freerideglory

Gutted that Jackson & Finn didn’t qualify (even as a Brit, Jackson is one of my favourite riders) but even on a crash free weekend I’m not sure either Jackson or Finn would have had an answer for Asa’s raw speed. I do wonder however if there’s an advantage to his eyes being wider apart than most other folk, just like Max Verstappen. Perhaps having eyes set further apart on the head allows for a greater depth perception and therefor an autonomous understanding of both riding speed and closing speed on approach to an obstacle or corner. Maybe a bio-mechanical advantage to it Just a thought

@villageidiot16: wonder if his crash changed his sag setting at all

As awesome as it would have been to see Jackson throw down on his home course, I don’t think even he would have had an answer for Asa’s raw pace this week. He’s a hybrid of Jackson’s poppy style and Bruni’s brute force and scientific precision

@xciscool: At my local trail centre (they call it a red trail but really it’s barely a blue) The biggest single difference when riding an xc or even trail bike vs an enduro rig isn’t the suspension, isn’t even the geometry because you can easily run a shorter travel rig at the same geo and suspension curve as it’s longer travel counterparts. Riding position the same, weight transfer the same, in sections where grip isn’t as limited such as good loam etc, the shorter travel bikes with aggressive geo are more fun & ride better than the longer travel… the biggest difference is the tyres. In limited grip situations like shale & loose tiny rocks like a lot of UK Trail centres are compounded on, the XC Tyre just understeer then snap into a jack-knife. The PB video early August I think it was of Ollie Davies and Evie Richards trying their respective other discipline absolutely highlights this and goes some way to explain how grip is one of the biggest confidence boosters and skill compliments going. Evie, obviously used to XC bikes and conditions, was very anxious about trying the Session downhill bike. After the first couple of corners where she learned just how much grip there was under sidewall load on a DH tyre, she was absolutely ripping it! Adversely, Ollie learning how to manage low grip cornering on a low grip tyre was intriguing.

@thingswelike: doesn’t ring the same does it.. “GO ON KEN!!” Sounds like a darts player 😂

Strange that Gwin & Thirion aren’t racing but I guess given the depth of talent from both France and the states, arguably though I’d place Gwin over Evan Medcalf even though I think he’s a year older now than Minnaar was when he won his last worlds. It’s Thibault Daprela I feel shit for, he was absolutely scorching when on Commencal, moved to Canyon for a bigger paycheque I believe it was, to slot in behind Troy who will always be their headline rider, but about a month in to that contract, Canyon and Thibault “mutually agreed” to part companies, there was an accusation of sexual assault and even though it later came out untrue (the party whom he allegedly assaulted admitted it was fictitious) the damage was done and hasn’t been repaired since. He was a privateer for the actual race season of 2024, and picked up by Rogue racing in 2025 and then for 2026, Dragonspeed who are a US founded motorsports team and they’re pretty damn good at what they do there. IMSA champions, class winners at Le Mans, multiple Rolex Daytona 24hr wins. But I think the S****l a*****t accusations have clearly taken their toll because he hasn’t been the same since. Compare him now to how insanely fast he was at Loudenville a couple years ago, and now maybe the French cycling federation think it’s bad publicity or there’s a risk there may be some small truth behind the fiction. As for BK, we simply have better options. In this case the substitute appears to be George Mardley, first year elite & has out performed Kerr, and perhaps George Madley is a last minute call up following Ethan Craik crashing during the 6 week break resulting in bone bruising & ligament tear on the ankle so he won’t be back until Whistler at the earliest.

It’s Ryan Pinkerton.. that’s his “goes by”. Birth given name is Kenneth Ryan Pinkerton. Same with Gordies over here, a good chunk of them go by their middle name rather than their given.

@dungeonbeast: “we want our sport to expand and reach a wider audience but not at the risk of inviting peasants into our midst, we only want rich dentists who buy yeti & don’t ride them” Seems a viable comment from the commissioner

@chakaping: the depth of the talent pool is incredible right now. A decade ago you could almost guarantee who would be on the podium. Gwin, Minnaar, Bruni, Hart, Brosnon. Swap Hart with Vergier or Greenland but they’d be your top 5. These days you’re seeing guys go from 3 man podium one week to not making finals the next and guys not making finals one week to podiuming the next it’s absolutely crazy and great for the sport. With this, you’ve also got Jonty Williamson dipping his toes in the times of the top 20 elite men. As he heads towards 18 and peak teenage-ism, his testosterone will spike and muscle mass increase so that early top 20 might become consistent top 10

@justanotherusername: when you’re out qualifying people like Gwin & Matt Walker, both of whom have taken overall titles and Gwin needs no introduction, as well as Dak and Tyler Waite who are both race winners if they can hold down a clean run, it’s safe to say you’re up there..