Super interesting! I've done the same thing with Jack's footage and came to the same conclusion, nothing special, he is just going slightly faster everywhere.
It looks like jesse is able to carry more speed because his mind is able to slow things down giving him more time to react to whats coming ahead. I think with alot of us , we arent quite able to do that effectively. I may be wrong but thats just what I think
For me Jesse it's the power and acceleration out of the blocks, and your ability to carry speed through those exits. I love these videos because it teaches me, an absolute rank amateur some really good techniques. Cheers Alex for putting this together
Hi Alex.....great video and certainly demonstrates your interest in assessing and improving your riding/racing performance. Your 18 secs deficit to Jesse is not an eternity and just highlights the tools at the disposal of a pro racer to generate their pace/results: 1. Riding Skills - experience & consistency 2. Fitness Level - ugly and relentless but necessary training regimes 3. Bike Set-Up - pro mechanics + riding experience 4. Mindset & Mental Strength - without this you cannot and will not realise the full potential of 1, 2 & 3 5. Personal Life outside racing - need to be content/happy to be able to capitalise on 1, 2, 3 & 4 effectively. *** If a pro racer wants to be consistently successful and win, he/she needs all the planets 1-5 to be aligned. One of the most important tools you can have in your riding/racing arsenal is "consistency"......no matter what the level of your riding ability. By consistency I mean - smooth & clean riding with minimal risks inline with your ability which in turn will mitigate riding mistakes (time loss) and allow you to achieve best result and understand your level .......and from the video you appear to have done that on the Pro Stage on day #1. Consistency will give you the confidence and relevant platform to improve your performance/s. Remember the guys in front of you are still only humans competing on the similar/same device, so with the correct preparation, approach and effort anything is possible! And after reviewing your overall race result (74th) and stage times/results you rode reasonably consistent over the whole race in Tweed. To demonstrate the importance of any rider needing 1-5 lining up, look who came 73rd overall......Mr. Sam Hill. Sam has undoubtedly got 1 & 3 covered......so somewhere inside the other 3 elements something is lacking/missing at the moment??? You make a comment about Jesse 'risking more than you' in one section of the stage. I would suggest you are actually taking more risks than Jesse in many places in terms of both your riding levels. A pro enduro racer such as Jesse doesn't achieve their performance level by taking uncalculated risks, sometimes maybe but rarely, for the most part they ride within their own limits (ability, fitness, bike set-up, concentration level) to minimise mistakes and maximise their results over the full race weekend. The point here is that if you think Jesse was faster because he took more risks than you, then you are wrong....completely wrong. He was faster than you because of 1-5 above and sheer focus and effort over 'every metre' of the stage/s. Please be assured I am not being critical in anyway and just want to make some constructive comments re your video/commentary. It must be acknowledged that Pro racers don't just arrive on the scene as 'pro racers' and start winning, they work bloody hard and make many life sacrifices to achieve such a position in the sport. And for those who maybe wondering if I am related to Jack.....yes I am his father, so reasonably well informed with my comments. perseverance and improving his skill level were slowly rewarded with better results over the following DH years and have now culminated in his achievement/s in EWS.........and I am sure Jesse has a similar story and/or experiences that have resulted in his rise to the top of the EWS tree. So I make a strong recommendation to any rider not to be discouraged by 'not so impressive' placings in any races if/when your starting out, but rather as you rightly point out Alex, that irrespective of your position/place in the stage to Jesse, it is your time deficit to Jesse (or whoever you wish to measure your performance against) that is most important and after you choose a reference rider the goal should be to improve your performances to get closer to that rider over time and in future races. All the above maybe a bit long winded for some but hopefully some added perspective on the 'pro' versus 'privateer' discussion and to generally achieving better results/performances irrespective of your rider status. PS. Don't know why the red text, it just happened.
Great comparison. Jesse was v lucky with that bar/shoulder clip that it didn’t throw him off line or even off his bike. Just shows how hard they are always pushing at that level. The final DH bit through the woods from him his commitment and fitness really showed the latter with his attack on the upslope before the turn into the ramp. Those guys must train so hard.
Such a good breakdown. Would love to see more of these. Breaking down the sections rather than having one continuous side by side was a great way to get a clearer comparison!
Really interesting video and it illustrates just how good the very best riders are. Those small gains over the entire length of a stage or track, add up to something more significant at the finish.
It was a great idea to reset the stopwatch in each section. I also admired the sportsmanship from one fellow rider to the other. Well done!! Keep it up!!! That's the spirit!!!
Excellent video, and very interesting. You obviously have all the skills, but you can definitely see an intensity difference between you and Jesse. Jesse seems to be pedaling hard at any opportunity to gain back any momentum lost, or to gain a little more, excellent stuff.
Crazy! He's a bike length in front 2.5 seconds after the start 3:50 (look at the tree on the right). He's several bike lengths at 4:25 where you first stop it.... And to be able to pedal that hard for the whole race and multiple stages is crazy fitness.
This video is exactly what Iv been wondering. I ride those trails often not to your level though. But I was thinking how can they ride those trails so fast after only one practice against really fast guys like yourself. Amazing video and very informative Alex. Well done
super interesting!!! plz more of that type helps a lot. Maybe it would be interesting to show the speed difference you could grap that from strava or split time. What would be also cool to see if you could du an ghost overlay in some parts e.g. when different line are taken and show the time difference.
Awesome video, thank you. I did the EWS 100 and compared my over all time to the pros and thought I did pretty well, then realised you guys did another stage 😂
Very cool, reminded me when local pros went against national level riders in moto, you see local pros and wonder how they go so fast, than a national level riders comes and literally smokes them, mind boggling, great video, thanks for sharing
Fantastic vid thanks. I’d definitely tune in for more like this. Seeing helmet cam footage from the fastest guys only really makes sense when positioned against other riders. Think I learned as much in those 14 mins as I did in the rest of the year!
I have to think that Jesse's track conditions were also less favorable and he would have pulled even more time had he been on the same track as you. Very good video.
agree and disagree. The track / location we raced, in some instances, it is more grippy, the wetter the trails get. Not using this as an excuse, just pointing something out - as a lot of people have said similar
Yep - Jessie had slightly wetter conditions, but the tracks up at Innerleithen do get gripper - and you could argue, faster - when super wet! Video settings - the exact same interns of frame rate etc (30fps)
Interesting analysis Alex. Just wondering if your GoPro settings are the same in terms of FPS and lens view settings as Jesse looks visually faster. For example 25fps looks a lot faster than 60 fps due to motion blur. Wider angle also looks faster than say medium angle lens.
I guess the stabilisation in darker conditions on the 9 is better than the 8 which makes it smoother hence it looks slower and less hectic. Anyway interesting vid. Cheers.
This very interesting to see, just seeing how fast pro rider's are but just think they do this for a living they have coaches, mechanics, fitness guys, tech at there disposal.
this is an awesome video! I am trying to make a similar video of me and a friend who beat me but I cannot find a video software that has split screen capability. What did you use?
Very very interesting video. That xas à good way to figure out where Jesse get so much time! Impressive! I think we can get the speed in seconds per minutes related to this also, giving an idea of where you lose time.
Great vid and great race to both of you guys. He just never lets up and is always attacking. Plus specifically corners and turns- on every single one he doesn’t lose speed as much and often is able go gain speed. Think about how many corners and turns there are in races, not just big ones but just all the twists and turns- if he just gains .25 secs on each one over the course of a race it adds up. Him hitting that tree tells you just how aggressively and close to the edge he is hitting every one. I know whenever I follow faster riders than me it’s always the turns where they pull away.
Very intersting, indeed! I asked several times myself, not why but where some other more talented riders are always be significant faster than me on the trails? Mostly they turn al lot faster, and a better line choice, too. To work on the line choice is not so hard like to work on turning incredible fast (for me..^^).
Excellent video. Loved it. Made me think that next level would be to have a privateer vs pro with powermeter data and braking points/force side by side. You should try that with your neighbor Lewis Buchanan and have Ben Cathro film it with the different line choices merged on same vid
Great vid Alex. I wonder if Jesse's extra fitness was offset your local knowledge, but he's just willing to stay off the brakes more into the corners? It is his 9-5 after all and doen't have to clock in to work on monday morning like you...
Most of it is down to fitness and strength ...I wouldn't say that Jesse is much more skilled than you but just fitter and stronger basically the same advantage that you have over me .
He obviously pushes into the corners harder. His lines in the bottom of every turn are perfect and he pushes out hard pumping off everything he can get grip on. That’s the movement you see in his front bars.
You are riding well to be within 15-20sec of winning time. That’s mostly down to talent (no offense), conditioning, fear control to get that extra out of it. I thought i ride fast until i road w a guy who has no fear and rides like nothing can go wrong - he is also fitter.
Good stuff. So be more agressive, pedal if you can especially up hills and keep off the brakes. Simple when I say it like that but yeah 74th in Ews you’re already fast
So it comes down to "why is he faster around those crucial corners, and how can he put the hammer down on the flat sections?" I suspect a tiny bit higher level of skill, risk acceptance and anaerobic capacity / strength to weight ratio is what accounts for those 18 seconds. At your level, I don't think it has much to do with bike setup.
@@wolfpack_adventures My point was not to discount bike setup, but rather to say that at that level of international competition, one would assume and hope that both of your bikes are dialed for the individual rider and conditions (tires, psi, front and rear shocks, geometry etc. etc.) Anyway, enjoyed your video and good on you for analyzing your performance and trying to improve. Also goes to show the vast gulf between the average Joe (me) and the internationally renowned riders (you and Jesse Melamed).
The Pros are always faster on the technical tricky parts , watch Gee Atherton on the tricky parts he goes flat out , a novice will be cautious and lose a lot of time
Dude just pedals hard right of the bat. He wants to win. You going in probably never even thought about winning. Not at the race and not at the video comparison. Thats the difference.
