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And there are a few groms that have been running his used frames most all of 2023.
Neko has expressed that hes not really looking to make FW a big business more of a boutique kind of small production company. As cool as it would be to have Gwins team on Frameworks this is a make hay while the sun shines kind of sports and Gwin will be looking for max sponsorship/salary dollars and that will have to come from a big frame manufacture.
And TV coverage back then was mainly on cable and there wasn't a single point of contact.
As much as the hardcore fans hate the change from RBtv. It's what the sport needs if it has any hope of a regular income stream from external sponsors.
Nove Mesto xc had nearly nine million viewers this year. That's the kind of numbers that gets you noticed by whatever marketing or pr people that hold the purse strings in large companies. Power tools, insurance, beauty products.. that's what the elite level of MTB needs.
I'm not sure how it works with pirelli in the picture but bontrager don't have a mud spike, so Trek riders have been using Dirty Dans for years. See: Gee Atherton's last race/win on Trek. I forget the name of the venue but they haven't been back and it was the last race of the season, Martin Maes was 2nd.
La Bresse? Maes won and Gee came second (from what I can see on Roots and Rain Gee's last WC win was 2014 when he was on GT).
Might well have been. Guess I remember the results wrongly. I just remembered the un-sharpied Dirty Dans on Gee's in the vital slideshow!
Gwin could very well be lured off the bike and into the commentary booth with the right offer from WB.
' Power tools, insurance, beauty products.. that's what the elite level of MTB needs. '
Why?
Because that's what actually pays bills. No bike related or even bike adjacent company has the dollars Milwaukee or Allstate has to sponsor an event or pay riders to race. Boring? Sure, but it's cash that can push events and riders forward. Imagine regional/national race series had the pull and resources to pull out Freecaster level media coverage and attract big names or keep local superstars racing longer into their lives because they had the dollars to do so. The B-practice crew hit on this a bit in the last podcast they did with Dak I think commenting on US racing and people eventually leaving racing to earn a living.
One of the questions for Dak was what would it take to race a national series or a crankworx over the world cup.
He repeatedly talked about being able to make more money and get on better rides (for Frida at least) by racing mainly in the US and in different series than World Cup DH. I thought that was interesting. Dak seemed like he's mainly motivated by racing against the best competition on the biggest stage, regardless if there are easier ways to earn a living.
Ran into Eliot Jackson and Luca Shaw hanging in Key West, confirmed via their IGs. Luca back to syndicate?
Pretty sure Luca's going into a new DH program with 23degrees with Cami, Benoit and the rest of the remaining Dorval team to re-invigorate Haro with their new VPP version of the Magnum .357 DH bike. But this is put hearsay to take it as you will.
Best rumor yet! This is what I come here for. This could mean there is an opening or two on Canyon.
Yeti / SRAM - Gwin, Richie and Vali
i'll bet my bikes that we won't ever see a yeti factory team on SRAM/Rockshox since they 're pretty close to fox.
Never say never… They also just launched their latest bike with RS suspension - which as long as I can remember was never the case before in the recent years.
New yeti DH team managed by Todd after the enduro team re shuffle..?
Gwin, Richie, Dak would be a pretty potent trio. Add a quick woman to the team and they’d have a home run.
Red Bull/Yeti/Fox/Race Face with Aaron, Ritchie, Vali?
Loris was running Conti tires in practice at Les Gets. My hypothesis is that they are testing various tires to develop the pirelli tires which probably are inferior at the moment.
FWIW, the Yeti DH bikes does not have an infinity link supplied by Fox...
i'm guessing Sram could make those bits as well, bring back Ti-nitride gold coating
There is outside money... in Europe... and in XC.
Notice how many top XC, mostly Euro, riders have sponsor logos that North American's have never heard of?
Obviously, Nino is a bit of an exception, but he has "Corner Card" at the front of his helmet along with numerous others. I've heard he even has a chocolate sponsor. The man was/is deep into the 7 figure mark. Kate Courtney's Redbull helmet is worth substantially more than the average DH rider annually. How many DH/Enduro riders do you see being sponsored by car dealerships? It pales in comparison to the XC crowd.
Obviously, not every highly-ranked rider is doing amazing in XC, but it's probably pretty comical to compare the top 20 XC in men's and women's categories to the top 20 DH and Enduro riders financially.
It's not so much of an MTB issue as it is a gravity-based mtb issue
I've always been amazed that Dorval has stuck with DH as long as they have. I'm still curious as to where people are getting the slightest inclination that the Dorval team is shutting down? Outside money like Dorval is cool cause it allowed them to do things like letting their riders choose the frame they wanted before they went full Commencal. Obviously pros and cons to that type of setup, but it's unique and could be beneficial.
Luca back to the Syndicate cause he was hanging out with Elliot Jackson? Have they not been friends for a long, long time?
A Yeti/SRAM American super team because two dudes both ride for Redbull and have the same trainer? I saw that Finn and Jackson both go to the same tanning salon, Finn to Syndicate?
Should change the name to Team Rumors/Wishes/Conjuring
Dak, Gwin, Luca, Neko and Grice on Framewroks/Haas Factory Team (Haas pulled the plug on the F1 crap).
Neko spearheading the launch of a new series, Super DH MX. 10 rounds in the US and Canada with a $5 million dollar purse and Apple as the title sponsor.
vali is going to YT
Luca back to Syndicate is unlikely. People don't want to admit it, but it's the GOAT show until he retires.
Outside money for the XC field is coming because :
- It's an olympic sport : big brand like car, food or luxury easily connect to olympic value and olympic sport.
- it's now more and more connected to the road cycling world.
- races are easy to understand for spectator and money partner.
- There is more and more VIP event around the XC race, that bring people that have money to invest in the sport.
Now, media attention and money is only going to the top, top team and top athletes. Outisde top 10, you divide salary by 10 and this was 2023 situation. For 2024, XC athlete propose team manager to pay to have a spot in the team. There is way much more athletes than spot available, it's a nightmare for the athlete.
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