Danny Hart – The Art of Winning

Danny Hart made it four wins in a row and added a coveted 2nd World Championship Title to his CV in Val Di Sole Italy on Sunday.

Danny’s run was electric right out of the gate. Up on the competition at the first split time he set the fastest time through the second sector and 2nd fastest time through the final sector to secure the win and put his name firmly in the history books.

Danny’s winning streak has been a long time coming, his technical skills have always been in a league of their own and his attention to detail is second to none.

The difference in my opinion has been in focussing on putting everything together. A new training regime and a focus on developing Mondrakers latest bike and its suspension platform have all enabled Danny to squeeze those vital tenths of a second out of his race runs.

Add to that the technical skills I mentioned earlier that enable him to make the impossible, possible and it’s easy to see why his competitors have suddenly found themselves on a back foot. Gwin has always had an edge when it came to his physical prowess but Danny’s work in this area has really paid off. Now Danny can clearly mix it with the best when it’s power that counts, where as he used to be a little bit down on power, now any gap in that area is made up easily by his ability to carry raw speed through any section backed up by his technical skills. Sunday’s track was all about carrying speed, so it was bound to suit Danny and it was no surprise with the confidence he brought into the Champs to see him looking fast all week.

If you remember his run in Worlds run in 2011 it was his technical prowess that enabled him to win his first World Champs. When the rain made it open season for the technically superior riders and the riders with superior strength and power found themselves lost for what to do to be fast on the slippery track.

Last but not least you have to look at his bike. Danny grew up under the tutelage of Dave Garland a World Class Mechanic that taught Danny to leave no stone unturned in the quest for the optimum bike set up. Switching to Mondraker Danny found a bike that suited his riding style and one that he could quickly dial in to optimise the benefits of its suspension platform.

Again it’s probably no coincidence that the top three riders on Sunday were all on Mondrakers, a bike that undoubtedly comes into its own on the steeper rougher tracks giving the riders on them a huge advantage on a fast, rough track like the one in Val Di Sole.

What are the lessons that you can learn from Danny’s winning streak?

Work hard to optimise your technical skills but not to the detriment of your strength and power.

Work on optimising your bike set up and leave no stone unturned in the quest for the optimum set up.

The details do add up; Danny’s attention to detail and focus on making the right improvements in the right areas have all added up to give him an amazing run of results.

Finally you can’t do it own your own! If you listen to Danny’s interview after he won the list of people he needed to thank was pretty long and impressive. Build your team wisely and remember they all help to bring together the elements you need to nail the winning run.

If you want to find out more about what Firecrest Mountain a Biking can bring to your ‘Team’ and do for your riding we have a range of Mountain Bike Skills Courses and Coaching for Beginners through to World Cup racers, get in touch with me at Ian@firecrestmtb.com or drop me a DM and we can discuss the options. I look forward to hearing from you.