Photo Epic: Track Walk - Les Gets World Cup DH 2021
A familiar venue and an unfamiliar track greeted riders in Les Gets for the second round of the UCI World Cup Downhill. On race hill that for years has been synonymous with open grass corners and high speeds, often mimicking the layout of an alpine ski race, the organizers have none a near-complete 180 and designed a layout almost entirely in the trees. There are few open sections that pay tribute to the classic image of Les Gets, but they are mostly straight traverses with jumps and step-downs, not the drifting off-cambers we've come to expect here. In their place, riders will tackle some extremely steep woods, nearly all freshly cut and littered with hundreds and hundreds of roots. The surface is fresh loamy dirt that will surely be scrubbed off during the first day of training, and what lies beneath is really anyone's guess right now.
The biggest variable on top of the fresh and surely ever-changing track is the weather. Like in the previous round at Leogang, it has been raining in this region of the French Alps on a near-daily basis, and the ground is beyond saturated. It is soft and muddy and quite wet in many spots, and as soon as tires hit the dirt here there is going to be carnage. Once fast racing lines emerge, the topsoil pushed to the side and becoming rutted through the corners, the track should hopefully take shape for riders to find the speed and flow they are after. But right now, where those lines will form is anyone's guess. It might dry out a bit and be insanely fast, it may rain some more and be a sloppy mess, but regardless it will be anything but straightforward and will reward the riders who can attack with risky and creative lines and adapt on the fly, run after run, to changing conditions. Don't be surprised to see a few surprises in the finish order when the clock starts ticking in a few days' time.
Les Gets... Les Go!!!
Les Gets a little damper and fresher than the ideal, but beautiful all the same.
When things start muddy and are predicted to stay muddy, the spikes come out, and mechanics are kept busy trimming them knob by knob to each rider's preference.
This will likely be the daily sight on the floor of the pits each day as the track may never fully dry.
Suspension service is always busy before a World Cup, but today's volume leading up to the first practice session was at a level rarely seen.
It's the details that count when looking for that little extra love in the suspension tuning department
John Hall getting Aaron's bike ready to slow down to go fast.
Dakota Norton is feeling fine after a couple of weeks bombing the Portes De Soleil classics to get used to the French Alpine riding.
Big views dropping into a huge machine-cut first berm.
Jamie Edmondson pokes a tentative head out the gate after a tough race in Austria to start his season.
The start is one of the only sections reminiscent of the previous track in Les Gets, out in the open on the grassy ski hill
An all-new start, beginning across and some way above on the hill from the P2V invitational.
Eyeing up the first of many big gaps that come at riders right out of the gate.
A large step down into a second very fresh and soft berm.
The start is a bit basic and flat out, but once riders reach the woods things get spicy in a hurry.
Fresh as... A brand new track nearly top to bottom has been fresh cut in Les Gets.
Nina Hofmann scopes the first of several road gaps up top.
These will be the nemesis of many a rider this week in Les Gets.
Old school, steep, off-camber, and raw.
Watch out for the French Anaconda know to hide out right on the racing line.
One of the rare sections that looks manmade and manicured.
A couple of normal-sized Giants make their assessment of the fearsome final steeps.
3rd place here last time around, Laurie will only be looking to up the ante.
Natural, off-camber heather and loam sections high up, due to be thoroughly ripped up in the morning.
Deep forest for a good 80% of this fresh track.
Luca Shaw still awaits his inaugural win - could this be a track to suit his tastes?
The Goat out for a few parallel turns on this steep black run.
Don't let the camera fool you. This section is extremely steep and fresh-cut with roots a plenty hidden just below the surface.
Lots of lines, none obviously better than the other and none a particularly safe bet either.
Another rare moment of calm.
Mind the off-camber roots as you bomb into the steep woods.
Steep, slick, and no obvious direct line to carry speed. It will be interesting to see how these fresh sections cut up and cut on over the first day of practice.
Slick and pretty damn nasty, even before any tyres have touched the ground.
Cameras have a way of flattening trails out so we will let the skip marks from people's feet do the talking here. The last section of woods is an extremely steep slip and slide.
Roots on roots on roots. There is almost no section of woods not littered with them.
A huge jump out of the woods is only manageable if riders can carry speed through the steep muddy off-camber above.
The new finish section is a bit basic in comparison to the road gaps, creek jumps, steps downs, and corners of years gone by.
Spin it to win. Kade getting limber for first rides tomorrow.
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For deep mud with little rock, root or hard pack the full spike will grip better but often conditions are mixed so cutting them down to individual preferences gives a better all round tyre as the shorter knobs will than be better.
Honestly don't know what else it could be
But tbh I think the wetscream is really outdated old tyre design reminiscent of those Michelin dh tyres from 90's. Hardly see anyone running wetscream's unless sponsored by them, Schwalbe Dirty Dan is a much better tyre.
I'm not a fan of the original shorty either but the new version seems a better tread pattern