Massif - Day 2 - Course Walk
Based on the chatter outside my window, it sounded as though today for most of the team started at about 8am. I didn’t have anything pressing to do, so I figured a sleep in till nine was warranted. Once up, I joined the rest of the crew for Breakfast and bike building.
bike building in the driveway…organized chaos! “Who has the 5mm??”
I’m here in Quebec for the Canadian National Downhill Championships, coaching the B.C. Team for Cycling BC. The crew on this trip consists of Miranda Miller, Danice Useygi, Micayla Gato, Lauren Rosser, Max Horner, Nick Geddies, Tyler Allison, Chayse Marshall, Remi Gauvin, Linden Feniak, Harrison Duxbury-Sleep, Alex Pro, fellow coach Dustin Adams, and myself. 14 people, it’s like hearding cats!
Following the bike building, it was up to the top of the course (walking, btw) for our course walk.
working out the best lines for a particular section
The Massif course is probably best described as technical. It’s a bit unique, I suppose, as most technical courses are dangerous courses that you worry about some people getting down safely. In this case, the course is relatively ‘easy’…there isn’t anything that could potentially kill you or hurt you badly. What it will do, however, is reward technical riders who can ride difficult lines. Think going high or cutting the corner is always the fast line, not necessarily here. Walking the course you can’t help but realize how much fun it’s going to be or avoid the excitement the mental side of the puzzle creates. Lets not forget that we’re in Quebec, so you know it’s going to rain. This course muddy? Yeah, it’s going to be interesting.
you want me to go where!?!
While Dustin and I shopped for food, most of the team hit the course for their first few runs through. Practice allowed for two or three laps, and everyone seemed to be saying that the course was a lot of fun. One thing is clear, however, they’re going to need all the practice time they can get to become comfortable with it.
Tomorrow Dustin will hike and focus on the sections we think are most critical, and I’ll jump on the bike to try and give ‘overall’ feedback for the riders on course. It’s not going to be easy to get a lot of runs in…the chairlift takes 25min to go from the bottom to the top, and it’s only one person/bike per chair!
If you’re looking for more photos of the course walk, head here: course walk photos on flickr The photos are typically taken in sequence, and don’t really show off the course to it’s best…but it’s better then nothing!
-Dave