Are XCO riders the ultimate mountain bikers?

[Bizkit031]

Do provincial Xco good fun.Come and ride at Karkloof or even Howick trails it's absolutely mindblowing how many trails there are.

[Stretch]

I kind of have to agree.. That course is brutal.. climbs... Technical.. Decisive overtaking options.. it has it all. From a spectator point of view it is heaps and bounds better then dh and marathon does not come into the equation.. watching on the telly from home however I would say dh is as enthralling as xc.. Especially when you get to know the courses and the key players

 

Back to today... If nino did not puncture I think we were in for an enthralling final laps.. but I an super chuffed for Absalon

[Stretch]

Secondly.. Those Europeans are Waaaay ahead of us in terms of xc.. and it all boils down to sponsorship sadly.. Until we can get the sponsorship for our xc riders we will never have a competitive rider.. AND the time is now.. We have some phenomenal juniors coming through the ranks in the spur school series here in kzn

[GoLefty!!]

The problem with XC is that when you organise a race, the trail riders say its boring to go around in circles 6 times.

When you don't have the races then everybody wants to know where they are.

 

XC is hard, very hard and that puts a lot of people off. Tokai Challenge used to be 4x 8km laps and people would bail at the end of lap 2!!

[GoLefty!!]

Secondly.. Those Europeans are Waaaay ahead of us in terms of xc.. and it all boils down to sponsorship sadly.. Until we can get the sponsorship for our xc riders we will never have a competitive rider.. AND the time is now.. We have some phenomenal juniors coming through the ranks in the spur school series here in kzn

 

Burry, Philip, ??

 

A lot of SA problems with Xc stems from a lack of numbers at the XC events.

[Bizkit031]

Secondly.. Those Europeans are Waaaay ahead of us in terms of xc.. and it all boils down to sponsorship sadly.. Until we can get the sponsorship for our xc riders we will never have a competitive rider.. AND the time is now.. We have some phenomenal juniors coming through the ranks in the spur school series here in kzn

That's true Stretch sponsors pump a lot of money into Marathons,but Xc to me is a lot more exciting than watching stuff like The Epic and races similar to it.Even Enduro racing is absolutely wicked to watch.

["Mechanic"]

Rider number 81 in SA colours

Saw somewhere that Phil isn't riding as he is ill not sure if it's true though good luck to all the saffas!

 

@ cpt armpies-Unfortunately didn't get to watch, was out on a ride. Hope he finished, I heard there were a LOT of guys taking tumbles.

 

@ pin it - I just had a look at the results and was wondering why I didn't see his name, its a pity he didn't race, there weren't many saffas either I think I counted 3.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

The problem with XC is that when you organise a race, the trail riders say its boring to go around in circles 6 times.

When you don't have the races then everybody wants to know where they are.

 

XC is hard, very hard and that puts a lot of people off. Tokai Challenge used to be 4x 8km laps and people would bail at the end of lap 2!!

 

I'd LOVE to do that if it came around again. There's a lot to choose from if we're doing laps.

[Hairy]

It is easy to do a marathon mtb event or the shorter 30km type routes.

 

To race the xco you need skill and fitness.....These don't come easy.

 

There are sports classes at the xco events and the xco events are great to partake in.

 

It can be a real family event as everyone ride in their own cat and while mom races dad baby sits and the visa versa. With there also being jnr cats the youngsters can also get to play

[Stretch]

 

Burry, Philip, ??

 

A lot of SA problems with Xc stems from a lack of numbers at the XC events.

No disrespect to Philip.. But as good as he is.. He does not come anywhere near the class of the usual xc suspects... And burry.. Well he was a special case in this country

 

It all cones with experience.. And our chaps are getting none of it... Do we have any representation on the world cup circuit? Who from sa will be in cairns in 2 weeks.. As far as I can tell no one.. Therein lies the problem

 

 

Edited April 13, 2014 by Stretch

[Ramrod]

Anyone know when the Xco will be televised? I can only find the DH

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Anyone know when the Xco will be televised? I can only find the DH

SS has described it as the DH. Actual dh us a single transmission. The xco is separate hut described as downhill

[Stretch]

Anyone know when the Xco will be televised? I can only find the DH

 

Just watch it on red bull.. there is some crappy movie on tonight anyway

[Hairy]

Hopefully coverage by redbull will help grow both the interest in dh and xco

 

First time sa got any kind of Televised coverage of xco was ib the Olympics

[kosmonooit]

Drawing from previous discussions here - yes XC is the pinnacle of the sport in terms of intensity. power, skill, tact and general athleticism. Its great to follow (thanks to Red Bull for streaming UCI events), and certainly a target for anyone who wants a career in mtb.

 

Otherwise most of us fun riders like the marathon-type events: the journey out there and back, the water points, the socialising, the mission, the communing with nature.

[KenG]

Just heard he had a bad crash at red lipped herald

 

I was at the spot where Tyron crashed, I was looking the other way but heard him go down. He went down hard!! His face took a beating!!!! Carried away in a stretcher after getting him a little cleaned up. His head has got to hurt. Let us know how he's doing tomorrow.

 

The XC guys, and girls, are machines. That course was super tough, both physical and technical. I would like to go back in the week and try my luck on some of the sections ( must likely find me scooting down on my backside).