boardercross

[CarvCanada]

Why is boardercross- at least the televised events- so frustrating for me to watch? Why do all the athletes use freestyle boards with no taper, and radii of 8m when the speeds they are going at you absolutely need 14-15m? Why do they all counter-rotate, break SEVERELY at the waist and flail their arms? Why are the turns banked so they don't even have to carve good circles? Why are the skiiers going down the same course so much more fluid and do times that are about 60% of the snowboard times?

I see so little alpine boards in Boarder-X! I can understand that with alpine boards it is harder to land jumps, but they are so much faster. In the women's event there was only 1 alpine boarder with Indy's, and only 1 other woman had her angles above 15 degrees. She was the only one using perfect technique, and every run that she was not taken out by an arm flailing, edge catching ugly style freestyler on the race course, she won bigtime.I'm so angry!

[Mellow Yellow]

somebody correct me...but aren't flat tailed boards still prohibited.....

I may be way off base here.....

[bobdea]

anything with a square tail is not allowed wich sucks imagine what would happen if they did that in skier x you would basicly force them all to ski on jib skis

a few years ago I ran a border cross they did not like a Spline I had barrowed so I had to use my Canyon 173

it was retarted seeing as the spline has rounded corners at least

the reasoning behind it was that a round nose or tail will deflect(off of body parts) easier than a flat surface

I am sure it depends on who runs the event though

[outsider]

i believe the flat tailed boards are prohibbited in USASA but are allowed in FIS (not sure, saw an alpine rider on oln in what i thought was an fis race). I love the rationale in motorcross and freestyle motorcross that the former racers tend to be better at managing their time and lines and thus scoring higer in whatever their equivilant to slopestyle is. i know at my home resort in usasa competition when i am on a race board i always end up beating the guys on freestyle boards by a longshot (and usually start it 20 feet from the gate).

[Guest Mike Ford]

outsider is right, ONLY the usasa doesn't allow square tailed boards, FIS has no prejudice against them and never has.

[Guest Pre School Rider]

Yup,the USASA followed the I.S.F.'s lead in banning 'square or pointed tail' boards from BX racing,and with very good reason.One racer in Europe had an flat-tailed board enter his ribcage during a mixed-up collision,and that was enough for the International Snowboard Federation to say that BX boards must have rounded and upturned tails.The FIS (skiers) haven't thought that far ahead,even though many board companies have smoothly made the transition to making fast,round-tailed BX raceboards.BobDea,you were gypped totally,as the Spline,and it's big brother the "CROSS" are completely within the realm of 'Round Tailed' boards! I'd PROTEST that descision,make 'em Prove that the Spline isn't BX legal! As for the softboot "style" factor,yup,Racing is Racing,and fools on soft,wide,slow boards using blunt angles will lose in Boardercross.It has been proven,again and again,but it often results in some dweeb complaining of an unfair advantage,and then the Local Rules get modified to suit.One of my former students went to a nearby race,and their coach complained about his having a full-on BX board.My guy then went and got his pipe board,and rode the course SWITCH,still blowing the local team right off their own course,Backwards! Sorry,you can't substitute for SKILL. Boardercross that you see on TV is definatelt toned down from what it was a few years back,as the freeskiers need different,steeper jumps and then like to have flats to set up for the whoop-de-doos.(the Skiers hate to look slow!) The Banked turns have always been there,and are the one thing that has improved in course setting.However,you can readily see the sport has gone from fast + fluid racing to an event where the Holeshot into the 1st Jump is now a key strategy. In that 'new' style of course setting,I've been very pleased by another former student,Lindsey Jacobellis,as she has come-from-behind more than once in big national events.That's the mark of a true racer in BX,when a rider can pick the place to make a win happen.

[NMU Alpine Boarder]

I saw a BX race on TV where it would be almost impossible to run in plates. I wasn't sure what series it was, but the course had jumps that were like the spines you would see in a terrain park. The racers were almost litterly coming to a stop to take the jumps. The course would have been brutal in plates.

[Guest Randy S.]

Some of the racers on the World Cup do ride hard boots (only Euros). Even US riders who ride hard for racing, typically ride softies for BX. I'm pretty sure that FIS allows square tailed boards in BX now. Note that the rider pictured below was competing in the WC BX at Bachelor last month on an F2 with a square tail.

PSR, Lindsay Jacobellis is truly impressive. In the big final of that race at Bachelor, there were probably 20 jumps over a course that lasted 1:15. The jump where I took the picture below was HUGE! They flew 20 feet in the air and covered probably 60 feet of distance. If they hit it full speed, they landed at the bottom of the transition just in time to launch the next jump. Not only that, but this huge jump was the 3rd jump from the bottom so they'd been riding very hard for over a minute. Lindsey was probably 6-8 meters behind the French girl on the final run. The French girl speed checked just slightly coming into the jump. Lindsay knew she had to go all out if she wanted to win. I was watching from above and it was incredible to see how high she flew. She passed the french girl in mid-air and won the race by a board length or two. It was the most exciting race of the day.

What really surprises me about BX is the clothing they wear. In a race where 1/10 of a second can decide the winner, I'm surprised more real racers (not weekend warriors) don't wear speed suits. They all wear them in PGS. When I was parked on the side of the jump taking the picture below, I was really struck by how much noise the competitors' clothes made. Their baggy ski pants were flapping in the wind so loud that it was all you could hear when they were in the air. It has to slow them down. I'm sure its a vanity thing that explains why they don't, but I wouldn't be surprised to see mroe competitors wearing speed suits in future races. Of note: nearly all of the Europeans wore Dainese back and body protectors in competition. I believe it is required for European competitions now. I wear one most of the time now, after separating my shoulder in a race in January. I really like the protection it affords and its quite comfortable

[timinor]

I was told speed suits are not allowed in BX. I was also at the Mt. Bachelor BX. The course was intense to say the least. It had all described above and more. It truly was a test of riding ability and not who got to the first gate first. There were sections where if you went fast, you died and if you went slow, you died. If you went fast to clear the double, you were in trouble for what came next and if you went slow, you didn't clear the double and impaled into the second roller.

I spoke to the Austrian coach and he was complaining about how difficult the course was. Some of his competitors who are mainly alpine pulled out of the BX after seeing it.

[D-Sub]

I always thought boardercross was closer to a sick freeride run than a race run, so speedsuits..dunno...kinda lame really.

sure theyll make ya faster, but..if everyone is wearin flappy clothes then its the riding that is the deciding factor.

seems like cats on plates and **** would smoke the others tho

what about a coiler AM? or a Prior 4WD? Donek Axis?

tails are rounded on all of those, no?

[Guest Pre School Rider]

Getting Slick + Aero are things just not allowed in BX,so,no speedsuits.However,no rules on Duct Tape! :D I've even taped down Bibs,not to mention pant legs and jacket sleeves to gain a bit in the aero realm. Tighter clothes has another benny,it's harder to get 'snagged' by a competitor that "Paws" nearby riders.I work hard on getting my riders to understand drafting,tucks,moves that can be made(and ones that can't)from a tucked position.Being Low dosen't mean you're Sleek,nor does a Tuck help you ollie.Tactics,yes; but with the thought of how it all fits into your personal stratagy + strengths. The boards,Donek,Prior,Coiler that D-Sub list are fine,legal,and actually pretty good choices. As for hardshells,they're fine as long as you're comfy landing big,steep jumps with them.I've been tossed a few times by thinking I could land a jump that was too choppy to handle in Shells. :o Most of the time,though,the difference in overall speed makes up for the occassional bad landing zone. The big advantage I see in softies in ruts around berms,where some slop at the ankle is actualy a good thing.

[Guest Randy S.]

Lisa Kosglow wrote an article for the most recent issue of Ski Racing about the World Cup events. Unfortunately the article only appears in the print version, not the online version of the magazine. Anyway, she mentioned that most riders really liked the course. The guy who built it also built the one at Mammoth where some riders were hurt (that one had a huge gap jump that some folks nosed into - ouch). The courses in Europe tend to be less technical with fewer jumps, from what I've heard. The one at Bachelor was an absolute blast to watch. Much better than most of the crap I've seen on EXPN. I went up there mainly to see the PGS events. I came away thinking that I can't wait to go to my next World Cup BX event.

Oh, and if you enjoy racer access, a WC event in the US is the place to go. You could chat with anyone you wanted and certainly get any autographs you'd like. Keep in mind that US riders foot most of their own bills. So buying them lunch and/or a few beers after a race will go a long way toward earning you goodwill. The Euros (especially the Austrians) are much more pampered and some of them are less than gracious to fans (although Doresia Krings is on of the sweetest people I've met).

[patmoore]

Our ski counciil's winter carnival offerred BoarderX and SkierX for the the first time this year as a demo event. There were no restrictions on speedsuits, alpine boards, etc. so I ran it on a 168cm Volkl RennTiger GS board. In addition to the banked turns there was a large tabletop jump and a series of rollers. My board was definitely fast and I timed the tabletop perfectly but the rollers were too much for me and I found myself about 8 feet in the air and running out of experience. Fortunately, no one behind me landed on me.

The feedback was very positive from all the participants and we may make it an "official" event in the future. My wife thinks I'm getting a little too old at 57 to be doing it but I think I may try it again next year (maybe on the freestyle board though).

The season is over. Back to the unicycle....

Pat