SA DH Nationals Paarl this weekend

[Headshot]

You won't find any info on this event on Bikehub sadly. Is anyone else going? I managed to get in and it seems like there will be about 150 riders. Looks like lots of people have been practicing the track but it will be a new experience for me. Its super short and any mistakes will be the end of your run especially for the top contenders.  

[Mike Mac]

Are spectators allowed and if so, where does one get more info on where to go?

[ChrisF]

Are spectators allowed and if so, where does one get more info on where to go?

Certainly not officially ... not under the current regs ....

 

 

Pity. I recall some exceptional photos of riders in this area ....

[Headshot]

Race Report

 

Lots of "family" attended to assist and watch and some lekker pics will become available later today. Check out the WC Downhill Insta for some pics and video. This was as a slick event with a turnout of over 150 from all over the country. 

 

I have never ridden the Paarl DH track before. Its fast and short but quite physically demanding if you want to try and go fast. The organizers changed the track quite a bit the day before practice, mainly by taping it differently. This made it a bit more even for out of town riders and it was good fun. More loose corners near the finish meant a good few dust baths for those overcooking it. The shuttle is swift and on smooth tar and the vehicles must have driven that hill to death especially on Saturday. 

 

I did 10 runs on Saturday which left me quite tired. On Sunday I managed one practice and then a seeding run which went okay but was slower than I wanted. My legs felt stuffed after this run and I think I needed a warm up. Nerves also got to me in the start gate.   After a several hour wait which I spent walking the track and watching the elites ride some of the sections I was having problems with, I rested up a bit. 

 

My race run was clean and I used the confidence from my track walk to go for a jump I'd been avoiding and managed to go 5 secs faster than my previous run. I ended up with a bronze in in my age category and could have got silver if I'd managed to find another 6 secs, which sounds like a lot but when you are a novice there is always more time to be made up by perfecting a line or just staying off the brakes a bit more. I was chuffed with how well my race run went and the way I progressed as the weekend went on.

 

My bike performed flawlessly. I tweaked the fork by adding 5 clicks of compression, and adding 5 psi and about 3 clicks of rebound.  Out back I took off all the high speed compression and ran about 5 clicks of slow speed and two clicks of rebound, so quite fast at both ends. Traction was good and needed because of the hundreds of braking bumps. There was one particular section - a steep, deep rut with bumps and a good berm at the bottom. The bike felt super composed in that section which was confidence inspiring. A few riders overcooked the berm and ended up in the bushes. 

 

The youth, junior and Elite category were fun to watch and the racing was close. The top ten were within about 5-10 secs and the race was won by Theo by 1/100 of a second from Pottie. 

 

There were only two serious injuries the whole weekend and both were walking and talking with their arms in slings at  the finish yesterday. I suspect there are usually far more and more serious injuries on a marathon or fun ride event than a DH event. 

 

DH is a very different kind of racing. The tracks are not always that tech, (the much maligned dumbed down DH 1 at Tokai  has more tricky drop offs than Paarl, by a long shot) but there is always a puzzle and a fear factor to overcome to go as fast as you can. 

 

I encourage anyone who has an enduro or 150mm trail bike to enter a DH just for the experience. There is another WC provincial in two weeks also at Paarl. 

[Beefy]

Does anyone know the permit and parking situation for this track? I am keen to go give it a bash on my enduro bike.

[Duane_Bosch]

Does anyone know the permit and parking situation for this track? I am keen to go give it a bash on my enduro bike.

Your'e supposed to pay at the gate. I think it's like R10. Although they make no effort to control it.

[Beefy]

The gate for the Taal Monument?