We have already presented the training days that the Rocky Mountains team spent in Pogno, HERE you can see the full report; now it is time to present the interview that Alessandro Crolla made for us.
Hi guys, we are here in Omegna now, hosted by Canottieri Outdoor,
today we had a fantastic day on the Owl trails in Pogno, there you are
have a good time? Did you like the trails we did?
Jesse Melamed (from now on, J): Yes Yes I liked them, very funny, they were similar to Finale Ligure, one of my
favorite places to ride, the trails were fast, technical, and it was great to follow you
guys you know all the right lines and jumps.
Remi Gauvin (from now on, R): Very Flow, through the natural gullies, being able to turn in those small valleys was
very funny.
Andreane Lanthier Nadeau (from now on, A) Yes, definitely very playful and fun trails.
All right, now I have some questions for each of you
Jesse, you have been in the high ranks of World Enduro for many years,
could you describe how the discipline has evolved over the years?
J: As he did a circle, at the beginning enduro was very physical for the body and technical for the means, now we are going back to that situation, but we may have shorter competition days, with
really intense and fast special stages; for example, in Canazei la
first special stage (PRO Stage) was short, about 3 minutes, but all the same
they ended up completely dead, also because going so fast you have to be al
110%.
The distances of the times are really minimal, even in the tests
the longer the times are very close, you can play the victory for a few
seconds… this changes the psychological pressure in the race or at the start of the
special tests?
J: it's all so "tight" and close, you can do the best but many other people are fast too so, on the one hand it almost takes away your
pressure because we are all there, you give your best and see if you have done well,
on the other hand it can put a lot of pressure on you because you can't make any mistakes.
Changing the theme of the questions, what do you use, in the tests at home or
on the race fields, to find your ideal suspension setting?
ALN: I usually prefer to find my ideal setting before leaving for the races,
thus taking the settings in Canada, arriving in Europe, seeing how it goes. Of
we usually come a little before the first race so that we can do some
adjustment, but usually my settings remain constant no matter where
I run, I make really small changes, but my base remains the same
everywhere, so my ideal setting is one that I can take to any event and I am
sure it will go well, with at most a few small changes. For evidence remains
the same as the race, I don't change it, the only situations where maybe I change it
totally is when I ride to have fun at home, because my race settings are
"Fast" so sometimes I have to "slow down" the bike to have some fun.
Do you use something special like telemetry to find your ideal setting?
ALN: Not me, the boys do.
J: Yes, this winter we used motion sensors and tools for the
telemetry, we have found that they help you a lot.
A: Yes it is nice to have a photograph of what your bike is doing under you and
so you can know if it's in good or bad shape, and it's really quick and easy to tell if
it's working, you don't have to think too much about it and you can keep doing what you do
ever.
Remi, how many times do you train, especially in the weeks when you don't have any
station?
A: It depends, in a light week maybe 10 hours or less on my bike, in
heavier weeks, hours rise to 20-22. Usually it works as a block, you start from
a light week, then add hours each week, until you are really tired, and this is when we take
maybe a week off or recovery. So you start from 10 hours, then you move on to
15, then to 18 or 20, and then at most others, otherwise you go back to 10. We certainly spend a lot
time on the bike.
In recent years MTBs, especially for Enduro, have really changed,
becoming more aggressive, more downhill, as you think she is riding
these bikes has changed?
A: Well… I think it's like a natural progression, as the races become
more difficult, physical, with important slopes, all raise their level, intensity
increases, that's what happens when a sport grows, so now everyone has the
energy to finish a long day of competition, but you need something to help you
keep the intensity right, everyone is going to the max, so half that
responds to these characteristics is ideal, it is right that it is so because
this is what happens when a sport is in the midst of its evolution.
In special stages, you always go full throttle, or try to learn the
track, how much speed to have and how much energy to give?
ALN: It depends on the special stages, in short stages you always have to go to the maximum,
when you know there is a very technical piece to be done, you have to get into it enough
"rested"; for example if there is a big raise in practice and then I know there is one
technical descent, I will not go to full throttle in the ascent, because I have to do it in clarity
descent, so I plan a little bit. But at the top, right now, you have to be capable of
drive even long technical and difficult sections to tired, therefore, like
Remi said, people are going stronger and stronger, they must be ready to
driving under stress, so if you want to be in the front you have to basically go all the time
at most.
A question for all of you, if you could choose any advice you can give to
all the young guys who decide to try to approach enduro, which one
would you give?
A: The first fundamental thing; you must really love to ride a bike, you must
wanting to ride a bike for a long time, I don't mean
every day because it is practically impossible for many, but to have fun with long rides,
the nice thing about enduro is just being able to ride a lot, I think this is the best thing about enduro, and it's something that
you have to learn to love.
ALN: I think you have to look ahead, really simple; but it is something that
we always have to remember to do, your eyes are your best tools,
in addition to this the mindset of those who start doing something must be the best mindset
because you want to try new things, you are super motivated to improve yourself, you have to
always remember how you felt in the beginning and push yourself to always try things
new, because this is the only way to improve
J: My thinking is similar to Remi's, spending a lot of time on your bike,
play with your bike, when you go with friends maybe do some challenges, challenge each other
on the times or on the lines it helps a lot, obviously the workouts are needed and
they help, because if you don't train and go to the gym it's not the best, but what it is
what counts is to spend days on your bike, trying to go fast on the descents, and
try to always have fun, this is the fastest and most fun method to
improve. Having a group of friends helps a lot, where while having fun you train and
each drags the other.
Thank you very much, I hope you enjoyed staying here on Lake Orta, and with us on
paths, we all hope that maybe one day you will come back, and thank you very much
yet for being with noi.
Now watch the video presentation of the Team:
