| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Even if you've never
heard of Alison Sydor, Missy Giove or Ned
Overend, it doesn't mean you won’t enjoy a
mountain bike race. Mont Ste. Anne, in Quebec,
hosted the world championships last fall,
providing a couple of days of exciting
entertainment. |
|
 |
| Alison Sydor, our Canadian
Champion |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
| A heavy crowd watches the
downhill |
|
|
On Saturday the rains
fell, but it didn't prevent a huge crowd from
witnessing one of the more appealing events of
the weekend, the World Cup Downhill. While you
may have seen pictures of a downhill event or
perhaps even watched one on TV, nothing prepares
you for the hair raising reality of this
spectacle. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Clad in the armor of a
modern day gladiator, these warriors do battle
with the hill, each other and the wild demands of
gravity. Down hill courses are carefully tailored
to tax the competitors to their limits and
provide the spectators with an overwhelming show. |
|
 |
| Getting air on the downhill |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
A course usually
runs from the very top of a mountain to the bottom and in
some venues competitors reach speeds up to 100kmh
(60mph). |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
| Winning is sweet |
|
|
These extremely fast
stretches are interspersed with hairpin turns,
loose rutted washouts, drop-offs and crazy
off-camber jumps. Add some rain to the mix and
you get a really hairy ride, which takes a
rider's bike handling skills to the limit. In
spite of the difficulties, the top riders often
manage to finish within a hundredth of a second
of each other. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| If you're looking for
some names to root for, check your program for
Shaun Palmer, an ex snow board champion and all
around professional wild man. Or watch for Miles
Rockwell, who may well have the greatest
potential in the sport if he can ride the tiger. Some female riders to look for
are Leigh Donavan, the American Champion, and
Anne-Caroline Chausson of France who is currently
dominating the woman’s field.
|
|
 |
| Paula Pezzo, the gold medal
winner in the 1997 summer Olympics. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Perhaps the best
spectator sport, the dual challenge, is usually run late
in the day but it’s definitely worth hanging around
for. Two riders compete head to head on courses designed
to test the competitors' mettle and to provide the high
flying acrobatics that keep the crowds straining for a
better look. The
competition works its way through a series of
eliminations until only the best (or sometimes the
luckiest?) are left in the game. The favorites have to be
careful not to let their desire to play to the crowd
interfere with the competition. Even one second of extra
air on a jump can cost them the race.
|
|
| |
. |
|
| |
|
|
