After Poland, Mark and Jon returned to Canada to enjoy some indispensable time at home. The home cooked meals, time with family and training days in Whistler will help fuel this next 6 week block here in Europe.
Schladming Austria
The same day we picked up Mark and Jon from Munich airport, we drove to Schladming, Austria. Where the schnitzel is fine and the bike park even finer.
Apartment Mary welcomed us with the same amount of pink you’d find in a Barbie movie, so we had to make a few changes to the décor to set a more suitable tone for Mark’s Birthday. Mark is a big Office fan, so we opted for a season 5, episode 16 “It is your birthday” theme.
Riding in Schladming was a great opportunity to fend off the jet leg, and for Jon to meet the clay like dirt that riddles the forests of this area. This type of clay/sand combo doesn’t present itself at home in B.C (closest thing would be Coast Gravity Park on the Sunshine Coast), so having a few days of riding after fresh re-builds was a good introduction before Leogang.
Saalfalden-Leogang
The dramatic landscape of the Saalfaden region looks like it really IS alive with the sound of . . . chainsaws, horns, cowbells and enthusiastic Austrian fans.
The town is inundated with homegrown rock and gem museums that we can only assume are collected from the magnificent mountains that tower triumphantly over the town.
Local Intel would have it that Leogang Saalfelden has been plagued with days and days of rain, which made for a very lush and vibrant green setting and the probability of rain for race week.
Track Walk - 06/06/24
This week Vlad, We Are One Composites’ design engineer, and Aeden or “kitchen-Aed” he is now referred to as, joined the team to reunite the crew that started together this January.
After a totally new venue and totally new track in Poland, Mark was eager to try the Prototype DH on a familiar track; a track he’s raced every year since 2013.
“Let’s just say I’m glad we were in Schladming before! Really clay based dirt here too. After track walk, it was obvious the top section is fast and the lower woods closer to the bottom will be challenging, definitely important to gain time in the top then maintain it though the woods.”
Practice Day - 07/06/2024
Thunder, lightening and the sounds of monsoon like rains played as the soundtrack to our dreams last night. In spite of all the moisture over night, the course consistently dried up as the day wore on; with improving track conditions, along with the riders lines developing, the times of each practice lap dropped quickly by the end of practice and into timed training.
“This week I went to a more progressive suspension set up to try to compensate for the extremely different style that the top of the track has compared to the bottom. The top is fast and rough with a lot of hard pack holes. Having more support at the end of the travel lets us hit the bumps and holes harder and carry more speed through them. We could just go to a higher spring rate or more compression but this would have made things more difficult on the lower woods section where traction and control are king. Adding progression allowed us to get the most out of the bike in both of the sections.
Tire selection was a big topic this weekend, with rain every night we had a drying track as each day went on. The open top section gets sun and wind and dries quickly, but the dense trees of the lower woods keep them muddy much longer. The mud here is slippery and mostly clay which doesn’t allow the tires to clear so a mud tire makes a lot of sense, especially at the bottom. However the long motorway section means that rolling speed is a huge factor and a dry tire rolls much faster than a mud. It’s always a balance on which tire is overall faster for the whole run, do you use a dry to go fast at the top and then try to hang on in the woods? Or use a mud, suffer at the top and they to make up for it at the bottom? Usually we have to make an educated guess on which will be the best option for the timed run or runs that day. I feel like we did a good job on getting it right this week, it was a lot of changes as the track conditions changed so I’m sure Darren is hoping for some more consistent weather in Val di Sole for round four.”
Qualifying Day - 08/06/2024
Another rainy night lead to a foggy morning for Jon’s early practice. With lines continuing to bed in the track after 200 plus riders and dry conditions in practice, the weather and track conditions followed the same pattern as practice day.
This track is fast, loose, technical and physically demanding. It is as fun to watch as it is harrowing. Imagine putting it all on the line for a qualifying run, then once your heart rate has decreased when you realize you’ve made it into the top 60, you need to do it again for semi finals. This time faster.
Qualifying:
P - 53 (3:19.400 +10.064)
Semi-Finals:
P-45 (3:15.123 +9.977)
Mark put 2 seconds + on his Semi final run, but missed the cut off for finals again this week. As the winning times get faster with smaller gaps between riders, we must work together with the collective resources we have as a team to equip Mark with the tools he needs to battle the times on these ever demanding tracks.
Val di Sole, here we come.
“The top section was really fun as was the lower woods, once I figured out my lines. I definitely felt it was impossible to get down the track without drifting a little bit, and the exit speed out of the stumps proved to be really important to get.”
Qualifying:
P - 7 (3:18.915 +6.160)
Finals - 09/06/2024
The evening monsoon the night before finals, was paired with a power outage for about an hour. The night was spent debriefing the day, eating beef/veggie stew, watching track footage, and looking for one member of this team's cell phone, which was at one point thought to be locked in the washing machine. Although Mark didn’t get the results we are working toward here in Leogang, he ended the day by asking what time he needed to be on track for Jon’s early morning practice. That is a heck of a teammate, leader and demonstration of the integrity we value on this team.
The off camber at the top of the track, as well as the dangerously slick woods at the bottom proved to be a challenge during B practice, A practice, and again for Junior finals. Darren had to swap some tires to help encourage more traction, as well as wave a magic spoke wand to stave off Zeus from causing more havoc throughout the day.
Jon slid out on the slippery off camber in the first split losing some time, but quickly got back up to pace and held it throughout the rest of his run.
P - 12 (3:29.224 + 11.932)
Another weekend full of Momentum.
It’s a back to back race week, and right now, it is 10:41pm here in Val di Sole Italy. Time to sign off, go to sleep and prepare for World Cup #4 this Saturday.
Until next Monday,
Mark, Jon, Darren and Holly