The 1st day of Autumn in the Alps has brought rain! The rain, thunder and lightning came into Champery overnight (24 hours earlier than predicted) and whilst the rain was not super heavy itA�totally changed theA�track.
The juniors were the first in track and the Aussie Juniors were the first riders down, initial impressions were the mud tyres should have been put on! Wheels wouldn’t turn because they were so caked with mud.
As practice went on and the sun came out the track conditions improved, rain is forecast on race day and a few days leading up to it. The portion of the track in the open was drying up raltively quickly but the sections in the woods weren’t. This will make it interesting for riders to know how hard to push it in each section.
A few crashes were inevitable for the juniors but overall no major incidents and all the guys came to grips (literally!) with the track by the end of practice.
As practice started for the Elite Men the track had dried out even more. Saying that, I still would have reccomended Rob Warner at least wear some body armour other then a helmet, t-shirt and shorts when he did his helmet-cam run! The big news from practice for the Australians is that Josh Button crashed late in the session tweaking his knee. At this stage it’s not clear as to how badly hurt Josh is, once he has seen the medical team we will know more. Also Sam Hill did no runs todday, he went up and down on the chairlift but sat practice out to give his arm/shoulder some recovery. He is still in pain from his crash a few months ago.
For the rest of the riders Danny Hart looked quick as usual, over shooting one corner and taking down a bunting pole with him as he hit the deck. He was up and laughing in no time. Gee looks quick as usual, same with Greg and Aaron, Steve Peat seemed a little off the pace as he practiced with the rest of the Syndicate team. When walking the pits after practice it was obvious riders were getting serious, most of the team tents were closed and riders were discussing bikes, warming down or heading back to their accomodation.
With practice finished it’s time to sort out bikes, clean kits and goggles. With 5 days off practice but only short sessions,A�it does leave a lot of spare time for the riders, most not knowing what to do with it! Not long for the riders now as timed practice is tomorrow, thisA�should be the first indication of who is on theA�pace. Look for all the Aussie times tomorrow on downhill247.com.