Video: Sam Hill Dominates in La Thuile

Jul 24, 2018
by Chain Reaction Cycles  

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The fifth round of the Enduro World Series returned to the big mountains of La Thuile, Italy. Over the weekend where Sam Hill once again demonstrated why he’s the best in the world right now, taking the overall win. Elliott Heap took second in the under-21 category, while Kelan Grant recovered from a poor start to claim 36th.

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62 Comments
  • 50 0
 Sam has inspired me for nearly a decade, it is a pleasure to see him ride bikes so fast
  • 9 0
 Sam king of the hill Hill.
  • 6 0
 Plus his personality is so whatever about it. Thats why hes the cats pj’s
  • 3 1
 No water bottle, no bag packs. Water are for kids.
  • 2 0
 Hahaha I was thinking about that, does he have a water sniper waiting for him between stages? Either way mega impressive, my man is on at tear this year.
  • 4 1
 @fecalmaster: he wears a lower back fanny pack type deal with bottles and tools and shit in it. Loads of shit. Probably shit snacks too
  • 2 4
 This just in who cares!
  • 36 0
 I'm always confused by how slow Sam's riding looks compared to the other top guys.
  • 16 0
 he looks way to smooth and chilled on the rough stuff
  • 22 0
 slow is smooth; smooth is fast
  • 3 1
 He has champion level skills, makes me wonder what Gwin would do to the Enduro circuit.
  • 6 0
 @ismasan: cheap is expensive
  • 2 0
 Sam has a muscular biomechanic technique that's why he looks heavy and strong.
  • 3 0
 @alejandrolz1250: Yeah his body position is second to none
  • 1 0
 I've noticed that Eddie Masters has a similar position on the bike but looks a bit different due to his height. Also his bike seems to react alot differently to the ground than Sam Hill's. Sam's bike seems to skip around looking like it's airborn half the time, almost like a fully rigid frame. Clearly it works though.
  • 4 0
 @panaphonic: As he once said in an interview years ago, "sometimes you have to slow down to go faster..."
  • 1 0
 so true
  • 2 0
 If you look at the EWS videos. He cuts the course all over the place (legally of course). If he is that much better at spotting lines then he doesn't have to ride ultra wild to win. It's inspirational stuff.
  • 3 0
 I was impressed how composed he looked 2 wheel drifting at race speed in a no crash zone covered in roots. True veteran skills.
  • 13 0
 It's interesting reading some of the comments and questions so I thought I'd jump in here. I helped out at Iron Horse back in the day from '06 - '08 when Sammy was operating at full rip in UCI WC DH.
With regard to riding technique and ability, Sam is really more of an anomaly than anything. He's probably one of the most naturally gifted riders to ever throw a leg over a DH bike with the exception of Vouilloz. His balance, weight distribution on the bike, and proprioception are innate and highly developed - if you asked him how he does what he does, he wouldn't really be able to quantify it or express it - he just knows he can do it, and do it well.
With regard to his riding style, it always cracks me up to see the explosion/implosion over the clips vs. flats conversations. This is where the anomaly part comes in - Sam can do things on flats that technically, you shouldn't be able to do. Back in the day, the public would watch him put 8sec into the field at places like Schladming in the rain no less, or watch him blow minds at Champery or the '08 Worlds at VDS and think "FLATS!!! That's where it's at!" The truth is, Sam is the statistic outlier on flats - very few can be successful on them at an Elite WC level in EWS, but especially in DH.
About Sam's body position on the bike: He rides front end heavy with a bit of a bias over the front - at least he did when he was riding DH. This is why he preferred super low stack heights and low front ends on his bikes. To actually see evidence of this, go to archives on Spesh's website and look at the geo of the Demo 8 from 2011 to 2015. You can see a clear distinction between what I refer to as "Sam Geo" vs. "Gwin Geo". Maintaining a bit of a weight bias over the front end accomplishes a few things when it comes to handling, but mostly it aids with front end traction and cornering. It also takes balls of steel. =)
Glad to see Sam's continued success in EWS!
  • 1 0
 Gwin always ran a very low front end on the Trek though didn't he?
  • 12 0
 Azon : an aerial bomb that can be guided to the left or right by radio control
  • 7 0
 Sam: surface to air missile
  • 8 0
 Well... it is Sam Hill!
  • 4 0
 The dude that rides bikes?
  • 5 0
 Basically all the steep, technical stuff that started to become thin on the ground when hill was riding dh has transitioned over to ews and guess what he's killing it
  • 8 3
 Flat pedals and 27.5 tires oldschool and still best in the world guys on another level. Mavic , Nukeproof and all his sponsor are spoiled by his performances
  • 8 0
 650b isn't anywhere near old school.
  • 2 1
 @colincolin: With the amount of 29/27.5+ bikes coming out... Tell that to the bike manufacturers
  • 1 0
 @colincolin: well old old school . . . the size has been around for about 100 years and is a traditional touring tire size but yeah not for mountain biking . . . tho I think Joe Breeze tried to push 650 at one point.
  • 1 0
 @colincolin: More or less meant a lot of people see it that way, 650 is new to me finally gave up 26ers
  • 4 0
 Is there a rule in EWS against GoPro's during the race?

I'd watch every minute of Sam's stages from that perspective.
  • 2 0
 Italian regs dont allow Gopros during racing. Only allowed in practice
  • 4 0
 Enduro is the new DH. DH is the old freeride.
  • 9 0
 Cyclocross is the new freeride
  • 1 0
 @makripper: freeride is the old singlespeed festival
  • 3 0
 roid o boik
  • 3 2
 Hill is the business but those moto hand guards are ridiculous. Sure someone has already touched on this..
  • 9 1
 He uses it to prevent his brake lever being hit my trees which will slows him down .
  • 2 1
 @chyu: Exactly! I realized this on my local trails, which have some overgrown shrubs that grabbed my levers on more than a few rides... It was sketchy. And then I thought of Sam Hill any why he runs those honestly silly looking hand guards. They definitely have a good purpose, and are worth running during a race just so you can plow through any bushes/shrubs/tree limbs etc.

In the end I just cleared the shrubs, so... yeah, still not running hand guards.
  • 2 0
 Yes i will buy more shit from you
  • 1 0
 Comment below what u think Sammy is thinking about in that third pic. Best comment wins.
  • 3 1
 Nigel Pages willy
  • 2 0
 Legend!
  • 2 0
 Hurray!!! MEN!
  • 1 0
 What game is he playing on his phone?
  • 1 1
 Anybody know what tyres (Tires) Sam is running (I'm guessing Prototype as I cannot find anything on Michelin website)
  • 2 0
 www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-checks-amp-tech-from-the-ews-pits-in-lathuile.html
  • 1 0
 @juniorj: cheers man....
  • 5 4
 Is this a down country?
  • 1 0
 Impressive AF.
  • 7 10
 Sam hill rides like a girl.
  • 20 0
 You are bad at trolling.
  • 11 0
 I'd love to ride like Rachel Atherton, Tahnee Seagrave and Sam Hill.







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