This past weekend was the first round of the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William, Scotland. You probably have heard by now that Gee and Rachel Atherton both won their respective fields aboard the all new GT Fury. The shocker for many people is that 2012 overall winner Aaron Gwin had a very average run. Gwin came down the track with a time of 4:45.613 in 20th place which was 8.9 seconds off of first.

 

Click the image to watch the Red Bull replay of the race

In the off season, Gwin made a very controversial move from Trek World Racing to Specialized Factory Racing. Many people are saying that this will be the downfall of his career and days of winning. After reading many online comments I have made a few conclusions. People are saying that Gwin is not going as fast on a demo 8 as he used to on a Trek Session. They also say that the Demo is slower because it is not a “true downhill bike” and rather a “bike park bike”. It is obvious that this is not true because the 2013 Demo’s geometry is based 100% on input from Sam Hill. How can this not be a true downhill bike? On a semi-related note, will Specialized be changing up their DH bike lineup now that Sam Hill has switched to Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof?

Basically what I am saying is that it is unfair to judge Aaron so quickly. He is on a new team and a new bike. It is only the first race of the season and everybody is trying to gain traction and make last minute adjustments. We will have to see how Gwin does this weekend at Val Di Sole, Italy before we judge him and Specialized Factory Racing. See below if you want to see Gwin absolutely slaying trails!