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Manon carpenter retires


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I see on my Instagram feed that Manon carpenter has retired. Must admit I was somewhat surprised.. Bit ever since that big crash at fort bill she has not been the same.

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How does a 24 year old retire... 

 

thats why I said I was surprised. I think that two major crashes impacted her speed and she realised she was no longer competitive and decided to focus on another potential source of income

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thats why I said I was surprised. I think that two major crashes impacted her speed and she realised she was no longer competitive and decided to focus on another potential source of income

This was part of her statement:

 

...and during National Champs weekend I came to the conclusion that I just didn't want to take the risks involved with racing at 100% anymore. Racing downhill is gnarly and you have to have the confidence to commit to whatever is put in front of you, whereas I’ve become more aware of the consequences of crashing and, as much as I've tried to put this out of my head, it’s stopped me from enjoying racing as I would like to.

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The reason she's retired is the reason most of us never start downhill in the first place...

I learnt the hard way on an Mtb that I'm not invincible, 90kg's doesn't bounce that well at 50kmph  :blush:  I'm far more of a woes now that I've experienced the consequences of failure.

Good luck to her, must have been a tough call to make, but once you've lost your nerve in that game I would imagine it's terribly hard to get it back.

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The reason she's retired is the reason most of us never start downhill in the first place...

 

I learnt the hard way on an Mtb that I'm not invincible, 90kg's doesn't bounce that well at 50kmph :blush: I'm far more of a woes now that I've experienced the consequences of failure.

 

Good luck to her, must have been a tough call to make, but once you've lost your nerve in that game I would imagine it's terribly hard to get it back.

Ja, I agree. My 90kg' didn't bounce at 50km/h. So now I jump bikes more often. You go far slower and generaly the jump lines are straight with a VERY or two and have NO rock gardens.

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I think its a case of not being able to overcome the loss of nerve after the big crash. She has the skills, maybe more than most, but if the head is not in the game, then even that isn't enough.

 

You have to admire Tracy Hannah  - she has broken herself properly a few times but has come back better than before, as has Rachel A. 

 

I've had a series of very painful crashes this year after a longish period without. My approach has always been to get back on the bike (assuming you can) and ride the problem spot again as soon as possible. Always found that this prevents the feature from becoming a mental block, perhaps because you replace the memory of crashing there with one of clearing the feature. Always important to make sure you know what you did wrong eg technique or line choice before doing this of course...

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Dem feelz tho!

 

giphy.gif

 

Can't say I'm surprised. I suspected something was up due to her DNS at MSA and her radio silence the past few days. 

 

I think the past couple of big crashes have blunted her mental edge. You could see how it became progressively worse over this season. 

 

I wish her the best and it's definitely a loss to the elite women's DH scene. 

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I wish her the best and it's definitely a loss to the elite women's DH scene.

 

I agree - just reduces the competition some more..which is not needed

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The fall she had in 2016 while still with Saracen which broke her collarbone and left her out for the rest of the year probably did not help either.

 

Hope she moves to Enduro.

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