[ewarnerusa]

This video was kinda hard to watch, I'm a fan of Absalon. Obviously you can't always win, but to see the guy that usually just rides even Susi off his wheel just collapse...... You can see that he is just crushed.

EDIT: I just noticed the pat on the back by Swedish rider at around time 1:10. Good sportsmanship by Fredrik Kessiakoff.

 

[Johnnyboy]

Wow, talk about riding to one's limit!

 

[CB2]

Wow, that is rough.
The thing that strikes me is that it seems so ordinary, like any race, anywhere, yet in that short clip it is the best of the best. Camera doesn't do justice to how hard it is.

 

[glenzx]

Can't say he didn't leave it all out on course. God, looks brutal, and he and Sauser had a good gap too...

 

[ewarnerusa]

Wow, that is rough.
The thing that strikes me is that it seems so ordinary, like any race, anywhere, yet in that short clip it is the best of the best. Camera doesn't do justice to how hard it is.

It does look "ordinary." It's almost like you would expect that the best of the best would be flying up that hill. And watching it up close in person they probably are. But, like you say, the camera doesn't do it justice and it looks like the local group ride slogging uphill in granny gear.

 

[ewarnerusa]

Can't say he didn't leave it all out on course. God, looks brutal, and he and Sauser had a good gap too...

I think that was 3rd place Swiss guy Ralf Naef he's chasing up the hill. Sauser was way up the trail by this point.

 

[stevemtu]

he didn't look good at the starting line

I watched the UCI webcast replay of that race. In the shots of him before the start, it looked like he was feeling sick or uncomfortable.

Maybe it was the heat, something like 85 with high humidity.

 

[merlin]

Ouch!
Bet he would not be walking his bike if he was racing a FS Bike!

 

[glenzx]

I watched the UCI webcast replay of that race. In the shots of him before the start, it looked like he was feeling sick or uncomfortable.

Maybe it was the heat, something like 85 with high humidity.

Got a link?

 

[glenzx]

I think that was 3rd place Swiss guy Ralf Naef he's chasing up the hill. Sauser was way up the trail by this point.

Ooof!

 

[duke of kent]

Ouch!
Bet he would not be walking his bike if he was racing a FS Bike!

Not sure if the winking smiley faces indicate sarcasm, but this needs to be said:

Absalon suffering from the heat/cramps/whatever had nothing to do with what kind of bike he was riding.

The dude's body gave out on him. Simple as that. Even the best rider in the world can have an off day every now and then.

 

[Dan Gerous]

Not sure if the winking smiley faces indicate sarcasm, but this needs to be said:

Absalon suffering from the heat/cramps/whatever had nothing to do with what kind of bike he was riding.

The dude's body gave out on him. Simple as that. Even the best rider in the world can have an off day every now and then.

Otherwise, he would have been walking his bikes in every other races since he always use his hardtail...

 

[ewarnerusa]

He'll be back, right??

Not sure if the winking smiley faces indicate sarcasm, but this needs to be said:

Absalon suffering from the heat/cramps/whatever had nothing to do with what kind of bike he was riding.

The dude's body gave out on him. Simple as that. Even the best rider in the world can have an off day every now and then.

I hope that two off days in two races is enough to get it out of his system. He was only 11th in Andorra, took a break for Ft. Williams to concentrate on Worlds, then DNF'd Worlds. Anyone else see him storming to victory in Beijing to make up for this?

 

[stevemtu]

I subscribe to cyclingtv

Got a link?

http://cycling.tv/

go to 'video on demand' after you get on

..but I am not sure the mtb worlds was 'free to view'.

Cape epic is in the archive there and is free if you want to see a really slick mtb race production

EDIT: well, the world championship replay is now gone from the cycling tv site, as is the cape epic video. Sorry if i caused anyone to waste their time.

 

[smithy]

He looks completely cooked. You can tell the way he swaggered after he colapses that something is wrong... as said I think he was ill.

 

[Gatorback]

It does look "ordinary." It's almost like you would expect that the best of the best would be flying up that hill. And watching it up close in person they probably are. But, like you say, the camera doesn't do it justice and it looks like the local group ride slogging uphill in granny gear.

It shocked me because it looked like they were in granny gears. I didn't even think those guys rode with a small chain ring on their bikes. That must have been one hell of a course.

 

[LMN]

It shocked me because it looked like they were in granny gears. I didn't even think those guys rode with a small chain ring on their bikes. That must have been one hell of a course.

Looks are decieving. They were not in their granny gears. I asked my wife about it and she said she kept it the middle ring. BTW that is the exact spot where she passed Gunrita on last lap.