Downhill biking (
DH) is a
gravity-assisted
time trial mountain biking event. Riders race against the clock, usually starting at intervals of 30 seconds (seeded from slowest to fastest), on courses which typically take two to five minutes to complete. Riders are timed with equipment similar to that used in Downhill skiing. The placing is determined by the fastest times to complete the course; races are often won by margins of under a second. As the name of this discipline implies, downhill races are held on steep, downhill terrain with no extended climbing sections, resulting in high speed descents with extended air time off jumps and other obstacles.
[1] The 2009 Downhill World Champion is
Steve Peat from the UK.
[2] History
The 1st downhill time-trial race took place in
Fairfax, California on October 22, 1976 on a f
ireroad now referred to as Repack Road, due to the need to repack the single rear hub brake after a descent. The bikes used were based on beach cruisers that had a single rear brake that worked by pedalling backwards. A mechanism came into operation causing a conical metal (bronze?) brake shoe to be wound on a thread into a conical metal hub. To prevent a metal to metal brake from snatching it was always filled with grease. Heavy use of the brake during the descent would cause the brake to over heat, melting the grease till it drained from the hub and required repacking. Ten riders descended 1300 feet of Repack in about 5 minutes.
[3] The first bikes used for descending were known as "klunkers" or "paperboy bikes": coaster brake cruisers using
balloon tires first imported to America by Ignatz Schwinn.
[4] By 1979, two organizers and competitors of the Repack downhill,
Charlie Kelly and
Gary Fisher founded the company which named the sport, MountainBikes.
[5] As mountain biking grew enormously during the 80s, downhill riders continued to use either rigid or limited suspension travel (under 2 inches) bicycles, and purpose made downhill bikes were not made until the 90s. Some of these innovations included dual crown suspension forks and
disc brakes, as well as very elaborate frame suspension designs.
Later, riders from all disciplines of cycling began focusing on downhill. Particularly, many BMX racers made the crossover, including champions such as
John Tomac (Team Tomac Bikes), and
Brian Lopes. Their influence is seen in the increased difficulty of many courses, especially in the "big air/ Hucking (biker term for big jumps and drops)" aspect of downhill. The coming of age for downhill biking was its inclusion at the first
UCI Mountain Bike Championship, held in 1990 in
Durango, Colorado. This started new era in mountain biking which has now grew into a level of cycling that seems to have no limits, and has spawned legend of the sport such as Shaun Palmer, steve Pete, Andy McCoy and Nico Voullouz.
Downhill bikes and equipment
Main article:
Downhill bikeModern race
downhill bikes weigh between 16 to 19 kg (35 to 42
pounds), and usually feature full-suspension and frame geometries that lean back farther (slacker geometry) than other mountain bikes. As of 2006, 203 mm (8-inch) is the 'norm' for suspension travel however some commercially available big mountain freeride bikes can have over 300 mm (12-inch). Large-diameter 203–5 mm (8-inch) hydraulic
disc brakes moderate speed. Downhill bikes and freeride bikes are very similar but there are some slight differences. Downhill race bikes typically are much lower and have slacker head angles than freeride bikes, so that the bike is more stable at speed and in corners. Freeride bikes have a steeper geometry and a higher bottom bracket height, so that they are better for balance and maneuverability, however freeride bikes sometimes use single crown forks, which are shorter in travel length and lighter than the dual crown forks often used by downhill riders, dual crown forks usually have around 200 mm (8-inch) of travel, and single crown forks are usually around 180 mm (7 in) maximum.
Downhill gear features body armor and full-face
motocross-type helmets. Other protective gear such as a neck brace can be added to reduce the risk (by bringing the head to a controlled stop)
[6] of neck and spinal injury.
Downhill racing venues
Many
ski areas are converted into biking venues in the summer, (Such as Whistler Mountain Bike Park) however there are also many other hills with Downhill Mountain Bike trails built on them. Bikers ride gondolas, trams or chair lifts to the starting point at the top of the mountains. Another method commonly referred to as "Shuttling", uses motorized vehicles to transport multiple riders to the top of the hill. Normally utility vehicles or 4WDs are driven up off-road tracks to the top of the courses. However, some tracks provide access to ordinary cars - such as Kuranda Downhill in Cairns, which runs down the Smithfield side of the
Macalister Range and uses the road as access.
Courses used in competition typically feature several "lines" through or around the most difficult obstacles. For example, the "A line" might be a very direct line with a large jump landing on rocks, the "B line" might be a smaller jump with a clear landing, and the "C line" might completely avoid the obstacles, but be much longer.
ustralia
Despite being the flattest continent on earth Australia has produced a large number of internationally successful downhill racers. While the large majority of Australia's downhill riding and racing is accessed by shuttling in cars, buses or by walking to the top of the track (push runs) the venues at
Mount Buller and
Thredbo provide lift accessed tracks during the snowless summer.
Mount Stromlo, nearby to Australia's capital city Canberra, hosted a World Cup Round in August 2008 and which is also host to the 2009 world championships as a part of the MTB World Series.
Austria
Located right in the Alps this country has a lot of places to downhill race. A large majority of Austria's downhill tracks are accessible via lift shuttles. A World Cup track called the "Planai" is located in the city of Schladming. It is about 5 km long with an average descent grade of about 35%.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is rich with mountains especially around the capital city of
Sarajevo,in which a downtown race is held, although
MTB and downhill especially are still developing to become known sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are more and more riders which use mountains like
Igman,
Bjelašnica and others for downhill racing. Currently there are two tracks one on
Igman and other on
Bjelašnica, both featured tournaments on international level.
UXO's are one of the reasons for slow development of this sport in a country with a such great potential for it.
Canada
Canada is famous for its downhill racing as well as other sorts of mountain biking. The
Whistler Mountain Bike Park in
Whistler, British Columbia hosts the annual
Crankworx and Joyride Huckfest racing events. The province of British Columbia is also home to several other large lift-serviced mountain bike parks, including
Sun Peaks in
Kamloops, BC and
Silver Star Mountain Resort in
Vernon, BC. The
North Shore Mountains of
North Vancouver, BC, are a famous downhill biking destination in their own right. The popular style of technical downhill freeriding that involves many man-made trail elements originated here. The style is often referred to as "North Shore Style." Canada has produced many world-class mountain bike racers, including downhillers
Andrew Shandro. The mount of Bromont, situated in Bromont, Quebec, and Mont-Sainte-Anne near Quebec City are great places for downhill biking.
France
The dramatic scenery of the
French Alps is home to many downhill routes and events. The most famous of which is the
Mega Avalanche downhill race event in the Alp d'Huez and Bourg d'Oisans region. Another downhill course in the region is
Les Deux Alpes which sometimes hosts other downhill events. The downhill courses and events are limited in the area however, because of the alpine winter and snow. The most popular area for downhill in the French alps is the
Portes du Soleil including the two more popular resorts of Morzine and Les Gets. Most recently, a world cup was held for the first time in La Bresse.
Germany
In Germany the landscape is quite diverse, reaching from flatlands in the north to medium-sized mountains in the center to alpine mountains in the south. Downhill tracks in Germany are not as steep as in Switzerland or Canada and the difference from top to bottom is less, but the main parts of an average track are everywhere in Germany. Racing on these short tracks is highly intense and allows no mistakes. Due to the country's large population the sport has developed quickly in Germany. Number of riders can go up to 600 at races. With 3 cup races, Thuringia, in the middle of Germany, is the center of gravity riding. The most popular race series is the 'iXS German Downhill Cup'. In Germany is the Europe's biggest Mountainbike Freeride Festival hold, called iXS Dirt Masters. It includes one iXS German Downhill Cup Round, a 4X Race and a slopestyle contest. It is visited by around 25000 spectators and 1200 riders. In the small town Willingen is a former World Cup Downhill and Four Cross Race Course. The World Cup has been held there in 2005 and 2006. With Germany being a high level industry country, there are many firms producing downhill bikes, such as Last Bikes, Zonenschein, Fusion Bikes or luxury downhill bike manufacturer Nicolai. There are also a lot of firms producing high-end parts like Rohloff, Magura or Tune.
Ireland
Downhill cycling has increased in Ireland over the past 10 years e.g. the first of the four-part 2009 Irish Downhill Winter League attracted 190 entrants to round 1 held in Moneyscalp, Co.Down.
Irish tracks vary greatly in length and difficulty. Monenyscalp is one of the shorter tracks with times for Elites coming at just over a minute. Other tracks such as Carrick in Co.Wicklow are closer to 5:00 minutes. Ticknock wood in south Co. Dublin was an important location, particularly for
Dublin-based downhillers until
Coillte, the Irish
semi-state company responsible for forestry destroyed many of its infamous tracks as part of their tree-felling operations. The most famous track of all, 'The Boneshaker', is still in frequent use by the downhill, cross-country and hill walking community.
Irish tracks in general are more technical than tracks found elsewhere though ironically there are no official downhill tracks in Ireland. According to the law it is illegal to ride in the forests. All the tracks are built and maintained voluntarily by individuals and mountain biking clubs who take it upon themselves to do so. As downhill mountain biking has become more popular so has the call for more facilities and practitioners of this sport have begun campaigning with the state on this issue. The most common DH trail in Ireland has to be Moneyscalp Wood as it is "the home of Irish Downhill".
Irish Downhill's "Mecca's" would have to be Moneyscalp,Craigavon lakes and Clare Glen.
National Points Series
The 2009 Irish DH NPS has 9 rounds and takes place on tracks the length and breadth of the country. A typical race weekend in the Irish NPS consists of practice day on Saturday with uplifts being provided using a tractor and trailer set-up or a van to bring the racers to the trailhead. Practice is also allowed on Sunday, it being raceday practice ceases at 10:00am and the riders then get their two runs as part of the competition.
Italy
Bardonecchia, one of the
Torino 2006 winter olympic venues, converts some of its ski courses and lifts for use by mountain bikers in the summer, and a number of downhill courses are present. Other ski resorts turning to mountain bike parks in summer are
Pila, Italy,
Sestola and
Livigno. The area of
Finale Ligure, near
Genoa, offers year round tracks that end on the seaside, served by shuttles. Among the most famous tracks in the country is the
Sanremo Downhill, a rocky, technical and dangerous course won in 2007 by
Fabien Barel. The 2008 World Championship were held in
Val di Sole.
Portugal
Portugal is the host country of a Unique variety of down hill races, the Urban Down Hill, know as Down Town races, Lisbon Down Town, helded in May is the start of a new down Scene. Places Like Lousã, offer a big variety of single tracks, and big down hill circuits.
Russia
Some of the notable Russian downhill venues are ski-complex "Metallurg" (Bannoe lake, Magnitogorsk),
Mashuk and
Chaget mountains.
Slovenia
Slovenia's vast hilly landscape and undamaged nature makes very good conditions for downhill cycling, thus one of the world's top, not only tracks but riders are also in Slovenia. The famous tracks that are included in the world cup are at ski resort
Kranjska Gora in north-west tip of Slovenia, while the other track is on ski resort hill
Pohorje at Slovenia's second largest city Maribor. The
Pohorje track has been considered as the second best in the world.
South Africa
Downhill racing is not such a big sport in South Africa, but is rapidly growing. South Africa boasts some great tracks and riders, especially from the
Western Cape and the
Pietermaritzburg area in
Kwa-Zulu Natal, the hometown of Greg Minnaar. In the Western Cape, the best tracks are Edeouth and Jonkershoek in
Stellenbosch, Playgrounds in
Paarl,
Sir Lowry's Pass near
Somerset-West (hometown of Andrew and Jonty Neethling), Zevenwacht near Kuilsriver and Witfontein in George. They provide quite technical, but fun courses. Ferncliff and World's View are great in Pietermaritzburg. Helderkruin (West of Johannesburg), Klapperkop (
Google map) in Pretoria and Gillooly's Farm in
Johannesburg. South Africa held the first round of the 2009 UCI World Cup, which was in Pietermaritzburg(Greg Minnaar's hometown).
Sweden
With the
Caledonian mountains forming the
borderland with
Norway this country has places to downhill race. The majority of
Sweden's notable downhill tracks are situated around
Åre, accessible via lift shuttles. In 1999 Åre was the host for the
UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships and it hosted the
Nordic Championships in 2007. There are numerous graded biking trails down the
Åreskutan fell.
Sweden's most southerly DH bike park is called Vallåsen Bike Park
[1] and is located on the north side of the Halland ridge between Skåne and Halland. Vallåsen opened in 2008 and attract riders from not only Sweden but also Denmark due to its relatively close location to Copenhagen. Vallåsen holds an annual DH race at the end of the season called the Vallåsen DH Challenge.
Switzerland
Located in the Alps and surrounded by the downhill nations of France, Germany, Italy and Austria it is kind of a center for the European downhill scene. You can find tracks in or near every city with high quality and a steep descent. It has several World Cup tracks like "Champery" or "Portes de Soleil". Switzerland is the home of parts manufacturer DT Swiss and frame manufacturer BMC.
United Kingdom
Within the UK most downhill tracks are in
Scotland or
Wales, as these countries are more mountainous.
Fort William in Scotland is Britain's only World Cup standard track and was the venue for the 2007 World Championships. The main series in the UK is the NPS series. Many of the NPS rounds take place in Wales including the rack at
Caersws. Rheola in the
Vale of Neath is another venue, near the town of
Glynneath in
South Wales. The major race series in Wales is named the "Dragons".
[7] Other tracks in Wales include
Moelfre, Afan, Rugog Farm,
Glyncorrwg and
Cwmcarn. In Scotland the main race series is run by the Scottish Downhill Association or SDA.
United States
The
Sea Otter Classic, held each April at
Laguna Seca near
Monterey, California, is a major riding event that opens the racing season
(course map). The 2006 U.S. National Championships were held at the
Infineon Raceway in
Sonoma, California.
Plattekill Mountain in the Catskills, Mammoth Mountain, the
Northstar at Tahoe,
Brian Head Resort,
Attitash and
Deer Valley ski resorts, and Moab UT are also well known to mountain bikers. In the southeastern United States,
Snowshoe Mountain is well known for its extensive mountain bike park, camps, and even freeriding areas during the summer.
[8] Vail, Colorado was the site of the 1994 Downhill Championship. The trail was renamed "'94 Downhill," and is still ridden by many downhill bikers today. It was considered one of Vail Mountain's hardest venues.
Diablo Freeride Park
The Diablo Freeride Park located in Vernon, New Jersey is a downhill facility on the East Coast of the United States. Historically they have hosted the US Open of Mountain Biking, which is the premier US gravity race. The 2010 U.S. Open will prove to be the largest U.S. Open event to date with various new improvements and additions including; an improved Downhill Course, $50,000 in cash and prizes and a $7500 purse for men's pro champion. The race disciplines are Kenda Downhill and Kenda Giant Slalom.
Diablo also hosts their own series of competitions called the Gravity Series. “At Diablo Freeride Park, each race course is designed, built and maintained by a dedicated crew of seasoned trail building experts with a proven track record of delivering safe, fun and exciting courses for all ability levels.”
[9]The races offer cash prizes as well as a ‘lightning-fast gondola’ so that riders can get in more practice runs throughout the day. “The Diablo Gravity Series is broken down into three competition categories for both men and women."
[10]Governing bodies
The
Union Cycliste Internationale is governing body for downhill mountain bike racing. Racers qualify to compete in World Cup races by earning UCI points, which are gained by being a top ten finisher in certain races, usually national.
In the U.S.,
NORBA, as part of USA Cycling, runs the National Mountain Bike Series, and the NCCA is the governing body for collegiate cycling. In the UK,
British Cycling controls mountain biking as well as road and BMX. In Australia, MTBA controls all disciplines of Mountain biking.
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