Aletsch Enduro Course Preview 🇨🇭 | Whoop Uci MTB World Series

Hello and welcome to round five of the UCI Enduro World Cup. You join me in a Lech Arena Bellwald on course preview day and unfortunately this week I am on my own, but that is not going to stop me from enjoying eight amazing stages with around 6 000 meters of descending on some of the finest single track this sport has to offer. Let's get stuck in. Okay stage one here in a Lech Arena Bellwald and we are in. Already quite rocky, loose, oh I've got a thunderstorm lingering right above my head and it is terrifying. Okay this is loose, really hard to set up and carry speed and we're straight into a boulder field. Oh my gosh, oh dearie me, this is rocky to say the least. Straight out the gate, really intense, really rocky, lots of stuff to catch you out and I mean lots of stuff. There's square edge rocks absolutely everywhere. Again we are at altitude here in a Lech, it's going to be an intense little race. Got two days of racing again this time, just like Val di Fassa, just trying to get through this stage and get away from that horrible thunderstorm looming above me. The rain's getting heavier, the clouds are getting darker. I feel like Burke Rills or something ridiculous. I've got seven stages left to do after this one. That is a long day out. Okay a little gap out of that one. Nice, we're going all right, we're going all right. I've no idea where I'm going, I've never been here before, so what you see for the first time is also what I see for the first time, which is a very unique perspective for both of us. I was going to say a rock garden but it's more like a boulder field. Oh god, I wouldn't like to go through that bit any quicker than I just did. Oh okay, oh I'm glad I survived that little section because that was horrible. A few meters left to go, I can see the finish. Oh what a relief. Oh I'm through the finish, come on. My gosh, get me off this mountainside. On to stage two. Okay so the clouds have cleared and the thunder has finally disappeared and we are at stage two. This is the blueberry trail. Okay we're dropping in straight out the gate, it's quite wide. Thank you. Oh this dirt is absolutely superb after that thunder. Okay like I say the dirt's been watered and it's absolutely sick. Quite a lot of grip, the rocks are a bit wet and so is the grass which can be tricky and quite lethal but the dirt is phenomenal. Try and tuck a little bit, keep my head down as low as I can. Okay we've got a little boardwalk, there's plenty of chicken wire on that and now we're going down. Yes we are, that's what we like to see. However the amount of rivers that are going down the side of the track makes me a bit nervous of what's to come. My god the bottom is so far away which makes it cool though because the trails are really long and they don't have to go to the bottom of the mountain. Okay this is like clay almost in places. Another bit of a dirt change. And we're into the trees. Okay I don't know how slippy it is, I can't really tell so I'm just going quite cautious trying to keep my eyes up. Okay whoa okay quite reachy. Ah through the finish, just to give you an idea of how mucky I am. Yeah quite mucky that one but look at these views, absolutely unreal. So we're two stages in, very different terrain so far. So that one had quite a lot of dirt, the first one was mainly just rocks and a little bit of pea gravel. Yeah on to stage three and I've heard this one is quite a monster. And with that said you join me at the top of the Glaciara Trail stage three overlooking that incredible Aletsch Glacier. This stage is over 600 meters of descending and I've got a feeling it might end with a bit of a bang. Whoa as you can see there are a lot of square rocks on this trail and it is going to take a lot of skill and a little bit of luck to keep the wheels and tires on your bike in one piece. There's lots of square rocks and it is very scary. Let's carry on. How ironic, just as I say about how sharp these rocks are and how hard it's going to be to keep the bike in one piece, I decide to completely split my rear wheel into two pieces and I'm still probably 20% into the trail. This is what the racers have got to look out for, very disappointing. Anyway onwards and downwards. With my rear wheel out of action I quickly swap my Michelin tires onto a fresh wheel set and headed off to the next stage. Okay then stage four, time travel. So this one looks a little bit shorter on the map but we've no idea what's coming up so I'm a little bit nervous. It doesn't look like it's rained that much down here so it should be prime conditions, fingers crossed, but I have been wrong before. Let's drop straight in. Time traveling. Whoa, steep straight away. Okay, whoa. Okay, it's definitely rained in this bit. This is wet. Oh god, I'm squeezing my brakes so hard. Yep, just can't help myself to a little pull-up gap like that for absolutely nothing because as Jeremy Clarkson once said, I've got a wet bottom. Oh, we're charging down. Charging, charging, charging. I'm trying to stay off the brakes, but I've no idea. Here we go, through the finish. Okay, oh my god. Look at that, it doesn't even look real. Looks like something out of Harry Potter. Oh, I'm thinking I'm going mental in my old age. So this is what I absolutely love about enduro, which you don't get in any other mountain bike discipline I feel. It's like what you do when you're a kid. So like when you're a kid, when I was a kid anyway, I used to go out first thing in the morning, my mum and dad would kick me out, go out and play. I'd be on my bike all day long. I've done a full day's riding and I'm just rolling down some lovely, lovely mountain road and it is awesome. I'm just sat here now taking it all in. Look at that. Today I'm having a lot of fun and I just wanted to let you guys know that this is cool, man. Let's get going. Stage five and we're going straight down the grass. Oh, this is slippery. Oh, this is really slippery. Okay, I'm trying to carry good speed to get this one over and done with because it is throwing it down. Whoa. Whoa. Yes. Into the trees now. These roots are going to be so slippery. Oh my God. I pull my brakes and I just accelerate. That's terrifying. Oh my gosh. This is going to be scary. Try and get in the dry dirt. Why am I doing half a mile an hour? Because it's terrifying. This dirt's like ice. It's so weird. I can't get my head around it. My front wheel was off the floor then and just completely locked up. I just saw it stop. Bit of a wide line on the grass. Don't know if that was wise in these conditions. Off the rock. Wait. Whoa. Okay. Okay. Calm it down. Okay. My hands are really sore now. This is going to be so difficult if it's wet. So difficult. There's a high line up there, but I don't want to bother with that. I don't understand how you're meant to ride this fast. I'm sure they'll find a way. This is sketchy. Off the drop. Okay. Flat turn. Not really that friendly to be honest. I got off balance through that bit. Just 100 meters to the finish. Oh, we're dancing around again. Oh, okay. Okay. Whoa. I'm through the finish. So that was stage five. Old school DH. And it is definitely old school and it's definitely DHE. That is crazy. It was kind of like a mud slide on the way down. It felt like absolutely sick track. Definitely not one for the faint hearted. It is going to be chaos. And that is the first stage for Sunday's race day. That is a wake up call. So after a huge liaison, including two chair lifts, the racers will arrive at the top of stage six, the longest stage of the weekend. Let's drop in. Away we go. And we're in. It's rocky. It's loose. Oh, it's shaky. Okay. This is so open to the elements. Carrying great speed. Oh my God. What's that? It's a cliff. Just rolled straight up it. It's like a fine moon dust. It's a weird one. It looks crazy. Okay. It's going to be so hard to try and carry speed through these slower, jankier, rocky section. Completely different to the terrain that we had two weeks ago. Okay. This bit's cool. On the edge of a cliff. Oh yes. This is sick. Not too much pedaling, but not too steep either. It's so exposed. There's all these little rock gaps everywhere. And if you can do them in the right places, the amount of speed that you'll gain from doing it is ridiculous. Quick water stop on the way down. Why not, eh? Okay. We're going off the rock jump. Okay. This is narrow. This is narrow. Okay. Now it looks like in a second it will go uphill, which at this altitude, mid-stage, it's going to be a tricky one. Let's see how uphill it goes. So far, not too bad. Okay. This is going to go on for a while, I think. Oh, we're okay. We're okay. I am blowing. Now we're into a sand section, but the top, it was quite hard. Under the lift now in this really loose new section that they've taped in down the feast. I'm jumping the wrong way. A little gap for the inside. Whoa, it's loose. Hell, it's gapping blind crests again. Oh, a little scrub. Big rock there. The racers won't be wasting the time going up and over that. It'll just be flat out into the turns. This is sick. Big bike park berms. Oh, yes. They are still strimming the stage while we're on it. Look at this. All right, mate. It's kind of like an alpine-y bike park in a way. It's bike park-y, but a bit rough around the edges. Oh. Let's do this one. Oh, yeah. A little high line. Okay. I believe there is a little bit of line choice here, so let's have a look. Oh, so straight away from the rider's point of view, it looks like there's two main lines. This track's been quite one line from the top so far, just following like a goat path, lots of flat rocks. Okay, so option number one is this main line, which you have got quite a big drop into a bit of a janky, berm-y bit, which has lots of support, but if you clip one of them rocks, it's not going to be nice. Okay, we'll do option A first. So we're going to come in high next to the tree. Wow. And the other option is, is if we come across straight almost across this inside, and then you can just literally go inside all the way. The cameraman is just auditioning for diversity behind the camera. Straight across from the tree behind you, I've got a butterfly in my face. It's really quite cute actually. Jesus Christ, I don't want to eat it. There's enough room in my nostrils for you to fly up there. Right, I'm being bullied by a bloody butterfly now. Go away. Okay, well we'll leave him there, and I'll talk about the other option. That was option A. Option B is straight from the tree behind you. Oh, he's back. Straight from the tree behind you, straight across this inside, and then trying to hold the speed over the pine cones, which I'm hoping aren't going to be there by race time, and straight into the finish line. So one's direct and straight, the other one you can carry so much more speed around the outside. So which one will pay off? I don't know. So short liaison, and we are at the top of stage seven, quite a bit shorter than six. We'll just get straight into it. Let's go. Okay then, stage seven, into the wild, and we are off. It is already quite fast. Oh, big wall ride there. Okay, bike's working away to try and keep the wheels on the floor, keep the grip on these Michelin tyres, and Michelin are that good. I'm going to start using them on my bike at home as well. Trying to get off the brakes nice and early. It's so hard when the track's this loose, and it's so rough, this one. I feel like this trail has been here for a bit of time now. Nice. Carrying good speed now. This is lovely. Not too much effort going into the bike, and then we've got a lovely signature European cow. Look at that. Big bells around the neck, so we know where they are. Them things are huge. It's like a family four-by-four SUV. Okay, we're into the trees. Oh my God. I thought we had a rock garden at La Tuile, but this is something else. Oh, that's chunky. Big berm. Jump. It's nice to have jumps in enduro. Oh yes. Little tiny gaps everywhere. Try and make the track as smooth as possible. 100 meters to the finish. Oh, I didn't know if that was a gap or not. We did it anyway. Oh, it's loose. Okay, and into the final section. Wow. Okay. I'm ready for this to be over, and it is. Right, one more stage to go. Stage eight coming up. After a short liaison from stage seven, you join me at the start of stage eight, back to the roots. The final stage of the day, just shy of three kilometers long, with just under 300 meters of descending. I believe it's quite flat at the top, and then it gets into some seriously steep, rocky terrain towards the bottom. Let's jump into this one and see what the racers are up against. Let's go. Okay, back to the roots, the final stage of the race here. I'm going straight, and I don't know why I've gone that way, but that is super open section to start the day. It's pretty flat, but we are picking up speed now. Here we go. I've heard rumors that the bottom section of this trail is wild. Oh my gosh, this is fast. I can guarantee a couple of flat tires down this one. I'm just cruising and I'm already going faster than what I want to be, so God knows how fast the racers are going to be My eyes are struggling to keep up with how quick things are coming up against me. Oh my gosh, that's crazy. Oh my God, that was blind as well. Another sharp 180 turn, no way of really setting up. Apparently, there's a neutral zone, so you can just roll this bit. The riders will have a assorted amount of time to do this section. Okay, because this is pretty wild, mid-race run. You get yourself in a mindset where trying to find the flow and all the rest of it, and mid-stage you've got to cross a train track and then wait for the neutral zone to end. Here it is, so the riders will be wanting a couple of deep breaths, and then it's going to be on the pedals, on the pedals. I don't know if they can get a run up at that or not. Okay, so this gets steep. Whoa, big turn, big stoppie. Oh, we've gone full inside. Another big stoppie. Oh, we've held it. Okay, and into the finish. Eight absolutely crazy stages. We had a train line mid-neutral zone on the stage, absolutely unreal. Never had that before. It's going to be really hard for the back into that flow for that super technical bottom section. Well, that is all from course preview, and I will see you in practice day in 24 hours. Thanks.