After almost a two-month break since the last World Cup, elite downhill racing returns to the Pyrenees Mountains of Andorra for World Champs this week. Rejoice! Tag along with Jason Schroeder, Tanner Stephens, and John Hall as they refresh your memory of who’s been fast this year, what happened during the long summer break, and discuss who will be in contention for the elusive rainbow stripes.
0:00 – The crew catches up
3:30 – Monster Energy Downhill – Snow Summit / US National DH scene
8:30 – The growth of national series in the coming years
11:19 – Why no Aaron Gwin on the US Worlds team? + Aaron’s return to racing
18:09 – Richie Rude the DH racer
19:20 – Do racers share more info with each other at World Champs amongst fellow countrymen?
21:24 – How country federations play a part in World Champs
27:16 – 2024 season thus far…
37:40 – Races that happened during the summer break
50:24 – Fantasy info for World Champs
54:36 – Andorra track notes
1:02:35 – Fantasy Picks – Junior Women
1:04:55 – Fantasy Picks – Junior Men
1:09:45 – Fantasy Picks – Elite Women
1:12:55 – Fantasy Picks – Elite Women
Play Vital Downhill Fantasy – https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy
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4 Comments
yeahh
Vallnord aka Pal Arinsal bike park is my backyard. Here are a few infos from the inside…
The start of the track has changed. You launch from the top of the new building on a big wooden ramp. It's gonna be tricky, a little bit like Leogang with a natural off camber natural section right off the first jump. Before, you could break after 8 corners. Now, it's going to be hard to make the first corner. Mess it up and you lose for sure. The big jump and road gap is shorter, and the finish is totally different. Don't be fooled by weather. John is wrong. It's not afternoon shower like clockwork anymore. Flip a coin to know if it's gonna rain or not. It could rain on top of the mountain and not at the bottom. Also, wind is a huge issue you don't mention. Jason is right. This new track doesn't forgive to miss one corner. The old one was so much better and unique. You could mess up and make up time in the bottom. We (local riders) don't really ride the new WC track. We prefer the old one.
Where can we watch the events ‘live streaming’ or YouTube. Do you know whether any channels will broadcast junior events?
Gwin is positively still a threat. 100% podium rate post injury… he’s just building.