See this article and others in Hurly Burly 2022.
Words: Andrew Neethling || Photo: Sven Martin
Downhill racing has come a long way in a short space of time. Looking a little closer, gone are the days when you could win a World Cup with a clean clinical run. You must be willing to lay it all on the line these days. There are too many incredible riders willing to risk it all for the elusive win. Name a time when the likes of Greg Minnaar left a season in a neck brace. Minnaar is a great case study, as he has been racing for over two decades. He doesn’t crash, period, but lately, these crashes are creeping in. You can call it a coincidence, but I don’t.
Looking at the season, we had far more top riders out with injury mid-season than ever. When downhill racing started, bikes didn’t hold up to the abuse. I have spoken to riders and mechanics from back in the day. Mechanics would sit their riders down and warn/beg them to ride slower through sections so the bikes would make it down.
Fast forward to 2022, and this conversation is not happening. Equipment is now incredible. The sheer abuse and speed the riders put the bikes through are frightening. Tracks have become faster and shorter to make for better television. The shorter the track, the harder a racer can push. I don’t agree with it all, but let us agree, it is far more entertaining to see flat-out riding than someone struggling down a slow, rooty, steep section.
How many riders do you think can win a World Cup these days?It may be up to 15 on any given day. There’s more depth in the field than before, and more riders truly believe they can win, as they’re fitter, stronger and working on their mental game. So, what is the deciding factor, then? Well, it boils down to who will risk it more on the day. Sam Hill started winning by big margins on some courses. Then, Aaron Gwin did the same, pushing the entire field to level up. Riders like Amaury Pierron and Thibaut Dapréla come to mind in this new generation, who will risk it all to win. All these ingredients make our sport more exciting than ever, but that also leads to more crashes and injuries.
The list of injuries and top riders missing races is staggering. A list too long to mention them all. I remember being on the ground in Maribor in 2021 and quickly realising the sport was in a different spot. The sheer speed of the riders was scary. I also witnessed more crashes from the top guys than I was used to. Fast forward to 2022, and the trend continued. Then, there is the elephant in the room – from a few years back – which, luckily, is now being spoken about. Concussions are a hot topic, and rightfully so. I get asked all the time about the reasons behind the increased number of concussions we are witnessing. There is no short answer, but the factors we spoke about have contributed. Additionally, more information is available to help us understand this invisible injury.
Social media’s rapid and widespread dissemination of information brings this topic into the public eye. There was a time when a rider could knock himself out, go to the hospital and be back racing the next day. Said rider still won the race. I will bet my house that he had a form of concussion, and it was far from ideal that he was allowed to race. We didn’t know enough back then. We were taught to be tough and ride through the issues Now, you hear the story of Finn Iles saying he is not feeling quite right because of a head trauma he sustained and symptoms we are more aware of.
Recently, Tahnée Seagrave brought the topic into the spotlight. Documenting her road to recovery mustn’t be easy, but more information can help more riders make educated decisions about returning to racing. Myriam Nicole sustained a bang to the head but was cleared to race in Lourdes, France. A few weeks later, she mentioned she was dealing with concussion symptoms, which can pop up days, weeks or months down the line. The saying ‘when in doubt, sit [the rider] out’ is adding to the list of riders missing races. It’s not an injury to mess with. The frightening movie ‘Concussion’ is something we all should watch. A broken bone heals in a set period for most people, and if you come back early, you may delay the recovery and have some issues down the line. But head trauma may only appear years later and leave you with permanent side effects. This all sounds a bit doom and gloom, but it’s just a warning to take it seriously and put the correct protocols in place to protect riders.
In life and downhill racing, evolution and progression wait for no one. The sport is in a great place with bigger sponsorship and contract possibilities but also more pressure to perform. This leads riders to subconsciously push themselves harder in training and racing. Safety needs to be high on the priority list for everyone involved.
By Andrew Neethling, commentator and Downhill World Cup podium winner.
If you enjoy reading this, you should check out The World Stage. It’s got many features like it, plus round-by-round accounts of the UCI Downhill World Cup and pore over hundreds of the best images of the season in Hurly Burly Book 2023 yearbooks are available now.
