XC RACE BIKE: tHE REFINED RIPPER
The gun fires. The race has begun. It’s an all-out sprint to make it to the first chokepoint on the course before the inevitable bottleneck will occur. Elbows out, head down, eyes focused straight ahead, your desire is to get to the singletrack without any delay. You split riders as you sprint past them for that small place visible up the trail, and once you have gained your position the real race begins.
The Optimator was designed to be a World Cup level XC race bike. Using inspiration from the current XCO World Cup Courses that the top professionals ride, Optimator has one purpose and that is to get you to the line first. A 67.5° head angle combined with an 120mm travel fork will keep you on your toes as you are able to navigate the most technical sections of the course due to the agile steering. The short chainstays provide plenty of snappy acceleration when you need to bridge a gap or distance the rider behind you. When the course gets super technical, use the internally routed dropper post to get your saddle out of the way so you can attack the features in front of you.
Racing is all about making choices in the heat of the battle so that the outcome will be in your favor. Jumping a rooted/ rocky section to save a few extra seconds or picking the right lines as the course evolves over the duration of a race will help ensure a very good race at the very least. Racing on a bike designed to get you to the finish line first is the final piece of the puzzle in your quest for the race win. The Sage Titanium Optimator is your XC weapon of choice.
