Sam Hill is one to watch even more when the weather turns pear shaped and pear shaped it did!
Typical Alps weather in Leogang, perfect one day miserable the next! It has been raining forA�24 hours non stop, you wouldn’t believe it unless you were stuck in the middle of it like the riders here at Leogang. The mud meant riders lacked some speed for the big jumps in the middleA�of the course but the comments were that the track was super grippy. This is testament to the local trail builders who are all to aware how much water can fall quickly in these parts.
Joey Vejvoda hits one of the jumps near the bottom of the course, split practice meant juniors were first off in the morning.
With such average conditions riders weren’t taking too many chances,A�Aussie junior David McMillan snapped his shock early inA�practice but managed to get it fixed in time to get a couple more runs in.A�The rest of the juniors were looking fast and will all be contenders on Sunday. In senior men the usual suspects were all going fast, Bryn Atkinson looked super pinned, whipping off jumps most riders were struggling to clear. Jared Graves was busy all day, possibly doing the most runs of any Australian rider, clearly a man on a mission. As was Mic Hannah who was riding with his trademark flat out style.
Jared Graves didn’t let the conditions bother him, instead he punched out run after run, saying it was the most fun he has had on a bike in the wet for a while!Mic Hannah has a super distinctive riding style and position on the bike.Mitch Delfs was also super distinctive today, for a slightly different reason to Hannah though…Pretty standard photo of a pretty standard trick, cutting down spikes!Connor Fearon was fast all day long, he was also sporting a 2013 model helmet which he was happy to show to people!The last part of the course drops away quickly, here you can see the pits in the background.Troy Brosnan was doing runs all day, sometimes with team mates, some times with other riders, such as Aaron Gwin.This may look like a random picture of tyre marks but it is not. It was taken directly after Sam Hill hit this corner, yes they are his tracks on the left there. He has such a unique style of cornering, whatever works for you!Mechanics and pressure sprayers were working over time today.Brook MacDonald has been looking comfortable all week, here he is being followed by Andrew NeethlingNo matter how cold and wet it was this made us smile, Cedric Gracia out and about! Lets hope he gets a stint in the commentary box on Sunday.
More rain is forecast for tomorrows timed practice session which could provide an interesting indication of who has genuine speed here at Leogang.
The first rider on the course at the 2012 World Championships was Brook MacDonald. Look at the background scenery! No wonder he had three cameras strapped to him!
The 2012 World ChampionshipsA�kicked off here at Leogang, Austria today with the official track walk followed by an open practice session. The open practice session meant all categories were allowed on track at once, thisA�causedA�some congestion as riders would catch slower riders in front of them. While the track is certainly steep, fast and wild the riders felt it had been tamed down since the last World Cup held here. Conditions were good for the riders, if anything the dry conditions meant big braking ruts were forming in corners.
Mitch Delfs sending the biggest jump on the course, it is the second of two big jumps on the course and not many riders were attempting both. If you came up short the consequences could be pretty serious as the next photo showsa��a��Sam Blenkinsop came up short on the biggest jump on the course with pretty dire consequences, a large cracking sound was heard as his rear swing arm snapped! He very quickly put his bike into the back of a car and headed to the pits!However, no matter which way you look at the jump it is pretty impressive as Ben Reid shows…If Aaron Gwin is feeling the pressure here in Austria you wouldna��t know it, he was bar humping jumps as he headed down the course.Despite Gwin’s ‘alternate’ jumping style on some of the jumps, when we saw him double this root/rock combo in the first wooded section of the course it proved he is the man to beat. Most riders didn’t even jump off the root preferring to keep low to set up for the drop afterwards. Those who jumped to flat came up half a bike length short, then Gwin came along…He was a clear foot higher and metre longer than anyone else, super smooth and fast.Stevie Smith was looking fast in practice and after last yeara��s disappointment will be keen for a big result this weekend.On the other hand Jared Graves was looking for lines, stopping and scoping out sections as he headed down the track.The Aussie juniors were out in force, hitting multiple runs, on the track today and looking super-fast to boot!David McMillan on his way through one of the wooded sections on the course, the track ducks in and out of the open the whole way down the mountain.Troy Brosnan was looking good, returning from injury and back on the track that caused it! The jump which Troy hurt himself on a few months ago has had another lip added further back up the run in, as riders were coming too fast and going too far with the original set up.Many people are tipping Sam Hill to do well here if it rains but he wasna��t looking too bad in the dry!
Rain fell here after practice and is continuing into the night, it will be interesting to seeA�how muchA�more rain falls before tomorrowa��s practice session. Many riders already have the spikes out in anticipation of what is going to happen! Check back to downhill247.com soon!
It has arrived, the new improved downhill247.com site! The new format has a host of improvements, oneA�being that it allows us to run larger pictures, we hope to bring you guys even more great shots in the future. Don’t forget to follow downhill247.com on Facebook (here)A�to stay up to date with what is happening on the site. If you think you can contribute to the site with photos, articles, etc get in touch; contact@downhill247.com Enjoy!
After his maiden World Cup victory Brook MacDonald was hanging in Whistler with a huge amount of confidence as he gets ready for the World Championships. Photo: Owen Perry
One of the big highlights at Crankworx is the Canadian Open, this race is on a pure World Cup quality track. Check out some of the amazingA�photos and no doubt you will agree. Continue reading “Canadian Open – Crankworx – Whistler”→
Round 3 of the CORC series was at Isaacs over the weekend and on a brand new track! It featured a BIG road gap, here Phil Piazza sends it with no problems. Photo: Tom Clarke
A new track greeted riders for the race, this meant everyone got equal practice on it. Everyone enjoys riding new tracks and this one was super fun, it was fast with lots of off camber sections to keep you on your toes.
