The CORRECT Setup…

Here’s a few shots of top riders’ tyres snapped just before their race runs last week at Val di Sole World Cup finals.

Super dry course conditions, dust ruts, steep gradient, hard braking and piles of rocks and roots pretty much sum up Val di Sole’s race course by finals time. Which makes it all the more interesting to see the differing choices racers made for what was – for some of them – the most important four minutes of their season. Gwin on drys, Brosnan on cut spikes. Minnaar riding front Minions all around, Bryceland intermediate up front and dry rear.

You’ll notice a few popular cuts (all the full spikes – Dirty Dans/Storms/Mud Kings – are cut down centre). The Dirty Dans of Blenkinsop and Bruni have their side lugs cut out for a wider spacing between side knobs.

Downhill is a mental game and knowing you have the best setup is of paramount importance…

Stevie Smith

Brook MacDonald

Matt Simmonds

Josh Bryceland

Marcelo Gutierrez

Loic Bruni

Danny Hart

Troy Brosnan

Sam Blenkinsop

Greg Minnaar

Gee Atherton

Aaron Gwin