Jewbacca

It goes both ways....

The French are a passionate people. I'm proud they stood their ground and boo'd instead of just surrendering themselves to the result!

That was incredible racing and super exciting to watch. Pretty amazing on such a boring track 🤭 Pidcocks overtake prior to the 'contentious' one was also class. He cut the corner into the rock/log feature while Koretzky went to the top to drop in. As a Saffa it would have been cool if Pidcock and Koretzky had crashed allowing Alan to ride through the carnage to gold! hahahaha

So I agree that it's silly to even suggest Theo can't ride. (I don't think anyone did, it was a comparison between the top DH guys and him, not his ability to actually ride it) The dude is amazing, his ability to ride Darkfest and Hardline etc is phenomenal I'll ask, how many guys who rode hardline and Darkfest are going to DH world champs? I really mean that. It would be an interesting comparison here As has been discussed, they are VERY different skillsets. I'll also point out that a lot of the videos and quotes are from guys who are friends of the guys not going, so the narrative will always be swayed that way. It's very difficult to get an impartial view on this as there seems to be no real ability for those on one side to see the other. Both ways. It's a dead end argument and the only way to fix it is for DH to make a stand formally and sit with CSA to come up with a solution going forward It's not an easy thing to do, but it will take a very formal sit down with academic things to be looked at. People throwing insults at each other on here isn't going to change anything. I've seen a few names of those past/experienced riders with influence who could get together with each other and CSA in order to make sure those deserving of going are selected. The hurdles and inaccessible availability of development in DH are also not a reason for sending a team of Eric the Eals to World Champs. (I'm not suggesting we would be) There 'should' be a balance between the academic qualification and what that actually is. It seems that isn't there currently but it won't change unless people step up and make the changes. Headshot, Sally, Pottie etc.... get together, use your passion to make a change OFFICIALLY with CSA

Sweep is awesome Some people cock their wrists when they ride and lean into their hands in a hinged position. It's very common. Sweep won't fix that if that's the problem. A weak core or poor sitting position is causing that. If your wrists hurt from sitting too square, then sweep will be your friend. Figure out how you use the bar/grip/hand contact point and pay attention to your wrist position while riding. If your knuckles move towards you and you are cocking your wrists, you need to learn how to balance with your hips and sit with your core. If you keep a nice neutral hand/wrist position and have pain between your thumb/fingers and the meaty part of your hand running back into your wrist, then sweep will help that A bike fit might not actually help as one tends to only sag, lean and cock wrists when tired, so they won't come into play during a fitting.

I remember reading an article about how the smaller teams were at too big a disadvantage in a TTT with the big budget teams able to absolutely dominate due to the depth of their squad and race selection options. It was deemed too weighted in favour of the big spenders, apparently

If it's predominantly a trainer bike I would also take a wild guess that the bike won't be going out in poor weather and will remain on the trainer. A fair weather outdoor cyclist can rock rim brakes hard without experiencing the death squeal eek eeeek braaaaaaaak of pads not engaging the rims in the wet.......

I'd say that Cav winning 35 is MORE impressive as he only had 1 way to win a stage. Merckx may have been a more complete rider but this gave him opportunity to win ITT, Mountain, Sprint etc so had far more opportunity to win during every grand tour. Cav HAD to win in a flat sprint. So, in terms of 'complete rider' then ja, but winning more through only 1 avenue shows his crazy ability, determination and longevity in the sport. I don't think anyone is comparing them as riders. That would be ridiculous. He has now won more stages, the end. It's US who seem to try to draw a parallel that doesn't exist

No, this is what I said 'Before everyone says Theo, he is 30 odd and while I'm not ageist, most teams won't invest in a 30 year old rider to develop' Nowhere did I say anything about him other than his age. The fact that he does not have years of competitive racing at the top level means he would be a gamble at his age while there are 17, 18, 19 year olds who have come through the ranks of junior racing who are a more likely investment. Again, don't be emotional, be realistic. If we take your post above, you're then saying that to take an exceptionally talented noob to the DH circuit it takes years to become competitive? Does a 30 year old exceptionally talented Noob have enough time to adapt in order to have a career worth investing in?

It was rad Big rain squalls overhead, clean, glassy sets peeling down the line with just me and one of my best mates on the peak. I'm no longer phased by the fact that no one has answered any of the questions on this thread with actual information, just emotional responses.

I did! And it makes your post entirely incorrect. You stated Kerr was a late bloomer at 36, but in reality he is 33 and he started his own team at the age of 21. Minaar signed his first pro contract as a teenager. Not at 42. Neither are late bloomers as you wanted to make us believe. Anyway, I'm out. It's become a side quest of nonsense. I went for a surf and I feel much better about life. Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend, whether you qualify to have one or not.

He owns Pivot Factory racing Started it in 2012

Bernard Kerr is 33. He has been a pro bike rider since forever and he owns and manages Pivot cycles, a company he started 12 years ago in 2012 He wasn't signed on as a late bloomer, he rides, manages and runs the Pivot team and has owned the company since he was 21 years old. I won't even begin to draw a parallel between Greg and anyone else close to this conversation.

I've asked this a few times Who out of those NOT going earned UCI points towards the allotted slots, as it looks as though the available places have been earned by those already going. No one seems to want to answer I would also ask, those not going, who of them is still young enough with enough dedication, talent and discipline to still be spotted by a big team and race at the top level? Before everyone says Theo, he is 30 odd and while I'm not ageist, most teams won't invest in a 30 year old rider to develop So why take riders who have realistically missed their chance at the big time to learn to race in the big time? One thing I learned was that no matter how loyal we are to our country and want the best for our country, we don't always have the talent pool in every sport to fill the shoes of generational outgoing talents across sport genres and that's ok. Again, this is not a personal attack on anyone, I'm sure they are rad, but going to learn and going for experience is different to going for a jol, which is not the point of World Champs

You're right, sorry, I'm wrong about the petition. But the point is they didn't go because they did not meet the criteria laid out and agreed upon by the governing bodies. That is the point. Don't change the point because you have 'found me out' on something irrelevant As Headshot has accused me of doing, that's splitting hairs and isn't relevant to MY point or the point of the thread. I'm sorry for the confusion and I am wrong THERE But it doesn't change the actual status, precedent or history. Agreed terms of participation, qualification and competitive standard not met. You don't go It's a privilege given to those who earned it, not a right because you 'believe' you should fill slots earned by other people

What I see is that those who earned the spots are going and those who didn't earn the points or compete in point earning events now want to fill the spaces made by those already going. It's a team SELECTION based on criteria, performance and guidelines. The reasons for non selection are not personal, these guys simply didn't get selected because they didn't meet the criteria to be selected. It's like failing varsity because you missed the attendance minimum and didn't attend any tuts but still managed to pass because the group project you didn't assist with got 98%. You fail because you did not hit the laid out criteria to pass Huh? No one said they didn't petition. They didn't go. Reason given, they didn't qualify via the top tier qualification standards in world hockey as laid out by SASCOC SASCOC said that both teams need to qualify through the international standards and not via the back door 'continental qualification' to 'make up the numbers'. They didn't. They didn't go despite having a slot allocated as they did not meet the criteria laid out and agreed to by the various governing bodies It's pretty similar

Nonsense. I have been an 'also ran' at many many races. I'm honest enough to admit it. I will call myself not good/talented/accomplished enough to compete. Show me the people who earned the UCI points who aren't going. Then I might change my stance

By saying someone who isn't good enough, isn't good enough, is not snide nor is it bringing their character into question. None of the snubbed riders are good enough to compete at World Champs. I'm sure they are the raddest of dudes, but they are simply not good enough to compete with the best in the world. Also, why do we have 5 slots available? Who earned those slots? Did the snubbed riders accrue UCI points towards the available slots? I want to see those details. From what I can see there are very few people NOT going who earned us UCI qualifying points.

So I remember there was a similar argument surrounding our Hockey team a few years ago.... We had qualified for something but by default. SASCOC decided to say 'the men's hockey team will not be going to X despite having qualified because they are crap' They didn't go. No one made an online petition and no one shed big tears because the truth was, our team was rubbish and wouldn't have made it out of the groups. It's a logical decision. I really have no idea why some people are so butthurt that CSA hasn't chosen to select people who aren't good enough to compete.

Did no one else think there was huge line deviation in the sprint yesterday?

@Danger Dassie I've not been rude to or about anyone in particular. The governing body has selected a team based on criteria and performance. The whole very argument is based on allowing people to go who didn't hit the criteria but 'Feel' they should be included because we have the slots. The very thought of taking people who didn't qualify or get selected to go by the governing body is due to an emotional response on social media by those snubbed. Anyway, I'm out. This isn't my fight, I didn't make the selection, nor have I been snubbed. My opinion in obviously unpopular as I don't believe World Champs is a place for also rans knowing they are going to be also rans. I also don't believe in on line petitions to overturn decisions that will ultimately cost someone a hefty chunk of money for very little return in the context of the competition ❤️

hahahaha This thread has escalated. World champs isn't for 'learning' it's for medal hunting. If you're upset because you weren't selected AND didn't hit the qualifying criteria then tiny violins and the saddest song in the world. Does anyone here fighting for the cause really believe that CSA should send 'also rans' because principle or are they just being emotional because of the perceived plight of others through 'injustice'?

I'll edit my rant Oops

Wrong thread Sorry

I posted in the other thread. Which other DH men have any chance of getting a result? The entire Sport structures have no money, why send people to the Olympics who are ranked well outside the top 100? It's an expensive exercise just for the Gees.