Pietermaritzburg World Cup 2012 - Day 1
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 Polishing up the "Loo"s... |
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| Jared Graves is positively skeletal after losing 18 lbs while tapering down his 4X bulk. |
 | I put a lot of days in on a road or XC bike, whittling the mass down. I love DH racing, but after so much time in the saddle this past winter I'm thinking I might give some of that enduro racing a go. - Jared Graves |
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| Look to see a LOT of these on bikes here in Peitermaritzburg; the course saw a few changes, but the 40 second long pedal fest in the mid section of the track remains unchanged. |
| It (the course) had a headwind on it this past weekend, and without a dropper post, you're easily losing 8-10 seconds... - Mick Hannah |
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| Willow Rockwell was on hand with her baby. It took Trek Mechanic Monkey all of about 5 seconds to determine that it needed better suspension. "I can make that happen before Saturday, I think..." was his simple statement. |
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| First race of the year and Danny Hart wastes no time stepping out onto the track. |
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| This rock was on track last year, and most racers hipped off the side. Now it's dead center of the fast line. Not anything really serious--that's later down the track--but a bit of notice that you really do need to pay attention to some sections of this track. |
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| There was notice of a re-route from last year's track. Evidently a steep section? |
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| Ah, yes--a bit of steep was added to the track. |
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| The re-route takes out the rock where Bren-dawg got ejected last year, and stair steps through two steep sections. Jonty Neethling and Duncan Riffle taking a few cautious steps through the crux. |
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| Again, not too serious of a line, but add speed and... |
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| Blenki gazing into the pain cave; from this point you can look through the fun bits and the massive tables down below to the long, flat pedaling section. |
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| Not everyone's keen on the fun bits; there are loads of braking bumps heading into the gap jump before the table. |
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| The tables definitely got bigger--making them safer. But the sight every racer dreads at this point--the landing for the "Dr Evil" gap jump--is the long flat winding off in the distance below the tables. |
| Last year, pedaling that section was hell for me, I felt like I was breathing glass. - Jared Graves |
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| Mick and Tracy Hannah walking down from Dr Evil to the tables. |
| The tables got a fair bit longer as compared to last year. The last one is massive--about 4 meters longer than last year. Last weekend, only myself and one other racer were able to clear it, so they shaved about 2 meters off of it for this race. - Mick Hannah |
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| Mid way through the flat section, I came upon this bit of trackside carnage. On a macro scale. |
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| The worst bit about the pedaling section is this corner; on the one hand, you can see the end of the pain. On the other, you know you still have about 200 meters of pain to go. |
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| Gee Atherton had his own dedicated Redbull camera on track walk. |
| Man, I've been interviewed out this week. I haven't a single word left to say. - Gee Atherton |
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| There are 9 km of timing cable lining the track. |
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| Buffed and then buffed some more. The track looks to be fast and smooth, with crews detailing every inch of the track. |
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| Yeti Factory racing seems to have a knack unlike any other team for sniffing out talent. In this case, Richie Rude and Eliot Jackson compare notes on the final approach to the finish line with "Grubby" Graves, now the 'old dog' of the team. |
Photos by Colin Meagher
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For shame
18 Mar 2012 6:15 am - 18 Mar 2012 8:00 am (MDT)
Got to give the edge to the big guys when there's strength/pedaling involved.
I would love to see Troy win a race this year and he very well might do just that, but if he does, it won't be b/c he out pedals anybody.
I would consider 5'10", 165lbs to be ALOT bigger than 5'5", 130lbs.
hill will be waaaaaaaay off the back this weekend.
But as always with the first race of the season, you can only really guess where everyone is going to be. It's definitely going to be an interesting race!
Shaun Palmer @Palmer555 Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
First day of practice south Africa! Can't find my shoes..
From the West Coast (Pacific Time) to Pietermaritzburg (SAST) the difference is 9 hours
Any rider not liking PMB, call me and I'll swap you my life for yours.