World Cup Round 2, Champery, Switzerland
I'd heard loads of stories about this track being super steep and technical. At Ae i heard the weekend it opened around 100 people went to ride, but only 25 of them could actually ride it. I heard that you needed to run spikes even in the dry, and I heard that only 8 people went back the 2nd day to ride it again. Sounded pretty gnarly! So I packed my Swampthings as I don't have any spikes, but neglected to pack flat pedals and my 5-10 soled Vans shoes. DOH! Thanks to Liam Mason for lending me his pedals - star!
What I found out:
1. Sam Hill is a true master of bicycle skills.
2. Sam Hill can ride anything anywhere whatever the weather.
3. Sam Hill is a legend.
What happened:
1. I crashed more times in two or three days than I have in the last 5 years.
2. I was lucky not to come off with anything more than bruises.
3. Nonetheless I could barely walk on Saturday, so i had the day off.
4. It's been an emotional rollercoaster.
5. Tom Braithewaite was lucky to only dislocate his elbow rather than break it - get well soon Tom.
6. Helen Gaskell got an awesome 6th place, such a shame it wasn't 5th and the podium.
7. Race winner Marielle Saner had something like 45 practice runs on this track prior to the race, but no other world cup rider was allowed to ride it.
8. I almost missed my qualifer, arriving with just 15 seconds to spare, after breaking my shifter and front brake in practice and having to ride down a footpath and the mountain road to get back to the pits for a very rushed change over of parts.
9. Even if you go really really slowly, make no effort, and crash alot you will still end up qualifying 18th. This race was totally backwards, head nor tail could be made of it.
10. If you crash three times in your race run but jump up quickly, and also ride faster inbetween crashes you'll go 38 secs faster, but still finish 18th.
So that's it really. I didn't enjoy the track much, but I was there to "race" so I stuck with it. I say "race" because it was more about just getting down for most of the women, in all honesty, not really about going as fast as you could. Just as well I did, because I'm now 14th in the World Cup series, which is pretty awesome. If you took some parts of the track in isolation, they were really good. I did like the very top alot, and some of the other bits, but taken as a whole it was relentless! It was a very much a challenge, but not a particularly enjoyable one!
Highlights of the weekend were having a laugh with the Mountain Cycle guys who taught me the names of bike parts in French and laughed at my bad pronounciation. Getting my new frame, its matt black and looks pretty stealth - pictures on here soon! Going for a turn on the chairlift with Jaymie Mart, Anja Rees-Jones, and Scarlet Hagen. Riding down the footpath/road after I broke my bike, fun riding! Riding past a giant cow which had horns and very definately gave me the evil eye, and I thought it was a bull to begin with, it was so big! Also meeting the guys who run Keetch Clothing in Lausanne, they also hooked me up with some sweet new hoodies and stuff - check out their website here. In three weeks time apparently they will be able to ship to the UK so check back at the end of the month! Also going to stay with Floriane and her family - thank you very much family Pugin!
Schladming is going to seem like a walk in the park compared to this race, and I'm looking forward to it loads. Inbetween times I think I'm going to ride some fun tracks and never return to Champery!
What I found out:
1. Sam Hill is a true master of bicycle skills.
2. Sam Hill can ride anything anywhere whatever the weather.
3. Sam Hill is a legend.
What happened:
1. I crashed more times in two or three days than I have in the last 5 years.
2. I was lucky not to come off with anything more than bruises.
3. Nonetheless I could barely walk on Saturday, so i had the day off.
4. It's been an emotional rollercoaster.
5. Tom Braithewaite was lucky to only dislocate his elbow rather than break it - get well soon Tom.
6. Helen Gaskell got an awesome 6th place, such a shame it wasn't 5th and the podium.
7. Race winner Marielle Saner had something like 45 practice runs on this track prior to the race, but no other world cup rider was allowed to ride it.
8. I almost missed my qualifer, arriving with just 15 seconds to spare, after breaking my shifter and front brake in practice and having to ride down a footpath and the mountain road to get back to the pits for a very rushed change over of parts.
9. Even if you go really really slowly, make no effort, and crash alot you will still end up qualifying 18th. This race was totally backwards, head nor tail could be made of it.
10. If you crash three times in your race run but jump up quickly, and also ride faster inbetween crashes you'll go 38 secs faster, but still finish 18th.
So that's it really. I didn't enjoy the track much, but I was there to "race" so I stuck with it. I say "race" because it was more about just getting down for most of the women, in all honesty, not really about going as fast as you could. Just as well I did, because I'm now 14th in the World Cup series, which is pretty awesome. If you took some parts of the track in isolation, they were really good. I did like the very top alot, and some of the other bits, but taken as a whole it was relentless! It was a very much a challenge, but not a particularly enjoyable one!
Highlights of the weekend were having a laugh with the Mountain Cycle guys who taught me the names of bike parts in French and laughed at my bad pronounciation. Getting my new frame, its matt black and looks pretty stealth - pictures on here soon! Going for a turn on the chairlift with Jaymie Mart, Anja Rees-Jones, and Scarlet Hagen. Riding down the footpath/road after I broke my bike, fun riding! Riding past a giant cow which had horns and very definately gave me the evil eye, and I thought it was a bull to begin with, it was so big! Also meeting the guys who run Keetch Clothing in Lausanne, they also hooked me up with some sweet new hoodies and stuff - check out their website here. In three weeks time apparently they will be able to ship to the UK so check back at the end of the month! Also going to stay with Floriane and her family - thank you very much family Pugin!
Schladming is going to seem like a walk in the park compared to this race, and I'm looking forward to it loads. Inbetween times I think I'm going to ride some fun tracks and never return to Champery!
posted by Emily at
8:45 PM
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