A Year Later, Is Downhill Better Off?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- Thank you @MaxxisTiresUSA @FOXFACTORY @jensonusabicycles for supporting The Inside Line.
We have another great Inside Line with passionate interviews from the ground at the last World Cup Mountain Bike Downhill of 2023 in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Jack Rice talks to Elite riders, mechanics and team managers and asks if they think downhill is in a better place now than it was a year ago after the change from Red Bull's involvement to Warner Bros/Discovery. Bernard Kerr, Loic Bruni, Abigail Hogie has a lot of insight, Jordi from FOX and more. There are timestamps of the individual interviews in the description below.
Everyone here at Vital would like to thank Jack, John Lawlor and Rick Schubert for their hard work during this World Cup season. Enjoy the show!
0:00 - Intro
0:50 - Bernard Kerr - Pivot
4:59 - Loic Bruni - Specialized
16:05 - Abigail Hogie - Beyond Racing
24:54 - Jordi Cortes - FOX
31:50 - Colin Esquibel - TRP
38:35 - Aaron Gwin - Intense
44:01 - Wyn Masters - GT
46:23 - Evan Warner - RockShox
52:51 - Eddie Masters - Pivot
57:12 - Jorge Gomes - Transition
1:03:01 - Nina Hoffmann - Santa Cruz
1:06:04 - Sian A'Hern - YT
1:08:53 - Danny Hart - Cube
1:12:58 - Mikayla Parton - Resolute Racing
1:14:26 - Chris Grice - Gen S
1:18:37 - Jim Bland - The Union
1:20:58 - Austin Dooley - Commencal
1:24:21 - Tyler Ervin - 100%
1:27:21 - Dave Richards - Specialized 
Спорт
![mgk - Sun to Me (Zach Bryan Cover) [Live from Cheshire Cottage]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_ZnbTEs4O6U/mqdefault.jpg)
At this point im almost convinced UCI are actively trying to kill DH
I fully concur. Here in Australia when our MTB Aus organisation merged with the road bike dudes to form AusCycling, I campaigned against the merge. Having done a few road races back in the '80s when I was younger I remember all the politicking and infighting and squabbling over minutiae that typified our road cycling organisations. I feel that to improve MTB absolutely needs to break away from the mentality the UCI brings to sport. Let's get back to the fun and good times mountain biking used to be.
Thank you Vital MTB for asking the hard questions. Bernard Kerr’s insight of being a manager knowing the costs of running a team and rider POV should not be ignored. Wyn Masters summed it up perfectly, get rid of the semis and change the commentary team!!! Wyn for the win! 🤟
haven't watched a single semi final run this season. finals only.
I like the redbull production way more, the current camera angles and wide shots just don't give the sense of speed and the feeling you are actually watching the race in person. that is what sets it apart from redbullwho actually knows how to film extreme sports
Amen, brother. Amen!
Couldn’t agree more, shockingly bad tv production and event organisation
Red bill consult the athletes. Uci some clueless autocratic winker decrees the tides will halt and that’s that
Also the drone shots are horrible, first of all 3/4 of the time they don’t even manage to capture the racer. They also will end up hurting the crowd one way or another. To me, it looks like it’s just a way to not pay for more cameras
I hate you can’t hear the bikes any more. They just overlay ambient noise from the finish line which only bolsters the disconnected feeling. It’s shite.
@@baddevotions what happens when the decisions are made by corporate shills who know nothing of the sport and is purely set to make a profit
I hate the direction. I love getting up on a Saturday and watching a race, but with semis I just don't have all day to sit and wait. Cutting down to elite teams will most likely completely turn me off. Between charging for the app, racing taking ALL day, and cutting some of my favorite riders out I dont know why I would continue to watch.
When DH was bigger in the 00s and there was a lot of NORBA (in USA) and IXS (in Europe) racing in addition to UCI World Cup races, did you think things were worse than they are now? Or better?
I hope VitalMTB televises some more races. Your coverage was spectacular at the us open. It was great to see a constant image of the rider for the whole track. It's very important for the avid fan to see the whole course and see where the mistakes and crashes happen. A trimmed down production is an insult to the fans
This is super insightful although unfortunate to hear there's still so much uncertainty for next season. Hate to hear how racers/teams/folks like FOX & TRP are being held in the dark.
I will say Vital's been killing it with this type of content all year, along with the racer's perspective from Dak and the B Practice Podcast. Looking forward to more of this in 2024, big up to you guys!
Come on Redbull, please start the Redbull Cup race series, the racers, teams, and the fans need you all back ASAP. I am pretty sure you guys would get a lot more support then WB if you did. Just saying.
Wyn:- “Cut the semi-finals and change the commentary team.” 🎉 Put this man in charge!
If it wasn’t for Jack Moir, I wouldn’t have seen any coverage.
I love Danny. When he said he can sometimes put on a good show it made me smile and know how much he loves this sport.
i gotta agree with the riders and let them decide. they're the stars of the show after all. cut semis, get Rob Warner back in the booth with Eddie Masters and "let Ryan ride" for chrissakes.
Thanks Spomer. From littermag start to some of the best Lawlor footage regularly, and this sort of personal racer insights, nice work. Thanks Jack Rice for doing these talks for us to hear.
Its been really good being able to see the junior DH racing, they put it all on the line - no fear. I like the drone view, but i do wish we saw more of the race runs. the comm was never going to be as good as with Rob but i didn't mind it, great hear AG on the mike.
Robs redbull contract was rumoured to of expired this year.... could lead to something
What I miss most about no Warner is him and Brentjens on XC. Believe it or not. On DH I think Aaron Gwin's style is better than Rob's, but I like less excitement-oriented and more info-oriented. That's why Rob was good on XC -- he focused on info, and was really really good in tandem with Bart Brentjens.
If you want long-lasting fans/followers, you teach them the fine points. You don't turn it into a circus.
@@sonnyw__8087 Where did this come from? I've seen it a couple of times now and it's flat out wrong, Rob publicly stated he wasn't on a contract last year when he called out Chris Ball for on social media for lying about him being on contract as an excuse for not hiring him to do the commentary.
@@-TheRealChris Yeah he got a raw deal, so many bad moves by Ball it's sort of like a comic book villain style has been driving Ball for the past several years.
@@-TheRealChris can't remeber we're I saw it tbh thats why I said it was rumours
If we are going to continue with two runs after the qualification. Why not make the two runs count more. Why not do as they are doing in downhill skiing/slalom. Where the rider whith the fastest combined time from the two runs win the race… I think one advantage with this, compared with today, is that change in wheather may potentially not have the same ”unfair” impact on the outcome.
Interesting! The skiing is fascinating as a result of that scoring system.
Most of the "watching" of downhill racing I do is through Fox's Dialed series.
That gives you no feel or flavor of the actual racing, but it does let you know what Jake the MetroHipster thinks is "cute" or "funny." To a metrosexual hipster, at least.
Try watching VitalMTB RAW footage instead. That's the racing. Not Jake's cute little statements or "funny" camera shots.
Well the internet was correct, the discovery takeover really did ruin downhill.
Don't get me wrong redbull wasn't perfect by any means and it was starting to get pretty mainstream towards the end of their tenure but this is on another level. Hopefully all the vlogs will still be around at least for a while before they ruin them too as Chris Ball said he would on the podcast.
Who knows there might even be another series that takes off and becomes the real home of top tier downhill in the future? Maybe Crankworx? Freecaster bring back DH1 (can only dream!)?
In terms of sponsors selling bikes/bike related equipment a series that caters to actual riders/true fans would surely be much more valuable than a mainstream broadcast aimed at the same crowed that watches football or whatever.
Anybody who thinks Disco and the UCI are doing any of this for the benefit of the riders has lost it, anybody(loic bruni included) who thinks reducing the range of riders is a good thing for inclusivity is deluded. Smaller women's fields, less amatuer riders making a break at world cup level, and guess what no increase in prize money!
@@marksampson5522 First sentence, absolutely agree. 2d sentence, disagree because feeder leagues should be handling the field's size and whittling it down. Agree with Bruni on that, mostly because of what happened in the 00s and some of the 10s with healthy feeder leagues. That may be before your time. "Amateurs making a break at the WC level" is hollywood storyline stuff, not reality. We don't need hollywood in DH. At all. You can't logically notice Disco sucked donkey testicles, while thinking "mainstream" is good or that hollywood fantasy stories are helpful. You're basically contradicting yourself.
@@seanoneil277im not saying amatuers are making their big break, I'm saying world class riders without funding are pushing for finals every race, and this is happening regularly! So are you saying we should slim that pool down and you can only make it if you are part of a team that spends 20k on entry fees just because you were spotted by that team? Or do we say no thanks to that and allow all people to compete if they qualify? I know what I'd rather, an inclusive sport that doesn't bend the knee to money grabbing cunts
@@seanoneil277when people mention Hollywood storyline it’s not so it’s more like Hollywood 😂 we just mean occasionally a lower level privateer has his day and shines, then sometimes goes on to stay top 20 and that shit feels good as a lover of the sport! It’s happened loads in the last few years and is one of mine and many other ms favourite part of the world cups!
@@Loosebirnieee Wrong, rookie "lover of the sport." Dead wrong and you know it. You know it's a hollywood story line being sold, you bought it yourself. If you "want to see a breakthrough" keep reading comic books instead of joining the folks in reality.
You're offering what seems to be the sentiment now wrecking Gaza. Good show there, little boy.
I've done this race 3 times now and I think you guys have captured what the week is about perfectly. There's highs, there's lows, but overall it is one of the best weeks on a bike you can have.
DH needds to ditch the UCI and go it alone , it's big enough to run it's own series.
BK is spot on as far as im concerned.
I think UCI has a monopoly on it. I don't think we really grasp just how much organization goes on behind the scenes, cooperation with local authorities and services, staffing, insurance, etc etc. The UCI does this for multiple disciplines, and has been around for over 100 years. They are not going to give up one of their marquee sports and those regional relationships, easily. If some entity were to come in and take it over, it would be a huge investment requiring a complete overhaul. Don't get me wrong, I am all for the likes of Red Bull sweeping in and taking over, but the returns on such an investment would probably mean a smaller calendar and far fewer riders in order for it to be profitable. I think the reason we see such shitty rewards for riders is because the UCI KNOW they likely have nowhere to turn. The riders need to band together if things are to change, but with that, I can't help but feel it would be a couple years of struggle before it lives up to the potential we know this sport has.
No it’s not and the sponsors won’t be interested in paying for it.
Thanks Vital!
Great contrast between BK and Bruni. Both make great points, but they are on opposite ends.
Regarding viewership, that can't go high if it's limited to those who subscribe to GCN+. I mean, you're limiting your audience right there.
Amazing insight. As a photographer, I absolutely love the captures shown in this video. Top notch work.
Loved the different perspectives, grand interviews from all 🙂
Bruni and BK obviously want the sport run in different directions..... not sure saying people without the big cash flow are like gypsies was a good call by Bruni. Making the sport elite only will no doubt turn people away thats for sure but i also get where he is coming from to a degree.
There are so many components in the mix. I think rider preference should lead the discussion: what do the racers think, what sorts of tracks do they like, what format works best for racers. Then the broadcasters and UCI should work around that premise. Otherwise you have people racing with less than full attention/commitment/intensity. Treat them like the superb athletes, rare human specimens they are. Not some puppets to manipulate for greater top dog profit.
On Bruni's POV -- his point about feeder leagues like IXS is an excellent one. It's not so much that the privateers are undeserving of a chance. It's more about appropriate leagues for the athletes in question.
@@seanoneil277 100% without the riders they have nothing.
It wouldn't be making the whole sport elite though, just one series. BK said that World Cup isn't Formula 1, but I can't see why it couldn't be as long as we would have televised/prized support series like Formula 2 where amateurs can compete under less pressure and where big teams can scout for talent
@@heamees4822 It's nice to have goals but to imagine UCI DH brought to F1 levels is pie in the sky. Auto racing will always be more popular and better funded than bicycle racing, dreams or not. DH bike racing has been around for about 35 years. And most of that, invisible to humanity. It's easy for a MTB rider to think everyone knows MTBs and racing. I'm pretty old and I don't know but a tiny handful of people who know UCI DH races exist. But everyone I know, they know of F1 racing. Everyone I know.
@@heamees4822 That's pretty sensible -- but I don't think there is a difficulty in finding talent, honestly. And if something like 2000s era NORBA and IXS series were as big now, as they were then, that would provide the feeder leagues that are important to developing race experience, versus "hot talent, gimme a shot" stuff -- where it's a gamble on the racer in question, no NORBA or IXS track record to speak of. In other words, racing talent vs "diamond in the rough" potential.
Jack has a great vibe - informative. Solid.
No it’s crap now. We need just one final race per event and Rob Warner back on commentary.
Damn, I didnt know they had the rights for ten years! Maybe they should also ask the fans of the sport what they think? When it all boils down to it, these pro riders like Bruni and co are basically used to sell products/brands that the fans potentially might buy, which in turn pays them a wage and puts money in their sponsors pockets.
I thought it sucked. Besides Aaron Gwin saved the show.
Bernard Kerr great interview 👍 👏 👌 🙌 💪 😀 .
And to the riders and mechanics thanks for your hard work.
Quality insight, thank you
Thank you for presenting
Loics point was actually really good. world cup would be like f1. and then there would also be below classes like f2 and f3 and f4.
As much as it hurts I agree with Bruni
@@mrrdhh He himself from years ago certainly wouldn't have agreed, took him a long time to work his way up through the field to the privileged position he's doing this interview from.
@@Rocky_Hill_Iron_Works times change
@@Rocky_Hill_Iron_Works and as you say he worked hard for it so is not privileged, just incredibly talented I guess
@@mrrdhh Yes but what I'm saying is he had the opportunity to rise up through the field in world cups and now he's there he's suggesting that opportunely be taken away from others.
Don't get me wrong I like Bruni and what he's saying is a thing that has been done in the past with the NORBA series and IXS ect but there are riders who are outside the top 30 who have every right to be there are are literally competing for the win, this season proved that.
A lot of super fast riders don't have good consistency early on and end up with a number plate that's outside the top 30 when they are actually capable of winning (sometimes more capable than consistent top 20 finishers) and they often make for the most exciting runs to watch.
Really interesting hearing the different perspectives. I think Gwinn’s suggestion is the way to go. Hopefully Warner Brothers gives strong consideration to that option.
Such great topic and great to hear athletes talking about this!
I think if we look other sports such as Formula 1, one key aspect is that there is only twenty or so elite drivers and everyone want’s to be part of that group, but Formula racing uses F3 and F2 series where other drivers can mature and develop their skills and still win and have exposure, so I actually like what Bruni was saying alot! 👍🏻
This is great. Crazy idea, what if the top 30 go to finals and 31 to 60 go to the semifinals. You get the punchy, TV friendly finals and racer's weekend's are not over if you make a mistake in qualis.
As with all elite sport, the governing body only exists to extort money from the people competing. Look at FIFA or the FIA, the UCI is no different, the only incentive for the people running these organisations is money, they do not care about the sport itself, only revenue. When a big TV company comes along with a big bag of money, guess who gets to call the shots. At least when Redbull was taking care of coverage they were more in touch with actual riders.
People need to realize that excusing such behavior (profiteering and treating the athletes like puppets) as "well that's business" -- it doesn't help matters. Excusing it as "business" does everyone a dis-service. "Business" is not some lofty ideal that is immune from criticism.
@@seanoneil277 Totally agree, a lot of the worst behavior has been and is carried out in the name of "Business" .
@@-TheRealChris And it's always a merchant who says "relax, it's just business." So out of touch with human reality, so caught up in the money chase they don't care about the human dimension. There's also a lot of envy going back to childhood and seeing athletes be admired, and no "businessman" I've ever known was even 1/4 athletic. That stuff from childhood motivates many cold, calculating "businessmen" in their lives.
more power to the riders.
You nailed it regarding US laws as related to “motorized vehicles” which encompass motorcycles, 4 wheelers, and e-bikes. Generally, Federal regulations prohibit them on Federally controlled lands except on fire roads where vehicles are allowed. County lands have rules that differ county by county. Colorado has some of the best mountain biking in the US and fortunately a lot of the trails systems are governed by counties (Jefferson Cty being one of the great ones). In the Southeast of the US, where I live , the best trail systems are Federally controlled lands - hence no e-bikes allowed.
It’s a big problem.
Not seen a single race since the departure of the races on redbull TV. Not just because Rob is missing but I am not even sure where to watch without another subscription...
The bike company’s should get together and create a non profit organization that represents all of the companies and create their own bike racing series.
BK spittin truth!!!
One of the things I hate is that the Privateers probably won't be along for the ride next year, but also one of them Adam Brayton couldn't get past a couple of the semi finals, so ended up with no WC points and not being able to make the next race etc!
Also, I used to be able to watch the races for free on the Redbull app - having to pay for it is a kick in the teeth and so I don't watch it live anymore! Bummer!
Maybe Redbull could partner up with Crankworx and create a Mountain Bike World Series or something to go against the World Cup with higher prize money etc? Let's face it, we all watch more streamed and downloaded content than the normal TV channels, but I tend to watch more YT than anything else, so if I can see DH comps on YT channels for 'free', why would I want to pay for a subscription service!?
I normally like Bruni but what her said here was pretty youjack, especially when you consider how long it took him to rise up through the field to get to the top.
You could look at it differently. When he started racing there was still a healthy sub-league like IXS, to develop talent and send it toward UCI World Cup. So he's speaking from experience, not to point fingers at people who just need to stay away, or whatever "youjack attitude" means. Don't know that phrase, sorry.
I got the impressions that hebprobably was one of the riders that understood what Discovery wants to do and has an idea of how that could look for it to make sense.
There are problems with the way it is run now with lift capacity etc. on certain locations.
He surely is more of a "head-person" than others that are often giving emotional arguments..
@@WaechterDerNachtHe didn't defend Disneydisco's operation of coverage, he talked about the format of the races. Two different things. How it's broadcast = Disneydisco. How the races are formatted = UCI.
World cup was also more accessible to privateers back then
@@seanoneil277 my impression is, that the UCI just lets WB/Disco do what they want and just waves it through at the end. If the UCI actually would have been interested in using this format, they would have annouced it sooner - not half way through a normal season...
Anyone could start another series, it would be hard work but more freestyle courses would be a crowd pleaser. Hmm wonder what red bull is doing right now
Money and a lot of money is the real issue
It’s been tried in the past in different cycling disciplines. UCI have an iron grip.
What’s better: drone follow cam, Aaron Gwin in the booth, semi-finals and being able to watch them. Being able to watch the Junior races. What’s not: not being able to watch the finals. Quali’s and semi-finals not counting in the overall points for the last race when the points are so close.
I think it's becoming pretty clear which direction this whole thing is headed in or at least what Discovery is planning on. Eventually the WC is supposed to be turned into a franchise league in which teams can buy a permanent spot. Disco holds complete control over the product and gets to rake in all the money with little risk involved. They get to fabricate stars, make changes to benefit sponsors and overall cater to the average couch potato to generate more advertiser interest.
In some way, this makes sense even, as a small starter field stacked with superstars makes for a much more compelling product, but without a very well run feeder series, it's doomed to fail and bring the sport down with it.
It's honestly frightening how a governing body can so easily sell out the future of a sport for a period of 10 years without a care in the world or without facing any repercussions.
Basically they are turning into the Los Angeles CA "music industry" or perhaps similar to the hollywood "casting couch." In both scenarios, the biz-men are not artists (musicians, actors) and couldn't ever be an artist. They get their jollies being the Image-Makers, the puffers fluffers and liars, the over-sellers, the grotesque tacky gaudy schlocky pitchmen. In other words, they love deceit embodied in a sales pitch. "I MADE YOU and I WILL BREAK YOU!" is their mentality.
That's Time/Warner/Discovery for you. I just described their mentality. A bunch of now-adult former teen dweebs and dorks, exacting their seething revenge from their jealous teen years, watching athletes be admired etc.
I think Aaron is right on some good points. Delayed broadcast is necessary and will not be that bad considering the number of riders
I miss Redbull broadcasting the race, I miss Claudio and Warner, I think the racers need more purse money for the costs of racing. The racers risk a lot to do what they love and deserve more. As a fan I want better broadcasting.
New tracks/venues must be utilized, there are thousands of ski stations and amazing new mountains to build tracks on, If they want feeder system to build up riders and support there must be additional venues.
With minimal work a new track can me taped out and open to the public for a week, then hold a lower level race where points are available and then the track will be bedded in and ready for a world cup race.
This system would expose more areas to the finical benefits of hosting events and would draw in a much wider live spectator turnout and it would develop trails and tracks everywhere rather than hosting races at the same place for decades and actually killing the trails or tracks in those areas.
What will save this current predicament is racers, wrenches, teams taking matters into their own hands and building the leagues themselves. The proper direction is not MORE "business-like," but less so. The existing pros who have had their eyes on a bigger money prize may have a hard time realizing this, but it's true, I'm sure of it. If you let businessmen dictate an athletic competition, it will always end poorly. Always. Businessmen are not athletes and never were.
A newish fan of the sport (started in 2021) I was justing becomming comfortable with understnading the format.
I would prefer no Semi-finals like the majority of the opinions and preferences expressed across the entire fanbase and teams.
Gwyn had a very good compromise point on the telvised coverage that is workable.
Commentary was of mediocre quality at the start of the season, with so many contrasting it that of the legendary Rob Warner. It improved with the addition of guest commentaors such as Arron Gwyn.
On the aspect of television coverage, RedBull did have a good formula for this and providing free access via the RedBullTV app was what got me watching in the first place.
The course improvements are good too, everyone seems to agree the flexible and reusable posts are safer and better.
As a spectator, at 1st, I was excited to to see the semi-finals and then got bored watching and then only landed up watching the final race runs. There always was a build-up/hype to the actual race which is not there now. I think the races have got way to fast and only the fasted guy who brakes the least wins. The previous years the courses seemed more technical and there where less crashed due to riders so not been so tired.
Who'd have thought a bunch of French roadies wouldn't care about DH mountain biking?😂
Honesty it truly is a sad time for mountain biking as a sport across the board right now. Which seems weird because we have some of the beat talent and best equipment ever?
BK's insight is bang on.
“The poles are more environmentally friendly than the tape”
Que buen video!!
Sorry but Bruni doesn't have enough outside perspective. There is not enough interest or money to have multiple race series at this point, even when there were huge sponsors it didn't last long. I would say from the outside semis made the coverage too long to watch live. By cutting the numbers so much, without a solid feeder race series already in place it's going to make a huge impact in a negative way.
Quite telling that it was the woman (Abi?) who was accused of 'smirking'.
I can perhaps see where Bruni is coming from, but are they as well meaning/organised as he thinks? He's also in France where they probably haven't been as affected by the gutting of race programmes as elsewhere.
The teams and riders are due a voice, but they aren't agreeing with each other at present.
I think Bruni put together the most mature and intelligible discussion as well as plan for next year, also about where the sport is headed and what needs to be done in general! Overall you really feel like all athlete know what is wrong and seems their is consensus. @vitalMTB should try to create this rider summit around same time as next big race where most rider will be at. record and then present to UCI and partners.
It really felt like this year the rider were exploited, especially when they got prohibited of uploading there finals run on GoPro right after it happen on YT. Discovery suddenly became the owner of the image of the athlete when its the athlete that turn up and provide them the image to make them money !
Hopefully everyone learn and make it up for next season !
I don't understand why they even need the UCI. What exactly do they do? The brands themselves should be able support it, and they could have a lot more control.
one serie in South America please next year!
Could you imagine if someone qualified outside the top 30 wins the race and the winning run doesn't make the broadcast? Top riders make mistakes in qualifying and still have the chance to win. I don't have any answers but that scenario doesn't seem that impossible especially with a mechanical or weather related issue.
I can totally relate to Bruni on this , it’s also a bit similar to some national uk races when too many unqualified riders turn up. And yes when I did the world cups for the first time this year I felt very much like a Gypsy haha . That stat about the amount of runs on a track and how trashed it gets plus the queuing sums it up quite well .
So your saying you want yourself and others like you prevented from racing world cups????
@@-TheRealChris no just earn the right to . Compete at other events and if your good enough destiny will take you there.
@@mrrdhh Yea that's fair enough but the problem with how they are doing it at the moment is you end up with people who actually ARE top tier riders like Adam Brayton not being able to race because they aren't on a team and don't have meany (or any) local races that can actually get them points. I know its been done in the past with the IXS and NORBA series and what Bruni said is at least possible in theory i just don't know who's going to pay for it these days so it seems like a bit of a pipe dream (didn't help that is was coming from Bruni who definitely had the advantage of coming up over years and years into the top end of the field and is now saying what he said from such a privileged position, but don't get me wrong i do really like Bruni and enjoy watching him race and seeing him on WynTV ect)
@@mrrdhhthat will mean that smaller company will not be able to compete , so you will only see specalized , treck , giant and santacruz competing
First class interview and video stills video btw if you look around the sport there’s enough know how and talent to run this sport WAY better than anything uci can muster
Drone nearly smacked Bruni in the back of the head when he had a near crash, it’s way too close to react AND get decent shots in focus.
Yes. Every time I've watched private person video footage from the late 90s through today, they always have better coverage of the track than whatever Big Biz gets to broadcast the race. The talent is out there already and has been for a long time. The problem may be that "entertainment industry" biz-men want to use their notions of filming and they have no clue what to do. They just have the money and the power to run the show. So they run it like crap, but tell you it's first-rate. Because they are Big Biz Men, and that means they're geniuses!
I can’t even watch it live now. Not on you tube
DH are like models , they need to be photographed with their sponsors logo. They are advertising billboards.
When surfing went to a pay wall, riders gained a base wage as they are the entertainment/product
Lz IS on fire🔥
There was a different winner at each race accept for Jackson...
As amazing as Bruni is, his chance of being more of a marketable superstar should not come at the expense of other riders by cutting the number of qualifiers or finalists.
You are talking from a POV of envy, which to me is embarrassing for you. Bruni's not serving his ego, though maybe that's what YOU would be doing if you were as good as he is. Which would explain why you project that sentiment onto him. He just wants a tightened up system without lesser riders in the mix. Those lesser riders don't have a chance, despite your fantasies otherwise. They should be in feeder leagues.
@@seanoneil277 Sean this is the youtube comment section, talking about ego's when someone is just throwing out their idea is silly. You look silly.
@@nathansmith7074 Hi Nathan. I notice you jump right into psychological projection there. Thank you, for telling me your issues indirectly. What you accuse me of, that is your burden to bear. Not mine. No triumph for you, despite that last sentence you typed.
@@seanoneil277Bruins got beat by a guy he doesn't think is good enough to be allowed to race🤷♂️
@@ish474 What is your point, other than misspelling someone's name and claiming some grandiose thing which in the end, is irrelevant? Who are you talking about?
Is this recess from your 6th grade school day?
How has the racing been this year? I've only been watching the independent coverage on RUclips, not interested in paying a subscription to a whole channel just to watch DH. It wouldn't be so bad if it was advert free but I'm not paying to watch adverts.
How can it be the final if there is another one after it?
Brui has the right answers
I hope that the inclusion of dicovery can be good for the mountain bike world cups i am a massive speedway fan and speedway has recently partnered up with discovery for the speedway grand prix world championships they sat down with the governing body and former riders and former world champions and the present rides and put together programme that everyone wanted and also a far better tv coverage package that made the sport look far better and more professional on tv that was more attractive to the fans of the sport and i hope discovery can do the same for mountain biking world cups but the trouble is most people dont like change and knock it all before it happens dont be scared of change discovery have done great with the speedway so i hope they can do the same for mountain biking world cups.
Bernard is correct. All the changes are bad for the teams, the riders, and the viewers. Semifinals is ridiculous. Pay per view is ridiculous. The UCI needs DH. DH doesn’t need the UCI. Same with Enduro. If not for the riders’ POV cameras, the UCI doesn’t even have a product in the obvious most lucrative market. Disgrace.
I feel gcn plus isn't worth it all your paying for is to watch the final or watch it live and for me in living in canada I'm only able watch Snowshoe and Mont-Sainte-Anne live and on top of that you can watch the top runs for free on youtube. But I'll still pay for the suscripion because I want to support dh racing as it is a niche sport that i really enjoy watching but the riders see nothing from this subsricption service but have to now do basicly two full on race runs which makes no sense. The camera work needs to imprrove especially now that where paying.
Let’s get some numbers for the amount of viewers, might be more because of bigger exposure, or less because of paywall 🤷♂️
I hope the big boys at the top listen to the fans and riders.... we can have it all if greedy fools stop denying us!!
I didnt watch DH world cups before this season but i just wondered if that amount of injuries is normal? It doesnt seem normal to me.
its getting faster and gnarlier every year watching it for years, just take a look at the riders "crashing" in the finish zones, being not 100% commited/conentrated will get you hurt
Crashes happen every season and every race, but the tracks are stupid fast now and so are the bikes and riders. So at some point something has to give. Be it a bone or a bike. I honestly feel they need to control the speeds more. More check ups in high speed areas possibly? Utilise a bit. Of uphill and back into tech to slow the track down? We don't want to see someone die on track.
@@Thematty635 Simply make the tracks more technically challenging, rather than 1-line raceways of ALLOUTSPEED! I think the trend in tracks has followed the trend in trails -- Bike Park Mania! making riding easy for newbies. Newbies come into the sport thinking groomed trails with "flow" built in, that's MTB. They want to see superfast groomed flow trail races, apparently. Otherwise they may feel some envy and realize they aren't very good at MTB themselves.
You can see why the "broadcaster" which doesn't understand athletes/athletics, but DOES identify with an awkward skill-less newbie, would "broadcast" dumbed-down style, hiding the brilliance of the athletes. And if it's ALLOUTSPEED with HUGE CARNAGE! that sells according to the perverted pitchmen of hollywood mentality at the "production" end of "event management".
Loic is probably right - it doesn't really make sense for teams to pay for multiple riders to travel and world and not qualify for WCs. There are loads of riders better off in a regional series...
I think we should get a UCI European Cup, just like with BMX
Great idea ❤
need to have a riders union at this point
Why do they even need the UCI? The riders and brands should just do their own thing. I can't imagine how disorganized UCI must be internally, I've never seen any organization listen less to their fan base than them.
If the riders aren't getting paid better, what am I paying for exactly?
A few things would be good to see.
No semis, it's not interesting, just extra risk for the riders and cheapens the finals. On the other hand more races would be nice.
I like that unilateral cancellation for safety. I'm not sure what's the pressure on riders to say go, but I think it's a good thing they don't have the final say in this and only this matter. Riders or their teams might put results over safety. Ofc riders should have the right to say no to racing, if they think it's not safe. They need doctors and standards from the UCI side that keep on eye in riders after crashes and prevent cases of riders going racing with concussions and such.
Feeder series needed, clear.
Sweet as vital.
Abigail...you said "like" 5000 times
Reece in the booth this season would of been sick
Only halfway through the loic convo but IF all what he says is true and there is a new format with top 30 only and feeder series for people to qualify at for the world cups there better be major improvements in terms of organization and prize money. 500 bucks for fifth place in an elite and exclusive series with only pro teams is absolutely unacceptable. You can't expect people to risk their lives every saturday for pride and glory only. The UCI is nothing without the riders and they better show some appreciation for the guys putting on the show.
If you want an F1/ Moto GP/ Supercross kind of event you better start shelling out the big bucks otherwise the whole thing is going down the drain.
I don’t see how having more riders runs broadcast than RB ever did is a bad thing. RB only ever broadcast the top 30 of finals so those 31-60 never got any coverage before
Should be more than 7 races next year
Prize money is an embarrassment, semis doesn’t benefit riders or spectators and participation costs on teams will only cause more frustration and will take the joy away from everyone. A committee needs to be implemented for oversight and more control to organize and provide stability with future events. Too many loose ends for teams and riders to deal with.
The downside to cutting the semis and just showing the last 30 riders, is that we just might not get to see the winning run.
I didn't even watch this year. The odd winning run replay that's it. That's sad. I would treat every race as an event at home I PAID to watch. Stayed off social media got the snacks and cranked the volume. This year my life felt empty. I even felt disconnected to riding whistler. I had no stoke for my dh bike. Redbull needs this back. I beg them to take this back
Too bad we cant get Wyn as one of the commentators. Riders Union needs to happen so that they get a much larger seat at the table. If the organizers want to do the F1 style world cup, then they should share the TV money with the teams - like F1. The riders ARE THE SHOW - so they need to join together to hold the organizers feet to the flame or no racing. You see this break down in the road cycling world, but the World Cup MTB teams are different. They have to have dates and commitments - no handshakes - or no racing.
Scott Hart you have a brother? @1:14:26
Bernard the peoples man as ever.
Loic wants to exclude the rider from your home town.
"Change the commentary team"😳
Well, I will tell you one huge problem is the broadcasting on GCN+ They do not show it live, even though that's what it says but they do not show the whole run of every rider, plus they sit and talk while they are doing the award ceremonies. Very annoying and frustrating.
Redbull didn’t show full runs either 🙌
You can’t when it’s a 4 min run and 2 min between riders🤷♂️
At every race multiple riders are on track at the same time. So covering everybody live is not possible. 60 riders at 4 minutes each would last at least 4 hours.
It is live but they just puta delay on it
That’s because I’ve noticed unless a rider gets 1 of 2 first stage greens they clip the run and go back up the hill for the next rider, they kind of need the gap and it adds up throughout the telecast - its why minar didn’t get shown much this year with his sector 2 blowouts. The only rider that gets the golden ticket is Seagrave, god knows why. Sometimes Gracie drops behind her and is quicker and doesn’t get any green light sector footage.
Downhill I think needs to appeal to a wider audience, like DH skiing (DHS). The vast majority of DHS fans and viewers are not DHS racers or ski anywhere near that level. It would be great if this was also the case with DH cycling. It seems to me that DH is the bastard child of the UCI, and the GCN coverage reflects this as well. UCI doesn't see the big picture. Not sure what the solution is TBH. Maybe DH just has a limited appeal.
I think DH is about the most exciting racing EVER. Especially this year, the pace and skill level are just incredible.
Comparing to WC Alpine (FIS) is good from my POV. Not sure I'd say FIS DH/SG are "wide audience" televised sports. I'd say they are comparable to UCI DH in viewers around the world. More people ride bikes than alpine ski, around the world.
But intelligent commentary as is seen in ski racing, that would be a nice change in UCI DH. A very nice change. People should understand that racing DH is technically difficult and not some hypebeast pure wildness on wheels spectacle. It's not gladiators vs lions in the coliseum. It's more the Olympics, in intent. It's not demolition derby or roller derby or "pro wrestling".
I don't think I agree. Who watches DHMTB? I would argue it's mostly DH or Freeride riders. I ask people if they watch who are casual MTB'rs or not really into DH, but do DJ, XC or what have you, and the vast majority do not watch these races. And I'm almost certain that the viewership for WC Alpine is considerably larger @@seanoneil277
The actual finals broadcasts got quite good by the end of the season with nearly the entire 3min tracks covered for the top riders. Certainly more of the run captured than redbull ever had, at least when the drone didn’t overrun and almost hit the rider on half the shots.
This guy must work for WB/UCI. Broadcast was shit start to finish. Only improvement was the addition of AG!
Yea they need to back off with that thing! Imagine getting your race run ruined by having a drone run into you! It's a big one too!
For the most part in this segment, the older riders are pretty clear they don't like the new format and rule changes (hint, hint, SEMI-FINALS), while the newer less established riders sound fearful of saying too much. I get that, as a newbie or unestablished rider, the intimidation factor is higher and they won't say too much because they want to stay in the game.
With the new changes, privateers are being weeded out, and the cost of doing a season has gone up. This season saw too many failures to validate the paywall and keeping the current presenters calling these races.
The coverage was garbage with the drone attempts. Get a better camera that isn't pixelating the rider if you're going to follow them and do what needs to be done to show these race runs. Quit doing cut aways to spectators and nature shots during the actual run, quit doing unnecessary closeups in the rock gardens, and get better camera locations (Watch previous RedBull events and learn). The fact that we're not finding out if a rider crashed or mechanicaled until we see dirt on their kit or a split time is egregious. It's a sad commentary that we have to scour the internet to find footage that should have been in the broadcast.
I think the uploads from the riders, sponsors, and teams, to RUclips have been the most beneficial in getting the backstories going into events and their event summaries. The UCI and their broadcast partners need to have the humility to learn from these on-the-ground resources. PinkBike is putting them to shame in production quality and story structure for their segments. Fox is killing it at first hand footage on rider feedback using their products. The Pivot team is outstanding in their RUclips presence and timely postings. Instead of the whole 'my way or the highway' mentality, the UCI and partners need to deep dive into making these riders partners in these events because despite the friction, downhill needs to survive and grow. It was a mistake to end the partnership with RedBull, and that's a fact. They had better everything, but going forward, unless the UCI walks back its contracts with Discovery+ and whomever else, this is what we're stuck with.
Make it better, don't dismiss the criticism as noise, use it as constructive feedback for a better product next year, and bring back the 5 person podium for the overalls.
£5000 dollar for making the top thirty would spice up semis
Red Bull is where it’s at
get rid of semis and open up more spots. quali and race run only
This is awesome. Thank you because I care as former racer and one a be.