Are XCO riders the ultimate mountain bikers?

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

 

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).

 

He's in hospital for observation, loads of stitches and scans. He's used to that though... He came off on the final day of J2C or one of the other stage races coming into the gorge, chasing Kev Ev and Max Knox. Head first into a tree and cracked a vertebrae or 2. Airlifted out and they even interviewed him while he was on the ground waiting for the chopper. Made the award for wipe out of the event.

 

So yeah. He's a tough nugget. And up till this crash he seemed to be doing very well. That boy has a bright future if he can get to Europe.

[Hairy]

A good candidate for a full Face xc lid

[tunariaan]

XC doesnt pull massive crowds like marathon racing and its all about the money so it will never be as big

Do you orgenize a XC race and ask R60,,maybe 35 riders will pitch

Then you do a open road mtb race, you make it easy and not technical and you will pull 200plus x say R120--easy money for orgenizers.

Although i love XC i can clearly see in the Southern Cape, guys are trying to build it here but lots of local riders wont come and do it they will rather go on a easy long ride.

I wish XC can grow, its the way all mountain bikers should start, pure riding and lots of skill

[blondeonabike]

This happened today at the XCO at Pmb. He took a nasty knock to the head, and after taking a few moments to come round, managed a smile for the crowd. Hats off to these guys and girls, this is not for sissies!

[blondeonabike]

Survived to race another day!

[Guest]

These guys are in a league of their own. I cant even think of any other sport where one has to dedicate 100% effort, concentration and technical prowess for a full 1H30. These guys are in the red zone the whole time, there is not a seconds rest. Add to that mechanical problems, killer obstacles and *** weather conditions. There is no other sport that comes close and yet so little recognition is given to them. ( 1 min blitz highlight on SS Blitz) SIS MAN.

[Stretch]

this kind of highlights what I mean about sponsorship

 

look how the europeans put the youngsters on a team and assist them with travel etc to compete with best they can compete. and James reid manages a fantastic 4th but apart from his own sponsorship deals he is not part of a bigger team (correct me if I am wrong)

 

[dev null]

My boy loves the XCO type of riding. He has just turned 14 and will be hoping to do his first XCO race this year. He loves the rock gardens, drops and jumps. He also has a MX bike, but decent MX tracks are so few and far, so he don't quite get enough opportunity to play with the MX bike.

 

I hope XCO grows, our kids needs to get out more and play with their bikes.

[milky4130]

For the Cape Town folk, next XCO race will be on the 10th May at Paul Cluver trails. Did my 1st XCO race last week & boy was it tough but fun at the same time.

[milky4130]

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!!

does the Tokai challenge still happen?

[Matchstix]

XCO is really hard was. Looking at some of the races when I was a junior in 2001, average HOUR 188, 182, 190 and that for 2 hours. The courses has changed being a lot more technical and more man made.

But they are also a lot harder. The XCO. Of the. Elite men was 6 laps, 34km but with a 1260m ascent that is hectic

[Lone_Ranger]

I see James Reid came fourth in the U23 category, so definitely one to watch for the future. I know he is regularly competing on the circuit as well, hopefully he makes the jump from age category to Elites successfully.

 

Is Rourke Kroeser (Apologies if spelling is incorrect) and his team of Saffers (Kargo something or other) not racing on the circuit this year? A few weeks back there was an article about them getting an Elite UCI team license.

[Ratty]

For the Cape Town folk, next XCO race will be on the 10th May at Paul Cluver trails. Did my 1st XCO race last week & boy was it tough but fun at the same time.

 

That's a nice course! Watched 2 years back and it was super muddy which made is really fun to watch.

 

I think the problem in the Western Cape is the lack of awareness / advertising of the events. I tried doing the XCO ladies races and found that it was a continuous struggle to find information of when and where the next event would be. The website was never kept up-to-date. Eventually just gave up.

 

The races I did were great fun. I raced with the Elite ladies as the sports class was a bit too quick (sometimes only 2 laps, perfect for people starting out). Even though I am slow and unfit and sometimes got lapped, it was awesome. The pro's were all super friendly and encouraging and didn't seem upset that some amateur was joining them.

[Grondpad]

I did my first XCO race last weekend and it is brutal. Us sub-vets did 7 laps and after 3 I was hammered.

It’s a great discipline!

 

My wife and our baby boy went with and they parked under the trees and we had a jol watching the other races. What impressed me the most was the juniors/u23. I did most of my laps in the 12min, the elites did 10’s & 11’s, but most of the junior did sub 11’s and the fastest lap was set by a u23(or junior) in the 9min. That is insane! Clearly this is an area where the juniors & u23 can do with some help from CSA and development. It is clear that we have massive talent that just needs to be nurtured.

 

The route itself makes you realise where you need to work on. I thought my technical skills weren’t that bad, but after I opted for the chicken run that idea got revised. I think the okes that raced in PMB yesterday are insane! I hope that one day I can klap those tricky sections like that but for now I have to opt for a higher medical aid plan and practise.

 

I will definitely do many more XC races. Great events. Great mtb’ing!

[Rata Del Spruit]

XC doesnt pull massive crowds like marathon racing and its all about the money so it will never be as big

Do you orgenize a XC race and ask R60,,maybe 35 riders will pitch

Then you do a open road mtb race, you make it easy and not technical and you will pull 200plus x say R120--easy money for orgenizers.

 

Just rebrand it as Warrior Bicycle Racing

[Sidewinder.]

Just rebrand it as Warrior Bicycle Racing

 

Don't forget the promotional designs need barbed wire around the text.