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Well last year there was a LOT of talk from inside and outside the top 30ish. Was a huge story last year. This year almost nothing. Outside a few people almost no one was out to talk and stand up for everyone.
Just listen to him it doesn't take much common sense to know he knows where is bread is buttered and won't me making any waves , hell he won't make a ripple. But I guess you mush be in the top 30 so you know better than us.
There was, but if you listen to the Vital podcast about how 2023 was compared to 2022, the views from most of those riders were extremely varied. Even just Bernard to Bruni.
It wouldn't surprise me if they tried seeing what the union would be aiming to achieve, realised they all had vastly different end games in mind, realised there was unlikely to be any way to reconcile those differences and decided not to bother.
Any division within that union would have been picked up immediately by UCI/ESO/WBD and been easy to exploit to say why they weren't going to do whatever the union asked for.
It wasn't like that union was necessarily going to have any leverage anyway? Just because the riders decide to make a little club doesn't mean any other org has to recognise it and take what they're saying into consideration.
To the last point yes they have all the power. They don’t show up don’t tell anyone they won’t that would be a massive loss of revenue. But then you need a group all on the same page but it’s clear they aren’t.
It's always been divide and conquer.
Guys from all over the world forming a union would only be galvanized to join a union that offers them legitamite BENEFITS.
Life insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, sports insurance, retirement.
That's a lot of money to go into a pool to help take care of these guys later in life.
We all know there a few intelligent management style figures in the sport who could co-ordinate it.
But the only way to drive it is expose the revenues that UCI & Discovery/ESO make so that they know their fair share to demand a seat at the table.
In the end, finding out just how much money those 2 are making and then determining a fair split for the racers...that's the bargaining chip for forming a riders union. "Hey guys, they made $1.5 Billion off the sport & you got paid $10k for 8 events."
40% of $1 Billion...that's $400 Million you as racers should be entitled to.
The top 60 would all pay dues to get a cut if they knew what their fair cut was.
Seems to be incomplete calendar, missing 2 “outside europe” rounds. The dates of some events differ from those stated in the UCI calendar.
https://mtbdata.com/calendar/2024/dh/upcoming
Calendar must be coming soon, I bet it’s more Europe based than ever such a shame for a “World Cup”
world cup racing gets more and more expansive <> meh, only in europe
World Champs at Andorra slot into the end of the 2 month Summer break 28 Aug - 01 Sep 2024.
World Cups traditionally don't clash with the TDF and Olympics which cover all of July and half of August hence the length of the break in 2024.
World cup in poland is interesting. Definitely was not expecting it
What this 2024 schedule looks to me is a very convenient way to keep ESO/WB's broadcast overhead lower. I understand the cycling industry is at a low place now and that the Olympics will eat a sizeable portion of the sponsorship money for sports next year.
However, ESO/WB has an opportunity to bring World Cup cycling to huge markets like South America, Oceania, and, the biggest growth market of all, Asia, at the early part of its stewardship of World Cup racing coverage.
The logistics will probably be very challenging to race in the Far East. But growing the sport in China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia, is probably the only way to substantially increase sales for the cycling industry.
(Let's be honest, more races in Europe will hardly make a dent, marketing-wise.)
I'm also quite sure that bringing the races to Asia will potentially open the doors to other sponsors as well, and not just the usual ones from the cycling industry, btw.
2024 calendar now official on the UCI MTB World Series website for all disciplines:
https://ucimtbworldseries.com/events
Looks like Enduro has been put out to pasture
boosh! thanks @the_pufalot
Cool to see 2 South American rounds for the XC series. I'll be curious to see what the MSA turnout is with just 1 North American DH round.
Broke out DH rounds, dates and countries. Poland should be rad!
May 3-5, Fort William, Scotland
May 17-19, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
June 7-9, Leogang, Austria
June 14-16, Val di Sole, Italy
June 28-July 7, Les Gets, France (not sure which weekend DH falls on)
September 6-8, Loudenvielle, France
October 4-6, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada
World Champs is Andorra, August 26-September 1 before Loudenvielle
And the TWO full months of summer completely unaccounted for.
Spring/Fall World Cup series.
Leaves & windbreakers.
2026- WCDH is 3 rounds, all in France.
Down to 6 rounds. 2 in France, all in Europe.
Way to grow the sport internationally.
Just 7 rounds for DH, wtf?
maybe that rumored hardline series falls in those summer months somehow? maybe more attendance to crankworx whistler w/ that much time? i'm personally a fan of the gaps between races. i think it keeps the hype more exciting. 3 weekends in a row at the end this year was as tough for fans as it was for riders LOL.
Part of that gap may be because of the Olympics as well.
Probably low unless you are North American or on a factory team. The month long break before it would play into it mentally and physically for some riders.
Those are big gaps though. Especially if they are trying to gain even the casual fans. Almost 2 months off, 2 races then a month off for the final. Going to take a lot of hype for people to remember the series is still going.
LOL
Was hoping for a new us dh round. Maybe I’ll make the trip to msa next year.
Read on UCI IG comments, I thought it was hilarious:
"2026 schedule is just Loic doing solo runs at home while being followed by a drone flown by Cedric"
It might even finally become a Toyota commercial...
Our physios are Polish so we have been looking forward to Bielsko-Biala. Going to be a hike from Ft William...
That polish round should be good. Definitely a country to visit. Good food, great outdoors and on top of that good prices like in every eastern european country
.
Dont give them any ideas! :D
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
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