Props to Hannah Otto for keeping a killer instinct while retaining some humility. I know we're only seeing 1% of their lives, but character is easily seen with but a glimpse. Well done LifeTime! Thanks for making Bikes cool again in America
@@jacobmaldonado3951 I mean the way they cycle is way different than the way you cycle, especially in such races and training plans where you do 40+ hours a week on the bike fighting for your breath, for sure a 9-5 retail job is more stressful, where you chill all day in the shop :DD
@jacobmaldonado3951 There's a huge difference between doing it for fun and doing it for a living. There are many jobs that offer better income potential, stability, and lower pressure than being a bike racer.
@@rlm4471it’s not more stressful than a normal job. These athletes get paid handsomely with sponsorships, free gear, and do a sport for a living. Most people aren’t lucky enough to do something they’re passionate about for a living.
@@jacobmaldonado3951 but when you cycle, does your career depend on it? do you cycle 40 hours a week like they do to train, being sore having to do heavy rides, having saddle sores, heavy legs and having to produce constantly wattage as if you are a power station. Yall cry like your 9-5 job where you do nothing and talk with customers like the worst thing in the world :DDD
20:50 really struck home. This year I crashed hard in a race and had a bad concussion, I took a week off and everything felt fine but then when I got back on the bike this is how I felt. It’s good to know I’m not the only one!
That Sophia character is pretty arrogant. Gotta admit it was fun to see her get worked over in the Leadville episode by the ladies she was talking down on. Cycling can be humbling no matter who you are. Problem is that she doesn’t seem to be very self aware and keeps talking down on the ladies who beat her.
I think she comes out looking like a competitor. It's honestly refreshing to see someone just saying what they're thinking. She wants to win and she's there to win. I like it.
Maybe I'm just a dumb f*** but seriously, if you want to make this interesting you got to be able to play the episodes in order, and you have to be able to present them to the viewer in order. Every f****** time I come here to try to find this series, it displays it in random f****** order. You're absolutely killing your viewering statistics by letting RU-vid present s*** and random f****** order.
@@davidyoder3239 agreed. She came to compete and wants to win. People don’t like that she is open about how she feels and would rather everyone take on the humble cookie cutter persona.
Did they use the Succession theme music? Haha Also, can I be friends with the rider with the great attitude who’s always laughing and smiling? She seems so great.
So just an observation regarding Sofia. She states that Kelsey's move was unacceptable, extremely disrespectful and not safe. In one breath she says "I race aggressive, but I'm not gonna take you out" and follows that up with a really disgusting and childish threat. "I can't wait to take you out" She's obviously not concerned about her reputation as a Specialized rider or appearing vindictive in this episode. Maybe her sponsorship and participation in this series is due for a review.
Oooh Sofia…”If Hannah can win Leadville” But you didn’t!! such a backhanded comment…pay attention kids..this isn’t the way to be humble and quietly confident!
@@bw2048 what does "over confident" even mean? The very term implies confidence beyond one's abilities. It is literally defined as "excessively or unreasonably confident". While I appreciate that point you are trying to make by suggesting you have to REALLY believe in your own abilities to be successful at this level I suspect the majority of people watching this would argue Sofia is projecting disrespectful and/or excessive confidence. To me she simply comes across as immature and cocky. With time and experience I am hopeful she will mature and become more respectful.
@@BenZCardiff glad you saw it like that. It complete contrast Keegan in quietly confident and kicks butt every time. I’m shocked his experience isn’t rubbing off on her. I’m am not a fan at all.. and if MO was still with us she would crush her. RIP
I was a fan of Sofía but this was it for me. To threaten harm to another rider, and then be proud of it in a later interview is disgusting. I really think that Life Time should suspend her from participating in 2023.
@@compasschiro That's a totally fair question, David. I don't know Kelsey personally and there's no way that I could know the answer to that. However, I have followed her team, Team 31, for over two years and from what I've seen from her, she is the exact opposite of what Sofia accused her of. But that doesn't matter here. Let's say that Kelsey actually did mean to do it, like Sofia claims. Should any rider still go unpunished for threatening another rider with harm? And then brag about it in a much later interview? Two wrongs never make a right. We don't know what Kelsey truly meant to do, however, Sofia made it abundantly clear what she wants to do. I can almost understand tensions running high at the finish line and saying something stupid. But not only did Sofia show no remorse for threatening Kelsey, she was proud of it. I doubt the UCI would stand for that and Life Time shouldn't either.
Rather than canceling her, I’d like to see her stay on. She is young and deserves time to learn from her mistakes. Perhaps 2023 can be a redemption story for her in the way she treats her competitors.
@@wenjtu I didn't say that the cycling world should "cancel" her or ban her from racing ever again. That's a bit of an extreme correlation. But actions have consequences and I believe her actions deserve consequences.
The double standard here is certainly interesting to me. If a male racer acted the way Sofia does it would garner major headlines. We would all be talking about the latest “gravel beef”. And I suspect there would have been repercussions from sponsors and/or peers calling them out. Why is Sofia getting a pass? Also, I hope Sofia watched this and really heard Rose when she talked about what being a champion is all about.
Why are we spending so much time on Sofias sour grapes? I would have liked to see other riders share more of their stories instead of listening to the cattiness 🤦♂️
Because they are getting you to engage with the video. They are telling a story. They need someone for the viewers to root against. They need someone for the viewers to want to be friends with (Sarah), they need a comeback kid (Hannah). It's a really well-done free RU-vid doc.
@@philipnelson79 I mean, that's fair it's not for everyone. There are people who don't even click on it because they have zero interest in cycling...so even people who do have an interest in cycling doesn't mean they want to see it in this format.
Do top racers ever ease off the throttle and just enjoy the scenery and nature during a race? Maybe I'm just a rider that loves looking around, which is why I do fewer races?
Hey, Specialized. Go ahead and get rid of Sofia...NOT a good ambassador to the sport, a role model for younger females coming up through the sport or your company as a whole. There are SOOO many other amazing women looking for support that actually WANT to be there, not just have a "ehh" attitude and race as a job. Thanks
I don't agree. This would be a totally acceptable attitude in a male racer. What's wrong with unapologetically pursuing a win. It's her job and it's a sport. She should want to win. It's the attitude that we celebrate in MJ or Kobe. We should celebrate it in female athletes as well.
@@davidyoder3239 nah if any of the guys were acting with this, I would say the same thing I think she’s being a little hypocritical it’s racing that happens but threatening to take someone out. It’s just childish.
@@davidyoder3239 Thank you for your response. However, I have to respectfully disagree. Because "if a male racer" does it, it's acceptable isn't a good argument. I would have made the same argument for a man. In fact, I don't watch most professional sports due to the lack of sportsmanship, I feel we are going backwards. EX...football. Yes, you are supposed to stop the other team from advancing, you hit each other beat on each other etc. BUT, I would teach my son that after he cleaned someone's clock, he would help them up, not stand over them and taunt them. I used to coach NICA kids and above all else, sportsmanship is the key. I have raced every kind of bicycle for the better part of 30 years, I'm familiar with how it works. Most of us won't earn paychecks doing this and we should treat each other with a bit more respect, she sets a bad example. Yes, we should all want to win, be extremely driven, work hard, focused...but it's not ok to be an a**hole to other competitors. Another woman accidentally made her crash, in the mud, during a race and took it upon herself to apologize after, to then be greeted with "I can't wait to take you out". She needs to go away and be a free agent not representing anyone with that kind of attitude. There are plenty of accomplished women cyclists that would happily take her support from Specialized and have a better image for the sport and the business. Just my opinion. Everyone is welcome to their own. Thanks again.
John I agree 100%. She "makes herself" the villian not the producer writing the storyline. She couldn;t try to be more unlikeable. Yo Specialized, you're good at dropping athletes, ambassadors and retailers...how's Sofia staying on the team???
Would Otto have raced if it had not been for the Lifetime GP? She clearly wasn't up to it and she paid the price. She has talked about concussion before but still decided to race. Not a great advert.
This seems to be an unpopular take, but Sofia kept it together really well in those finish line chat clips. She didn’t try to scrap or anything like that. If she really feels like another racer intentionally harmed her then I don’t see why you would expect her to not retaliate. This is competitive sports not a corporate setting. Obviously this Lifetime series is going to try to bring this story out, it is just good marketing.
I think her reaction is not the problem, the problem is rather that she talks about how it was an unfair and unsafe move and then go on to basically threaten her and say she can't wait to take her out
I realize we're viewing these athletes through a VERY small lens, but Sofia Gomez Villafañe is super annoying. Most of the athletes featured in this series seem humble, down-to-Earth, friendly, approachable, and just like all around nice people... except for her.
Sarah’s comments about it being more stressful than a normal job are kind of out of touch…some people are running into burning buildings and rolling up to car accidents….🙄
Why full-face helmets aren't more common or required for generes of Gravel, MTB riding/racing outside of Enduro/DH/Freeride and even road, mystifies me. The footage of the face-plant crash/concussion of one of the female racers just drives home how important protecting All of your head is(!). I've had two crashes that had i been running a glorified skullcap, I'd have been sucking my breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a blender for nigh a year. I've talked to another rider who had complete reconstructive facial surgery due to a crash when he was wearing a half-helmet. Additionally, requiring a neck-brace like they do in moto-cross, DH/Enduro/Freeride, and multiple formats of powered off-road or road racing 4 or 2 wheeled also mystifies me. That face-plant concussion also put her neck through a ton of shock. She had to have had a Really sore neck for a week (!). Paralysis could have been another outcome in that crash... Safety equipment in cycling Really Needs to catch up to the levels the moto crowd has outside where it's already been implemented in the DH/Enduro/Freeride world. P.s. Could we Please Lose the 'reality' show aspect of how the race series is produced. I don't care about these athlete's emotions. I only care that they compete and the Results get shown. Their feelings/emotions are unimportant to the viewer and a Private thing at the end of the day. This is an athletic competition; Not a MTV 'reality' show..!
@@Se0what My point is that I'd rather see any form of wheeled racing done like it's done for UCI Cyclocross races, F1, Dakar Rally Raid, IMSA, or other professional races. Have the rolling info ribbon below and the vertical row with the athletes in their respective categories where they are by their times and have the commentators focusing on stats and if need be, referencing past relevant races. The individual athletes' trials and tribulations on a more personal level are completely unimportant. (I despise the Olympics for the same reason, don't give one rat's ass about their stories/problems; we all have them and generally figure some kind of solution and it's a thing you do. It doesn't make you special.). Also, you don't hear Actual Adult Pro athletes whining about their challenges or feelings; they compete, win, lose, place, and briefly talk to the reporter re. their performance post event. I don't think you're going to hear Stephen Curry or Klay Thomson being whiny little Millennials or Gen Z snowflakes talking about how they feel pre-game...
Dude you try riding only 3 hours with a full face helmet at max effort and then say they need to catch up on safety and it sounds like you need to stick to the uci scene because if you don’t appreciate the production value of this series then you’re crazy
Man, Sofia has quickly become the worst personality in cycling history... including a certain famous Texan who liked yellow. Like genuinely, who would say that stuff, let alone on Camera. To think another top competitor would intentionally crash so as to crash you out is insane. Let alone her arrogance over Hannah's previous performance. Yeah Sofia is better cyclist than I'd ever want to be, but at least I'm not a terrible human 90% of the time.
Also with that said, Hannah, Rose, Sarah, and Hayley are so genuinely likeable that it's a hilarious dichotomy of "main characters". I hope the aspiring riders look up to the women listed in my reply vs the rider in my post.
Perhaps I have a different opinion on what a “race video” should be. Instead of focusing on the grit and determination of these amazing athletes going head to head in an epic cross-country mountain bike race, they opted to make this a soap opera of off-bike cattiness and drama. I watched this one first, since I have first-hand experience racing in this historic event, but I may just skip the remaining 5 episodes.
I’ve watched episodes 1-5 and I’ve got to agree with the OP, seems like they put a lot more race coverage in the mens episodes…maybe due to the lack of off course drama? Maybe because there wasn’t as much race coverage from the women’s races? I dunno, but not my favorite series by far.
@@compasschiro Oh, did my opinion offend you? I'm very sorry that your feelings got hurt, David. In the future, I'll make sure that I forward any and all comments to you for review, and if you feel like any of them might hurt your feelings, I will not post them, OK? I hope this makes you feel better, David. Really I do. I always forget to consider how fragile some people are on the the Internet, and sometimes I carelessly believe that I have the right to post a review on something I've just watched. My bad.
Rewatching Season 1 and it's just as thrilling 🚵♂👏. It's a cornerstone in our collection, setting the stage for the epic Season 2. Kudos to the creators!
