Bike Checks: Antoine Vidal's Commencal Supreme & Meta AM
If you ran a poll as to who was the most underrated rider of 2019, then Antoine Vidal probably should win those stakes.
He went about it quietly, putting a in string of fast, consistent performances to grab the EWS Under-21 title with six race victories and a worst showing of 4th. Of course, performance in the Under-21 field is not always a great predictor of form in the senior competition, but at the Northstar round his time was good enough to have placed him 8th in the elite competition. Alongside this, he managed to grab a French national jersey to allow him to race DH on the world stage. It started slowly, with 14th at Fort William, building up to taking junior silver at the World Champs in Mont St Anne. To cap it all, he popped down under just before Christmas and won Under-19s at the Australian Open in Thredbo, no small feat considering the depth of talent down there.
He went about it quietly, putting a in string of fast, consistent performances to grab the EWS Under-21 title with six race victories and a worst showing of 4th. Of course, performance in the Under-21 field is not always a great predictor of form in the senior competition, but at the Northstar round his time was good enough to have placed him 8th in the elite competition. Alongside this, he managed to grab a French national jersey to allow him to race DH on the world stage. It started slowly, with 14th at Fort William, building up to taking junior silver at the World Champs in Mont St Anne. To cap it all, he popped down under just before Christmas and won Under-19s at the Australian Open in Thredbo, no small feat considering the depth of talent down there.
Rider Name // Antoine Vidal
Age: 19
Hometown: Nimes, France
Height: 5'9 / 175cm
Weight: 155lb / 70kg
Instagram: antoine_vidal07
Age: 19
Hometown: Nimes, France
Height: 5'9 / 175cm
Weight: 155lb / 70kg
Instagram: antoine_vidal07
This winter he moved out of his parents' house and in with the Ravanels so he can focus 100% on his training. As well as his ever-growing palmaires, he is studying under the Ravanels to qualify as a trainer for once his riding days are done. All this and he's not even 20 yet - definitely one to watch for the coming years, although don't expect to see him too often at the World Cups; having raced both he finds enduro more fun and wants to concentrate there for the time being.
Commencal Supreme
Details
Frame: Commencal Supreme DH 29
Shock: Rockshox Superdeluxe DH Coil, 475 lb/in
Fork: Rockshox Boxxer World Cup, 130psi, 1 token
Wheels: Spank 350 29, 30mm
Tires: Hutchinson Prototype
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 DH
Brakes: SRAM Codes
Cockpit: Renthal 800mm
Size: Medium
More info: commencal.com
Frame: Commencal Supreme DH 29
Shock: Rockshox Superdeluxe DH Coil, 475 lb/in
Fork: Rockshox Boxxer World Cup, 130psi, 1 token
Wheels: Spank 350 29, 30mm
Tires: Hutchinson Prototype
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 DH
Brakes: SRAM Codes
Cockpit: Renthal 800mm
Size: Medium
More info: commencal.com
Unridden. With the lockdown in France the chances to head out shuttling were limited, to say the least, so when we spoke to him he'd only been able to build this bike and gaze longingly at it..
Antoine runs his bars 20mm wider on the DH bike for a little extra leverage..
Out front it's that World Cup mainstay, the Boxxer. Antoine runs quite a stiff spring, but quite low levels of compression damping - he describes it as "fully open."
The newest version of the Supreme has an adjustable idler pulley to fine tune the bike to the track you're racing.
It's 220mm discs front and rear for maximum stopping power.
Plenty of rubber on the chainstay to keep things quiet.
Commencal Meta AM 29
Details
Frame: Commencal Meta AM 29
Shock: Rockshox Superdeluxe Ultimate Coil, 450 lb/in
Fork: Rockshox Lyrik 170mm, 80psi, 2 tokens
Wheels: Spank 350 29, 30mm
Tires: Hutchinson Toro + Prototype
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle AXS
Brakes: SRAM Code
Cockpit: Renthal 780mm
Size: Medium
More info: commencal.com
Frame: Commencal Meta AM 29
Shock: Rockshox Superdeluxe Ultimate Coil, 450 lb/in
Fork: Rockshox Lyrik 170mm, 80psi, 2 tokens
Wheels: Spank 350 29, 30mm
Tires: Hutchinson Toro + Prototype
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle AXS
Brakes: SRAM Code
Cockpit: Renthal 780mm
Size: Medium
More info: commencal.com
While the DH may be unridden, the Ravanels have private land that meant they could keep playing on bikes through the lockdown - and the Meta was Antoine's weapon of choice during that period.
Like the Boxxer on his DH bike, Antoine describes his compressions damping as "fully open."
When asked whether his riding was efficient or aggressive, he simply describes it as "dirty." With a 450lb spring (this is Cecile's spring here) the bike is fairly well balanced from front to rear - which is unusual because in the South of France many riders opt for a slightly softer rear to let them ride behind the fork.
For the time being he has a 32t ring on his Eagle AXS drivetrain. The Commencal team are one of the few outfits that still run bashguards with their chainguides, something most teams seem to have ditched these days.
For enduro he drops the rotors down to a more standard 200mm front and rear.
Spank provide the hoops with their 30mm wide 350 rims.
Decisions, decisions...
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Member since Oct 29, 2006
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We ride behind our forks in the USA as well, just easier to reach the pedals.
Thinking I'll be running a bash guard if I ever get another bike.
www.instagram.com/p/BzOj0yKIEur/?igshid=djptnwwdargj