World Championships Course

After some rain early on in the week, the sun finally came out. Bathing in this new found glory and happiness of warmth we hit the course. Riding the day before was like driving in the winter; brake well before the corner. It was a day of peanut butter trails; don’t touch the front brake unless you’re going straight or end up on the ground (slightly exaggerated). The gnarly off camber trails were a lot of fun! Roots quickly became nicely polished and were like riding on ice. You really had to be paying attention! Pressure control, brake control and balance were key!

With the continual sunshine the course started to dry up. The roots and polished rocks are still very slippery but on the steep drops braking was ultimately doing something! Looks like a great time!

Team Canada was very lucky to be able to ride the course at such an early time (Monday). Tuesday and Wednesday were absolutely nuts, with about 50 people crowding around the ‘Rock Drop’ and another couple dozen around ‘Maple Syrup Falls’ (check it on Strava). It was insane trying to get a turn to try it and get people out of the way!

Ok! More about the course so you know what I’m talking about!

Starting on an oval track and shooting straight up the road for the start loop! The climb is 8.5% for 600m. Pretty gnarly… Then you shoot down a grassy decent back to the stadium and out the oval to the first flowy single track. Then the climb starts. It consists of 1.2km of bumpy double track up, anywhere between 4-15% with it getting continually steeper near the top. You also cross a stream twice and get wet.

Then you hit up ‘Maple Syrup Falls’. It is a hard right into a log drop that you can roll, then a 35 foot gnarly steep section with roots and rocks and the works! At the very bottom it’s an awesomely hard, off camber left turn! People would just shoot right through the turn! Check the video of it! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=496122823732573&set=vb.100000045780492&type=2&theater

So then you rip through some tricky roots and more slippery off camber trail. It’s so gnar! Lap traffic may pose an issue, but just run the person in front of you over, right?

Then you hit a fast root covered double track with some sweet slippery turns and then hit the feed zone! Up the road climb (same as start loop).

Next you’re into the ‘Rock Drop’! Some switchback climbing to start, then drop in down another off camber right-hander. Over some slippery roots and hook a left, BOOM, drop that. The rock is fairly large and has a knuckle, meaning it kicks your rear wheel up (as in flipping you). But these guys can hit it up quite well! Just drop it!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=496115260399996&set=vb.100000045780492&type=2&theater

After a series of turns and small log drops, you hit the grass! Or as coach Dan says, ‘Hit the grass, hit the gas’ Crazy Canuck style! You go a decently fast speed with some sludgy turns.

Following getting your face plastered around your ears you hit the biggest fly-over I have ever ridden. It is 4.7m high! Once you survive coming down and not rolling your tires then it’s quickly through the feed zone again. And then you have arrived at the final chute – quick drop/roll over, loose sand and gravel, down some rocks…easy.

Quick loop around the track and you’re done!