Matt Simmonds isn't an independent guy. http://mattsimmonds.co.uk/ This season was the best I've seen. Meribel was such an awesome track.
Have you seen the head to head helmet cam of Sam Hill and Loic Bruni? http://dirtmountainbike.com/videos/video-bruni-vs-hill-head-head-meribel.html New highlights video out now too: http://dirtmountainbike.com/racing-events/finals-video-2014-meribel-world-cup.html The top 10 look like rockets. Very smooth, no hard or sudden braking anywhere.
Great race. Good to see Sam Hill on top with his simple bike an flat pedals, just great riding. Well deserved for Ratboy and Gwinn in second in the overall is great considering some bad luck with that flat. That track looks like a blast.
Wanted to see a Blenki vs Hill comparison for the bottom section, and got it, sort of: http://dirtmountainbike.com/racing-events/geek-stats-meribel-world-cup.html Knew Blenki was fast on that part, since he was about 5 sec back at the 2nd split, yet took the hot seat. I think Sam Hill intentionally saved up to make up time on the bottom with a big push, after seeing where he lost time from qualifiers. Kind of interesting to see if the riders set up any sort of strategy seeing how, as super human as they seem to be, they aren't going flat out on the entire course.