[GDT] February 18 General Thread

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

I don't understand how that's fair. Isn't that like racing a Civic against a Lamborghini?

That's not a really good comparison.
Citius which builds the German sleds is the top designer in the world. Eurotech which builds the Canadian and Dutch sleds are also a very good builder, much better than a few years ago.

BMW only does American sleds, they're just different, can't really say better or worse. Like racing a Ferrari versus a McLaren.

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by craigwd

That's not a really good comparison.
Citius which builds the German sleds is the top designer in the world. Eurotech which builds the Canadian and Dutch sleds are also a very good builder, much better than a few years ago.

BMW only does American sleds, they're just different, can't really say better or worse. Like racing a Ferrari versus a McLaren.

I don't know, you'd think they'd all have to use the same sled. The Americans ran into a ton of walls and still put up better numbers.

[dissentowner]

Go Slovakia

[CgyFlamesftw]

Exactly my point. They should all use the same sleds in my opinion.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

I don't know, you'd think they'd all have to use the same sled. The Americans ran into a ton of walls and still put up better numbers.

As I mentioned before, the sled is one part of the equation. And I'm just talking sled design. As Mark and Helen mentioned, runner steel choice makes a difference, as does bob set up.

Meyers/Williams had a 0.05s better push time, generally you can multiply that by 3 to find out how much better a down time you get.

Humphries/Moyse had a cleaner run but through all the speed traps they seemed slower. That would suggest runner choice.

I point to Ciochetti/Valois also as an example and piloting. Exact same sleds as Humphries/Moyse, pretty good starts and generally clean runs, but Jenny always goes slow thru the track. That's driver ability and runner choice.

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by CgyFlamesftw

Exactly my point. They should all use the same sleds in my opinion.

I agree. Swimmers have to wear the same suits. Why should one country get an advantage because of their equipment?

[MillerTime GFG]

I saw an ad on TV...I believe the Americans had Mercedes design their bobsleds.

Perhaps the Canadians had Ford design theirs?

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

I agree. Swimmers have to wear the same suits. Why should one country get an advantage because of their equipment?

That's not the case at all.

You're also all making the same thought error. Bumping the wall doesn't necessarily mean you lose speed, especially sideways hits. Skids kill speed as do head on taps.

[19Yzerman19]

Halfpipe finals has started... Worst possible conditions. No idea what happens here.

Noah Bowman has landed his run, though it shouldn't be anywhere near the podium by the end. Still amazing that he's able to ski switch through the absolute garbage that is this pipe right now.

[Kelekin]

Bowman putting down that run was a smart plan with these conditions.

[19Yzerman19]

Riddle manages to stick a run with two doublecorks. Sketched out the second one, but at least he landed it. You can see the guys having serious trouble coming across the bottom of the pipe. That should be mid 80's.

EDIT: No, a 71.4, bit of a surprise. I guess they didn't think he was clean enough.

[FFR]

Nice run by Riddle - at least appeared to be....

Much bigger tricks but I guess his landings weren't good enough to get a high score?

[bossy22]

regarding the bobsleds being the same. They only have a weight requirement I believe.
It's just an evolution of the sport. Build the gear better and faster and you save hundredths of a second.
It's like when our Canadian speed skaters started using the clap skate at Nagano. The other nations complained. We got lots of medals, now everyone is using the clap skate.

[FFR]

The fog there is crazy! I am amazed at the tricks they are throwing off with limited visibility.

[19Yzerman19]

Man, how can the judges see anything with this fog?!

[Kelekin]

"That was underwhelming" "88.6"

This pretty much sums up how I feel about all the half-pipe/slopestyle events.

[Skaloper]

Latvia up 2-0 on Swiss at end of the first.

[FFR]

Originally Posted by Kelekin

"That was underwhelming" "88.6"

This pretty much sums up how I feel about all the half-pipe/slopestyle events.

Yeah - and they were really impressed by the Canadian's run (I think Riddle?) who scored below 80. I know nothing about this sport but the announcers seemed confused.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Kelekin

"That was underwhelming" "88.6" This pretty much sums up how I feel about all the half-pipe/slopestyle events.

This sums up how much you and the announcers know about the sport. Plus they couldn't see his first hit, which was the biggest trick in his run and the best anyone's landed so far. I would've said 86 or so, but 88.6 isn't out of the realm of reasonableness.

[OffsideSpecialist]

I think Riddle's score had to come down to his landings. I'm no expert but the landings looked fairly sketchy and it looked like he touched or almost touched the snow once or twice.