timH
November 07-2005, 02:30 PM
The Red Bull Road Rage (http://www.redbullroadrage.com/) was a 2.5-mile, 2,000-foot tarmac descent with plenty of flat out corners and super tight hairpins, the race took place this weekend at Tuna Canyon, Malibu, California. This event was designed to stretch the nerves, skill, and equipment of every invite-only pro participant.
There were two types of races run, a time trial and the top 16 riders going through for a series of 4x style elimination rounds. The average times during the preliminary round of the time trial were in the five-minute range. But by the second round, riders posted times nearly 20 seconds faster, approaching truly daft speeds. Myles Rockwell's mind-boggling victory run clocked in at just over 4:20, and David McCook hit a suicidal 58 mph on the steepest straightaway.
First crash of the day award went to Duncan Riffle who hit the deck during the second round of the four-up. When he finally ground to a halt, a sizable crimson stain spread from beneath his leg pads while his skinned hands dripped blood. Happily, after a touch of Neosporin and a few bandages, Riffle and his Mohawk seemed little the worse for wear. Riffle's road rash would be surpassed in ouch-itude by Dean Meyer's stack-up during the four-up semifinals. The NorCal native scored the holeshot out of the gate and led into a tight turn, just a tad too hot. His rear tire separated itself from the wheel, and Meyer hit the pavement and shot into the wall, followed by McCook, who sustained minor bruising and cuts to the face (but finished the descent). Meyer escaped with a broken collarbone, some scrapes and bruises.
http://images.velonews.com/images/dom/9135.13175.t.jpg
When all was said and done, the Rage produced a fair share of woahs, ooohs and holy ****s, not to mention plenty of surprises. Chief among the surprises was the sizzling performance by 2000 world downhill champ Rockwell, who cleaned house in both events. The pre-race hype touted the descending skills of 2005 4x world champ Brian Lopes, roadie David Clinger, and Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, but Rockwell left them all behind. And it wasn't so much what he did, but how he did it. Though the majority of riders opted for specialty machinery, including disc brakes, fatter tires and aero wheels, Rockwell rode an aged stock Giant TCR with blown-out bald tires, with truly massive drop bars and a pair of wheels fit for training rides.
http://velonews.com/images/dom/9135.13173.f.jpg
There were more than a few technological oddities at the Rage. The most bizarre machines I spotted belonged to Carter and 2005 elite road champ Carl Decker. Both bikes featured large motorcycle windshield fairings. Carter filled in his bike's front triangle with duct-taped cardboard and rode fat commuter-bike tires. Decker's bike featured ultra-long cranks, and a HUGE ring and an unusually low bottom bracket, not to mention an on-the-fly adjustable seat post and a water bottle filled with pennies taped to his downtube.
http://www.transcendmagazine.com/gallery/albums/RedBull-Road-Rage/TANG9203.sized.jpg
http://www.transcendmagazine.com/gallery/albums/RedBull-Road-Rage/TANG9126.sized.jpg
http://velonews.com/images/dom/9135.13177.f.jpg
Pimp of the day award goes to Lopes on his GT full sus with body suit and aero forks!
http://www.transcendmagazine.com/gallery/albums/RedBull-Road-Rage/TANG9147.sized.jpg
Results
Time trial
1. Myles Rockwell
2. David McCook
3. Brian Lopes
Four-up
1. Myles Rockwell
2. Eric Carter
3. John Wike
4. Todd Tanner
Pics and info from velonews (http://velonews.com) and transcendmagazine.com (http://www.transcendmagazine.com/)
There were two types of races run, a time trial and the top 16 riders going through for a series of 4x style elimination rounds. The average times during the preliminary round of the time trial were in the five-minute range. But by the second round, riders posted times nearly 20 seconds faster, approaching truly daft speeds. Myles Rockwell's mind-boggling victory run clocked in at just over 4:20, and David McCook hit a suicidal 58 mph on the steepest straightaway.
First crash of the day award went to Duncan Riffle who hit the deck during the second round of the four-up. When he finally ground to a halt, a sizable crimson stain spread from beneath his leg pads while his skinned hands dripped blood. Happily, after a touch of Neosporin and a few bandages, Riffle and his Mohawk seemed little the worse for wear. Riffle's road rash would be surpassed in ouch-itude by Dean Meyer's stack-up during the four-up semifinals. The NorCal native scored the holeshot out of the gate and led into a tight turn, just a tad too hot. His rear tire separated itself from the wheel, and Meyer hit the pavement and shot into the wall, followed by McCook, who sustained minor bruising and cuts to the face (but finished the descent). Meyer escaped with a broken collarbone, some scrapes and bruises.
http://images.velonews.com/images/dom/9135.13175.t.jpg
When all was said and done, the Rage produced a fair share of woahs, ooohs and holy ****s, not to mention plenty of surprises. Chief among the surprises was the sizzling performance by 2000 world downhill champ Rockwell, who cleaned house in both events. The pre-race hype touted the descending skills of 2005 4x world champ Brian Lopes, roadie David Clinger, and Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, but Rockwell left them all behind. And it wasn't so much what he did, but how he did it. Though the majority of riders opted for specialty machinery, including disc brakes, fatter tires and aero wheels, Rockwell rode an aged stock Giant TCR with blown-out bald tires, with truly massive drop bars and a pair of wheels fit for training rides.
http://velonews.com/images/dom/9135.13173.f.jpg
There were more than a few technological oddities at the Rage. The most bizarre machines I spotted belonged to Carter and 2005 elite road champ Carl Decker. Both bikes featured large motorcycle windshield fairings. Carter filled in his bike's front triangle with duct-taped cardboard and rode fat commuter-bike tires. Decker's bike featured ultra-long cranks, and a HUGE ring and an unusually low bottom bracket, not to mention an on-the-fly adjustable seat post and a water bottle filled with pennies taped to his downtube.
http://www.transcendmagazine.com/gallery/albums/RedBull-Road-Rage/TANG9203.sized.jpg
http://www.transcendmagazine.com/gallery/albums/RedBull-Road-Rage/TANG9126.sized.jpg
http://velonews.com/images/dom/9135.13177.f.jpg
Pimp of the day award goes to Lopes on his GT full sus with body suit and aero forks!
http://www.transcendmagazine.com/gallery/albums/RedBull-Road-Rage/TANG9147.sized.jpg
Results
Time trial
1. Myles Rockwell
2. David McCook
3. Brian Lopes
Four-up
1. Myles Rockwell
2. Eric Carter
3. John Wike
4. Todd Tanner
Pics and info from velonews (http://velonews.com) and transcendmagazine.com (http://www.transcendmagazine.com/)