Cheating in our sport?

Majski

styxd wrote:

to wear cool race kit and to make an image for yourself is more important than the odd win here and there,

About the uncoolest thing you could do!

Worrying more about what you look like rather than whats going to give you the biggest performance gains.

Not that downhill mountain biking is a particularly cool sport anyway. Too many rich folk wanking over carbon rims, kashima stanchions and sombrio clothing, instead of just riding their bikes.

Personally I think DH is cool as f*ck but there you go, each to their own. Neck braces though - that's the uncoolest thing you could do

styxd

wasn't there a rumor a few years back that peaty was on a million pound a year contract?

Dunno.

I do remember reading that Gracia was on a 6 figure salary when he was on the Volvo/Cannondale team.

styxd

Personally I think DH is cool as f*ck but there you go, each to their own. Neck braces though - that's the uncoolest thing you could do

Hmm, well riding a bike downhill as fast as you can I agree with.

But then theres all the shite that seems to go along with it. Like arguing about it on internet forums

Majski

Money in DH was much bigger in the 90s than it is now

Majski

styxd wrote:

Personally I think DH is cool as f*ck but there you go, each to their own. Neck braces though - that's the uncoolest thing you could do

Hmm, well riding a bike downhill as fast as you can I agree with.

But then theres all the shite that seems to go along with it. Like arguing about it on internet forums

Ha ha yeah true! But then i'm bored at work waiting to go to Morzine on Thursday

You're right though DH riding is infinately cooler than DH racing. The top level stuff is ok because I can remain detached from it, but I've had a fair few mates decide to start racing, just local stuff like pearce, and all of a sudden they're neck braced up and on the turbo trainers 20 mins before their runs. That side of things is properly bent

nicklouse

CommyAdam wrote:

occurring in our sport.

big assumtion that MTB is "our" sport.

not mine never has been. but i have been MTBing since before MTB happened.

How many in this thread race regularly? 1? 2?

welshkev

styxd wrote:

Personally I think DH is cool as f*ck but there you go, each to their own. Neck braces though - that's the uncoolest thing you could do

Hmm, well riding a bike downhill as fast as you can I agree with.

But then theres all the shite that seems to go along with it. Like arguing about it on internet forums

sad losers, who spends all day on the internet to argue in a...oh wait a sec..........

if neck braces stop people having a dan atherton style accident i'm all for them, but again that's all down to preference. i'm not a big racer myself but i do think 'fook me!' when i see the speeds the top level guys are doing down some of those tracks 8)

Majski

There's no issue with wearing neck braces really. They just look gash. Also seen far too many people buy one, then within a month talk about a crash they had where they DEFINATELY WOULD HAVE BROKEN THEIR NECK WITHOUT IT, despite never having injured it in 10 years of riding.

ilovedirt

I seem to remember Missy Giove getting banned from downhill back in the day for failing some drugs test (I think). And there was some other canadian downhiller that got caught drugs-running and ended up hanging himself in the cells (a real shame, can't remember his name though). But aside from that, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of that in professional downhill.

welshkev

ilovedirt wrote:

I seem to remember Missy Giove getting banned from downhill back in the day for failing some drugs test (I think). And there was some other canadian downhiller that got caught drugs-running and ended up hanging himself in the cells (a real shame, can't remember his name though). But aside from that, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of that in professional downhill.

she got done for drug dealing didn't she?

styxd

There was that american downhiller got caught for marijuana use (not Miles Rockwell!) I cant remember his name though. Think he had a brother who raced aswell. Troy someone or other?

And what about that Aussie Duel/Dual Slalom racer (cant remember his name either, but he was a big lad with spikey blonde hair and he rode for tek I think) Im sure he got done aswell.

Edit

Wade Bootes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wade_Boote ... and_traits

Cant remember the name of the first guy I mentioned though.

RevellRider

styxd wrote:

There was that american downhiller got caught for marijuana use (not Miles Rockwell!) I cant remember his name though. Think he had a brother who raced aswell. Troy someone or other?

And what about that Aussie Duel/Dual Slalom racer (cant remember his name either, but he was a big lad with spikey blonde hair and he rode for tek I think) Im sure he got done aswell.

Rich Houseman was the downhiller who I think had a world cup win stripped from him for testing positive for marijuana and Wade Bootes was the aussie dual racer who tested positive and was banned for 6 months, but had it over turned as he claimed he took it 'unknowingly'

styxd

Rich Houseman, thats him. His brother was called Gary I think. Couple of bad lads.

cooldad

Not exactly performance enhancing drugs though, are they?

Chunkers1980

It was seen as that in snooker, they stripped the great RoS of an Irish title a few years back.

Anyhow, I perform better and have a big smile.

styxd

Not exactly performance enhancing drugs though, are they?

Its image enhancing!

plugp7

nicklouse wrote:

CommyAdam wrote:

occurring in our sport.

big assumtion that MTB is "our" sport.

not mine never has been. but i have been MTBing since before MTB happened.

How many in this thread race regularly? 1? 2?

+1 For me it's a leisure activity. OK, so you "race" your mates sometimes but for me, it's never been a sport and never will (or could) be.

Blind Danny Johnson

plugp7 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

CommyAdam wrote:

occurring in our sport.

big assumtion that MTB is "our" sport.

not mine never has been. but i have been MTBing since before MTB happened.

How many in this thread race regularly? 1? 2?

+1 For me it's a leisure activity. OK, so you "race" your mates sometimes but for me, it's never been a sport and never will (or could) be.

It's definitely a sport:

sport   [spawrt, spohrt] Show IPA
noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2.
a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
3.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
4.
jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5.
mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

paul.skibum

I think people would be suprised how much training DH riders (and obviously xc) do in pursuit of a win, I recall seeing an article on Steve Peat in Dirt a couple of years back showing him doing standing jumps off and onto a box that must have been 4ft high to develop explosive power.

You only have to watch teh Atherton Project to see how much road biking and gym work they put in.

I kind of agree with no skin suits and trying to develop an image for the sport but recall seeing the worlds in australia and the commentator mentioning about some kid pedalling the lower sections with his jersey flapping behind him and basically saying "if he wanted to win he should have tucked his jersey in". Might have been the Trek team boss perhaps.

I think the main benefit of mtb racing is part of your training is riding a mountain bike so at least part of your training is fun!

As far as doping goes, DH racers get tested after each race like in any other sport.

cooldad

Blind Danny Johnson wrote:

plugp7 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

CommyAdam wrote:

occurring in our sport.

big assumtion that MTB is "our" sport.

not mine never has been. but i have been MTBing since before MTB happened.

How many in this thread race regularly? 1? 2?

+1 For me it's a leisure activity. OK, so you "race" your mates sometimes but for me, it's never been a sport and never will (or could) be.

It's definitely a sport:

sport   [spawrt, spohrt] Show IPA
noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2.
a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
3.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
4.
jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5.
mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

That sounds about right for my riding skillzzzzzzzz

YeehaaMcgee

styxd wrote:

But the fact is, they should all be looking to be as quick down the hill as they possibly can be. If that means removing peaks from their helmets and wearing skin suits then so be it.

You get all the mechanics harping on about the latest technology and this and that, whats the point when you've got some baggy motocross jersey flapping about in the wind!

They're hardly "baggy" though. Just not skintight. The advantages were tiny, and many felt that it wasn't enough of an advantage to warrant people not wearing armour.
DH mountain bike racers don't often reach very high speed, as skiiers and boarders do, the challenge is to cross the technical terrain.
If it was a pure speed event, just blasting straight down a relatively smooth piste, for example, then skinsuits would be necessary.

nicklouse

Blind Danny Johnson wrote:

plugp7 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

CommyAdam wrote:

occurring in our sport.

big assumtion that MTB is "our" sport.

not mine never has been. but i have been MTBing since before MTB happened.

How many in this thread race regularly? 1? 2?

+1 For me it's a leisure activity. OK, so you "race" your mates sometimes but for me, it's never been a sport and never will (or could) be.

It's definitely a sport:

sport   [spawrt, spohrt] Show IPA
noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2.
a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
3.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
4.
jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5.
mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

I never said it was not a sport.

Read what I wrote.

Jumping on an uplift and riding down a hill is not a sport. Riding around a trail centre is not a sport.

It is competing in events that makes it your sport.

I race cars that is my sport. I love playing about on bikes as I have done since the '70s but is is not a sport for me.

angry_bird

Yet another one of them roadies been caught :roll:

You'd have thought they'd have learnt their lessons by now

YeehaaMcgee

Wow, lose my internet for a day and this thing grows and grows!

njee20 wrote:

I think it's fair to say that many (and I don't mean all) are not the finely honed athletes that some of the other sports yield.

Yes, I'd agree with that.
Whilst the top guys, who are in with a chance of becoming the world cup series winner are all pushing themselves very hard, you only need to leave the top 6 or 7 riders, before you find riders who "are not strong pedallers".
Well, sorry to be brutal, but if you're a sponsored rider, then you better train, and train hard. Why the hell would you expect your sponsor and team to pay for you to go pi**ing about all over the world, when you can't even be arsed to actually train?
You're a professional, start behaving like one.
You will NEVER beat the likes of Gee or Gwinn overall if you're not strong in every aspect of DH riding, and that includes pedalling.

[/rant]

DodgeT

Angry Bird wrote:

Yet another one of them roadies been caught :roll:

You'd have thought they'd have learnt their lessons by now

Like his response "If this analysis confirms the initial result, I will argue that I have been the victim of poisoning."

styxd

You're a professional, start behaving like one.

Thats the thing though, not all of them are!

You will NEVER beat the likes of Gee or Gwinn overall if you're not strong in every aspect of DH riding, and that includes pedalling.

But I couldnt agree more

Thewaylander

nicklouse wrote:

Blind Danny Johnson wrote:

plugp7 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

CommyAdam wrote:

occurring in our sport.

big assumtion that MTB is "our" sport.

not mine never has been. but i have been MTBing since before MTB happened.

How many in this thread race regularly? 1? 2?

+1 For me it's a leisure activity. OK, so you "race" your mates sometimes but for me, it's never been a sport and never will (or could) be.

It's definitely a sport:

sport   [spawrt, spohrt] Show IPA
noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2.
a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
3.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
4.
jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5.
mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

I never said it was not a sport.

Read what I wrote.

Jumping on an uplift and riding down a hill is not a sport. Riding around a trail centre is not a sport.

It is competing in events that makes it your sport.

I race cars that is my sport. I love playing about on bikes as I have done since the '70s but is is not a sport for me.

Actually acording to the defintion provided that is.

bluechair84

I suppose it's defining sports from hobbies and games. A sport differs from a game because it is something that raises the heart rate. A game differs from a hobby because it's usually fulfils a briefer period of time and is often for more than one person. Biking is definately a sport in my eyes, but you said 'our' sport. Whose sport is it if it's not the people's, who fund it and enjoy it? Just the professionals? Doesn't it stop being a sport to them, and more of a job?

cooldad

Whatever random dictionary definitions say, a sport is something done competitively.

Most of us just play, and our bikes are toys.

Majski

Thats a load of sh1t. You don't have to be competing for it to be a sport.