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For tape, there'll only be a dozen or so problem areas on a track where lot's of riders break the tape and it's retied over and over. The rest should be mostly intact, so perhaps it makes sense to use plastic in problem areas and reusable elsewhere. In some sections it looked like it was just short posts for the course and tape further back to keep fans from standing too close. Then the odd pads that could have been the short posts? Are those just there so they can have advertisements on them? Maybe to be easier to see at speed too?
As for how the riders viewed the changes, there do seem to be some who's optimism/hopefulness about discovery is perhaps a little feigned. So far on the coverage side of things all discovery has really done is announce a paywall and the commentators. The only reason they'd go with Ric and Cedric instead of Warner and Eliot is to save money. Penny pinching like that makes all their talk of "next level" seem a bit questionable. idk, we'll see.
asa vermette's winning run from DHSE. gonna be rad to see this kid on the WC circuit (and we get to watch for free on youtube)
so i signed up for discovery+ last week b/c XC will be here soon enough and bonus was that i got battlebots and house hunters. things could be worse HAHA
re: course gates/pads - i wondered about them being used for ad space too but have been told they'll remain as we see them now for the season (just UCI branding).
i'm all for avoiding single-use plastic when possible, but the notion that the marking changes is an environmentally friendly achievement makes me laugh. all of these big, new pads have to be stored, shipped, brought up the mountain, taken down the mountain etc. wouldn't a few rolls of tape in backpacks at each race have a smaller overall impact in the long run? as long as the markers are safe and good for viewing, i don't care if it's tape or gates or pads. hundreds of mountain bikers and staff are criss-crossing the world via airplanes and huge trucks to race bikes for our entertainment. there will never be anything environmentally friendly about it. sure, start somewhere and every little bit helps, but...
Frankly, pushing this as a change to reduce environmental impacts is performative at best. You're right, compared to the emissions from flying so many people and all the stuff to race and cover these races a few dozen rolls of course tape is nothing.
I can see the reduction in impact and clean up for individual venues, but Dean Lucas has a great point about this likely being about creating a cleaner look on camera.
next year... not this year, his racing age is only 16.
these guys: "So we only have two rounds now. It's better for the environment."
well that's a bummer! i thought he was racing jr. insane he's so young and so fast
Look out for tyler waite and oli clark from nz. Pretty sure asa only just bet tyler at the taniwha dh for crankworx in u17
oli clark is u17 national champion in nz. Those two will be at world cup age next year. They’ll certainly make an impact
Tyler waite actually bet Asa by 3 seconds for the u17 taniwha dh
@sspomer could we maybe pin this up top and swap it out with team rumors since silly season should definitely be done by now. Could be nice.
@skiskateshane great idea. done!
Not sure who will actually end up racing but next weekends Fort William race is pretty stacked
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/275998/National-Downhi…
PinkBike team on new forks for 2023 season?
which is older? the "current gen" dorado or the saint groupset?
Saint. Manitou came out with a new generation of Dorado in 2021.
Saint came out in 2012
Well in fact tape need to be produced, stored, shipped, bring up the mountain (and down) as well. and then straight forward gets thrown into the bin. and those are HUGE amounts of tape. Nevermind the tape that gets forgotten on the mountain and "rotts" (not) in the nature. There exists biodegradable tape unfortunately it costs a lot. Using multiway tape is cheaper i guess.
the pads however are a new adition and do not replace any taping I guess. realisticly i doubt it has any other purpose than branding....i guess we'll have to have shitloads of treepads ready anyway.
Having worked at organizing races (both local and international), the amount of tape that was used just once to flag courses was pretty absurd, tape that was just thrown into the trash after the race.
Stacked field for Pro men this weekend at Windrock DHSE...
According to the pre-race podcast some of the top names include Gwin, Grice, Vermette, Dooley, DeDora, Nicholson and Pinkerton. I guess this isn't part of Dak's ramp up to UCI. Should be a fun weekend with 50%+ chance of rain Friday-Sunday.
Mr Hill seems to be in sunny Scotland
Pretty stacked field for Ft. Bill this weekend, should be interesting! https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/275998/National-Downhi…
Riders putting in testing time for worlds.
Flo ain’t quite done yet.
Reece Wilson with a nasty injury and sounds like he’ll be out for a while ☹️
tl;dr tibial plateau fracture of the right leg and a bunch of other fractured stuff, no eta to return to racing
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr3v8Lat0JA/
that sucksssssss!!!
No, no, no, no, no, no
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