Article Arvhive
Article Archive 2

Read Full Interview at bnqt.com

Scott Hart lays out the prelude to a resurgence of the dual slalom discipline...

You come from a racing background; does that explain your overwhelming enthusiasm for the Dual
Slalom?
My enthusiasm for dual slalom is derived from logic. “Gated” mountain bike racing is in a decrepit state. Mountaincross, or the European practiced “4X”, isn’t working. Don’t get me wrong, I was the first guy to get behind the mountaincross initiative. I was in attendance at Eric Carter’s first Troy Lee Designs “Cycle Race” that was held between motos during the Glen Helen outdoor motocross national in 1999. I can honestly say that watching that race changed the direction of my life. At the time, I was a semi-pro cross-country racer, just dabbling with downhill, but after seeing EC’s Glen Helen event, I was sold on gravity racing. The bicycle race was awesome! The jumps were huge; the passing was plentiful; and the action was insane. I remember being overwhelmed that Shaun Palmer, Phil Tinstman, EC and the rest of the guys on mountain bikes actually looked like they were going big, even when compared with the full 30-minute motos of 125 and 250 pros I had just watched. The jumps were massive. Over the next few months, I slowly began to defect from XC as DH began to garner my interest. A few years later, when Sea Otter held their first Eric Carter-designed mountaincross event in 2001, I was there. The jumps were big and the racing was fun. The same can be said for the first mountaincross races held by NORBA later that year. As a rider, I was happy to see slalom go. Coming from moto, I was always comfortable jumping and thought mountain biking could benefit from larger jumps, so I was all about the 50-foot doubles that mountaincross promised. But here we stand, seven years later and mountaincross has not blossomed into the beautiful flower we all expected it to bloom into.
The dreams of huge television audiences and big outside-the-bike-industry sponsors don’t exist. Mountaincross is a great event, in theory, but it’s extremely difficult to actualize. Seven years is a long time to try and get a sport on it’s feet and despite the efforts of many competent event promoters, visionaries and course builders, mountaincross still can’t stand on its own.

Dual slalom is better than mountaincross for many reasons. The racing is always fair. No slalom race has ever been won in the first turn. In slalom, riding skill and bike control are rewarded over meatheaded first straight speed. Dual slalom courses are simpler and less expensive for race promoters to execute. In those two ways, slalom supports the grassroots level of the sport. Mountain bikers are attracted to the sport by characteristics that slalom supports – railing turns with rocks and dust. Slalom is like mini-downhill by promoting all the skills necessary to be successful in both disciplines. Mountaincross, as it has been practiced for the past four or five years, has become nothing more than diluted BMX. I was at a local MTX race this weekend and it looked like 1970’s BMX – flat turns and small jumps. My negativity towards MTX doesn’t mean I think MTX is a fruitless genre, but it will never see large participation numbers when promoted at mountain bike events. MTX is better suited as a crossover discipline for BMX. Mountaincross would be more successful if it were promoted by the NBL or ABA. In the last seven years, we’ve learned MTX isn’t a mountain bike sport. A lot of people aren’t going to like hearing me say that, but it’s honestly where I think we’re at: We tried MTX and it’s not working.

Right now, the UCI is taking serious consideration to add dual slalom to the World Cup. They can’t figure out why their participation numbers are so low for “4X” and are trying to find a way to get more of the downhill racers to enter their “gated” event. When was the last time you saw today’s most prolific downhill racer, Sam Hill, enter a MTX event? I can’t recall off the top of my head. But, when was the last time you saw Sam race slalom? Crankworx and Sea Otter last year. Most downhill racers aren’t interested in MTX for the reasons I stated above. Slalom is the answer to grow the sport of competitive mountain bike racing. Dual slalom and downhill go together like peanut butter and jelly – they’re complement goods. MTX is a bastard child we tried to adopt, but it just doesn’t fit the family chemistry of our sport.














King Range Trail
a.k.a "Little Whistler"
As Seen Mid December 2007

A few brief words here on the new and astounding mountain bike specific trail in Southern Humbodt's King Range.  Approximately an hour and a half drive south from Eureka California a new mountain bike destination has been uncovered.  The Bureau of Land Management has worked closely with cyclists to design and build a 13 mile bike specific trail.  Upon arrival I had high expectations based on knowledge of the area's shere geography and the good words of many who had ridden pieces of the trail.  My expectations were blown out of the water within the first ten minutes on the trail, and my jaw only became slacker as our ride progressed.  It was incredibly refreshing to ride a trail, sight unseen, and be able to trust the design and layout of the trail at speed.  Bermed corners, ramped tables, smooth camber transitions, drainage seamlessly integrated into fun features of the trail.  The trail combines hand cut sections with a majority of hand tractor cut sections which are exceptionally wide and smooth allowing plenty of run out and lots of line choice.  The ride presents two rolling sections on either side of a killer 4 mile switch back climb.  The climb requires quite a bit of pop and inspires the same, but the fun factor on either side quickly wipes any memories of suffering from the mind.  The trail's longest downhill, immediately following the ascent, can be called little short of a bike theme park.  Trail builders constructed huge sweeping berms, carving corners into jumps with multiple lip options, stepdowns, natural wall rides and a ripping rythm.  None of us could help guffawing like hyped up juveniles as we rolled through section after section of groomed perfection.  The trail is 95% rideable as some construction has yet to be completed.  This is but the first of many riding opportunities approaching in this area's future and is guranteed to attract many riders from outside the redwood curtain.  The soil and design on the trail make it a perfect winter ride, as we encountered no mud and incredible traction thourghout.  I strongly reccomend this ride, if only as a beacon of hope that wheels are turning in favor of the bicycle and to remind us that there are edcuated and experienced individuals who actually put the two wheelers first.  The fresh Ride Files photo album features photos by Sean Tetrault from our first ride in the King's Range on December 9 followed by shots by Justin Graves taken on an encore ride two days later on December 11th, was so good we couldn't stay away.  We hope these photos convey a bit of the beauty and flow which this trail offers.  Enjoy.