In 2020 Lousa, Portugal will be joining the World Cup party and Danny Hart has been over for some winter sun on his Saracen Myst 29er.
Although it has never been on the World Cup circuit before, Fox traditionally held their pre-season testing here so a lot of the riders will know it well. It also hosted the European Championships last year (won by Francisco Pardal and Monika Hrastnik) and will do again next year, so there's plenty of opportunity to get practice laps in. It's hard to tell much from a helmet cam but in terms of structure, the track is reminiscent of Vallnord with a flowy, fast top section that gives way to steeper rutted corners to the bottom.
| Take a run down the World Cup track here in Lousa. I have come out here because the weather back home was really starting to do my head right in. So I came and joined Brett Wheeler of Wheelers MTB Holidays. I have been riding my Saracen Myst 29, it has been good to ride on a different style track to what we have back home. I am made up with the 29er and think we can go even further and make it even better as time goes by leading up to the World Cup season.—Danny Hart |
youtu.be/4NiW5htwKyY?t=260
As for the track itself, I was gonna say I'd like to take a crack at it, but based on the above, it sounds like I'd be melting rotors and hiking/falling down certain parts. Sounds legit to me!
Just thought the same thing....we've been there three times, and this track is just nuts...even compared to tracks we have here like schladming,lenzerheide.....
It's gonna be a hell of a wc race,for sure!
i watched the claudio helmet cam of mont sainte anne before going and thought some of the gaps looked mellow and fun to ride, but when you get there everything is 3 times bigger and two times steeper then on video. on video the gap minaar did last year looks cool but in person its incomprehensible. now I know anything that looks moderately steep on POV is insane IRL
I'll show myself out.
The mountain biking must be decent, I guess
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgG3BUycNdo
and i bet all my bikes that all this haters bitchs cant make a full run in this track
Nah, not gonna make that gap. Sorry. You win.
I like it can't wait to see the race.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/15730655
Its all riding in the end of the day, there should be 1 super tech Dh race in the calendar though I think. Like Hardline, something that us normal people couldnt ride.
The track.....
Battery life gone? Good fun!
it's not the exact same full track, but it looks like than in the wet
either way, that was to show how it is ie wet as it is the same hill,with the same dirt.
but this far ahead they can end up running either track or doing new sections, i think that 2019 will be a hosting year for the European championship again, as well as a national race, so there will be a lot of racing there until then, with a lot of pros attending