2018 World Cup

[grskier]

The track build in Slovenia (?)





eta

http://losinjworldcup.com/

[jm2e]

Who’s gonna be the big playah this year?


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[radam]

Looking back at last year's standings, I think it'd be hard to bet against any of the guys that finished in the top 10. I think Luca Shaw is going to be in the mix fairly often.. he posted some blistering qualifying times this year but didn't quite convert in finals always. Gee will be a threat now that he's fully healed from the broken hip. And Finn Iles should be exciting to watch now that he's moving up from juniors. I feel like his times would've put him within the elite top 10 on at least a few occasions so no doubt he's got the speed to hang.

For the women, I think (and really hope) that Tracey, Tahnee and Pom-pom are going to continue to put the pressure on Rachel and we may see closer races more frequently, which would be awesome.

I am really looking forward to the season. The EWS should be really fun to follow this year too. It seems like the race coverage is getting better as the various media outlets figure out how to best capture events that can have such large venues in some instances.

[toast2266]

Should be a good season. No obviously terrible tracks on the schedule. And the Losinj track looks sweet. Bummed Lordes isn't on the schedule, and it's too bad that (again) there's a huge gap in the schedule before Ft. William.

It'll be interesting to see if Shaw or Jack Moir can put together a win. And whether Hart can go fast again, now that he's on a different bike. Mostly just hoping for a legit, 3-4 way battle for the overall.

[zlatham]

I can’t wait, love dh race season! Hope Fearon lands on the box at some point.

[grskier]

Should be a good season. No obviously terrible tracks on the schedule. And the Losinj track looks sweet. Bummed Lordes isn't on the schedule, and it's too bad that (again) there's a huge gap in the schedule before Ft. William.

It'll be interesting to see if Shaw or Jack Moir can put together a win. And whether Hart can go fast again, now that he's on a different bike. Mostly just hoping for a legit, 3-4 way battle for the overall.

So, level playing field... Still perplexed as why they don't run when they know they'll have a steady weather window.

[gramboh]

Agree with the above posts, lots of contenders this year. Finn did have a couple top 10's so hopefully he can post some in the elites this year (juniors ran before elites right? so track conditions might've been better for his times). The first track lookings... interesting. Looks like a wheel breaker for sure.

[One (+) Sentence]

The track build in Slovenia (?)





eta

http://losinjworldcup.com/

I think it’s Croatia.

[jm2e]

Who else thinks Cecile Ravanel has massive potential to threaten the women’s field? The best thing that could happen to women’s racing would be to have more than 5 girls at the top with enormous gaps following them.


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[grskier]

Who else thinks Cecile Ravanel has massive potential to threaten the women’s field? The best thing that could happen to women’s racing would be to have more than 5 girls at the top with enormous gaps following them.


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It's insane to watch the women's race from the beginning and see that spread. The top 5 really stand out.... Then there is Rachel when she's on her game.

[Yeah!]

Who else thinks Cecile Ravanel has massive potential to threaten the women’s field? The best thing that could happen to women’s racing would be to have more than 5 girls at the top with enormous gaps following them.

Agreed. She raced Val di Sole last year, supposedly got stuck behind someone and ended up 9th. Shows how fucked up the women's race is - can you imagine Richie Rude or Damien Oton getting stuck behind someone?

I'd like to see Fearon, Guittierez, or Kerr on the box this year.

[grskier]

I'd like to see Guittierez get a result, along with some more from the US guys Mulally and Shaw.

Crazy thing is Gwinn is the only one that's listed as a DH guy on the US team website.

I wonder what that's worth.

[Dantheman]

Agreed. She raced Val di Sole last year, supposedly got stuck behind someone

Elizabeth Swaney?

[BlueBison]

I'd like to see Guittierez get a result, along with some more from the US guys Mulally and Shaw.

Crazy thing is Gwinn is the only one that's listed as a DH guy on the US team website.

I wonder what that's worth.

I think there will be some decent talent from the US this year on the WC. Bruce Klein is hungry and should show some nice form. Dak Norton too.

I wouldn't read too much into Gwinn only being listed on the site... USAC is a terrible governing body for the gravity side of the sport.

[grskier]

I think there will be some decent talent from the US this year on the WC. Bruce Klein is hungry and should show some nice form. Dak Norton too.

I wouldn't read too much into Gwinn only being listed on the site... USAC is a terrible governing body for the gravity side of the sport.

Yeah, that much is apparent. They show a table lining out the amount of support vs the results needed to get that. I just don't know what it's worth vs "just" having factory support.

[BlueBison]

Hard to say... I see it more as a benefit to USAC, while for him it might just be a monetary relationship. Something along the lines of buy in from him and image he presents of USAC. It would look pretty poor on USAC's part if the best rider to come from the US and a force to be reckon with on the WC doesn't buy into his national governing body and their program. He doesn't use the support from them at world champs or any race for that matter.

[grskier]

https://youtu.be/8E-2XL1qJVY


First video I’ve seen on the new course... on an ebike.

[jm2e]

Interesting track. Nice to see something totally different. Doesn’t look very steep or technical though.
Hats off to Sam for going out on a limb unapologetically to see if the world can deal with ebikes. Smart first move self shuttling a WC DH track!!


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[SkiJunky05]

For the women, I think (and really hope) that Tracey, Tahnee and Pom-pom are going to continue to put the pressure on Rachel and we may see closer races more frequently, which would be awesome.

Tracey just had a baby a few days ago so I'm guessing she will not race- at least the first couple- although there is a decent gap between Losinj and Ft Williams in early June

Interesting track. Nice to see something totally different. Doesn’t look very steep or technical though.

but dang don't crash anywhere with all those sternum crunching mini boulders everywhere


oops b-bear from skijunky's login

[radam]

I hadn't realized the track ends with a fairly long section through town. That's uh...interesting, I hope? I agree the rest of the track doesn't look very steep, but I think there's plenty of tech, especially once you factor in how torn up it'll get after a couple days of hot laps during practice, time training, qualifying, etc. It at least looks like more tech than Leogang, not that that is a huge hurdle to clear.

Tracey just had a baby a few days ago so I'm guessing she will not race- at least the first couple-

By baby, do you mean concussion? Because Tracey got a concussion during the Crankworx Rotorua DH...

[SkiJunky05]

sorry sorry I was thinking Tracey Mosely not hannah

[grskier]

Interesting track. Nice to see something totally different. Doesn’t look very steep or technical though.
Hats off to Sam for going out on a limb unapologetically to see if the world can deal with ebikes. Smart first move self shuttling a WC DH track!!


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I don't know about the steep, so hard to tell on the helmet cam. Dude did fall once bouncing around through those rocks.

The one thing though is that finish.. seems like this will finish those with good cardio and have some sprinting ability.

[toast2266]

I'm confused about the finish. Sam says it ends all the way down at the water, but I've seen other things saying that it ends back up closer to the dirt. I'm hoping for the latter - racing dh bikes on flat pavement is dumb.

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[gramboh]

Agree about the end of the track, if it was a quick DH portion on pavement fine, but sprinting DH bikes setup for rocky terrain will be dumb. Dropper posts and semi slicks? Remote lockout for shock for sprint?

[jm2e]

After the 2 DH races in Rotorua and the EWS Chile, I think there’s going to be a lot more than just World Cup & World Champs worth watching this year.



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