Another sunny day in Champery, race day tomorrow is not forecast to be so good!
Today was definitely a case of a�?the calm before the storma�� a quick practice session in the morning and the day was done, no major incidents across the board to report. It should be clarified that yesterdays timed session will not have a bearing on the riders start order, this order is based on their personal and country ranking. This rule helps ensure riders of equal skill and speed compete in similar conditions. Of course, no one can predict the weather which can wreak havoc with this idea.
Todaya��s practice was held in dry conditions and the track is as fast as it has been all week. Connor Fearon and Emilie Siegenthaler were discussing bike set up on the chairlift, both were said they had to make their bikes stiffer as they were carrying more speed and getting higher/further off all the jumps. Unfortunately, Emiliea��s team mate and one of the favourites, Floriane Pugin crashed hard in her timed practice run and at this stage wona��t be racing tomorrow. She suffered a severe concussion and cannot remember any part of the track! Today we took to having a look around the pits and so today’s photos are of some of the different angles to the race. We still made sure to talk to some riders before tomorrows big race though!
You know Rob Warner from Freecasters coverage of the series (here he is doing his helmat cam run), today we asked him for his take on the race, this is what he had to say; a�?Ita��s going to be a different ball game tomorrow as it looks like it is definitely going to rain, ita��s going to be a brand new track for everyonea��if it showers and the mud gets dragged onto the rock I think some of the heavier riders will struggle to stopa��Danny Hart, Gwin and Gee (to do well) but I would never count out Greg and Steve either, ita��s going to be different tomorrow ita��s almost going to be a shame.a�? and in regard to the juniors a�?There is a couple of French kiddies in there but I saw Brosnan was in third and two local kids are in front of him which is exciting and cool but Brosnan has been unbelievable all year and I wouldna��t actually believe it if he didna��t win tomorrow. I thought he might even be in order of setting the fastest time of the day including the seniors,a�? interesting insight from the voice of downhill.Josh was happy with his timed run yesterday but today hinted he still had a bit more left in the tank and would be looking to improve his position in his race run.Is the end of his career near? Lets hope not, Steve Peat is the elder statesman of downhill. Today he said the weather and track conditions are giving him "a false sense of security".Even if Steve retires from racing he will no doubt still be around in some way!
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Three rides up and down the chairlift waiting to get a rider come into view on the right spot on the track is one way to fill in some time! Here Brook MacDonald flew around this corner, a definite top 5 prospect.I missed Aussie Junior Ben Power from yesterday's photos as I missed him on track everytime he went past! Here is one of him from the chairlift, this is two thirds of the way down the track..I have always wondered how they did the split timing as you never see any timing gates or laser beams as you come down the track. It turns out, old mate on the left of the photo, radios the rider number to the timing at the bottom as they come into view and pushes his timing button as the rider reaches a predetermined position! That simple, check out the concentration!The weight on the backs of each of these riders must be huge. Brendan on the left has been carrying an injury all season and his selection for Great Britain was a very talked about decision. Sam on the right is carrying the weight of being the reigning World Champion, not to mention all the critics talking about his commitment to the sport.The other Monster Energy/Specialized rider, Troy Brosnan, doesn't seem to be too phased about any pressure of defending his rainbow stripes. Today Troy was a man on a mission pushing out run after run during practice.In fact, today it seemed that all the juniors were doing more runs than they previously had. Number three in the timed session Bruni Loic was no exception.The Aussie juniors have been making impressions everywhere not just on the time sheets!The hip at the start of the track is one fo the better viewing points.No flat crowns in the Syndicate pits, check out all the headset and stem spacers! That gives a good indication of how steep the track really is.It's good to see the Euro fans dedication, this guy slept in the hammock in the back of his ute overnight!Get some! Race day is one more sleep away!
I can tell you as this report is being finished rain hasA�been falling steadily for the past half an hour, the mountains are covered with cloud and fog! More importantly, it was a smiling Sam Hill who was just walking around the supermarket here in Champery…
2 thoughts on “Champery 3rd September World Championships”
Wish I was there, Go Aussies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good information, cool site design, keep up the great work
Wish I was there, Go Aussies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good information, cool site design, keep up the great work