Dual slalom racing, in case you're not familiar with it, consists of two racers racing side by side, head to head, down two identical lanes of a track.
The riders then switch lanes in the spirit of fairness, times are combined and the slower rider is eliminated in each round.
- The course: An intense 30-second track against the clock and a fellow racer. A quick stint of power with no room for mistakes or mechanicals.
- The equipment goal: A race such as this requires a short-travel bike, usually a hardtail, one that revels in being pumped hard and fast, isn’t opposed to getting in the air and with a good turn of speed when the power is put on the cranks. Rocking up at these races you'll find the same bikes that you might find at a 4x race: short, snappy and tough.
- The horse: A Corsair Toro custom-build 4x bike, equipped with SRAM Guide R brakes, SRAM DH X0 1 x 7 drivetrain, RaceFace Evolve cranks and Atomlab wheels, bars and stem
The tracks used are usually about 30 seconds long and consist of tabletop jumps, pumps and berms leaving it up the rider to decide whether it is faster to keep the rubber on the ground or get some air time. Race day typically begins with free practice on the track, followed by a timed seeding run and then onto racing proper, consisting of quarter finals, semi-finals and then, as it's called in 4X racing, the A and B finals. It all makes for a great spectator sport as riders battle it out in each round, taking risks and pumping hard for the win.
ADVERTISEMENT
Related: Horse for the Course – Mondraker Dune Carbon for Enduro World Series
Me, I love racing. I’m pretty competitive and I like the way racing makes ride. It makes me take much larger risks (admittedly only some of which pay off) and ride much harder than I ever achieve on normal days out on the bike.
Dual slalom's new dawn
Horse – or bull?
Small wheels ain't dead
One size fits all
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
via BikeRadar All the latest from BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/1M9S6sh
No comments:
Post a Comment