DHI Masters World Championships Val Di Sole
By:Steven Jones Images: Victor Lucas
A nonchalant get-together of old duffers rolling out some laps in the woods it was not. For many a fervent attack of one of the most iconic tracks in downhill was an elementary requirement and every bit as committed as a pro event. But that was after three days of deciphering the code of line and flow on a track that takes no prisoners and spits out weakness. There is simply no let-up here.
DHI Masters Worlds in Val Di Sole was intense and atmospheric, the perfect antipasti to the pro race that takes place this weekend. It used pretty much the same line, a cruel mix of rock and root that becomes submerged in dust once practice has ripped the hill apart into an ever more intoxicating challenge as the days went by. By the weekend it’ll be in fine fettle for the pros’ race.
Featuring more than 60 corners the track offers up multiple line choices, each which lead to different entry and exit strategies – identifying the optimum becomes a key factor in taming the hill. Not that it can ever be fully amenable – avoiding the wildness gives the body a break: the straight line option slows the clock down. Complexity Val Di Sole (VDS) has in abundance. And that’s before you talk tyre choice.
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