There were a lot of fresh looking stumps alongside the track, opening it up and, as some racers claimed, dumbing it down. Byrn Atkinson noted that the more open terrain allows riders better lines of sight in a few zones, which allows them to push it harder. From there it starts to become even more of a mental game as racers holding down a time that can podium are also holding up a speed that guarantees that a crash will be felt for a long, long time.