As the 2023 World Cup DH season kicks off early with a special test event in Lourdes, we have rounded up the videos we can find to keep you updated with the racing this weekend. Come back throughout the weekend for more videos from the first test of the new setup for DH racing.
'Not a Race' Day
FullAttack: | Vous avez dégusté nos vidéos des recos à pied (vendredi) et entraînements (samedi) du Test Event DH de Lourdes ?! Et bien voici la vidéo FullAttack du jour consacrée au test du format de finale...— FullAttack |
| Have you enjoyed our videos of the recce on foot (Friday) and training (Saturday) of the Lourdes DH Test Event?! Well here is the FullAttack video of the day dedicated to the test of the final format...— FullAttack - Translated |
| Race day in Lourdes saw battling to find grip on the slippery French hillside, that said it was still much better than expected for the first few runs.
The semi-finals were going well with some solid splits at the top before burping my tire around the halfway mark and having to nurse it home to save blowing the tire off.
The rain really picked up just after my run and made it nearly impossible to ride properly for the remaining riders to come with a good run.
After my run, I decided to miss the final as I felt after riding it in the wet the previous day it was going to be an unnecessary risk with no reward, I was happy to take some confidence from the first run and use that going into the break before the first world cup in a months time.— Dean Lucas |
| World Series test event in Lourdes, France! Practice runs and a bit of chit-chat.— Troy Brosnan |
| This is my seeding Run in the Test event World Cup race in Lourdes! First race with a new organization, ESO.— Johan Garcin |
Practice
FullAttack: | Après les recos à pied de notre vidéo du vendredi, Yo et Flo de l'équipe FullAttack vous proposent de revivre en plus près de l'action les entraînements du samedi (raccourcis par la pluie) à l'occasion du Test Event DH 2023 à Lourdes...— FullAttack |
| After the recce on foot in our Friday video, Yo and Flo from the FullAttack team invite you to relive Saturday's training sessions closer to the action (shortened by the rain) during the 2023 DH Test Event in Lourdes...— FullAttack - Translated |
| Day two here in Loures turned out to be a bit of a wild one by the end...
Started off really well with some really solid runs in the dry but soon took a turn when the heavens opened up and made the track here unrideable.
Praying for sun tomorrow!— Dean Lucas |
Trackwalk
FullAttack: | La saison internationale de Descente démarre (presque) ce week-end à Lourde avec un inédit Test Event DH sur les pentes du Pic du Jer. L'équipe FullAttack est sur le front pour vous faire vivre l'événement de l'intérieur, comme nulle part ailleurs !— FullAttack |
| The international Downhill season starts (almost) this weekend in Lourdes with an unprecedented Test Event DH on the slopes of the Pic du Jer. The FullAttack team is on the front lines to make you experience the event from the inside, like nowhere else!— FullAttack - Translated |
| Back to Lourdes today for the first proper event of the year, easy day getting media content for the up and coming season along with getting the bikes ready for practice tomorrow.— Dean Lucas |
Member since Mar 16, 2017
Can you try to speak french?
When WE ride in Morzine, let me know to you that WE the frenchys stay very cool with the english people who think that WE have to do like Morzine IS in the UK....
I speak french ....i try to do the best i Can in english!
Kiss...ans peace✌️
www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world
Check out the whole article... of my link...! In some other sites they are 5th or 6th... !
Plus... i know very well what is going on... and which is the truth and what is their problem... ! Anyways... !
Ummmmmm
> Morzine IS in the UK....
We've basically annexed it now anyway
You can do it too :-)
So be careful about what you say, especially when you are insulting the locals and our culture.
My friends and i had so many encounters, that most of us ride Chatel, Les Gets, and Morgins instead of Morzine/Avo.
As usual fantastic work from Flo and his team. He is such an amazing human being, I hope he will cover more WC!
le comprends mais je habitais
dans le yorkshire pendant 20 ans.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfUmW_Mf5qc
Jesus I nearly choked on my apple, the audacity of this bloke.
1. Protected riders. Most seem to agree that it should be all or nothing, and that protecting the top 3 on,y from the prior season gives a huge and somewhat unfair advantage to those 3
2. …all the more so in the context of the new semi finals / finals on the same day format, where all unprotected riders have to go balls out in the semi, then have only 90 minutes to recover, eat, make last minute mechanical changes and get their race face back on
3. Taping. 3 different kinds were tried: no taping, low taping, old taping. Jury seems to be out, some riders like the protected feel of the old meaning complete taping, most seem not to like zero taping, and the middle of the road seems to get the most votes
4. Obstacle course. The new org added a bunch of pads throughout the course, which funneled the riders into tighter lines. An interesting comment from a team director was that if this test course had about 15, he heard that the final courses may have up to 60! Which also brought up the issue of, what happens when (not if…) a rider crashes into one and takes it out. Which is what happened on Sunday. Then the staff tried to out it back on, but they had to hold it manually in place and it wasn’t in the same spot.
5. Traveling camera. Seems like they will set up some rail cams of sorts to broadcast more interesting bits
6. Talking of broadcasting, it seems the main platform for North America will be thru GCN+
Watching Brosnan's POV footage: those pads, those bright billboards in the track, would've absolutely crashed me out...they're unlike anything I've ever seen at a DH race! ESO says they're into safety?--these pads are completely distracting.
also: FullAttack's been the best BTS coverage of the past couple years. I love hearing the best riders speaking in their native tongue, and they seem to be comfortable talking with Mr Flo. Not all sportstalk...I don't speak French but that's the impression I get. It's awesome.
A huge eyeroll to those complaining about them speaking French. Sick of it?--beat them to the bottom and maybe someone will ask you a question in English!
Again, @usfrenchie: thanks for your quick report. I gotta hear how ESO tries to sell me on those psycho pads!
That’s going off pics that are floating around
There Ya Go... This is the real reason... I have heard many cases that they know but they don't use the English language... Thanks man !
(Also: it doesn't prove it.)