Danny Hart has a lot of support with the locals and this track suits his aggressive style. Photo AD.
The biggest race of the year has arrived! Champery, Switzerland is the host for the 21st World Championships. The course is legendary amongst spectators and riders alike, it is one of the steepest tracks on the face of the planet, with an average gradient of 37%. The last World Cup round in Val Di Sole was an average of 30% and that is one of the steeper tracks. Walking the track is made easier by the fact steps have been carved into the hill side otherwise it would be a mammoth effort just to walk down. The steepness of the hill just does not stop, there are no flat sections for riders to relax and take it easy.
The whole town is behind the race and have done a good job of turning a picturesque town into a picturesque bike styled town.
The riders have done their track walk and had a few practice sessions already. The week is structured differently to a normal World Cup, as riders get more days to practice but each day the time is less, most session are only an hour and a half. This leaves riders with a lot of time to fill in each day, depends on who the rider is as to what they do.
Connor Fearon knows where ita��s at!
Todaya��s practice started with junior riders, for the Australians this session had mixed results. Dave McMillan is riding well with his wrist holding up after injuring in Val Di Sole but Troy Brosnan crashed on one of the last jumps near the bottom of the course and sat out the rest of the session. Troy said he is fine and only had a few cuts on his arm to show from it. Troy explains his take on the track; a�?ita��s scarier to ride this track in the dry then the wet as ita��s so fast in the drya�?. Connor Fearon was looking good on a track that suits his style, in fact, all the Aussie juniors had good pace and Junior DH Coach Jared Rando was pleased with all the form they were all showing.
Bruni Loic from France has the number 2 plate in the juniors and was looking quick early.Last yeara��s silver medallist, Neko Mulally, from the USA will again be in the mix, here he got a little too loose and put it down but was up and on his way in no time.
It is hard to illustrate just how steep the track is and how much elevation drop there is in each corner. Connor Fearon had no trouble keeping it upright though.Joe Vejvoda has taken his patriotism seriously with a green and gold painted Transition looking good on the course.Dave McMillan was smooth as always despite his taped left hand.Phil Piazza was one of only a few juniors from Mont Saint Anne here in Champery as a junior again, last yearsa�� experience should hold him well come race day.Running in conjunction with the juniorsa�� practice was the Elite Female practice, Emilie Siegenthaler in the Swiss jersey is their highest ranked rider. The Swiss get a massive cheer being the home town riders.
The next hour and a half of practice was designated for Elite Men, the good news for Australia but not anyone else, as reported on downhill247.com, is that Sam Hill is back. The reigning World Champion was on board his custom green and gold Specialized S-Works and looked solid during practice.
Just like last year, Sam Hill has returned for World Championships , after injury has seen him sit on the sidelines for the past few months, the question is; can he repeat last yearsa�� performance?
Also present during practice was Fabien Barel, the fact he is riding with 3 broken ribs is an achievement in itself, let alone on one of the most extreme Worlds courses of the past few years. Fabien was his usual happy self, glad to be riding his bike, taking photos with fans and always with a smile on his face.
Fabien aboard his Mondraker, Fabien is one of the most gifted riders in terms of extracting 100% performance out of his bikes, you may notice the writing on his rear tyre, over the course of the week all the riders will be trying to find the perfect tyre combination. Prototype tyres or just recording what each run was like on different models? No answer to that question at this stage.
Unfortunately Canadian Steve Smith wasna��t spotted today practicing with team mate, New Zealand rider George Brannigan.
Stevea��s foot at Val Di Sole had already swollen up quickly once he had made it down the hill after he crashed. After a second place last year in Mont Saint Anne, Steve would have been confident of another good result this year.The lips on the jumps along the track arena��t large but the ridersa�� speed means they still get plenty of air.Gee Atherton looked like he had the track sorted already, he was overtaking riders as he practiced on his way down. Definitely impressive and the winner of practice today.Rhys Willemse looked good during practice and will be hoping for the big result he is capable of on Sunday.If you believe Will Rischbieth and Mitch Delfs, who were watching practice from the side of the track, Gwin looks like the man to beat here. Interesting to know they also think Troy Brosnan is capable of a top 5 Elite Men time.It was good to see Brendan Fairclough on the hill, his distinctive flat pedal style evident, just as his style in the air was there for all to see.Sean Oa��Connor placed 16th here last year in the World Cup and a�?would happy with a top 20, a top 10 would be a fantastic resulta��The track is much the same as last years track, the only things I noticed is they have put a few more catch berms in to make it easier to ride in the wet.a�? Photo AD.Brook MacDonald was practicing with New Zealand team mate Sam Blenkinsop, both will be looking for a podium on a track that suits their style. Photo AD.This jump near the bottom was one of the biggest on the course, with a harsh flat landing if you jumped too far. One rider discovered this when he landed and snapped his pedal straight off the axle, he kept trying to clip back in before he realised what he had done. Photo AD.All smiles from the big boys early in the week, expect things to get serious in the next couple of days though. Photo AD.
Plenty more of action to come from Champery in the next few days.
