediment
  • 2 1
 @sooner518: he's since developed a weird squinting thing whenever he makes eye contact with his interviewer nowadays too. throws me off in every video. still love the guy. #murica #IFR
  • 1 0
 @sooner518: that's because he did. He crashed on his face in Moab around that time and busted his grill. That I remember that makes me feel old.
  • 1 0
 @NoahColorado: ha. i see. i didnt follow WC DH racing back then.
  • 3 2
 Its difficult to tell, so is the track really that much different now or is it just a matter of perceptions changing after it being on the schedule for so long?
  • 2 0
 That Lapierre still looks sick... wonder why they really dropped the WC races..
  • 2 1
 I went there with Nico Vink. He jumped shit there that nine of the other riders did.... Crazy times. What a rainy week that was too...
  • 1 0
 “None” of the other riders that should be..
  • 11 13
 They're all wearing proper mountain bike kit, look at all that flapping gear. Looks like the local trail riders currently. Nowadays the downhillers are tightly tailored looking almost like skin suits or something. Maybe they should just 'come out' and admit they wanna wear lycra.
  • 15 3
 Racing means beating the next guy. Flapping clothing is slower. Nothing wrong with wearing clothing that fits. No one is looking to wear Lycra
  • 2 0
 @bman33: you never heard of the speed flap? It's why fort bill had so many otb's because the speed flap provides an extra 200 watts to the chest and 40 to each shoulder
  • 1 0
 Last flappy clothing race winner was Josh back in 2014. And it was way less flappy than these @bman33:
  • 2 1
 @bman33: when tracks are open fast fast buffed yes...when the track requires more technique, finesses and line choice I bet baggy clothes start to be less relevant.......
  • 3 0
 Technically speaking You can save 1watt by taking seals out of your BB( until it gets dirty) . 4 watt by choice of wet chain lube ( more from moulten speed wax ) and 40 watt by not having flappy jersey. Flappy pants would be even more . Which is shit loads. @Lagr1980:
  • 1 0
 So I think it is prob way more important than you think. @Lagr1980: from that skinny tire sport. “Aero and microdosing is everything. “
  • 1 3
 @gcrider: proper and timed braking could make for more than watts lost due to aero... , a super precise landing & strong pumping can compensate super aero clothing when tucking... See what mr dead sailor did in fort william....
  • 3 0
 Do you have no evidence?. Just a hope because I presume you think baggy clothes are cool. If you are talking about Amaury. He sprints like mark cavendish used to in the TDF . With his back remaining horizontal to the ground. Which is amazing. To be able to tuck and pedal flat out. Anyway they are all pumping or scrubbing as hard as they can except when being mesmerised by the 3 green lights. So tight and pump beats baggy and pump. They are not wearing tight clothing for fashion . @Lagr1980:
  • 1 2
 @gcrider: i dont like baggy clothing or defend it bro. I think technique and strength olay a mayor role... Put the other way around, Pierron would have won with baggy clothes, may be not by almost 4 secs...
  • 1 0
 He is a beast. I presume 4 second s would be multiple flappy jackets. That’s the trouble with arguments and science. Is It is actually really hard to prove if you are right . Some one needs to do multiple runs in a downhill tunnel at dh speeds on a dh bike to find the answer. Claudio mentioned that tucking in the air is faster than pedaling which makes sense aerodynamically. I presume the big teams would have tested it with telemetry and high speed cameras . Landing on the downslope is faster until you are going fast enough till this doesn’t apply. Like when Josh had no chain and was so fast he missed the landings and broke his ankles and wasn’t as fast. ( did i just ruin my argument??)Say hi to Equador . I cycle toured on back roads on a mountain bike there in 2001. Loved it. @Lagr1980:
  • 1 0
 mtb cut edits ruled the world we've been blessed with some great edits over the years thanks pinkbike for the throwbacks.
  • 2 0
 damn those bikes look small!
  • 2 1
 Is that Ashton Kutcher holding the bottle of coke?

No but actually who is that I wanna know lol
  • 4 0
 Mitch ropo?
  • 2 0
 This track cops so much flack haha
  • 1 0
 i can definitely conclude they have only recently started making bikes for tall people.
  • 2 1
 Are those BMX bikes? The wheels are so small
  • 2 1
 Look at how small those wheels look!!!
  • 3 5
 Generation Z:

"Why are they riding BMX bikes with suspension 10 years ago in downhill? Those wheel are so small (26" wheels). I thought mountain bikes were invented in the 70s."
  • 1 0
 So even back then during interviews World Cup racers say "yeah" too much!
  • 1 0
 Cathro's Bike is so small!!!!
  • 1 0
 2010 and still on BMX bikes?! Times have changed dramatically Wink
  • 1 0
 This is awesome, more of these throwbacks, please!
  • 1 0
 Ben Cathro should have analyzed his line choice for sure!
  • 1 0
 THIS is mountain biking.
  • 2 1
 NO. This. Is. LEEEOOOGAAANGG!!!
  • 2 2
 #notSchladming
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.041579
Mobile Version of Website