Val di Sole - A video Primer

Ben Cathro is killing it with his video coverage of Val di Sole over on his Youtube channel. In case his name doesn't ring a bell, he's a Scottish racer turned coach, with a couple of World Cup top 10s (and top 20s) to his name. So, he knows racing and racers. After watching a few of his videos from Val di Sole this week, I feel like I have a way better picture of what is going on. The behind-the-scenes footage he's captured is fantastic.

And it seems as though he has a knack for capturing key moments as well. He was at the top of the 'Black Snake' race course at Val di Sole as Claudio Caluori was getting ready to record his final course preview of the year - and Ben's camera happened to catch Claudio practicing his lines. Wait -- what? He also happened to be right there when Minnaar crashed and broke his frame. Yep, Ben's camera (as far as I can tell) is the only one that caught video of that event. 

He went on to interview several pros in the middle of their track walks, as well as lending his own analysis. It's good stuff:

#CathroVision // Val Di Sole WC Day 1 - Claudio Preview + Track Walk

Two days later, and he's kicked out another beauty, having watched and recorded practice. As he did with the track walk, Cathro identified some key spots on the track, laid out some line choices, and watched and waited as riders made their way through. If you're a race geek, it's awesome to watch. If you're not, at the very least you'll have a better idea of what to expect come race day, and how much preparation goes into each of these sections for the riders.

#CathroVision // Val Di Sole Day 2 - LOAAAAM, rocks and line choice.