Lourdes' Wintry Worries ❄

Could an early kick off for the World Cup series end in French farce? The World Cup kicks off in just over a week with the holy pilgrimage to Lourdes. Only once in World Cup history has the World Cup started in March but that was [in Pietermaritzburg]( at the tail end of the South African summer. That race was, dry, dusty and flat out, an early spring race in Europe will be a very different proposition. Lourdes has started the World Cup season every time it has been included in the calendar but it has previously been scheduled in April. Even at those races, there has been snow on the ground for early morning practice sessions and this time we're a whole month earlier making the Pic Du Jer course an even more treacherous proposition. The truth is, Lourdes' limestone track does not deal with rain well. A few drops of moisture can turn the rocky track into a slimy, slippery menace. Race fans will remember what happened five years ago when a storm ripped through the venue halfway through the men's finals, making the world's finest riders look like ducklings on ice and [handing the win to a flying but fortunate Alex Fayolle](. Looking ahead on [Accuweather]( we're expecting highs of a chilly but not alarming 15°C (59°F) but that dips overnight to just above freezing at around 3° (37°F) in Lourdes. That might be one thing at ground level in the town but add on the 1,500 foot (473 m) altitude to the top of the track and we could be in for some seriously challenging sessions. Thankfully, there's no forecast of rain... yet. Juniors and women will be the most affected by any adverse weather as they generally ride earlier in the day, before the weather has warmed up to melt away any snow, or frost, or burn off the dew. The early scheduling could also be difficult for riders from North America or Australasia who will have to travel halfway around the world for one race before flying home again or book eight weeks' worth accommodation in Europe as they wait for the next round in Fort William. For many privateers, these costs will simply be too much to swallow. We're hoping for the best, of course, and hope the organisers can pull off another incredible round of the World Cup in the midi Pyrenees as we've seen before, but keep your eye out for a lottery weekend and some surprise results. Assuming the weather blesses us with a trouble-free race, check out [Andrew Neethling's prediction picks on Beta, here.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK HITS - [Review]( 2022 Transition Repeater - The Electric Sentinel - [Predictions]( 14 More Bikes That Could See an Update in 2022 - [Photo Story]( Snowstorms Wreak Havoc at the 2022 Tennessee National DH --------------------------------------------------------------- BETA GOOD INTENTIONS: HOW THE OPEN-SOURCE ISIS DRIVE BOTTOM BRACKET ALMOST CHANGED THE WORLD Some of the greatest movies of the modern era hinged on plot points that would not make sense today. If a single partygoer had tweeted about the storming of Nakatomi Plaza, the police would have been alerted much sooner, and the events of “Die Hard” would have turned out very differently. If the McAlister family had set their alarms on their cell phones like today’s humans, that fateful power outage wouldn’t have put them in such a frenzy, and little Kevin would not have been left “Home Alone.” Times change, and the rules change with them. That’s why this very fond retelling of the story behind the ISIS Drive bottom bracket may seem a little odd. Not because of its unfortunate acronym (which stands for International Splined Interface Standard). And not because we shouldn’t remember ISIS Drive fondly. The then-new way of attaching crank to bottom bracket actually did a lot of good in its short lifespan. But that lifespan was indeed quite short and rather troubled. The introduction and near-immediate dominance of “two-piece” cranks meant that bottom-bracket spindles and crank arms would always be manufactured under the same roof, and the need for an International Standard for their Splined Interface suddenly evaporated. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- SLACK RANDOMS This is where we share highlights and lowlights from our internal Slack channel. This week it's our current favorite snowboarding video video. Think pumptracks are just for mtbs? Think again. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Link]( [Website]( Copyright © 2022 Pinkbike / Trailforks, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for Pinkbike/Trailforks and opted into emails. Our mailing address is: Pinkbike / Trailforks 37749 2nd aveSquamish, BC V8B 0A8 Canada [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.