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Beautiful description!
They have made it harder to hit…..moved the turn in….added a zig……added a zag….uprooted the whole thing and moved it 40 feet to the left……small changes over the years
Couple more from this year.
Picture of Tomac I snapped this year during practice. Such an awesome jump to see in person. There was a guy this year at MXoN on a Fantic 250 smoker hitting it. Guy was a beast!
Great PS!! Btw he manualled it.. lol
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The early and late 90's version of Larocco's leap is not apples to apples to what it is today. In the early days, the landing was several feet tall and built on up on flat ground. The consequences of casing it were ankle pain and bars laid back in your lap, the reward of making it was still met with a falling out of the sky feeling and still a rather hard landing.
As the years have progressed, the Richie's have built up a larger sized landing and removed soil from the downside to give a much longer downside to the landing than is present on the face of that same landing jump. This raises the stakes immensely because a case and rebound is followed by another 12-15' vertical drop for bad stuff to happen in. The upside, and my suspicion of what the track builders were trying to do, is that if you grease the landing it is so smooth that the rider and equipment could do it all day long without any issues. Over Jumping today would likely feel like skydiving while waiting to land, lol.
This video shows the progression of how much the landing has changed.
At the 56 second mark you can see laracoo jump it and the landing is a small mound with no real downside (think tabletop)
At the 3:55 minute mark you can see in about 2007 when the landing had continued to be built up but still on that flat surface (front and backside of landing the same length)
At the 6:31 minute mark you can see more what it looks like it modern times with a much longer and pronounced landing.
Here’s a pic of my buddy eating a funnel cake on the landing of the leap after des nations this year. Hahaa
2008
Well that’s because it is…
Watching it from the stands. The day I was there only a couple of the 250 guys even tried. The prep/ traffic/ mud/sand in the left corner before seems to matter more then anything….. Bogel 19 was so smooooooth though!
I have been to a few races at Redbud but have never ridden the track. Those of you who have hit it or attempted, what gear are you in just for our perspective? On a 450.
3rd
Here is a Swap Moto photo of Hakon Osterhagen going for it on the Fantic 250 2 stroke.
Top of 3rd on a 450 is what I used to say.. now, wfo at the top of 3rd....
So many of you love this jump. But then in the thread about whoops you all want tamed down obstacles for safety. It's very confusing. This jump separates the Riders and it has a high penalty for lack of execution. Just like any other obstacle.
After watching that great compilation, it would seem that the price of casing it can be rather high. Lol Roczen sure had some effortless style over it. Jett jumped it like it was just another day at the office. Kudos to anyone that can clear it.
I don't know about taming down whoops in SX, but THE LEAP has an alternative approach to it. You don't have to clear it. Just land in the middle like 90% of the riders do. The whoops, however, is something you cannot get around. Just my observation.
You could just go slower through the whoops, maybe jump them if you're unable to skim. Your right hand has the most say in how safe any obstacle is.
Probably a top 3 reason and there are only 3, to like a 450, is the fact that you are now capable of hitting this jump.
3rd matted with a little preload and you’re a smooth operator.
Pit Row
Someone on vital said they didn’t think a 40+ Vet could clear the leap on a dual sport with slicks. TFS handed someone his beer and sent it on his DRZ and proved them wrong. Most amazing thing I’d never seen. RIP TFS!!!
3rd tapped on a 450……..just thinking about that makes me grateful for woods racing
I duno man... 3rd wide in the woods gives me the heebie jeebies even more and I have ridden with some gncc pros that do that on the regular. Lol
Watching Tanel Leok from Estonia launch it no problem 1st lap unseen in the mud!! at this years MXDN did it for me.
Maxime Reneux (sp) cleared it every lap at MXdN. He would tap his rear brake mid-air to bring his front wheel down a bit for a smooth landing. Very impressive technique.
He was Super fast on 125,s . The EMx class is stacked that kid really stood out.
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