XC Racing Is TOO GNARLY Now? | Dirt Shed Show 485

On this week's GMBN Dirt Shed Show, Martyn Ashton is joined by Rich Payne to ask the question, is XC getting too gnarly?! Are modern Cross Country bikes evolving the courses, and can the riders keep up with the change in course design? Martyn also has a confession to make.. 🙈

Plus MTB News, Sickest Thing, Hacks And Bodges, Caption Contest, and Hacks And Bodges, plus some Super Nice bikes locked away in the Bike Vault!⁠

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Is XC Getting Too Gnarly?
09:40 - News
12:33 - Sickest Thing Of The Week
13:29 - Back To The Shed
14:27 - Hacks And Bodges
18:11 - In The Comments
20:57 - Caption Contest
22:41 - Bike Vault

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What do you think of the evolution of XC? Do you think courses are getting too gnarly?

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[gmbn]

What do you think of the evolution of XC? Do you think courses are getting too gnarly for the riders, or do you think it just makes the racing more exciting to watch?

[ChilliCheezus]

I don’t think Tom Pidcock’s mountain bike skill comes from his road riding, I think it’s the other way round. His descending and climbing skill on the road is definitely from his mountain and cyclocross background.

Regardless, he’s an incredible talented rider and is doing absolutely smashing in everything he enters

[thomaswayout]

"Roadie" does not really fit Pidcock. He is riding road because the money is there. This lad is just a force of nature on anything "cycle".

[mrvwbug]

I think the XC world cup courses are fine. These are the best XC riders in the world, the courses should be hard. If the course is too easy it just becomes a fitness contest. Crans Montana was particularly dicey this time because it was in the wet. The "timber garden" is literally something I've never seen before, not even in a bike park, they invented a new feature for XCO.

[darrencshaw]

I think it's good that the courses are becoming difficult. For quite a while now, XC has just been roadie-on-dirt. It's had the same obsession with grams and watts and the which energy gel gives the most joules per cubic millimetre. Lets see XC come back to being *mountain* biking.

[erikbrynjolfson]

That confession was hilarious 😂!!! Love Martyn, more random tandem please 🙏🏼

[prolfinator]

Rich must've taken Some edibles lol

[glenhuizenga]

Tom & Toff - back this week = happiness!

[erikacupuncture]

This was the first time XC was worth watching from start to finish. Great change, awesome course. Hope we see more like this.

[stevenhilbert]

I’m a 65 year young Super Vet and I love the new bike ( Vitus Rapide) with Slacker forks and 2.35 Maxxis recon race tyres, great for National Series, even Margham Park which is a bit old school but good fun. One bike can now do all the trails and tech I ride, way better than the bikes of even a few years back and the more technical courses are more fun, love it.

[cup_and_cone]

I raced XC from '97-'05. IMO, the reality is the tech is just different. Almost all of the really gnar tech sections in XC these days are man-made features, so you can either roll them on the correct line or clear the jumps/drops with the right speed. The tech stuff today has the advantage of being well designed despite looking bad and creating a mental hurdle for the racers. The top riders are also all being guided by skills coaches. Compare it to 25 years ago and most XC courses were still natural rock gardens and root chutes as their most technical bits that had no flow, but on 26'er hardtail rim brake bikes with 1.95" tires and 60mm of travel. The tech back then just 'beat you up'. Just because people are crashing today doesn't mean they weren't crashing back then. The sport is just evolving, both courses and bikes.

[davids-shots]

14:40 - Don't let him smoke weed during the recording 😂🤣😂🤣😂

[CarlBishop]

The course was a spicy one, but it's a good thing that other MTB skills are being pushed. This is the elite, the very top tier of the sport. If you only need to be fitter than the other riders is it really rewarding the best rider? XC was kinda just techier CX, now it's getting closer to trail riding! It also makes for a better spectacle, which can help the sport grow

[ItsATrap]

I think its time for them to start wearing more protective gear. That lady going OTB looked gnarly.

[BrickMoneyFilms]

I would disagree that the riders weren't good enough because you had every rider in the front from Pidcock to Nino Schurter crashing as well.

[laeljon]

About time they got back to being normal XC race track....more fun to watch, just like races in the early 90's. and the bikes are more capable.

[brianflynn]

I had been riding a YT Izzo as my weapon xc bike, but switched back to a HT Ibis DV9, no dropper, 120mm and all mechanical components. Changed my riding to make everything more XC-iting

[brycejeannot]

xc racers are going to need to wear enduro protection now. Full faces and chest protection

[Skooteh]

My main MTB is a 2017 specialized chisel - a 100mm hardtail XC bike. I put a dropper on it and some slightly knobbier tires but it's perfect for my trails.

Pro level XC might be getting gnarlier but my local trails aren't changing much.

[donaldmurray]

I think Martyn is correct. I started riding MTB back in 1997, after riding gravel for freaking ever (old is new! 🙂). I added road riding into my life in 1998 and yes, it made me a better MTB rider. Getting to ride after rainy days without damaging our trails is nice. Our trails are better at shedding water now, but we still try to not ride them right after a hard rain.

Is it a requirement? Of course not. If all you do is DH/Bike Park, etc., the type of fitness road riding will help you achieve probably isn't a priority.

We do mostly XC/Trail riding, so distance and climbing fitness is a definite plus.