Can An Average MTBer Ride The Scariest World Cup Downhill Track Ever Made? | Champéry DH
We've all said 'I could ride that!' when watching Downhill Mountain Bike racing on TV, so we've put that statement to the test. Jack Gill, our in-house video editor and resident idiot has flown out to Champéry, Switzerland to ride down one of the sketchiest Downhill MTB runs in the world.
⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 - Intro
02:38 - Warm Up
06:26 - Stage 1
07:21 - First Big Feature
09:56 - Jack's Brain Says No
13:53 - Rich Follows Jack
16:09 - Smashing An A-Line
18:31 - Conclusion
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Jack's no idiot. He represents the majority of us weekend warriors. Let's see more of Jack! Makes this sport more approachable to us punters.
It’s nice to watch normal people like Jack, not like the other freaks… We are with Jack! Congratulations guys from GMBN.
The tragedy is that the video doesn't nearly do this stuff justice. It's so much worse when you're actually standing there.
I like Jack. So down to earth and humble and just like pretty much everyone average rider.
I'd say Jack is better than an average rider. That trail looks like sick fun! Awesome job Jack, he's better than he gives himself credit for. I was a bit scared for Jack at 14:42 when he was getting a bit crossed up into that steep section.
Fair play jack. That track looks properly gnarly. Hats off to you dude. 👏
Bravo, Jack. Much scarier IRL than on camera.
He smashed it! 👊
I'm wearing more pads doing xc than Jack is hitting this dh course 🤣
Think this shows how complex WC DH tracks are. Jack is a competent rider but you could see how he pushed his limits. Huge respect for conquering this track. Really impressive.
This is great, capturing the struggle and mental process that riders go through is so much more relatable. Rich also seems like a real giggle to ride with - all about the fun, love it.
It's nice to see how one of us "regular" riders does or would do on these worldcup tracks. Definitely get Jack down on more of these tracks as he also seems to really enjoy it :)
Enjoy probably isn't the word he'd use! But hats off to him for finishing the whole track 🤘
Your a great coach mate! I enjoyed watching this. Cheers!
This is like me on my first trip to Morzine when my mate said “I’ve heard about this old DH track off Super Morzine, let’s try it out!” Super relatable, especially the way he talks about single features vs stringing them all together on the trail at speed.
Well done Jack. Brilliant. I vote for more of Jack style challenges but with gloves and protection please. Boy. My heart was in my mouth watching a few of those sections. Bravo.
Why are you not making that poor guy wearing more protection? You know, gloves, elbow pads and knee pads.
was the first thing i thougt, even not beeing a rooky i wear knee and elbow pads..
You think he doesn’t know about body armor? He decided what to do. It’s not your business, Fretful Fanny. EDIT: jack is wearing knee pads, ffs
First thing I thought as well. Elbow pads, back protector or better yet full body armour.
@@atonium2027ew elbow pads
I had to wear elbow pads for teaching biking in whis all summer and it was horrid in the heat and they always fall down. Just wore knee pads, gloves and chest protector on my days off
Jack is not an idiot. Very brave and was great to see this, inspiring to see someone that's not a "Pro" rider tackle an insane course. Props Jack!! Bad news is now that I have seen this I have to get beyond my comfort zone but I don't have a mentor from GMBN to guide me. Ha.
Properly wholesome video, loved watching this. Felt very genuine, and stoked for Jack getting down such a gnarly track.
Great work. I really enjoyed this approach and can really empathise with Jack. I feel the same way when riding steep complex sections. Jack's comments were spot on and it's nice to see. Fair play Jack.
that joy, that fun, that progress jake made here is pure fun to watch. he’s a humble guy aswell and finished a we track. good memories been made here, excellent and thanks for sharing 👊🏼
I can so relate to Jack saying his brain told him to stop! 😄 No matter what anyone says, especially if I'm out riding alone and my brain tells me to hold up, I will. There are times to test the limits and times when to play it safe. I must say I really enjoyed this and very much liked Jack's approach on this 👍🏼
Alone in the woods vs alone in the dark... yup, always the safest choice. Risks are to be taken when there are fallbacks :P
That is an awesome video, can totally appreciate the perspective of one who goes this steep track for the first time. Good work!
Rode it for the first time this year. Scary steep track! Some Rich guidance would have been helpful.
We can all use a little bit of that Rich guidance sometimes! 🤙
Great video, really relatable to a lot of us. Extra points for including a "bumbling" reference!
Great to see Jack back at it! I wouldn't call him an idiot but a great addition to GMBN presenter team!😂
I really enjoyed this video! Good coaching and good riding by both of you!!
Great work Jack! Thanks for giving us an understanding of how challenging it is! I’m betting you are a better than average rider though. Enjoy your time back behind the camera.
Yes Jack well done dude 👊🤘 Some fine coaching from Rich got you down that gnarly track. That section you didn't do looked insane. From up top looks ok but then looking up at you and Rich you can see how steep it is !!! Awesome video GMBN 👊🤘
Awesome ride Jack. I am impressed you went down without pads. Brave man for sure. Kudos!! Had a great coach in Rich.
Do you Ride At Your Best In Pads Or Without?!
Great video, it’s just like going out with your mates and helping each other nail a new trail. Well done Rich and Jack.
it helps a lot when some rider familiar with the track shows you the lines. always fun.
Love positive videos like this, nice one Jack, hope you went back and got that section you missed out for personal gratification!
I like this a lot! Jack, great seeing you back on the screen, Your dooing good!. Rich, you are a great riding buddy. It is so good to see something like this, because it makes me believe I can do it as well.
Epic stuff Jack!! Very inspiring. It was great to see a dude crush but be more vulnerable too!
do it again, but give the lad proper kit a big hog of a bike and a fullface he'll have some confidence
A big DH bike is good if going fast, but I wouldn't take one somewhere where I just want to survive. Give me a smaller bike that I can maneuver.
Were you not watching the same video as the rest of us?!
Bro is literally wearing a full face
He's got everything he needs to not die, he's not about to break any run records but that wasn't the point 😂
@vlbz I rode the Thedbo Cannonball trail on an Enduro and a DH to compare the two, and on one rooty corner, I kept crashing on the enduro where the DH just ate it up. After a day on each bike, the DH was 33% faster, and much more confidence inspiring
It was this trail that got me officially hooked on DH, year after the classic from Danny Hart, I became a guide in the area and never looked back! After baby steps with multiple scorps on hard noses / supermarket special 😂
Great work Jack. Hope to see more of Jack as I think he represents more of us average riders. Would be great to see a coach Jack to be more confident series.
That's great work! Well played fella
I feel you Jack! The closed video ever, how I felt starting Mtb. The pure fear and adrenaline in my blood... And it was nothing even close as this trail
The only idiotic part is not wearing proper body protection. No need to try out what an elbow injury feels like
back protector??
I do want to point out that elbow pads don’t protect against the more common elbow fractures. That said, I wear them (almost) every ride to protect agains ripping deep gauges into my elbow (done that, no fun)
awesome work Jack - what an incredible achievement!
Great video. Enjoyed every minute and he's a great instructor
Great done Jack, more vids like this. Like how you brake down the scary futures
Well done, Jack! So good! Great coaching by Rich.
The camera man never dies
Well done Jack! Impressive for a non-lunatic!
Awesome effort Jack. Loved Rich's pep talk before running into you. That was a solid effort. I do agree with other people you could do with some more pads. As much as you can put on because even if it doesn't look cool, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. We'll done though, solid effort.
Switzerland is on my bucket list looks insane! Jack big respect to u bud 🤘🤘
Glad you made this video, it allowed me to relive my experience of doing it! I decided once was enough for me!
Not only did you ride it Jack but not even a pair of elbow pads!! 😮🎉
He might have changed his mind if he knew how sketchy it was going to be!
i had to give this video a like just because it has such apositive vibe
Respect Jack , you are the man . Inspirational.
The vertical descent looks insane even with the "GoPro effect." Great job.
Awesome to see riders gain confidence 👍👍
More Jack! Love his down to Earth demeanor.
Yes! This is such good content. You pro's make everything look so easy. It's such a welcome surprise to see a "normal" rider like Jack tacle stuff like this!
It helps to show how steep these trails really are! 📉
Well done Jack overcoming brain freeze. Sometimes a tow helps but sometimes you just need to walk away....
Fun video. Great content!
Would you attempt this? What's the gnarliest place you've ridden? Let us know! 👇
Val di Sole - absolutely bloody horrible/scary/gnarly asf! In fairness I was on a 150mm travel bike, but some of the rock gardens were fierce. Also, the final chute down to the iconic final drop - madness!! I don't think cameras ever do this stuff justice. It's sooooo steep! Leogang was much more fun, take Jack there.
Absolutly looks insane
I’d attempt it with the help from rich Defo not Blake lol ✌️
i wouldnt, scariest i ever did was a trail where you go around a boulder and there is a death drop on the other side.
Local rockface trail near my house. Broken or dislocated something every time I attempt it. It's about 2km but it's proper hell all the way down, marked trails are for non self ending types... Sentier du moulin is also pretty, gnar, didn't expect that.
Nice video. Well done Jack!
Good work jack !! See you on another downhill track !!
Great job, Jack. very proud of you 😊
Is this one of those pro's pretending to be an armature? He did really well.
I LOVED watching Jack, a guy who I would like to be much more like (stronger, braver, better biker and younger) express his hesitation and "fear" and stop in his tracks because of his "head" working against him ... this is totally identifiable and human. I am so proud of how you managed yourself on that very challenging trail in every way, at every moment you were admirable and elicited so much empathy from the crowd. Thanks for sharing this raw and real video of a real human being learning to conquer.
Toss anyone on a full DH bike and it's amazing how much confidence it gives you.
Well done, Jack and Rich!
Jack you legend! Well done mate!
Damn it. Been in that situation tons of times. If you think too long about going down it becomes really hard and you do mistakes out of fear. It's either hot drop or leave it be for me. Brain is just interfering with riding if you think too long. Well done Jack. Hope you enjoyed your day nonetheless. Damn peer pressure plus camera.
Great work, Jack! The track would be way to steep for me ;)
Having been there once years ago, I'm happy you guys got to do it in the dry, I'm by no means a pro but I can hold my own on stuff like this, but it being wet and muddy makes it pretty daunting, no idea how Sam Hill could do what he did there. If youi guys want a bigger (dry) challenge though, you could go to the relatively unknown 50 grad downhill in Ebensee, Austria.
@ 15:30min. The laughter is infectious 🤣🤣
I wanna spend some time getting coached by Rich!!! Oh and can I borrow an "on point" bike too? Watching Jack precariously stumble round (just like I would) compared to watching the clips of pros fly down like they're popping to the shops on tarmac really highlights the difference between us and them. Fair play Jack!! Can we have a new full time proper feature/series, "Jack tries...!"
Nice work… great ride. It’s refreshing to see someone chip away at a difficult run once in a while..😂. And the no pad thing… nope for this kid!
Good job Jack. I would have like to see some protection other than a single helmet, though. It does not necessarily give more confidence (it definitely can) but reduce drastically the consequences of a miscalculation.
Well done Jack - I absolutely know that feeling where your rational brain says "this is doable" but your emotional brain just goes NOPE. Well done for pushing through it and great coaching from Rich!
At least a back protector is appropriate for riding a very steep wc track. I see a lot of people just renting bikes just with a fullface helmet and ride way to hard tracks for their ability. I think you promote that with this video. Still hats off to the camera guy for hitting all the sections!
I need a friend like Rich, very encouraging and positive 🤙
I used to ride at Windham,NY. Once a friend suggested we check out the world cup trail. Was terrifying. The angles, boulders and insanity made me walk most of it. Never again!
The diff. between an enduro amd dh bike is pretty big. This thing would be so much fun on a dh bike. Even if you are an amateur. 😊
The sickest thing of the week!
Superb idea for a video!
Well done Jack, great work!
Such a cool experience for Jack!
Another one ! please ...it will get my morale high to ride
Defo did minta Jack dude . Looked awesome lads 🚲👊
Good lad jack! What a job you've got! 👏👏
What a great dude and fun vid to watch. Next course have him run it a couple times for practice then do a timed run at the end!!
Not sure Jack would want to do multiple runs 😂 I think he was just happy to get down in one piece!
Great job Jack!!
Nice video guys!
I won't see 60 YO again but have been down parts of the Les Gets world cup course. Did a mass start mates race in Morzine a few years ago. All on an old Orange 224 evo race, old bike, old rider 🙂
Looks like a proper mountain so steep! Well done Jack...I would be brown pantsing it
Good job Jack! But I wonder, why ride such a steep track with an Enduro bike and 10 mm rise bar? No wonder it's scary af.
Lets see what you Guys at GMBN is made off😊. You, Blake and Neil, who can take most of the Red bull hardline? :D
This is great. I was wondering if I could do this run and now I’m pretty sure I can. Will definitely be easier on a dh bike 😊
This video gave me anxiety. Great job Jack!
Great job Jack!
Jack you the man. Your definitely in the "wearing your hoddy upside down crew" 🤙
Must be nice for Jack to ride with your guys. 👏👏👏
Quite funny to leave out section he didn't (couldn't ) ride ( when the "guide" couldn't stop in tile and bumbed to Jack's rear tire)
The camera just doesn't do the eleveation drops any justice. Jack 100% smashed it, balls of steel
Nicely done Jack