UCI DHI World Cup #2 - Val di Sole

Val di Sole, Italy was the venue for the second round of the UCI World Cup Series. It was also where I would do my first World Cup of 2013. The track is known as one of the gnarliest, most technically challenging tracks on the circuit, and I think it would be hard to disagree with that. After walking the track, I had a few doubts in my mind about how to even go about riding some of the sections. Val di Sole is steep, rough, rocky, rooty and loose the entire way down.

Thankfully the weather was perfect, because I have no idea how you would ride the track in the wet. We missed registration on Wednesday by like 5 minutes, so after registering early on Thursday morning, I headed up straight away to try and get as much time on the track as possible. The track wasn't as tough to ride as I had thought during the track walk - emphasis on RIDE, to RACE the track is on another level. It took some time to get into it, but by the end of Thursdays short practice session, I was really enjoying the riding. Myself and Adi walked the track again that afternoon, to look for any new lines that had formed. One thing was clear, and that was that the track was so much more beat up and rougher than when practice started - and it was only the first day.

After another short practice session on the morning of qualies, it was time to get the bike and body prepped for my qualification run that afternoon. I went off right near the end, because I was seeded 160th. By this stage the track was just brutal. I wasn't 100% sure that I had been able to spend enough time on track going into my run, but nevertheless, I was extremely excited to race.

I started my run off well, and I felt like I was getting into the groove of things, until Val di Sole decided to make me ride where it wanted me to ride. It seemed as if I was riding any lines that I possibly could, not necessarily the ones I wanted to. It was so tough to hold on to the bars near the end, my arms and upper body had taken a hammering. I crossed the finish line to see that I was out of the top 80 and so I hadn't qualified. I ended up 136th.

 That definitely wasn't what I had wanted to see, but I made it out of Val di Sole alive, unlike many others, and I learnt so much from just riding that track. A positive of not qualifying was that I got to watch the top guys ride some of the sections, which was educational to say the least haha.


I have taken so much out of my experience on one of the gnarliest, most humbling tracks out there, and I can't wait to go back and race it again in the future - its definitely one of my favourites.

 Leogang up next!