Video: Nik Nestoroff & Chris Grice's Course Preview for the US National Champs DH

 I ride there every weekend. It certainly isnt WC level, but its really far from flow trail. Much different in person vs pixelated Youtube video.

 Event planners are taking the financial hit, so they look to be doing the best they can for a race course. But I have ridden in BC and the Alps, and home trails in Oregon. This trail is just another bike park blue trail IMO and is not at all technical. That said, racing is racing, so seeing pros hit it at MUCH higher speeds than the rest of us and manage the the inevitable blown out sections post all the practices, AND the dry an loose turns at speed will be entertaining. Gonna see a lot of folks pressing against the envelope.

This terrain is in Gwin’s wheelhouse - if he is really back, then he should win by a second plus.

 @Bliss503: You haven't ridden that trail. Blue is is not, maybe a few turns up top. WC, maybe not. However, the 'gopro' affect is strong here.

 @bman33: it’s a blue. Steep in sections does not make it a black. No sketchy woods, no sketchy rocks, no off camber rock faces, no gaps, no jumps, … nada. No one’s genderhood is being challenged here. My point is not that ‘this is a stupid trail, why is there a world cup level race on it?’ at all. The event planners are working with what they have. It looks like a a trail one can blast down and have fun with The point is while not technical, the soil and loose rock will be a variable as racers push the envelope for speed. Will still be entertaining, just not at the same level as other WC courses.

You want to call it a black course, be my guest - it’s all relative. Just nothing anyone in the NW would call black. And for perspective, Canadians in BC consider our Oregon/Washington single black as blue and I do not take offense, ride there blcks and refs and you quickly know why.

 @Bliss503: again, You haven't ridden there. Apparently. It's a blue black. Forever 10 years more apart was my local bike park. Is stressled DH a full world cup course? Not at all. However, the section to trail they did include and the newer sections are black or blue/black hands down. The GoPro effect is making most of the rocks and tricky sections disappear as usual. My ginger hood isn't threatened at all. I'm secure enough with who I am, although not sure why you're bringing that up?. I raced semi-pro for years (DH, Slalom, BMX) and still do expert when I do race. I may not be a top roll cut rider,, but I do know a little bit of what I'm talking about.

 "Winter Park" not "apart" ... Weird voice to text translation. And I've ridden Whistler and Squamish 8-10 times. Very well aware of the terrain

 @bman33: um, ok. I really do give a crap to be honest. The point was people slam trails as not being race worthy. My point is it may not be a hard trail by most standards, but racing at top levels on any trail can make it hard just based on the speed. Read what I said and quite personalizing the comments and remarks about my opinion about the trail - who cares, it looks fun. Juat not WC level. Want to protect the status of your local bike park’s trail ratings, cool go for it. Shrug, bigger issues in the world that this. Hope you got out to ride today and had a good time since ultimately that matter for mr biking.

 @Bliss503: you "gave enough crap" to comment...just saying. And if you read my first comment, it 100% points out. It's not a world cup track. Again ..just saying.

 @bman33: ride there a lot. It’s definitely not a WC track. It’s barely a black trail. Still fun to ride.

Too bad Keystone has dropped the ball the last two years. They have the trails, steepness, and rowdyness for a real DH track. Keystone is the best raw bike park riding in CO (IMO).

 @Clifflane3: I think Crested Butte might take the edge on some of the more raw bike park stuff in CO

 @bman33: in all regards this is a blue trail. I get that when pros are on it they are pushing the limits, but this particular trail is a joke for DH. It has been for the decade+ they have been holding races of one a sort or another on it

 People talk such nonsense. I ride this trail regularly and have also ridden all over the Alps and PNW (and a stack of other places). It's a fun trail except for the flat bits they bypass for nationals.
Is it a double black, no but it would be black (or equivalent) anywhere. Loads of blacks in the PNW easier than this, loads that are harder too. It's about equivalent in difficulty to Lower Whistler DH or No Joke in the Bike Park. Certainly harder than Rupert, Credit Line, Angry Midget, Ditch Pig, I could go on. The old world cup trails at Angel Fire and Pila and Tires Fire at Verbier would be pretty similar too.
It's a long way from being the best or gnarliest the US could use for nationals however.

 @bman33: you love subtlety tooting your own horn

 Did look like a pretty sweet track. Pretty gnarly looking. Getting away from massive senders, big parky stuff. I do always wonder with all of our resorts, why the heck don’t we have more WC races. Sure would gain more riders and US teams.
I’d love to ride the Snowshoe track, I’ve always heard riders really like the course.

 Deer valley has a better shot of putting together an actual world cup track than trestle. This race could be won by someone on an enduro bike (pretty sure it has actually happened). It's just not that steep. I don't think I could ride most world cup tracks, trestle dh used to be a frequent lap for me.

 I don’t know about that, I rode the windham course last year and it was way more technical than I expected.

That being said this course does have the makings of a good track, hopefully we see one come to the western US soon

 @adrennan: Yeah Trestle in general doesn't have much steep stuff... Purgatory has refreshed an old "world cup" track that should provide a pretty fun spot to race in Colorado these days

 Winter Park / Trestle is my local mountain and I can say that the track is a lot more challenging than the GoPro video suggests.

 @rallyimprezive: I ride there alot. That track is not at all WC or that challenging. Keystone is by the far closest thing to WC tracks. WP is awesome but lacks steep terrain. Too many switchbacks. Keystone is straight gnarly steep and raw. (For Colorado mountain comparison)

 @Clifflane3: it’s still more challenging than the GoPro video makes it look, that’s all I’m sayin.
I agree that Keystone has some trails that would be better suited. I like Keystone.