2011 Pietermaritzburg WC DH Course Building Part 2 - The top section

Dec 24, 2010 at 1:12
by Nigel Hicks  
Photos of the top half of the 2011 Pietermaritzburg DH course.

This section of the course is being kept as natural as possible and incorporates a number of fast technical sections.

photo
The 2nd straight of the track - the first straight starts as a road gap into a dropoff, into a left berm which is shown in the background of this image.
photo
The first section of off camber turns just after the 2nd straight
photo
Mini Me - a tight offcamber righthander into a 5foot dropoff onto the road below
photo
Cloud 9's main rock dropoff - the test pilot is standing on the "Chicken Run" line
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Cloud 9's "Chicken Run" line - the main line drops off the rocks from the left
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Cloud 9's rock section from below. The off cambers are awesome and hard to ride
photo
Rock drop off the top road into sharp right hander, over rock section below Cloud 9

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Run into Main rock feature at Pebble Beach
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The 6 foot drop off the main rock feature at Pebble Beach
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The main rock drop at Pebble Beach before the landing and berm have been built
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Pebble Beach's main rock garden

Stay tuned for more building from the 2011 Pietermaritzburg DH course!

Author Info:
nigelhicks101 avatar

Member since Nov 16, 2009
21 articles
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57 Comments
  • 26 0
 that looks sick!
  • 8 1
 the 6 ft drop looks like it would hurt your ancle...
  • 54 2
 and also hurt you uncle!
  • 5 0
 The landing isn't built yet..
Looks nice! Is this a new WC track or is it just changes to the one that they ran in 2009?
  • 18 4
 the landing is there already from what I can see , it's called the ground?
  • 8 0
 "The main rock drop at Pebble Beach before the landing and berm have been built" It says under the pic..
  • 1 0
 Anybody know what bike that is with the guy? That electric blue colour looks mint!
  • 2 0
 GT fury team
  • 1 0
 Gnarly it's gonna be!
  • 1 0
 sketchy
  • 1 0
 that looks like a pretty much brand new track, all the sections they show dont have much if any tire wear. and I dont recognise any of it from last year.
  • 8 0
 Looks ace, the "Natural" section is going to get very interesting.
Remember the WC at Le Brasse? Everyone thought it was too natural in some spots, but after a few days of Pros hammering down it hard that bit just got insane. Turned out to be the best race of the season (season before last as I recall)

Keep up the good work guys!
  • 4 0
 Same with windham , people were hating on it but once these guys started to rip it apart it turned into a damned good track
  • 1 0
 @Sup3rc0w if memory serves me corectly the only bit npeople hated was the top section which was a boardwalk. and your are right it got event of 2009 as it was the tits. Cant wait to go back next season
  • 1 0
 The best race for who? The riders didn't love it. Same for the spectators. It got some crazy award that means nothing and it makes it the best? I've talked to some people in Schladming that season and they all agreed that La Bresse compared to Schlad is a Joke.
  • 1 0
 @Spaced where you there?. The crowd love it. it was the bigest crowd of the year. and Schladming was good yeah but La Bresse deserved it hands down (bar the media room which only had crisp's and Dark dog which i would never recomend you drink)
  • 1 0
 Deserves it for what? Relativly big crowd - what in reality is dense crowd because of a very short track. If you would won it only because of crowds FT. William would win every time. Everyone who I knew that were that year in La Bresse and Schlad said Schladming is better hands down. The track is much more gnarly, the show is much better and it's just more entertaining (if they were spectators, not riders). If the track is mediecore it CAN'T be the best even of the year.
Though Yeah I was only in Schlad that year, friends were to booth and they all share my opinion. Seen the live recap and it might have looked awesome if you've never been to a WC track but overall - nothing special.
  • 1 0
 You haven't answerd my question. Where you in La Bresse? I'm guessing not, So do us a favour and shut the f*ck up you weren't there so you can't comment. I was @ both events and have to say both where epic. And again with this ft bill crack. FT Bill crowd had f*ck all on La Bresse, La bresse finished into a town so all the locals just wanderd up the hill. You have no idea mate but i don't mind wasting my time informing you.
  • 1 0
 Learn to read properly "Though Yeah I was ONLY in Schlad that year". Still educate me? For you an event is better because more locals show up at the bottom of a track. You have high expecations... We should make a wc track in london. Doesn't matter it won't be really a dh track, there will be lots of ppl. Do you even ride bikes? Because your quantity over quality is laughable.
Anyway I will rather trust the opinion of my friends I usualy agree with than yours kid.
  • 1 0
 ok then mate you know the core being to 1? world cup. Ciao
  • 1 0
 Not that I am siding with either of you - but La Bresse only ranked 4th according to the teams.. www.imtto.com/news.php - but Schladming was 5th...
  • 6 0
 Wait for it to be broken in and rained on exposing the roots, rocks and what nots... I think its very WC worthy... Another thing is the guys on WC will be flying this track, Imagine going through cloud 9 airborn half the time... I wanna cap my pants just thinking about it...
  • 3 0
 i rode the track today, its not yet finnished but is so awsome,the jumps at the bottom are massive ...the top section is awsome even though you cant ride the whole track at once because its under construction but this track is really alot better than last years one ... cant wait to ride it when its done ..peace out Smile
  • 6 0
 Gnarly.... can't wait for the season to start....
  • 1 0
 Good one Nige. This track is looking Slick. Took my bike with the other day to scope it out and ride some of the the finished pieces. Got caught in a major storm just as I was at Pebble beach and ended up pretty much skiing down!!!! It will definitely bed in though as its ridden more and more. Looking awesome!!
  • 2 0
 ohmygod i so want to race world cups when im older the tracks are so cool!!
  • 2 0
 Is it a WC level track? Any pictures from it look far from being a challenge for the WC racers IMO. Unless pictures lie....
  • 2 0
 i wish i could ride that it looks like such a fun trail
  • 2 0
 looks like a big improvment from the last track !
  • 2 0
 this trail is going to be mint!!!!!!!!!!
  • 2 0
 Looks like it would be pretty gnarly in the wet !
  • 1 0
 This looks awesome! You can really get a feel on how steep the course is. Cant wait
  • 2 0
 It's a sweet technical downhill course.
  • 2 0
 Cant wait to see Hill shread that!!
  • 2 0
 rad
  • 1 0
 holy molars!! gonna be fun, loose and drop-heavy!
  • 2 0
 that looks sick
  • 1 0
 AWESOME !!! would love to race that !
  • 1 0
 I wish I could ride it some day...
  • 1 0
 wow now I am so excited Wink
the track looks great
  • 1 0
 Custom designed so that Greg Minnaar can win on home turf!
  • 2 0
 hahahahaha i was waiting for this comment to come out! hahaha

Guys ... i wont lie Mr Min has driven around twice to have a look at the course BUT has had very little input. I have been in contact with 6 of the top pros overseas to get advice on what to do in the pedal section. The course is being designed so that ANYONE can win. Just remember that in 2009 everyone thought that the course didnt suit flat pedals but Hill still got a 5th and was on the pace. In comparison to the courses in Europe (Which are generally ALL hosted in the Alps) SA doesnt have mountains like that but the overall elevation drop is on par with many of the WC Tracks (eg Windam). It will be an ALL Riders course - you will need to be good at tech rocks, steep stuff, jumping, and pedalling. Its not just a single type track which is just steep and gnarly - you need to be an OVERALL RACER to do well here.
  • 2 0
 If you look at the split times from the 2009 world cup we hosted, Greg was the fastest through every section if I remember correctly and made up the most time, by far on the top technical section. I think Greg's proved himself to be a racer who can win on any track, steep or tech..... Don't hate...
  • 1 0
 word word
  • 1 0
 sick,very good
  • 1 0
 6ft drop looks mad ...
  • 1 0
 minchia
  • 1 0
 sweet
  • 1 0
 ouuu yeah Smile
  • 1 1
 wow, this track is going to be amazing! too bad i'll never get to ride it
  • 1 2
 i've seen better
  • 1 4
 Looks gnarly.
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