Video: Winning POV from Red Bull Valparaíso Cerro Abajo 2023

Feb 13, 2023
by Ed Spratt  

bigquotesTomas Slavik went down hard, injuring his ankle to the point he was barely able to walk, only hours before his finals run at Red Bull Valparaiso Cerro Abajo. He got up, brushed off the pain and laid down a heater of a run that secured him his third win at one of the most notorious urban downhill mtb races on the planet.
Enough said.—Red Bull Bike


Posted In:
Racing and Events Videos DH Racing Red Bull


Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,063 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
Kona Bicycles' Parent Company Appoints New CFO, Intends to Sell Brand
64727 views
Downhill Bikes of Sea Otter - Part 1
47054 views
Brian's Randoms from Sea Otter 2024
44949 views
Randoms Round 3: Dario's Treasures
44662 views
Pinkbike's DH Fantasy League: Get Your Team On The Line - Fort William is in 10 DAYS!
39853 views
Randoms Round 1 - Sea Otter 2024
38298 views
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Araxá XC World Cup 2024
38186 views
Spotted: Frameworks Racing DH Bike with Electronic Fox Shock & Unreleased Enve Rims
37350 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

60 Comments
  • 66 1
 Out of interest, how many people here reckon they could get down that course? I'm in the hell no, that looks impossible camp.
  • 15 0
 Not even in my dreams
  • 18 0
 I'm in the camp of "I could make it down and do all of the features, but definitely not at race speed" No chance am I going all out down those stair sets. All of the jumps and drops seem fine so long as you can have someone tow you in to get the speed right.
  • 39 0
 The people that can do it are out riding right now... not sitting at a desk reading these comments while avoiding the work they're supposed to be doing.
  • 29 0
 @islandforlife: I feel personally attacked
  • 2 0
 @BMXJJ327: Same, I could get down, but now way I would dare to go down at race pace. And not jumping those stairs. No sir!
Helmet cam looks insanely fast!
  • 11 0
 I'm 100% sure i can make it down that course.

And i would not even have to use my bike!
  • 1 0
 Gimme half an hour and then maybe...
  • 27 0
 I'm curious. I always see these urban DH guys using MTB knobbies.
Why use a knobby tire on a paved course?
Something like a Schwalbe Big Apple would seem to give far better grip and faster rolling.

Things that make you go, "Hmmmm?"
  • 3 0
 I was wondering the same
  • 3 0
 Perhaps knobs give them the ability to corner through a bit of a controlled drift. I have no idea if that would be desirable or not as all my context is built on dirt, but to your point a less knobby tire would presumably have more grip on the predominantly tarmac course.
  • 7 0
 Image and sponsorship I guess. Technically, they would also go faster in a spandex speed suit with shaved legs, but who would do something silly like that?
  • 19 0
 It might have to do with DH casings that are not available on a slicker tire, knobs might help on stairs as well?
  • 4 4
 simple, braking and cornering control, can you imagine trying to brake on stairs with a smooth tire?
  • 1 0
 I think it have to do with the mentioned (casing and knobs for cornering/braking/absorbing) and with the intended pressure the tire was designed
  • 4 0
 @cdkozeluh: they could remove knob manually... and sure they do...
  • 2 0
 I don't think they make those tires wide enough, with strong enough casings and with sticky enough rubber. I'll bet a maxxgrip compound tire has better traction on the payment than a Big Apple. Plus without heaving casings, you'd have to run it rockhard and then have zero traction. If they made a wide, DH casing Big Apple with a MaxxGrip or super soft compound, it would probably be amazing for these kinds of races.
  • 3 0
 Hookworm.
  • 4 2
 Have you tried to go fast on Hookworms or Big Apples? They're fast on straights, but virtually no grip for braking and cornering. They're going downhill, so max speed isn't really a concern, control is everything. I used to have Hookworms on my slope bike and anything but smooth, dry, non-porus surfaces was sketch.
Bit of gravel = wipeout.
Bit of dirt = wipeout.
Bit of dust = wipeout.

That's why. You'd want to be able to brake and turn.
Slicks are for dragracing and curlybars.
  • 3 2
 @jackylegs: Ever watch a moto grand prix race?
High speeds, waaaaay cornering angles, NO KNOBS
  • 1 2
 @megatryn: Not sure if you understand an urban DH.

Per your own comments, these tires are bad for gravel, dirt,and dust but great on dry, non-porous surfaces.
Sort of like the dry, non-porous, non-gravel, non-dirt surfaces they are racing on in Urban DHs.
Hence my original question.

Oh, and actually, slicks are for high speeds on pavement, period. Ask any F1 moto rider.
  • 1 0
 @megatryn: And urban jibbing on Hookworms, etc.
  • 2 0
 @roxtar: no dh casing these guys will blowout on the first stair set
  • 3 0
 familiarity with the traction. They already do so much on those tires, they are very grippy for the turns, braking performance is known, double down withstands the jumps. The maximum I would go is a minion SS
  • 2 0
 @Notmeatall: your probably right about familiarity factoring in significantly. Between that and the highly varying surface conditions and debris levels probably make the old familiar knobby tire the best all-around solution to the grip dilemma.
  • 21 0
 To win by as much as he did on a relatively short course with an injured ankle is absolutely nuts. What a savage.
  • 14 0
 Can they please add some cushions/case pads to the backside of those ramp landings?? Looks like that could decapitate you if something when wrong... Amazing run.
  • 13 0
 The list of bad possibilities if something goes wrong on these courses is rather extensive
  • 3 0
 @roxtar: LOL you mean like remove the parked cars from high speed sections
  • 2 0
 @roxtar: Yep, just ask Franz Grossman (luckily he is still alive to answer questions).
  • 10 0
 And I am sitting here with a swollen ankle 9 days later and hope to ride again in 2 weeks - eff it freeride session tomorrow (kappa)
  • 9 0
 My hands are sweating watching this. Also, that sharkfin jump was insane!
  • 6 0
 Jeez.... that is a lot of spectators, even on the really boring bits whre someone is just riding by.
  • 1 0
 I think he made up the majority of his time in the fast street section after the wallride. Watching the race replay he was still close at that section but then you could see how much faster he was going compared to prior runs.
  • 5 0
 Well, that was humbling . . .
  • 1 0
 Question: Why do urban downhill racers use downhill tires? Slavic here seems to be using an assegai front tire and in other races I've seen minions in use in other races. I would think that a semi-slick tire or some sort of wide road tire would benefit speed and traction, since the tire is in contact with a mainly flat surface.
  • 1 0
 Never mind.
  • 4 0
 Has Tomas Slavik ever ridden a World Cup? I bet he would likely be amazing at Hardline too.
  • 2 0
 Slavik for Hardline!!!
  • 1 0
 4x world Champion
  • 3 0
 these things are nuts... almost like you need the rally car navigator in your ear to tell you what's coming up next.
  • 2 0
 Is it just me or is the contrast enhancement/tone mapping on this video awful?
  • 2 3
 Sorry but riding, espeically racing injured is just stupid. Of course he was pressured into it by sponsors, media, money. Totally understand why he raced the finals and I'm not blaming him. Still health comes before career. Thing is the corporate system will never give in on its own so we have to speak out change the way athletes are seen as disposable advertising space.
  • 6 0
 the only pressure came from himself. No one told him that he has to race, but obviously you make yourself more pressure when you have big sponsors.
  • 2 0
 I don't know why he made the choice, but I do wonder how his ankle feels today, and how it will feel in a year or many years from now.
  • 2 0
 somos el mejor pais de chile
  • 3 0
 F That
  • 2 0
 That looks fukcing dangerous but awesome, it'd be a killer atmosphere.
  • 1 0
 What style of tires do these racers tend to run?
  • 1 0
 That was absolute madness
  • 1 1
 No way this is normal speed. I double checked the speed thinking it was 1.25x or something like that. Wow!
  • 1 0
 Even doing that in a video game would be scary.
  • 3 3
 Am I crazy or is this footage sped up? It looks really weird.
  • 6 2
 You're crazy. Didn't you know that just about anyone can ride this fast? Guess you need to up your game.
  • 11 0
 His winning time was 2:16.815, and his run in this video goes for about 2:17. So I think that means you're crazy.
  • 4 0
 @toast2266: yeah, I double checked that time again how long the run was in the video too, some of the impacts and accelerations looked a bit weird to me, might be something to do with the camera stabilization?
  • 10 0
 @toast2266: he clearly didn't Look At The Time
  • 5 0
 @jgoldfield: Rob Warner would be so disappointed.
  • 5 0
 @toast2266: Yeah, I thought Rob made himself pretty clear about that







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.038152
Mobile Version of Website