2025 Team Rumors

moonsaballoon wrote:

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it...

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it just a result of the reality of the lack of money in the sport. 

Chris Ball must of realized that for an increased DH season and effectively forcing DH teams to have more riders ,  that the money to support that would more than likely come at the expense of Enduro programs .

 

moonsaballoon wrote:

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it...

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it just a result of the reality of the lack of money in the sport. 

Chris Ball must of realized that for an increased DH season and effectively forcing DH teams to have more riders ,  that the money to support that would more than likely come at the expense of Enduro programs .

 

bizutch wrote:

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all...

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

moonsaballoon wrote:

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round...

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

moonsaballoon wrote:

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it...

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it just a result of the reality of the lack of money in the sport. 

Chris Ball must of realized that for an increased DH season and effectively forcing DH teams to have more riders ,  that the money to support that would more than likely come at the expense of Enduro programs .

 

bizutch wrote:

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all...

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

moonsaballoon wrote:

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round...

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

bizutch wrote:

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all...

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

moonsaballoon wrote:

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round...

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

bizutch wrote:

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his...

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his focus on enduro .😁

bizutch wrote:

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his...

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his focus on enduro .😁

earleb wrote:

Someone give Sven Martin the budget to deploy 6 squids across the EDR race course / weekend and produce a mixed media slideshow like the old...

Someone give Sven Martin the budget to deploy 6 squids across the EDR race course / weekend and produce a mixed media slideshow like the old Vital shows and Enduro coverage would be great again. 

gibbon wrote:

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

moonsaballoon wrote:

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you...

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you that you now have to do your job standing on your head you have 2 options , you either do it or you don't . Without wanting to get all godwins law about it , following orders isn't a justifiable defence anymore .

For what it's worth I think some of the criticism of WB over the past couple of years has been over the top . I don't have a problem with paying for coverage of the races , GCN was a fair price and I watch it now on stay live which is pretty cheap as well . The sport probably does need to grow to be sustainable and a part of that is probably less riders at world cup weekends . My fear is that you end up removing what made the sport great in the first place in an effort to appeal to an audience that doesn't exist . It's a niche sport within a niche sport and I just can't imagine anyone who doesn't ride mountain bikes ever sitting down to watch a 3 hour broadcast of a mountain bike race .

Anyway that's probably a bit off topic 🙂 so I'm going to go for Reece Wilson on a new foes team managed by Nigel page and Sam hill as chief line spotter .

gibbon wrote:

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

moonsaballoon wrote:

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you...

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you that you now have to do your job standing on your head you have 2 options , you either do it or you don't . Without wanting to get all godwins law about it , following orders isn't a justifiable defence anymore .

For what it's worth I think some of the criticism of WB over the past couple of years has been over the top . I don't have a problem with paying for coverage of the races , GCN was a fair price and I watch it now on stay live which is pretty cheap as well . The sport probably does need to grow to be sustainable and a part of that is probably less riders at world cup weekends . My fear is that you end up removing what made the sport great in the first place in an effort to appeal to an audience that doesn't exist . It's a niche sport within a niche sport and I just can't imagine anyone who doesn't ride mountain bikes ever sitting down to watch a 3 hour broadcast of a mountain bike race .

Anyway that's probably a bit off topic 🙂 so I'm going to go for Reece Wilson on a new foes team managed by Nigel page and Sam hill as chief line spotter .

Primoz wrote:

You know he is getting paid to follow orders, right? Having the ability to put a roof over your head and food on the table is...

You know he is getting paid to follow orders, right? Having the ability to put a roof over your head and food on the table is somewhat important at the end of the day, important enough for a lot of people to stay in shitty jobs. Important enough to be the only justification, besides all the other possibilities of justification. 

gibbon wrote:

 When Tahnee became an Elite in '15 , Rach was starting her dominant run and Tahnee had to wait for the next 2 1/2  years for...

 When Tahnee became an Elite in '15 , Rach was starting her dominant run and Tahnee had to wait for the next 2 1/2  years for her first win as Rach won 14 races in a row (and 2 World Champs)!! It wasn't until Rach was injured in '17 that Tahnee got to win a senior race.
Rach is the genuinely the nicest (bonkers.....but nice) person I have ever met but both her and Tahnee are fierce competitors ,as you need to be to compete at the highest level.
There is no love lost  between the teams though.FMD's manager is also Tahnee's Dad. And he is........devisive 🙄.I think when they moved into the same valley where the Athertons lived and trained, and had built a lot of the tracks it caused some friction.

casey79 wrote:

Before the current dabbling by Richie at racing DH world cups his last World Cup race was in 2013 when he raced in the Elite category...

Before the current dabbling by Richie at racing DH world cups his last World Cup race was in 2013 when he raced in the Elite category as a Jnr at round 6 in Leogang.
 

gibbon wrote:

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

gibbon wrote:

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

Stiksandstones wrote:

Truer words may not have ever been spoken.

bizutch wrote:

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

wellbastardfast wrote:

Has E EDR definitely gone then and if so how do we know ?? 

bizutch wrote:

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

gibbon wrote:

Tony Ellsworth?

metadave wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

metadave wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

bulletbass man wrote:

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of...

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of two day races was accommodating e-edr.

metadave wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

bulletbass man wrote:

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of...

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of two day races was accommodating e-edr.

metadave wrote:

I suppose Win on Saturday, sell on Sunday doesn't have the same effect

bizutch wrote:

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

gibbon wrote:

Tony Ellsworth?

Conkey wrote:

What the fuck is a kilometer?

notthatbryan wrote:

It's how countries that haven't been to the moon measure distance. 

Mr.Nally wrote:

Sorry champ, but our Apollo program used the metric system, and the Soviet Union landed plenty of things on the moon other than humans. More importantly, does...

Sorry champ, but our Apollo program used the metric system, and the Soviet Union landed plenty of things on the moon other than humans.

 

More importantly, does the UCI hate miles or privateers more? 😁

mfoga wrote:

Anything not Europe is what they hate most