Video: Gwin's Winning Run

Apr 13, 2015 at 7:29
by Red Bull Bike  


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Member since Jun 28, 2012
634 articles

141 Comments
  • 148 3
 Would have been nice to see the WHOLE run as it seems from spllit1 to split 2 was where he smoked everyone else.
  • 38 4
 Agree completely. Hard to complain about free, but would have loved to see the ride between splits 1 & 2.
  • 12 1
 lets see if now they might change some thing next time don't miss the winner's run!
  • 88 4
 If only he could have worn a gopro...
  • 62 4
 According to this video he did the race in 00:57! No wonder he won!
  • 25 0
 Whhaaaaaaat? No rock garden or the big boulder drop? That was like watching a movie on network TV - all the good parts edited out.
  • 21 0
 The worst part is that one of the gnarliest section of the track was right where they didn't put the camera (it's basically à 45°+ steep rock garden) I think this is where he chose a line that set him apart from the rest. There's almost no photos of this part on the web but I have taken some during the trainings : imgur.com/fzcNVlM
  • 1 0
 Dude – cool photos. I'm jealous I couldn't be there.
  • 45 0
 This run will go down in history as one of the most mysterious mysteries. The Bermuda Triangle, Stonehenge, 9/11, ancient aliens, Aaron Gwin's winning run at Lourdes.
  • 5 29
flag Silliker269 (Apr 13, 2015 at 11:41) (Below Threshold)
 Track was alot smoother when he did his run
  • 9 1
 ^ A few extra ruts doesn't account for almost 4 seconds... also an extra 40 riders after an entire weekend of a hundred riders ripping it up wouldn't make a big difference to begin with. Gwin raced in the same conditions as everyone else from the looks of it. Maybe the last corner was less blown out but he didn't even use it so its negligible.
  • 9 0
 Another miracle at Lourdes! You don't need to see it that's what faith's about
  • 6 0
 I read that Gwin went down 25th from the front. That means 55 guys + all the Juniors + all the Women went before him. Besides he was on different lines than anyone else to begin with JUST GIVE HIM THE VICOTORY!
  • 4 0
 It is completely stupid for not filming all of Gwinns run. They really didnt think about it really, i guess.
  • 3 0
 @scott-townes is right. All I can add is....illuminati
  • 2 0
 his line at the end was evident enough that maybe he did a bit more homework than everyone else....even his teamamte
  • 1 0
 I wanted to see his technique on the rock that everyone crashed on!
  • 2 0
 ^ Which rock? The big one everyone pretty much had to blindly send off of?
  • 90 1
 Last corner alone, I think he gains a second on the whole field. Everyone else I remeber seeing, sort of squares it of, and points their bike down the ramp/drop, he just blows it wide and keeps his speed without braking!
  • 6 0
 Agreed
  • 11 0
 true. Also, no one else dared to chose that straight line at 0:20. Unbelievable riding, congrats to Gwin!
  • 4 0
 lol there were def brakes involved, but i agree he owned that corner, fastest rider through it by far
  • 3 0
 He Definitely hit smoothest on that last corner
  • 1 0
 Agreed, that right there would be enough to clinch the win assuming we would make a run similar to the timed training . What surprises me the most is that in the available footage, I could only see pedal strokes in the beginning(of course), he looked like a cannonball down that hill, everyone else kinda bounced and slipped around a bit.
  • 2 0
 FWIW here's what I see set him apart: 1. stiffer suspension allowed him to skip over the top of rocks, roots, and holes, thus maintaining speed better and; 2. many of the lines that we COULD see were "Sam Hill-style" as in straight from point to point, ignoring the many small turns the race line took between major directional changes in the tape. Much of his time was spent riding rock piles and grassy margins of the course which were ignored by others (proven by the fact that they were hardly worn by tires at all). Makes you wonder if that kind of line is also faster because you are avoiding many of the momentum-sapping bomb holes, not just because it is straighter.

I also wonder if he needs to run higher tire pressure along with the stiffer suspension, or if he just rides light enough on the bike to keep from rimming out too heavily/often.
  • 4 0
 ^he's definitely running higher tire pressure and suspension rates, using sheer momentum to drive traction. If any of us mortals were to ride this setup we'd be sliding out and blowing corners at the average downhillers speeds. Its something anyone that plays with their setup experiences as they get faster, gwin is just on a whole other level, one that requires alot of upper body strength, focus and fitness to make work with such an aggressive bike setup.
  • 1 0
 Bulldog and one or two other people also cut the two corners as well, no one took the last turn that way though. Crazy run .
  • 32 1
 When he hits that tabletop jump I noticed that his landing he just "stuck" and kept on with his momentum. The other riders seemed to have their momentum zapped out of them when they landed (if that makes sense).
  • 15 0
 I noticed that as well, if were talking about the same section, almost every other rider came down on the back wheel, then compressed their fork down hard an definitely lost some speed, Gwin landed both wheels even and kept on pinned... or pwinned
  • 9 0
 I noticed that too. Also that final right corner before dropping into the final hill he just cruised right around it where everyone else almost stopped and had to get back on the pedals.
  • 14 1
 I guess that's one of the advantages of running stiffer suspension.
  • 3 0
 Should have clarified, right around the :42 mark.
  • 1 0
 ..and right after his flat landing he popped over that little pile of rocks, which no one else did, they all road over it. And at the beginning of his run, he got the best pump off the start ramp which allowed him to jump farther than anyone else, just before that first rock arch.
  • 1 0
 He also came into that jump faster. There's a little rise after the initial jump where all the other were landng Infront of it then riding over it, slowing them down. He landed 4-5 feet further ontop of that bump and kept momentum. He was already winning at that point, then he blasted that last corner for the kill! Gwin for the win! Boom!
  • 22 0
 Hope he shares his pov cam, 'cos I want to see what warp speed looks like.
  • 23 2
 UCI has banned helmet cams unfortunately. We will never get to see the most important section of the track were he crushed everyone.
  • 6 0
 That's a shame, thanks for the info.
  • 9 1
 They haven't banned them it turns out. Just getting riders to sign a waiver that voids they're insurance at UCI events if an injury is due to wearing a helmet cam anywhere on the body. They are still insurer if injury occurs not due to a helmet cam though lol.
  • 17 0
 Wow. Last year they counted cardbord as back protection and now they're scared of riders hurting because of a camera on top of their helmets?
  • 2 0
 Yeah, look at the pics hes not wearing a camera. Most of the pros only have them on for practice and occasionally for qualies.
  • 17 0
 Warner wasn't kidding about Gwins firm suspension....forks look like they're only strokin 3-4"!
  • 19 0
 must have forearms of steel
  • 6 0
 It's crazy that he's the only guy running it like that. You would think some other guys would be doing the same since Gwin has had such good results with it.
  • 2 0
 I agree. I though it was because of his MX background, but plenty of DH pros ride MX to train. You would think that some of them must have tested a firmer set up.
  • 6 1
 It's not easy. I was lucky enough to borrow a very fast guy's V10 for a lap in Fontana a few weeks ago and found that with the spring that stiff my arms pumped up after only a few turns and it was tough to keep hold of the bars with hard hits compared to my bike sprung for my weight. Gotta imagine Gwin is running his significantly stiffer and maybe most guys just can't hold on.
  • 6 0
 Yeh, that must be it. Even more respect for Gwin because of that - the guy's a machine.
  • 5 2
 Ive felt it. Its not really that bad. No more than i run mine. Its firm, but not really till in it a couple inches. The rebound and compression is fairly damped ,though.
  • 2 2
 ....Also,i outweigh him by 30lbs
  • 2 0
 Bro I did the same thing in Fontana. Dat arm pump ! Jesus man better hit the weights and then smash Fontana
  • 3 0
 All the pros run stiffer than we do, Gwin stiffens it even further. I like mine to be at that fun-to-ride softness.
  • 2 0
 Wouldnt a bike with stiffer (too stiff) bounce more than Gwins bike did?
  • 2 0
 @sergio07350z I keep a grip trainer at my desk now Smile
  • 1 0
 @ scary1 i cant say for sure, but he most likely ran a softer setup at fontana
  • 1 0
 What comes next to super firm suspension like this? Hardtails with rigid forks? I don't get it, how such a bonor set up makes one so much faster...
  • 3 2
 When i felt it,it was at bootleg. (How the hell i got negged for the first comment i dont know). Pinkbike is so f'n stupid ,sometimes.
  • 5 1
 rainozeros- Less energy/momentum goes into the fork compressing. Its much easier to maintain your speed but decreases handling. Boners are fun.
  • 3 0
 It probably ramps up a lot more (I'm guessing) as he goes through the travel. I expect there are still times where he uses it all though, but maybe more as a safety net when things go wrong.
  • 2 1
 I would assume that his spring rate is proper for his weight, his valve stack is just customized to his liking so he probably has a shit ton of HSC and a much faster rebound. The second half of his travel looks to spike on the curve hard
  • 1 0
 So like super progressive? @somismtb
  • 2 0
 My guess is higher, not more progressive, spring rate with a lot of low and high speed compression, and slightly fast rebound. I remember during his winning season, someone from the industry rode his bike and said that the suspension is so stiff that it had to be ridden really aggressively or it would get away from you. If you let up, you lost your line, but if you attacked on it, it went really fast. Sounds like Gwin's riding style, no? It isn't that fun-to-cruise setup that most of us want.
  • 17 2
 Good to finally see the run. Seems weird not to have Rob Warner shouting something over the video like "Stay on your bike Gwin"
  • 11 0
 I was at lourdes yesterday, I saw a lot of riders in the middle and bottom sections of the track during training. Gwin looked to be on another level that only thirion and bruni were close. They were all in controle and without noise.
But gwin was fast, insanely fast. I saw him on the first road gap and said to my gf "hmmm not so impressiv", then I saw the speed he carried between the gaps and after in the pins and said "wow f..k !
A great rider and a nice person too.
The atmosphere was amazing, a great race for sur.
  • 11 1
 It was badass to see him ride wild, wide open, and precise. If it looks that fast on camera, AG was going Mach Skittle Tits. Yeah I was literally laughing out loud I saw him blow that last corner. Specialized & AG is very serious about training and spesh knows how to train their athletes to have world class endurance.
  • 6 0
 'Mach Skittle Tits', love it.
  • 13 1
 Massive respect for Gwin!
  • 12 1
 I wish there were more Americans on his level. You Brits have a ton of them!
  • 3 1
 Its crazy how many Brits there are at the moment. I think when Ratboy is back up to speed it will be a battle between him and Gwin for sure, Gee Atherton is also a big threat but im not sure where hes at after he hurt himself this weekend
  • 6 0
 Was really bummed we didn't get to see a full run from Neko Mullaly. After seeing what he's capable of in world champs last year I've been so stoked to see what he'll do in the WC series this season.
  • 3 0
 Neko will finish in the top ten this year without a doubt. Him and Brendog are a good partnership
  • 5 0
 Is there any footage of his line choice (and everyone elses) between the first and second split? Because that is were all the magic happened.. I'm sure that I am not the only one here who wants to see it! Doesn't even matter if its a bunch of phone videos it needs to be seen!
  • 7 0
 He really is on another level when he is on form! (e.g. every year apart from 2013)
  • 8 0
 You crushed it!! Way to go Aaron!!
  • 7 1
 I wonder if he makes motocross bike noises during his race runs? Maybe that's why he's faster? Vrrooomm rrromm rooommm brrpp bbaaappp bap!
  • 1 0
 that helped when we were kids, didn't it? surely it would help now, too...
  • 1 0
 It's still helps me! At least that's what I keep telling myself!
  • 1 0
 At the EWS Damien Oton was making full on legit dirt bike noises before he dropped in for his run. He didn't win but his imitation was impressive.
  • 7 0
 He made it look easy like it was just a trail on flat patch of land. Smooth. Wow.
  • 3 0
 Although they did not show the entirety of his run, it was pretty obvious that Gwin's run was special. He seemed to carry so much more momentum where other riders got so caught up. I am sure his bike set-up, and primarily suspension, make a difference, but Gwin is a beast regardless.
  • 5 0
 Line choice at 20seconds and 52seconds!
  • 5 0
 That's what we call pinned.
  • 5 1
 that really looks like moto fitness. he just looked like he was skimmin the top of 3min long whoop section
  • 1 0
 Surprised no one seems to have mentioned the last right hander. Everyone else seemed to square it off, coming to a virtual standstill and having to crank back up to speed. Either be fluke or by design he seemed to go really wide into it and blowing over the end of the berm but this allowed him to keep his speed up. No one else did this and that alone was probably worth a few seconds
  • 2 1
 Gwin has good technique! Notice the pumping action throughout his run. For some it might sound counter intuitive to do so but it really is a good technique to increase speed without pedaling. Most of the riders tried to remain stable the whole run rather than reacting with the trail as he did.
  • 2 0
 He was pumping from the get-go and pumped even some pretty subtle features. I bet the firm suspension setup was in some part a result of his strategy to pump lots and pedal less, while maximizing his return on investment.
  • 1 0
 I wonder how much that has to do with him racing BMX as a kid. However, I'd imagine a lot of these guys rode BMX as kids and should know how to "pump."
  • 1 0
 Gwin was clearly faster than everyone everywhere on the track and looks to me most his speed was gained was in the lower section u all just watched cause he destroyed that river bed line and probably gained a full second off that last right turn onto the bridge before the finish that every single rider slammed on there brakes for, lol Stiff suspension tuned right is always faster everywhere. Never could understand people running there rigs soft just sucks up forward momentum. DUH!
  • 1 0
 And run high tire pressuresSmile even in the rain fu%k it and just huck it! Its more work and harder to get your bike off the ground and hop roots when u run super low air pressure and then factor in lateral tire roll that eventually peals ur tire off the rim. Come on people its not rocket science! IMO
  • 4 0
 Gwins time was 2:58... This clip is like 1:09
  • 2 0
 Love the picture - check out just how far ahead he's focusing his gaze. Just that stance.posture tells you how freaking fast he's going.
  • 1 0
 He's mastered line choice that's for sure, gotta love pirate lines..!! I never understood why riders mostly seem to follow the ridden trail, as long as it's between the tape it fair game.!
  • 1 0
 As an American it's pretty damn cool to see someone from the US win. Either way World Cup Downhill rules and I have mad respect for all of these riders. Anyone know what happened to Neko? Crashed out?
  • 3 0
 His rear wheel exploded IIRC.
  • 2 0
 I noticed he was pumping almost every dip and jump. Really didn't see other riders doing that.
  • 5 4
 Ive got an idea. Lets pick up our coverage of the mens DH event AFTER the winning run!!! Surprise everyone... Welcome to our new format!!!
  • 8 2
 Blame the commisaires for DQ'ing him during qualifications. We'd have probably seen him if he didn't get pulled during that run.
  • 2 3
 yes, no reason for the dq. he didn't gain an advantage. They blew the excitement with ego.
  • 8 0
 Nothing wrong with the commissaires, they just applied the rules. You have to re-enter the course where you left it. If Gwin hadn't crashed out in quali he'd have been on TV but he did so he wasn't. Just like Gee. Just like Danny Hart and his flat.
  • 1 0
 wingguy, so what why wasn't Rachel penalised when she went through the tape at Fort Bill a few seasons ago? She most definitely re-entered the course many, many metres further down than where she left it.
  • 2 0
 Because it was several seasons ago. The rules were clarified at the start of last year (partly in response to that incident I would think) to remove discretion and judgement calls on the part of the marshals. It's an objective rule now - re enter where you left.
  • 1 0
 He was just much faster than everyone else, even without seeing the stuff before split one its brutally apparent! He made it look like a bike park! haha
  • 2 0
 A win with only 6 pedals at the start?! Pump that bitch!!!
  • 2 0
 and the rock stretch ???????????????? redbull tv SUCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
  • 1 0
 I did not see one pedal stroke, except for at the beginning!! Can't believe how fast he is!!
  • 1 0
 @34sec gwin seemed to be a lot more to riders right then others...misn a bit of pebbles.
  • 2 0
 Ah, He must have been on a 49er
  • 4 3
 Spoiler alert.. fail. Do tho good folks at PB assume everybody gets to see the race ON raceday?
  • 1 0
 They had to post it because they skipped it during the live broadcast to show the 2014 recap. The big question during the whole thing was "What did Aaron do to get so much speed??"
  • 5 0
 Dude if you don't wanna see the results of the most hyped and reported on event of the year so far , don't go looking at the front page of mountain bike media outlets.
  • 2 0
 yep!

PB you can actually look at on race day. Other sites not so much. I tend to skip FB/twitter too because some of the people/pages I follow might post it.
  • 1 0
 Clearly the fastest by a country mile as they say, that was the perfect run!
  • 1 0
 so smooth and fast!!! he really makes that stiff suspension work for him. good to see Gwin back on top!
  • 2 0
 nice run. Wheres my monday movies?
  • 1 0
 I don't think Gwin could put another run like that together again , it was inch perfect.
  • 2 0
 Shane on uci for banning pic cams that is such a bullshit call
  • 1 0
 Cameras arent banned, just helmet mounted. bike mounted is fine
  • 1 0
 does anyone know why I can't view redbull videos? I only get a black screen
  • 1 0
 He literally barely pedalled!
  • 1 0
 anyone else having problems with redbull player on chrome?
  • 2 1
 Can we all leave spesh and the new demo alone now?
  • 1 2
 I'm wondering where wakidesigns idiot comment is? Didn't he predict in knowing fashion not long ago that Gwin would never win on a Specialized?
  • 2 0
 Are you thinking of Protour?
  • 1 0
 Yes. My bad, wakidesigns was on the opposite side. I just went back and looked and wakidesigns comments were actually funny and creative.
  • 1 0
 where is poor stevie ): I just want to see him break hearts /3
  • 1 0
 That corner @ :36...f*cking nuts
  • 3 6
 Amazing run from a world class athlete. Redbull tv want a slap for advertising the coverage as being live then only giving us the top 20 men live. (less than a quarter of the whole event) I was really pissed to see results being posted here on pinkbike (junior and womens) before the coverage started. The commentary was good with Claudio and Rob in the box, but that didn't make up for missing the juniors then only showing a handful of women, followed by the top 20 men and thereby missing Gwin and Hart's runs.
  • 1 0
 Come on man its free live coverage of every world cup... one day we might get coverage of every single rider down the hill but until that day i think they prioritise it pretty well?!
  • 1 0
 Well Freecaster and Extreme tv both managed to show it all, and with what was undoubtedly a smaller budget. Although I approve of what red bull is doing in the mtb scene (and many other sports) I'm not a fan of their drinks.
  • 1 0
 I think he mastered quantum physics.
  • 1 0
 Wow, that was the definition of Composed. Amazing run.
  • 1 0
 I don't think he even puckered that bunghole once!
  • 1 1
 Damn, I was late to the party scrolly for 'replay' and what do I see wtf? Massive spoiler PB think about it!
  • 1 0
 The actual replay isn't very good due to the fact that you miss the winning run. Very anticlimactic as Gwinn himself put it.
  • 1 0
 3 years ago everyone was hating gwin for no reason
  • 2 1
 Amazing line choice
  • 1 0
 He made that look smooth
  • 2 5
 Redbull u blow
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