Riders are on track as they check out the course for this weeks packed schedule of racing. Wednesday will be the first race of the week before everything starts over again for the final race of the 2021 DH World Cup on Saturday. Check out some of the rider reactions from the track walk.
"No whips here - that would be risky business"
Snowshoe is back on the menu and it's tasting pretty sweet so far. A couple of changes have been made, the main aim of the game being to carry speed as this track has some of the flattest sections seen on the WC circuit.
Bring on round 1. Ding ding.— The Syndicate
The Fox team gets set up in Snowshoe while the double-header race week begins with track walk.— FOX
Well sports fans we have travelled to the U S and A, scootered around Washington DC and walked the track at snowshoe so come along for the ride!— Bernard Kerr
techy in lots a spots...square edged hits thrown in, lookin' forward to an upset here in the top tier of riders. you can almost feel the apprehension in the way the riders describe sections....except for Peaty of course.
Saw a couple weeks ago they tried to end it with this ridiculous whale tail feature. Not at all surprised they took it out. Would be fun for the bike park, but not one a World Cup track. Hell of a track otherwise!
A whale tail would be fine in terms of style. There are plenty of world cup tracks with wood features, including massive boardwalks, wall rides and drops.
I think the problem was it wasn't sized perfectly. Sizing is critical with a whale tail since overshooting makes you slam into the uphill exit/jump instead of landing on the downhill entrance/lander. We recently removed a whale tail from a local park for the exact same reason and replaced it with a steel ramp to dirt lander. It is safer now because you can be going a little too slow or too fast and still not die.
@dfiler: sizing/spacing was definitely the issue but still its a stupid feature if u ask me on a World Cup race track.
Also small world, but if you're by chance talking about Dr. J at North Park I'm a local rider and I have to disagree. I thought that whale tale was built fine and was a fun feature. I think the honest issue was people just sucked at hitting it. Kinda bummed when it was taken out. But not hating on the new ramp, glad it was replaced with something else fun.
A lot of stuff has been said about the whale tail, and rightfully so., But there also seems to be a lot of flat pedalling on the course and little is being mentioned about that.
Surely there’s better US tracks the could use or is it a case of $ and facilities over track quality?
Despite the occasional flatness, it is a great track. Saw some great 2019 action there. I personally think Vermont has a few spots that have the natural terrain/vert/trailbuilding prowess to host a wc, I just don't think any of them (except maybe Killington) would be willing to commit financially to it. A lot of my favorite Eastern States Cup venues have amazing, challenging, physical and steep tracks but can barely put in the effort to host a little regional event
13 Comments
I think the problem was it wasn't sized perfectly. Sizing is critical with a whale tail since overshooting makes you slam into the uphill exit/jump instead of landing on the downhill entrance/lander. We recently removed a whale tail from a local park for the exact same reason and replaced it with a steel ramp to dirt lander. It is safer now because you can be going a little too slow or too fast and still not die.
Also small world, but if you're by chance talking about Dr. J at North Park I'm a local rider and I have to disagree. I thought that whale tale was built fine and was a fun feature. I think the honest issue was people just sucked at hitting it. Kinda bummed when it was taken out. But not hating on the new ramp, glad it was replaced with something else fun.
Surely there’s better US tracks the could use or is it a case of $ and facilities over track quality?