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Leogang World Cup 2016 – track walk

Glorious mud

Photos: Seb Schiek

Contrast is the word of the day here in Leogang. It’s only been four days since we packed up in Fort William but it couldn’t be more different here. Firstly the weather – from sun drenched Scotland to just plain drenched Austria, if we’d been asked to make a prediction, that would have been the opposite of what we expected – and the rain shows no sign of stopping over the weekend. Secondly the courses – long vs short, natural vs man made, a riders’ favourite vs a constant source of controversy.

Take us back to Scotland!

The Leogang course itself is a contradiction – one third bike park, one third fresh cut and the rest of it just baffling. There have been changes made but there’s a prevailing feeling that they are only for change’s sake – in fact the UCI have already had to put in some modifications following team feedback. Here’s the best action from the trackwalk:

The man who has firmly marked Leogang as his territory is back and hoping to piss all over the competition once again
The riders will be wishing they could have just stayed inside today - but there are new sections to explore
Remember when Greg Minnaar dislodged his helmet coming out of the gate here? Matt Simmonds checking for clearance
Brosnan has quietly found himself second in the standings at the halfway point in the season, he's due another win soon.
Finn Iles was a lowly course sweeper this time last year - what a difference 12 months makes
The family of the moment – Rach hunting for records and Gee keen to atone for Fort William disappointment
Rach will be with the B-practice bunch tomorrow – probably not keen to be first through the slop
Leogang won’t be shaking its bike park reputation any time soon but there’s enough tech to keep people’s attention
A first podium for Brayton last week – he’ll be hoping for another 12 rounds with the Gambler here.
There's rock aplenty here in Leogang...
... but unlike Fort William, it's very much man made
The Wood of Fame should really be named the Stumps of Fame due to mass felling
It's a nice touch to crown the trees with the names of former winners though
#longlivechainsaw
Good luck tyres
The traverse is back again this year
The Stairs of Contrast have been sanitised...
... but could still ruin a race - just ask Bruni
Manon has won here before - time for her resurgence?
Let's hope taping on the finish straight doesn't come into play this weekend
The corner has been removed from the finish straight - riders will be coming in hot
All that's left to do is prep for practice - tyre choice could win or lose it this weekend

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