Pietermaritzburg World Cup 2012 - Day 2 Timed Training
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Day 2 - Timed Training
The first day of practice including timed practice at Pietermaritzburg is over, and the mechanics are working on tuning the bikes while the riders get some dinner and sleep. Some news from the DH world, Cam Cole will not be competing in South Africa due to his broken arm, he's healing up well and he should be ready to go for the second round at Val di Sole in early June, but he's just not ready to ride DH yet.
Rachel Atherton will also not be competing as she's still recovering from here shoulder surgery in September. She should be good to go at Val di Sole as well. Rachel had this to say about it:
Photos and words by Colin Meagher and Fraser Britton
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 | It has been a long time since I have been able to ride a mountain bike - I only got back on a cross-country bike two weeks ago - just light riding. - Cam Cole |
Rachel Atherton will also not be competing as she's still recovering from here shoulder surgery in September. She should be good to go at Val di Sole as well. Rachel had this to say about it:
| I'm gutted to miss the kick-off, especially after missing Pietermaritzburg last year, but my priority has to be making it though the season without injuring myself further. I'm working with a World Class team - surgeons, physios, soft tissue rehab specialists and performance coach so I'd be pretty dumb not to listen to their advice. I've been working flat-out with the best in the business behind me and it's awesome to feel myself getting stronger every day. I'd like to say thanks to everyone for the good wishes and amazing support - And you'd better watch out for me in May! - Rachel |
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 Life in the pits as a privateer. I mean in the mall parking lot. |
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| Neko Mulally's new Bontrager rubber got a bit of a haircut before coming out to play on the track today. Lots of tires were clipped, buzzed down, or otherwise altered to roll just that much faster. |
| I don't think that this race is going to be won in the corners so much as by who can maintain the best roll on this track. - Schwalbe Tire's Mike Kull |
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| The Blackbox labs are usually in a boiler room deep in the bowels of Rock Shox HQ. This week, they're in a shipping container in the blazing hot sun. Just like home. |
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| Bryn Atkinson was back at it on a WC track for the first time since breaking his leg in the Pro GRT back in the USA last spring. Good to see him rocking the new kit aboard the new Norco Sled. |
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| Greg Minnaar, turning heads. |
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| Sabrina Jonnier takes her brand new Labrynth bike for a spin in the upper section of the track. |
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| Eliot Jackson getting in the groove midway down the track. EJ got so much of this pocket berm it looks as if he's dragging his crankset in the dirt. |
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| Jared Graves has dropped a ton of weight and is looking good on his carbon DH bike. Can he keep up with the big boys of downhill this week? Only time will tell... |
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| Rat boy getting his game on with a little foot out drifting action. |
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| Danny Hart going a bit wider than Rat Boy, but carving that turn smooth as butter on his newly clipped Vert Star rubber compound edition Hans Damph Schwalbe tires. |
| I was clipping every fifth transition knob to drop down the resistance just a bit when Danny's cornering hard. - Mechanic Dave in the Giant pits |
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| Oscar Saiz and Needles talking over how best to attack the steeper section midway down the track. Saiz was instrumental as a test pilot for the Maestro edition of the Giant Glory and has since 'retired' from racing and taken on a coaching role with Giant. |
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| The line above the steep section starting getting a bit blown out by the end of practice: riders were shutting it down pretty hard before committing to that run in just over the edge of the hill and out of view. |
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| Gee Atherton flies his GT over one of the jumps in the new off camber section high up on the track early in practice... |
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| ...and through the rocks later on. |
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| Jack Reading aboard what appears to be that new DH frame Ellsworth is reported to be making. |
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| Cedric Gracia rolling the second step of the steep section. |
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| Curtis Keene 'The American Dream' sends it! |
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| I just can't seem to take anyone seriously with a camera strapped to their helmet--even Aaron Gwin. But the exit speed he was carrying from the steeps was definitely impressive. |
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| Luke Strobel fighting to hold a line while exiting a slightly off camber section of midpoint of the track. |
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| Bryn Atkinson heads into the Gully with enough speed to clear the lower tables - it takes balls of steel not to speed check on the way into this. |
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| Team KHS hucks together, with Logan Binggeli in the lead. |
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| Canada's great hope, Steve Smith, has a little fun on the pedal. |
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| When the light's fading, you're sweaty and tired and about to call it quits, you can always count on CG to get you excited. Style for miles over the smallest of hits, with a BRAAAP to go with it. |
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| Who needs a seat when you have a bottle? Only in Africa. |
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| Where the dirt wasn't hard baked clay, it was loose and loamy. Just the thing to show off the kind of tires people are running here in an effort to carry more speed down the track. |
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| Near that end of the day, I was able to look over the new First Ride Vert Star Editions of the Hans Damphs that Giant, MS-Mondraker, and a few others are running. Everything's identical to the trailstar edition: 2.35 Schwalbe casing (ie, think a Maxxis 2.5), snakeskin protection, etc. Except these tires feature a DH sidewall and a stickier rubber compound on the sides; the middle section of tread is semi sticky to offer lower rolling rsistance, but is made of a rubber compound that offers more damping than the currents HDs. In essence, they stick like glue and likely won't burp if you opt to go tubeless. |
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| Dropper posts were out in force today: I saw everything from Reverb's to Gravity Droppers to this almost ready for production Fox Racing Shox post. |
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| The dropper works with two levers; one drops the post al ll the way, the other drops it only half way. |
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| Fox is using good old fashioned shifter wire cables to activate their dropper vs SRAM's hydraulic actuated reverb. |
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| The Fox dropper lever mount has 3 mounting positions to better allow riders to place their dropper switch exactly where they want it. |
Photos and words by Colin Meagher and Fraser Britton
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your podium is made of:
minaar, gee, gwin, hart and hannah or peat - there may be a surprise in there, ratboy or another young un.
you cant go on quali: BUT - 3 of my 5 are on, 1 is a place away and the young un is Brosnan - not a bad turnout....
and whoever said i was retarded about Graves - yes its pedally but there is a lot more to the RSA track than the open - that is about 35-40 secs from 4 minutes, do the math.....Graves got top ten quali - bloody good result but that's his lot IMO. if he gets top ten on Sunday he has done well.....
bsx racer - how much you willing to lose????
And bring on the dropper posts with kashima coating
I hope he drops hell on everyone's head that pasted him up.
but then i was like mclean.alltheragefaces.com/img/faces/large/happy-i-see-what-you-did-there-%28clean%29-l.png
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K5t6aDBr-E
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