Of course, pretty much any DH course is fun as hell to ride.
But does this really seem like one of the top seven tracks on the planet for a race to be held? The UCI should be picking better venues than this to showcase the sport and provide a good show for fans.
The Idea, is not to pick a great track, that might be just gnarly and tech to ride - well, then lets just stay in Europe. This is in Africa - South Africa, and it is what the terrain has to offer in that part of the world. A Pro is a Pro on any given course - Minnaar wins on other places - Gwin won here and on a few other places as well. You can have favorites, but this is the course - Maybe Tiger Woods has a favorit golf course, and one he can't stand, but I bet he can win on both. It's true of any Pro. MX/auto - anything.
I don't understand how people can say on here that the track looks boring or a shitstain or whatever just because you saw it on a helmet cam. cameras never a true indication of speed, steepness, height etc.
because people know that pietermaritzburg is ALWAYS a pedal fest. I know pros have to bit fit, have to excell on any course etc. but (at least from my point of view) DH is about bike handling. I personally reckon any world cup level track that has areas where you can pedal for any more than about 3 seconds straight...well, theres room for a rock garden or a jump or something in that space....
Alex, many of us are very familiar with what pietermaritzburg looks like and what the DH course is like. Our opinions aren't based upon only upon this video.
Personally, I would prefer a venue with massive scenic mountains covered with trees, rocks and roots. I would prefer a venue that emphasizes skill over pedaling endurance. This is just my a personal opinion and preference. However it seems that many riders and fans feel the same way.
Imagine if the winter Olympics were held in a flat country and the DH ski events were done on a small hill which required pushing with XC ski poles... There would still be interesting and competitive events, but it isn't what I would like to watch.
There are certainly different types of DH tracks out there, and being able to master them all is certainly the mark of a top professional. But to the same point as a few above have made, this track has ALOT of pedaling. And at which point does that amount of pedaling take away from the 'downhill' nature. Last year I remember reading that one rider, I think Mik Hannah, said that if you didn't ride a dropper post it would likely cost you 8-10 seconds. Could that be a signal that the track has too much pedaling?
It had some really fun looking zones, then tone of straight pedal zones with massive tables. I like it. every track is different.
And as Gee is the fittest on the circuit, he's gonna smoke em out again.
Downhill skiing with XC poles hahaha, I totally get that- good analogy. You can skate with 210mm downhill skis, but it SUCKS! and you can pedal for a 1/2 mile flat on a DH bike with 210mm of travel and yup, it sucks. It would be interesting to see a top rider on a 160mm bike see how much faster they could pedal it... But, modern DH bikes (especially light carbon ones...) pedal damn well especially once you dial in a ton of LSC, and at those speeds with a few of those massive gaps I still think a DH bike is probably the best tool for the job. The amount of travel any rider ACTUALLY needs has way more to do with how fast they go and how aggressively they ride a trail relative to their skill level, than the trail itself....
what was your last time on this track, dfiler? Have you ever been to Pmb? Can you ride a bike like a pro or do you prefer to do sport from the comfort of your couch? Any pro can and will compete on any course will give his best - not only that he will probably have lots of fun too.
yeah, they can and will compete. also in years past they have complained alot about how boring the track is to ride. how its not really a test of their bike handling skills, how they ought to be wearing lycra and using dropper posts and how its not how they envision our sport....and thats the pros talking, not me.
This is a very early preview. The race isn't got a few weeks. Claudio is the Scott team manager. He won't be out there until the team heads out there for the race. I'm sure he'll do a preview then.
If you want something off the norm you can go watch the slopestyle guys. What we certainly dont want to see is racers starting to wear skinny jeans and skid lids.
i dont see why making up my mind would make a difference as both things are something to complain about. Just listen to the riders themselves complain about mt ste anne (one of the roughest tracks) being dumbed down by some flattening. luckily the rain came in to make things better.
I kinda agree with proDHracer , it's not a world class DH track and that is plain to see , far to straight and pedally , but where the track does shine is with the insane speeds and huge jumps .
Any Dh track that warrants a dropper seat post is obviously missing some thing... ( or has too much of some thing else )
Every year many people expect to see riders on 6 inch travel bikes on this track (because of all the peddling and apparent lack of technical sections) and to date no-one has ever raced a world cup in anything less than a full DH bike on this track.
Maybe that's because they still think they'll be faster with 8 inches of travel. It must be at least a little technical then?
Much as I am looking forward to my home country WC race, that course does not fill me with excitement. Too many jumps, not enough corners and rock gardens. Then again, each WC course is different and the race will be good - may the fittest Saffer win!
So while all of the world moans and argues over the Maritzburg course, I was sessioning and enjoying the outdoors. stop moaning, every track is a challenge, as someone said before, to be a pro you have to adapt and learn thats why its worlds not the "andorra cup" or "VDS Champs' its worlds!!! every year a different challenge awaits and beside how hell boring would DH be if all the tracks where the same?
People are offering their opinions on what kind of racing they would like to see. The alternative is to have no discussion or analysis of what DH courses should look like. Personally, I'm glad that pink bike readers take an interest in what venues are picked for the UCI series.
Look at all the tree's around the pedally section, those weren't there last year, looks good! As someone who has been to the track, it is a pedally track located on a Hill not a Mountain, I don't think it's a legitimate downhill track, I don't think it embodies what downhill is all about, tracks like Val Di Sole and Champery is what this sport is about. Downhill isn't Enduro and it shouldn't be treated as such, if your country doesn't have the capabilities to host a sporting event that caters to the outline of the actual sport, don't force it. I don't see any Surfing events being held in Russia, nor do I see any Snowboarding events held in South Africa. For the love of god, have a World Cup in New Zealand, these UCI squids are incredibly oblivious to the capabilities of that 1 country.
I agree with everything you said about the PMB track. As for other potential locations, one consideration that people often overlook is costs for the teams. While there are some big named companies behind some teams, it costs a fortune to send race teams and support all over the world. It's not like a skier or snowboarder who gets in a plane with their gear bag. Mountain bikes are a huge operation. That's why they tend to concentrate things in Europe a little, schedule Saint Anne and Windham back to back the week before crankworx etc. They could find the most badass tracks in the world, but it would be a waste if the teams couldn't afford to send a full field or riders.
Sorry mate, I don't buy that, also what you said contradicts itself. All of the richest UCI DH teams are based in Europe, so why base it out of there and make all the poorer teams travel all the way around the world? Teams can complain about not being able to bring a 'full pit' overseas, but the honest truth is those semi-truck pieces of shit are over-kill and not necessary for a f*cking mountain bike race. The UCI follows the money... who is willing to pay more to the UCI to have a world cup, wins. So who will win that bout, a track in New Zealand that nobodies ever heard of or a Mountain Bike Park? The UCI has it's intentions all warped, they're making the world cup a profit filled business for there own needs and not focusing it on the sport of Downhill.
Liam, the only problem with your argument about the UCI following the money is that its not true. Pinkbike had an article about the process back in the spring and its not a monetary bidding process where the highest bidder wins.
I would have started over after my brakes barked 2 seconds in. How embarassing.
....another imba certified flow trail. Looks fun, and spectator friendly. A lil too many double track frwys!
someone above said the guy put oil to make his brakes squeal for the purpose of highlighting the braking zones for this track. meanwhile, you are a dick.
Wouldn't be suprised to see some racers on agressive all-mountain bikes seeing how pedally and untechnical it is. Still looks like an entertaining course, pretty massive gaps there.
Top and bottom looks good! Should be a good race. As for people complaining about pedalling, bikes have pedals, that's what they're for! A pro should be able to race on any course.
jumps are cool, and alot of trees to dodge so could see a few crashes. track is rather flat and looked really unclear of the route looks like two tracks and riding bits of both. but i guess its unfinished.
If wasant the milions of jumps what would be this "track"??? An enduro track????? South african confederation must eat some UCI asses to do a WC on such a shity boring pedaly track...
It seems like nonsense to me to make this shitstain of a track the world champs when there are sooo many superb places on the southern hemisphere!! It should be about technical bike skills not about who can pedal more!!
Not super technical at that speed, but those are MASSIVE gaps. He was in the air for a long time on some of those. If you were going your fastest, things would probably be a different story.
One of my favourate races to watch, lots of unique little features. From memory most of the riders think its 2 good DH tracks, with a 30 second pedal separating them.
No, i havent, and i know helmet cams dont do perfect justice to tracks but even if you cant see its steepness you can tell that it doesnt even compare to vds or ft bill, not to mention andorra in terms of challenging riders with technical terrain. I'm sure its a blast to ride and get some massive airtime as well as easier to get spectators to like it but still, look at how many pros have said that the track doesnt suit them. that cant be good.
Yep. See, there you could say it was missing a couple big airs, but it was still more physical than a pedally track and took riders to their absolute limits skillwise
Peitermariztberg has always been that one odd track that's filled with massive jumps. But the same could be said for msa, especially this year. Not crazy tech but high speed. I prefer tracks like vallnord and val di sole but this is what south africa has to work with.
yeah, but the difference is at MSA you don't really pedal that much as all the straights are so steep. Pedalling should be to get a little speed boost where you can fit one in, not to actually propel you to the next interesting bit of track, thats called xc.
God forbid they have to actually ride some challenging terrain. As I said this is downhill not xc. Its about bike handling, not just who can spin their legs the fastest for longest. If they have time to pedal then the track isn't challenging enough. Simple
Man, I wanted to give you an upvote but I pushed the wrong colour. I'm dumb as fuck.
Anyway, yeah, me neither. Seems a very overrated track. If you remove the tables you can do this track with an enduro bike and 160-180mm.
But does this really seem like one of the top seven tracks on the planet for a race to be held? The UCI should be picking better venues than this to showcase the sport and provide a good show for fans.
Any pro can and will compete on any course will give his best - not only that he will probably have lots of fun too.
Any Dh track that warrants a dropper seat post is obviously missing some thing... ( or has too much of some thing else )
Maybe that's because they still think they'll be faster with 8 inches of travel. It must be at least a little technical then?
stop moaning, every track is a challenge, as someone said before, to be a pro you have to adapt and learn
thats why its worlds not the "andorra cup" or "VDS Champs' its worlds!!! every year a different challenge awaits
and beside how hell boring would DH be if all the tracks where the same?
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