Red Bull Weavers - A Dual Race With a Difference
It might sound corny, but this unique race is really going to sort the wheat from the chaff.
The basic premise…take a field of wheat, flatten two bike width tracks side by side, take two hardtail singlespeed 29′ers which only have rear brakes, and then set two riders off head to head. Pure and simple.
Some top pro riders will be in attendance but the race is also open to mere mortals, and you don’t even need a bike as Charge will be there with a whole load that you can borrow. If the weather’s nice this could turn out to be a great event, I can already feel the retro vibes and smell the BBQ’s.
Here’s the full press release…
RED BULL WEAVERS
Higherchurch Farm, Frome
Thursday 16th August, 12pm – 8pm
HEAD TO HEAD, TAKING CYCLING INTO THE CORN
Crop circles are for sissies! So we’ve taken to our bikes determined to make our own mark on the corn, straight lines are not an option!
On Thursday 16th August Red Bull Weavers, a dual slalom downhill bike race like no other, will put riders skills and precision to the ultimate test. The course will be cut into the shoulder-high wheat crop, and will feature steep declines, blind corners and tight-lines to test the mettle of the competitors. With riders expected to reach speeds of 40mph, the stage is set for one of the most adrenaline fuelled downhill bike events to date.
The competition is not about who you are or what bike you’ve got. Riders can simply pitch up on the day, ride one of the custom made Charge bikes with custom Rockshox forks designed especially for this course. The only requirement here is bravery and skill. We aim to showcase the slick styles of the pro-riders, whilst giving the amateurs a chance to show us what they’ve got. Some sick prizes will be on the line, but the one thing every rider will be willing to bleed for is the honor of being known as the legendary Red Bull Weaver.
Red Bull Athlete Kye Forte will be riding and said: I’m really excited about this, I do alot of downhill riding but never head to head competition, it’s something I’ve not done before”
Qualifying will take place at the beginning of the day in single timed runs through the winding corn, once the qualification times have been collected, the fastest 16 will progress into the final. The final format will be a ferocious head-to-head battle down a freshly cut dual slalom run, each pair of riders will duel through the fields with only one progressing, until only two brave-bikers remain.
We have 100 qualifying spots available and for your chance to race the pros please go to www.redbull.co.uk/weavers, read the bike requirements and fill out the application form.
I don’t get it, why not just have actual duel slalom races?! rather than this weird hipster 29′nr thing? also why a field, why not a actual track? A full on dual slalom race series could be bigger than four cross.
I can already hear the ben howard and mumford and sons…
Wow, Red Bull is really stepping it up. From Rampage to this. Someone is going to die. From allergies.
Ohhh what a surprise, people being negative. Sounds FUN to me, you know, FUN!
People are being negative cos it does actually sound like pretty terrible event. Pretty much no spectating opportunities, slow riding with no grip and no proper corners, pretty much impossible in the wet. Worse than their roadie hill sprint.
Idea is good, kinda like that race where they just peg some polls into a hill to make a DS course. But that video is crap: hipster bikes, no helmets? That’s not a race. Limiting it to 29ers + singlespeed + rear brake only is silly, especially as any crash will ruin the course and they will need to trace a new one…
Sounds like it’ll be a laugh and a bit different. Hate on it all you want, but the idea is probably to get Red Bull and Charge noticed and there’s already quite a few views and posts on here. Also they’re hill climbs seemed to be enjoyed by the people who competed and watched
Have you ever walked past the Red Bull place in Bermondsey London? I always see trendy wendy and scene-ster steve in there working through the big window, this must have been one of their ideas…. By riders for riders, less by marketing for check shirt crew.
Charge is just becoming a fashion brand which is a pity as I love The Blender but every few years that jump on another trend. Last one was fixed gear bikes, that’s done with out so now there all about the 29er.
Those two defined tracks are gonna turn into one big motorway by the time a few corners get blown out
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
Downhill is great, and freeride, and bmx, and that stuff inside.
Look at RedBulls proven record in contributing to cycling-not just the sporting element- and think again about complaining.
Rigid 29er no front brake?
I’d try if it was a fixie with no brakes and gearing ratio pulled out a hat.
Two wheels good. And as the best ride on the planet also says, it’s not about the size.
Don’t know if I should hate or rate. Love the ethos behind this: just taking it back to basics and having fun. But then limiting the potential by using 29ers and viewer unfriendly terrain. And people seem to forget that Slalom isn’t always that good to watch: you’ve got the massive numebr of near-identical timed runs to go through first until you get to the actual head to head action – which is often very bland to watch until all the real good riders get to the final few rounds. Then it get’s exciting….
I’ll sit on the fence, and say that Redbull are (once again) the only energy drink company to give something special back to the sports they promote, rather than chuck a heap of cash, some stickers and some banners at an event, a la RockMonstLess
Well, whatever the spectator angle is on this, they’re bound to produce an ‘edit’ with some lovely sweeping shots and artsy close ups of corn gently waving in the breeze, background all out of focus and all that sort of thing.
I think its a great idea. Cheap and fun, whats so bad about that?
Sounds fun, is this not why we all started riding bikes?
Why are mountain bikers so militant about the wearing of helmets?
Is that old bullhead? Dave Wardell? Ledge
Not passing any negativity but no Adam this is not why I got into riding bikes.
This takes me back! we used to do the same thing in the field behind our house in the summer when we were kids, pretending we were john tomac and greg herbold
It gets my vote!
so now people are going to start doing this in any corn field and pissing the farmers off….who probably own the woods in which trails reside….
field of dreams.