Why Do the UK, AUS, & SoCal Produce Great Downhillers?

[Slaag Master]

this is an interesting question. it seems to be somewhat difficult to research. you would think there would exist a "master" list of past ski champions - maybe there is but i have not had luck. these are some of the names i remember:

Jean-Claude Killy - france
billy kidd - vt
franz klammer - austria
Daron Rahlves ca - went to school in vt
Picabo Street - idaho
bode miller - new hampshire
lindsey vonn - minnesota

back in the day new england seemed to be over represented among top u.s racers - over time this seems to have shifted west. but the uk or australia? (unless you mean austria by aus?)

[ectreeskier11]

this is the bike forum slaag.

[LeeLau]

I don't know....that whole vancouver to pemberton corridor ain't exactly lacking.... I obviously don't know everything on the front range but the density of dh riding around that super southwest area of BC is nuts.
)

It is and that's why racing scene here at the top level dies out. It's good at the grassroots level but soon as you get to the next level competition is weak, racing gets expensive and support dries up. Add the fact that most downhill racers have the personal marketing skills of a bag of dried condoms and you get people dropping out because it ain't fun no more. Just riding the trails here is infinitely more fun then going to clapped out downhill courses week after week.

So the top level of local competition is lacking

Also not enough people who want to organize local races which is what is needed for club racing. I don;t see anyone who wants to organize local races in say North Van for example. Lots of talk - very little action.

[bodywhomper]

w/o thinking ~ it much the socal thing seems related the sheer population size of the area and mammoth mtn basically being a southern cal resort. kids can refine their skills at the more local resorts.

[Slaag Master]

this is the bike forum slaag.

nevermind

[rob stokes]

i talked to a guy on the lift the other day, a brit, and he was telling me that they dont have any lift served so what they do is run a section of the course, push back up, run it again, push back up, repeat until perfected, then do the next section. then they do the whole thing pretty damn well.

i thought it was a pretty good idea. the courses in the alps are so long i cant remember the whole thing and by the time i've done the same run 4 or 5 times i'm beat.

fwiw

Yes that is exactly it. We do 'section' trails a lot until we have them fast. Also our tracks tend to be steep, rooty, rocky and twisty. And wet for over half the year.
Its a shame you US riders can't get your foot down a bit eh