I take issue with the "stairs to nowhere" in Fayetteville. Anyone that's ever had to run up a flight of stairs during a CX race knows that it does in fact add difficulty to a course. I mean that entire course felt like a Disney action/adventure roller coaster ride version of a CX course, but the stairs, destination dependent or otherwise, were a legit feature. Now those pump-track style high-banked turns...
That section of tabletops at GP Sven Nys. Every year that section is a shitshow of riders crashing into the barriers. This year was the only year that I can remember it ever making a difference in a race, and that was more down to Pidcock's steeze-gone-wrong than the feature itsself. What really makes me hate that section is how rutted and pocked out the faces of the jump appear to be. Like, if you're going to put bmx jumps in a cyclocross course at least make sure they're nice?
That was a fun read - nicely done. Some others that come to mind are:
- the send it / choose your risk downhill at Hulst
- the run up that couldn’t be run at Rochester day 2 ( admittedly a one off but memorable)
- the bowl section at Robotland where those weird figures are laying on the ground (a bit Tolkeinesque)
- cant recall the course this year but they put this big mural into the steps of some amphitheater so there las a long shot of it with riders going right to left?
The trolls at Tomorrowland are made by an artist named Thomas Dambo. Each one has a personal history. They're neat, though GP Boom doesn't go much into their stories. ;-)
I take issue with the "stairs to nowhere" in Fayetteville. Anyone that's ever had to run up a flight of stairs during a CX race knows that it does in fact add difficulty to a course. I mean that entire course felt like a Disney action/adventure roller coaster ride version of a CX course, but the stairs, destination dependent or otherwise, were a legit feature. Now those pump-track style high-banked turns...
That section of tabletops at GP Sven Nys. Every year that section is a shitshow of riders crashing into the barriers. This year was the only year that I can remember it ever making a difference in a race, and that was more down to Pidcock's steeze-gone-wrong than the feature itsself. What really makes me hate that section is how rutted and pocked out the faces of the jump appear to be. Like, if you're going to put bmx jumps in a cyclocross course at least make sure they're nice?
That was a fun read - nicely done. Some others that come to mind are:
- the send it / choose your risk downhill at Hulst
- the run up that couldn’t be run at Rochester day 2 ( admittedly a one off but memorable)
- the bowl section at Robotland where those weird figures are laying on the ground (a bit Tolkeinesque)
- cant recall the course this year but they put this big mural into the steps of some amphitheater so there las a long shot of it with riders going right to left?
I thought about the Rochester run-up but like you said, it was a one-off.
The race you are thinking of is Boom.
The trolls at Tomorrowland are made by an artist named Thomas Dambo. Each one has a personal history. They're neat, though GP Boom doesn't go much into their stories. ;-)
https://thomasdambo.com/projects/