Steve Peat - Behind The Scenes…
The next  DH race on the UCI calendar is at Vale Di Sole, last year It was the last race of the season, this year it is the second and one that will prove to be exciting. Steve Peat has been on the tour for many years and as one of the top riders so is used to the stresses and excitement that occurs at a race. Last year I-MTB was able to spend some time with Peaty and follow him around at the Vale di Sole race where the atmosphere was fairly relaxed. As a precursor to this years race and to give an insight to what a top rider like Peaty does at a race, we put together a selection of images that summed up the Peaty experience.
Peaty greets us with a pre qualification coffee in the bar.
Warming up before the first practice run.
Adjusting his TLD helmet...ready to go.
Peaty making his way up to the lift.
A bike is harder to fit in the lift than skis.
On the ride up he discusses life, and helmets...
After a quick race to the start for the photographer Peaty was all relaxed as he cruised into the start gate.
The top of the track was tough, so the riders took time out to check the best lines, here Peaty chats with Ratboy.
A first run and test down the technical first section.
Checking what other riders do can help evaluate one's own lines.
Qualifying run. Unfortunately it is not possible to follow him all the way on this one!
Back in the pits his bike gets some fine tuning and suspension changed.
Mean time Peaty takes time out to sign a few of his championship year books with fans. After doing MotoGP for a few years you can see Peaty has exactly the same effect on fans as Valentino Rossi.
Race time, with the whole weekend hanging on just one run, Peaty caught his pedal on the corner just above this location, loosing valuable time and dropping him down the leader board.
Legs taking a beating in the race...
Waiting at the finish with Greg Minaar, seeing what the final riders to go achieve time wise.
Overall it was an exciting weekend, despite it being the last race of the year, hopefully this year coming will be just as exciting especially with Greg’s win from South Africa carrying him forward into race number 2 with hope and expectations of  staying in the top riders.
Interesting Video of Peaty in South Africa following Greg…
