WHO THOUGHT THAT FLOGGING A DEAD DONKEY COULD BE SO FUN? IS 4X REALLY DEAD?

By RosenKemp

We are told that 4X is dead. Our opinions mediated by those that scribble and scrawl. It is pointed out that with several high flying, high profile riders deserting 4X it must be a sign of the 4X apocalypse. Those of an Atlantic–left disposition brashly proclaim the four–up duel format to be inferior to the dual lane format. It is said that the gate is where all is won and lost now; no battle, just bulging thighs and a sharp response to the gate. Courses are said to be too much like BMX tracks and not enough like mountain bike hell tracks. So coming into the Fort William 4X race it was easy to discredit it or think of it as nothing more than a troubled sideshow.

4X racing has changed a lot since it was first introduced 10 years ago at the first Fort William World Cup. Back then all the downhill starts raced too…Minnaar, Peat, Hill, Rennie, Jonnier…the list is almost endless. They mixed it up with the (then) dual stars…King, Lopes, Carter…but it is a different ball game now. 4X is all about the specialist, hardtails and getting your snap on. It is at the stage now where you pretty much have to focus 100% on either 4X or DH is you want to succeed. The only riders now that seem to do well in both are Fionn Griffiths and Celine Gros…but women’s racing is a little different.

Things started off slowly, most races going to form with no real surprises. There were no real fireworks from any of the British racers apart from Joey Gough and Scott Roberts. Fionn Griffiths should have been in the final, but she punctured and was agonizingly overtaken coming into the finish. And wasn’t the only rider to flat. Those skinny ass tyres were popping all over the place. Gough put in a performance that really should have ended in victory. She got the gate and had the lead, but coming into the tricky rock section somehow got tangled up with a rock which allowed Anneke Beerten to pass her and take the win. Gough and the crowd were happy, but she knows that she should have really taken her first World Cup victory.

In the men’s Roberts was the last Brit rider standing and was looking like making it to at least the semi, but despite an amazing overtaking manoeuvre that took him from last place to second mid course he couldn’t quite keep the momentum. A great showing from the young lad, with more to come. Into the semi’s Graves was looking unstoppable. He was ready at the gate well before the other riders. Keen and eager to get it done and dusted. The shock came when he got a bad gate followed by a mistake on course that knocked him to third and failing to make the final. There were whispers that perhaps Graves made a wild lane choice but we won’t dwell on that. Onto the final it was.

The last four was made up of Joost Wichman, Tomas Slavik, David Graff and Roger Rinderknecht. Current World Champion Slavik was favourite, but it was Wichman that got the snap and led everyone out. Disaster struck though as Wichman went over the bars on the rocks, destroying any chances of the win. Rinderknecht took the win with Graff chasing him down for second. It was some time till RSP team mates Slavic and Wichman rolled down together. Punctures and big tumbles had sealed their fate.

The racing was far wilder than this stunted description can convey. Up close the ferocity of racing was electric and the crowds excitement was palpable. Gatling gun mouthed Dan Jarvis, who has seen more than his fair share of 4X racing up close and personal, was bouncing around the finish circle afterwards stating boldly to any and sundry that they had just witnessed the greatest 4X race ever. I haven’t seen many but I was hooked. The racing was great viewing. But why? Was it the racers pulling off a great show for the giant crowd? Was it the crowd whose feverish presence brought the best out of the riders? Was it that the collective effervescence brought out an energy in everyone present that elevated the experience? Or was it the course?

Changes and improvements had been made to the course. Rowan Sorrell had been contracted to add some much needed spice to it and he went about ploughing some of the upper sections flat and starting from scratch. The ‘launch to flat’ jump at the end of the second straight was interesting, many riders coming down to earth with a bang. There was a possible quad that no one manned up to. There was even a technical pump section right out of the gate which lessened the advantage of straight–line power riders. Sorrell said he took a gamble with the course. He approached it from the perspective of someone with nothing to lose but who wanted to win back the excitement of good bar banging racing. It certainly worked. “Roll the dice and it might work out,” he shrugged as praise and thanks were bestowed upon him after racing. That’s what the whole weekend’s racing seemed to be about. Graves gambled on a gate and it didn’t work out; Prokop gambled on a silly line with no advantage and it didn’t pay off; but then again Beerten gambled on tight inside and it did pay off; then the day after we saw Hart put everything on the table and come up trumps. The gamble is the source of the liveliness of the 4X racing and frankly, if it’s always that exciting to watch then surely 4X has a future.

RESULTS

MEN DOWNHILL

1.         GREG MINNAAR      SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE            4:43.854
2.         DANNY HART           GIANT            4:45.153        +01.299
3.         BROOK MACDONALD        MS EVIL RACING     4:45.788        +01.934
4.         GEE ATHERTON     COMMENCAL           4:46.858        +03.004
5.         AARON GWIN           TREK WORLD RACING     4:47.047+03.193

WOMEN DOWNHILL

1.         TRACY MOSELEY   TREK WORLD RACING     5:21.898
2.         RACHEL ATHERTON         COMMENCAL           5:23.619        +01.721
3.         FLORIANE PUGIN   SCOTT 11     5:29.428        +07.530
4.         MYRIAM NICOLE     RIDING ADDICTION COMMENCAL         4:30.149        +08.251
5.         SABRINA JONNIER            MAXXIS/ROCKY MOUNTAIN          4:31.970        +10.072

4X MEN

1.         ROGER RINDERKNECHT
2.         DAVID GRAF
3.         TOMAS SLAVIK        RSP 4 CROSS RACING TEAM
4.         JOOST WICHMAN   RSP 4 CROSS RACING TEAM
5.         JARED GRAVES      YETI FOX SHOX FACTORY RACE TEAM

4X WOMEN

1.         ANNEKE BEERTEN            MILKA TREK MTB RACING TEAM
2.         JOEY GOUGH
3.         LUCIA OETJEN
4.         CELINE GROS         TEAM MORZINE – AVORIAZ/HAUTE SAVOIE
5.         MELISSA BUHL