Gallery: World Cup finals in Val di Sole

World Cup mountain bike events take the sport to a whole other level. Having just been to my first European World Cup at Val di Sole in the Italian Dolomites, I am all of amazed, impressed, astounded and inspired for what the best of the best can do on a bike.

Maybe it is the racing in Europe, maybe it is the progress athletes are making with their training or maybe it is the advancements manufacturers are forging with our equipment that is allowing elite riders to go so big, so fast and so competitively. It is probably a combination of all these factors but the bottom line is that the sport appears to be in great shape when you see the greatest can do.

Coming to a European World Cup also opens your eyes to some of the bigger and smaller things that makes our sport so great. As an outsider visiting sometimes its the details not conveyed in the results nor in most photo galleries but that put a smile on your face when you come across them at a big event. Here are a few of the smaller features that caught my attention at Val di Sole:

• The cycling industry is a BIG industry over here. The teams expo area is massive and I lost count of the number of custom branded, million dollar semi-trucks I saw parked up spilling forth their contents
• Bikes really are part of the culture over here with incredible bike friendly infrastructure like trains and busses and chairlift accepting bikes, way-marked long distance trails with good maps to match, the fact that you’re not gawped at when riding a bike and the high number of kids and especially girls you see out on two wheels
• The battle of the drink companies is as strong as ever and makes me smile. Red Bull vs Monster Energy – if you are an elite DH rider near the front of the field then your helmet and your hat will be emblazoned with one or other of these logos.
• I reckon I have seen more people on crutches this weekend than in the last 5 years combined… hmmm, I wonder why?!
• We need more chainsaws (without chain), horns and wind up sirens at Australian MTB events – especially XC and Marathon races… the spectators here are really loud and really into it
• The event had a welcoming and inclusive environment with the race winners and gods-of-the-sport happily walking around chatting to people and enjoying being part of it all
• Not one of the racers was there just because they have a natural talent. No way. Everyone took their racing very seriously to get the most out of the hours and hours of training and commitment that have put into the sport. But when the helmet is off and the t-shirt is back on they all just look like normal human beings…
• The DH riders look more exhausted at the finish line than the XC or 4X riders! Maybe they are not as fit?! Or maybe it’s as a result of their short but oh-so intense effort to wrestle their bikes and the track for 4mins from top to bottom.

FULL RESULTS ARE ONLINE

I don’t write this to downplay mountain biking and events in Australia because our riders and our racers are pretty darn good too and we more than hold our own. It is interesting and incredibly inspiring to see the best of the best play on their home turf and I provide great encouragement for all Aussie riders – recreational and elite – to go to our own World Cup in Cairns in April 2016.