Video: Luca Cometti Takes On 10 Disciplines For The 2024 Season

Apr 27, 2024
by Luca Cometti  

When I was thinking about how I wanted my 2024 season to look, I had a hard time committing to one form of racing. I knew I wanted to race some slalom, enduro, and downhill. I had a hard time deciding exactly how to fill my season. As a modern professional athlete, I feel like a lot of brands see more value these days in the content you can create, and not so much in your race results, unless those results are podiums at world cups. At heart, I am a racer; that's what gets me excited to train and keep pursuing a career in the sport. I grew up racing and never lost my love for it. With my obsession with all things two wheels, I thought, why not push myself to compete in more disciplines than I ever have? While I have competed in a few of these disciplines before, a lot will be new for me.

I feel as professional athletes, it is easy to pigeonhole ourselves into our one "specialty", but there is so much more to explore on two wheels and that is what I am planning to do. It's all just playing on bikes at the end of the day.

Discipline 1 kicked off from about as far from my comfort level as possible with a 100+ mile race in Cave Creek Arizona for the first BWR of 2024.

Racing the BWR
Race day morning was cold and dry.

Racing the BWR
Cold morning commute to the start line.

Racing the BWR
I think there were around 1100 people signed up for the race. With all the top guys up at the front leading out the group.

Racing BWR 2024
Chugging along, trying to stay in a draft as much as I could throughout the day

Racing BWR 2024
I think what got the most sore was my traps from wearing my Camelbak and go pro all day.

Racing BWR 2024
Saguaros lined nearly the whole course.


Racing BWR 2024
Crossing the line after a long day on the saddle. Made it to the end at 7 hours and 21 minutes. The race winner was 5 hours 9 minutes, crazy to see the pace of the top guys.

Download the Trailforks App

Photos By: Tanner Stephens for Crankbrothers

Posted In:
Racing and Events Luca Cometti


Author Info:
lucacometti avatar

Member since Jun 30, 2007
20 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
[UPDATED] Elite Finals Results & Overall Standings from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
163350 views
Semi-Final Results from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
106019 views
Elite Qualifying Results from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
83286 views
Extra Tech Randoms: Fort William DH World Cup 2024
54423 views
4 Tech Takeaways From the Fort William DH World Cup
53408 views
Bike Check: Greg Minnaar's Norco Prototype DH Bike at Fort William World Cup
51742 views
Timed Training Results: Fort William DH World Cup 2024
44880 views
Paul Bas Walks Half Marathon 8 Years After Being Paralyzed at Red Bull Rampage
42138 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

20 Comments
  • 20 2
 I accidentally rode out on to the course that day from Browns Ranch. I approached a feed station checkpoint and people were all standing looking at me eagerly to start cheering until they realized I had no number plate and was just an average mountain biker getting in the way of the race. They remarked... Hey buddy there's a race going on here! . I continued pedaling my Epic Evo and caught a glimpse of a gravel racer up ahead and slowly caught up to him. I asked how many miles are you riding today? He said something like 100 and he was at mile 60. Then he said have a good ride and I could not keep up with that gravel bike! He just took off! It was amazing to see this guy piloting a rigid skinny tire bike on rocky single track with such precision and speed. Mind boggling.
  • 12 0
 love to see the multi-discipline approach from a talented bike rider. Nice to see something different for a change by someone that we can all relate to.
  • 5 1
 Doesn't count as a true challenge unless you ride all the disciplines on the same bike. I'll accept a tyre change, nothing else...
  • 7 0
 I mean I guess the gravel bike could hit some jumps. Gabriel Wibmer proved it was possible
  • 1 0
 @lucacometti: Pilgrim proved they can be used for slopestyle
  • 3 1
 What are the 10? XC, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, gravel, road, BMX, makes 7. Split the XC to XCO, XCM, & XCC to get 9. What's the other 1? Time trial? Observed trials? Road stage? Is four cross still happening?
  • 9 0
 Don’t forget the most prestigious discipline, Strava KOMing
  • 3 1
 Track (velodrome)
Road
- road race
- crit
- time trial
- team time trial
- hill climb
- stage race
BMX
- dirt BMX track
- street
- park
- ramp
Cyclocross


How can we forget snow biking!
  • 4 0
 Love the idea! Can't wait to see installments 2-10.
  • 4 0
 Right on, Luca! Have fun storming the castle!
  • 1 0
 Cheers gene!
  • 3 1
 Nice video. It really shows how gravel racing can be fun. I think the series is really doing his sponsors well. Something different, something fun.
  • 3 0
 very interesting! good luck, I’m following.
  • 1 0
 What a way to have a great year on the bike. I'm lucky to get a ride to the beach lately.
  • 2 0
 Such a beast! Big fan!
  • 2 0
 nice haircut luca!
  • 3 0
 I know a guy. He’s pretty good
  • 1 0
 Do cacti actually present a puncture risk in the desert, or not really?
  • 1 0
 Yes. But with tubeless and plenty of sealant no. Used suck with tubes.
  • 2 0
 Never had a puncture from it and the spines are small enough that sealant works really well. I have changed tires and found 10 broken off cactus spines poking through on the inside, like a reverse hedgehog!







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.041405
Mobile Version of Website