The legendary track ‘Black Snake’ has been not only refreshed for the 2015 UCI MTB World Cup Presented by Shimano, but its 2200 meters in length with 519 meters of descent have been improved with two new sections.
In the following video Pippo Marani, the builder of this downhill track, guides us along the racecourse to show what are the main changes. First of all the start line, which has been moved uphill by adding a flow section, a fast one with bermed corners and a new road gap. After this new bit, the racecourse drops into the woods to the famous 'The Wall': a section that in the past has brought fame to the track but that has been changed a lot for this event. In 2013 it was very technical and rocky, while now it has been changed and it is faster and more linear.
It is immediately followed by 'Mickey Mouse', a very fast section that finishes over an S-shaped boardwalk. From there the riders are catapulted straight onto a long fast section infested by 'black snakes', the insidious roots that give the name to the 'Black Snake', and by rocky passages.
In the following section 'RedBull', the track widens up with very tricky passages that really need a lot of physical and technical skills.
After 'RedBull', it will be the moment when the 2015 UCI MTB World Cup riders will have to face 'Teo’s Dog Stone', a very steep and fast section. Its name has to do with Pippo's dog as every time that a race is on, he sits on his very own rock to watch it! But this is not yet the end and there is another difficult, physical and techie section ready for the riders: 'The Hell'. A true hell, indeed, of rocks and gravity, especially tough considering that it comes after more than two minutes of descent. In the final bit, 'Pippo Jump' lunches the riders to the finish line, with a jump that can be
more than 20 meters long.
Info: www.valdisolebikeland.com
