No today’s ride.
Instead walked up to Crans UCI XC track.
We followed ruts until we found the first big drop off - a ramp, then drop onto 40 deg loose slope, RH still on 40 deg. All typical local stone - slippy slidey shale.
See first photo.
Terrifying.
Doable on a DH rig - but XC? Mental.
B route is board
Followed by jump then LH into 40 deg drop to another sharp LH.
Mad.
See photo 3.
None of these photos show how fugging steep this all is.
Then over to the now notorious rock garden.
Two riders were seriously injured on this in the WCup last month.
No sh”t Sherlock.
This is totally unforgiving.
Again the photo (no2) does no justice to the steepness, the huge gaps between boulders, and the skill demands.
The boulders are maybe 75cms across?
Gulp.
It does show how any error of judgement has HUGE consequences - a fall onto Dragon teeth rocks - on a man made course. I could get a DH rig down and wear armour as I did it - but an XC bike?
Mad.
Seriously, I absolutely disapprove of this course design. Maybe great to watch in TV, but such a threat to riders. And I understand riders complained to Discovery and out cane some ski safety matting.
Which is a silly situation.
We now surely should have course design nailed. Nothing which threatens life and limb - these are professionals who for their livelihood rely on competing - and instead we should have features which penalise poor decisions and low skill by time penalty, not by potential mutilation and DNF.
