Cedric Gracia --- The Snow King

carter · 03-10-2004, 02:48 AM

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slu...uters&type=lgns

"Snow King" bikers challenge Maier for speed

By Alister Doyle

KVITFJELL, Norway, March 9 (Reuters) - With hundreds of steel spikes bristling from his tyres, Cedric Gracia won a bike race down an Olympic Alpine ski slope at a breakneck speed only slightly slower than Hermann Maier.

Nicknamed the "French Rocket", Gracia became the fastest person to hurtle down Norway's Kvitfjell piste without skis in the novel race just after a men's World Cup Alpine skiing super-G had been run at the weekend.

"It's sometimes terrifying but it's so much fun too," Gracia said after riding the course built for the 1994 Olympics in one minute 45.43 seconds in a blur of snow, racers, bikes and spikes, 11 seconds slower than the world's top super-G racers.

"This is a good sport; the cameras are already here for World Cup skiing. It's never going to be super serious but it's going to be fun for spectators to see how fast we can go," Gracia said after winning a "Snow King" biking title.

Gracia, 25, hit a top speed of 123.8 kph in Sunday's mass start of 12 cyclists down the 2.6-km course with a precipitous total drop of 641 metres.

Three riders fell off but got back up and finished. No-one was hurt even though every wheel has more than 300 steel spikes about two centimetres long to grip the snow and ice.

About an hour earlier, Daron Rahlves of the United States won the super-G ski race on the same course in 1:34.00, with World Cup overall leader Maier of Austria third, 0.17 seconds behind. Maier hit the day's top speed at 130.7 kph.

"Last time Hermann Maier beat me by 18 seconds and I was pissed," Gracia said. "I thought, I can do better than that." Maier, a three-time overall World Cup winner, is chasing his fourth title in a comeback after a motorcycle accident in 2001.

MR CRAZY

"If you crash, you slide like a skier falling," Gracia said, dressed with a helmet and plastic body armour. He said injuries were less likely to be serious than in mountain biking over rocks, even though speeds were higher.

With nicknames such as "Mr Crazy" or "MADi", riders start off pedalling at the top but are soon going too fast to do anything except hang on over big jumps or with their legs flailing out to the sides for balance.

A key skill is to overcome the natural urge to brake -- braking means that snow and ice instantly build up under the tyres and you lose control. Top riders give only feather touches to the brakes to help them alter course.

Kvitfjell was the third downhill "Snow King" race after two similar events at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, this year and last. Organisers plan five races next season, making the daredevil event an extra attraction at World Cup ski races.

Having won both this year's races, Gracia was awarded a mock-up golden crown and a red gown. He also got a cheque for 5,000 euros ($6,09 and a trophy at an awards ceremony with music from a "Star Wars" movie blaring in the background.

Trailing Gracia was 19-year-old Matti Lehikoinen of Finland with George Atherton of Britain third.

SPIKED TYRES

Gracia said he had been a junior Alpine skiing contemporary of French downhill racer Antoine Deneriaz. "I had to decide between mountain biking and skiing," he said.

Snow King biking attracts some of the world's top riders seeking thrills away from the summertime cycling circuit.

Gracia is the world champion at free riding -- he described it as "going off drops like six metres, stuff more like stunts" -- and was third in the downhill overall mountain biking World Cup in 2003.

"Nobody makes really good tyres for this sport," grumbled second-placed Lehikoinen.

The spikes -- Lehikoinen simply uses two-cm screws for the back wheel and a mixture of two-cm and 1.6-cm screws on the front -- have to stick out of the sides as well as the bottom of the tyre to make sure they can grip steep icy slopes.

"I got a normal tyre...I drilled holes and put screws in from the inside. It took about five hours. There are 336 screws in each tyre, or 672 in total," he said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coop · 03-10-2004, 02:49 AM

Sick. Wonder if there are any pictures.

bullit_kid · 03-10-2004, 02:52 AM

That is actually really cool.. that is so fucking fast as well ..

my top speed at nationals was 69 km/h and thats almost half of gracia .. i cant imagine it

Coop · 03-10-2004, 02:54 AM

http://snowking.upsolutmv.com/index.htm

http://snowking.upsolutmv.com/clip/snow_king03.wmv

Heatmizer · 03-10-2004, 03:03 AM

123 km/h on a bike on snow - that man must have a tribe of assistants to carry around those huge cahones of his

Congratz Mr. Gracia

EaTDuRRRT · 03-10-2004, 03:07 AM

haha... cedric is frickin hilarious

Late Bloomer · 03-10-2004, 07:27 PM

What CAN'T Gracia do? Wow. 11 sec. slower than the winner of the ski downhill??? Sick.

I've barely gone that fast in a car...

frorider_IBC · 03-10-2004, 08:14 PM

I saw the race in Garmisch. Awesome

Neo · 03-11-2004, 12:27 AM

haha sweet. that kicks ass.

*GiMpY_jR* · 03-11-2004, 06:19 AM

gracia is my hero along with nicolas v. and steve peat and wade and and............

Late Bloomer · 03-11-2004, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *GiMpY_jR*
gracia is my hero along with nicolas v. and steve peat and wade and and............

Peaty has to be my personal fave...he's all-out.

03-10-2004, 02:48 AM	#1
carter Welcome to Huckfest Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, BC Posts: 335 Rep Power: 11	Cedric Gracia --- The Snow King http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slu...uters&type=lgns "Snow King" bikers challenge Maier for speed By Alister Doyle KVITFJELL, Norway, March 9 (Reuters) - With hundreds of steel spikes bristling from his tyres, Cedric Gracia won a bike race down an Olympic Alpine ski slope at a breakneck speed only slightly slower than Hermann Maier. Nicknamed the "French Rocket", Gracia became the fastest person to hurtle down Norway's Kvitfjell piste without skis in the novel race just after a men's World Cup Alpine skiing super-G had been run at the weekend. "It's sometimes terrifying but it's so much fun too," Gracia said after riding the course built for the 1994 Olympics in one minute 45.43 seconds in a blur of snow, racers, bikes and spikes, 11 seconds slower than the world's top super-G racers. "This is a good sport; the cameras are already here for World Cup skiing. It's never going to be super serious but it's going to be fun for spectators to see how fast we can go," Gracia said after winning a "Snow King" biking title. Gracia, 25, hit a top speed of 123.8 kph in Sunday's mass start of 12 cyclists down the 2.6-km course with a precipitous total drop of 641 metres. Three riders fell off but got back up and finished. No-one was hurt even though every wheel has more than 300 steel spikes about two centimetres long to grip the snow and ice. About an hour earlier, Daron Rahlves of the United States won the super-G ski race on the same course in 1:34.00, with World Cup overall leader Maier of Austria third, 0.17 seconds behind. Maier hit the day's top speed at 130.7 kph. "Last time Hermann Maier beat me by 18 seconds and I was pissed," Gracia said. "I thought, I can do better than that." Maier, a three-time overall World Cup winner, is chasing his fourth title in a comeback after a motorcycle accident in 2001. MR CRAZY "If you crash, you slide like a skier falling," Gracia said, dressed with a helmet and plastic body armour. He said injuries were less likely to be serious than in mountain biking over rocks, even though speeds were higher. With nicknames such as "Mr Crazy" or "MADi", riders start off pedalling at the top but are soon going too fast to do anything except hang on over big jumps or with their legs flailing out to the sides for balance. A key skill is to overcome the natural urge to brake -- braking means that snow and ice instantly build up under the tyres and you lose control. Top riders give only feather touches to the brakes to help them alter course. Kvitfjell was the third downhill "Snow King" race after two similar events at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, this year and last. Organisers plan five races next season, making the daredevil event an extra attraction at World Cup ski races. Having won both this year's races, Gracia was awarded a mock-up golden crown and a red gown. He also got a cheque for 5,000 euros ($6,09 and a trophy at an awards ceremony with music from a "Star Wars" movie blaring in the background. Trailing Gracia was 19-year-old Matti Lehikoinen of Finland with George Atherton of Britain third. SPIKED TYRES Gracia said he had been a junior Alpine skiing contemporary of French downhill racer Antoine Deneriaz. "I had to decide between mountain biking and skiing," he said. Snow King biking attracts some of the world's top riders seeking thrills away from the summertime cycling circuit. Gracia is the world champion at free riding -- he described it as "going off drops like six metres, stuff more like stunts" -- and was third in the downhill overall mountain biking World Cup in 2003. "Nobody makes really good tyres for this sport," grumbled second-placed Lehikoinen. The spikes -- Lehikoinen simply uses two-cm screws for the back wheel and a mixture of two-cm and 1.6-cm screws on the front -- have to stick out of the sides as well as the bottom of the tyre to make sure they can grip steep icy slopes. "I got a normal tyre...I drilled holes and put screws in from the inside. It took about five hours. There are 336 screws in each tyre, or 672 in total," he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

03-10-2004, 02:49 AM	#2
Coop trgrmn Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: vancouverish Posts: 1,815 Rep Power: 390	Sick. Wonder if there are any pictures. __________________ son of a stromatolite !

03-10-2004, 02:54 AM	#4
Coop trgrmn Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: vancouverish Posts: 1,815 Rep Power: 390	http://snowking.upsolutmv.com/index.htm http://snowking.upsolutmv.com/clip/snow_king03.wmv __________________ son of a stromatolite ! Last edited by Coop; 03-10-2004 at 02:58 AM.

03-10-2004, 03:07 AM	#6
EaTDuRRRT Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: North Shore, bc, canada Posts: 705 Rep Power: 10	haha... cedric is frickin hilarious __________________

03-10-2004, 07:27 PM	#7
Late Bloomer Eveil Kenveil Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Seattle, WA - where all the good trails are illegal Posts: 5,196 Rep Power: 29	What CAN'T Gracia do? Wow. 11 sec. slower than the winner of the ski downhill??? Sick. I've barely gone that fast in a car... __________________ South Sea-Tac Flowpark Gallery KEEP IT GREEN! This signature is brought to you by the letter "H" and by the number "6"

03-10-2004, 02:52 AM	#3
bullit_kid ... Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: somewhere Posts: 4,252 Rep Power: 75061	That is actually really cool.. that is so fucking fast as well .. my top speed at nationals was 69 km/h and thats almost half of gracia .. i cant imagine it

03-10-2004, 03:03 AM	#5
Heatmizer Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Langley Posts: 14,459 Rep Power: 0	123 km/h on a bike on snow - that man must have a tribe of assistants to carry around those huge cahones of his Congratz Mr. Gracia

03-10-2004, 08:14 PM	#8
frorider_IBC Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Germany/Austria/SFU Posts: 46 Rep Power: 0	I saw the race in Garmisch. Awesome

03-11-2004, 12:27 AM	#9
Neo Keanu Reeves is immortal Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: westshore Posts: 14,371 Rep Power: 16321	haha sweet. that kicks ass.

03-11-2004, 06:19 AM	#10
GiMpY_jR young'n since 1990 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: peachland Posts: 2,117 Rep Power: 35	gracia is my hero along with nicolas v. and steve peat and wade and and............ __________________

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