Evan MacKenzie
Now before we all start complaining about climbing hills at mountain
bike races, let's look at what happens when we eliminate them:
1) No big climbs means nothing to separate out the pack
2) No big climbs means nowhere for the really strong climbers to
shine
3) No big climbs means no nice descents
4) No nice long descents means nowhere for the good descenders to
shine
5) None of either means you end up with people racing cyclocross
bikes at mountain bike races
6) Before you know it, people are complaining that the races have
gotten soft and it's no longer mountain biking.
Isn't this what happened at the Olympics a while back?
Now I'll be the first one to admit that I am not the greatest climber in
the world, on road or off. But I do very well on the way back down, well
enough that I can generally make up for my climbing ability. I may not
like the climbs, but without them you don't get the joy of the descent.
If we are going to attract the majority of people buying new mountain
bikes (bikes that typically have more than 4" of travel front and rear),
we are going to have to include all types of terrain. Let us not forget
that a race is a challenge, not just between you and the rest of the
field but also between you and your inner demons, who are always telling
you how bad you suck. If a race has nothing to challenge you, you are
either a sandbagger for not racing in a higher category where you will
be challenged, or the promoter has done a poor job of creating a
challenging coarse. If you finish so far ahead of the competition that
it is obvious you are not even racing against them (a la Steve Larsen at
Chainbreaker), it is likely the former. If you see a bunch of people on
cyclocross bikes, it is probably the latter.
Keep the courses tough, but allow for shorter and/or easier courses that
will entice beginners. Throw in some climbs, some descents, some fast
open sections, and some really gnarly technical stuff. Try to make it
tough to decide between a hardtail and a full suspension bike. Allow for
some sections that will really favor those on hardtails, but then throw
in some stuff that the people on 5" trail bikes will love. Make sure all
riders are challenged. Give them something to be proud of after they are
done.
I think the Super D format does this very well, but of course it has the
limitation of requiring really, really big hills, and shuttles up the
hill for the people on the really long travel bikes. Not the sort of
thing you can do close to town, certainly not here in Portland. The
Ashland 12-Mile Super D was a total blast. 45 minutes of pure adrenalin.
Almost all downhill, but as physically demanding as any short track or
criterium.
Back to work!
-Evan
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----------(_)/ (_)______Get on your bikes and ride!