[LMN]

There is a thread going on which argues how much of a roll skills play in MTBing.

Well today I saw the best example of how important skills are. My wife has amazing bike handling skills, particularly in the wet. In mud and wet roots she is in class of her own.

Today at the team relay at world she had fastest lap of any women, by a whole minute. Girls who usually are same speed as her were more than 2 minutes back in a 22 minute lap. She put time into elite men, not average elite men but the best elite men that nations have. Now she has a really good engine but not a world class elite male engine.

Skills do matter, big time.

Hopefully it rains all the way till sunday.

 

[superlightracer]

I agree. Finesse, and the finer details of MTB handling come into play when wet roots/rocks are present.

Well done Catharine!

 

[sprocketjockey9]

+1 for finesse and skill on the dirt. Great Job by Her!!

 

[perryr]

AWESOME! Wet, Rocks, Mud, Roots.. recipe for disaster for many.

 

[NJ-XC-Justin]

AWESOME! Wet, Rocks, Mud, Roots.. recipe for disaster for many.

Yeah, me. After years of riding, my technical skills remain poor. Hate to say it but I do much better on the less technical courses. I'd love to be that guy who can kick ass through the rough stuff.

 

[CB2]

Congratulations to Catharine in the relay, and good luck in the Woman's XC. On a side note, being sponsored by Tim Hortons, do they get free donuts?

 

[LMN]

You know when she first got on the national team I was pretty excited about the prospect of free donouts but alas there is no free donouts. Timmy's is good to us, so make sure you go to Timmy's today and get a coffee and a donout.

 

[McDowell_Matt]

Dang, SHE ROCKS!!!!!

yeah, skills are paramount to keeping the rubber down in my mind...
I ride with a bunch of guys who are all 10 years younger than me, (i'm 37)
and they have all started mt. biking in the past 3 years....

I'm not really any faster than most of them on the flat fireroads, and I can easily get dropped on a climb by the young, skinny endurance Triathlete that shows up weekly, but I inevitably have the fastest lap times cause they don't have the handling skillz... So when the trail gets tricky, they slow to the point that it would have me off the bike had I been following... They just need to learn how to flow and I'll be in trouble.

So YEAH!!!! Mt. Biking Skillz are a BIG portion of it...
Ever ridden a flat trail in Florida sand, or the Rocks that border the trails in AZ?
or ... well, just about any terrain in Vermont... it's all about the muddy roots and narrow gaps between granite...

 

[rkj__]

My wife has amazing bike handling skills, particularly in the wet. In mud and wet roots she is in class of her own.

Can you provide any insight on how did she developed this skill so much more than her opponents?

 

[serious]

She probably was blessed with genetics that allow her to become an elite racer as well as a superior bike handler. And then there is all that dedication and hard work that would kill most of us.

 

[LMN]

Can you provide any insight on how did she developed this skill so much more than her opponents?

Genetics is a big part of it. Her brother is one of the best downhill racers in Canada.

Practice is the other part. The two of us spend a lot of time on our MTBs and race each other on the descents. We also spend a lot time working on the technical side, always searching how to descend faster.

 

[Gatorback]

And guts. It takes some mental toughness and determination to push the limits all the time to improve your bike skills. You are bound to take spills when you push the limits to get better. Some people can't keep doing it, others just have a lot of guts, get back on the bike, and keep on pushing.