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Balls (never mind paying a bit, but that’s a lot!)
It is. My Internet subscription is less than that...
Downhill Rockies announced the season schedule. Thanks Jeremiah and team! (If any of them are in here)
So cool to see! One of these days I need to get back on a DH rig and see some old friends.
I had the discovery channels free with my Sky deal as well so I saw all the world cups the last couple of seasons.
I certainly won't be paying for TNT at that price to watch this year.
At the end of the day it was UCIs product to sell. Warner are doing what suits them but UCI is the one to blame for not renewing the deal with Red Bull.
The Red Bull deal worked for the supporters. Free coverage.
Just how are the Elite World Cup riders like Bruni and Pierron going to feel when nobody is watching their races on TV .
If Red Bull are showing crankworks and other races for free then surely the hype is going to grow around those races. And hype and eyeballs are what the sponsors want.
I'm sure something good will come from the lessons learned over the next few years but careers are short. Bruni, Pom Pom and Amaury and Vergier probably don't have too many years left at their peak and I'm going to miss seeing them race this season
As of September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $40.21 billion in debt, while Walt Disney reported $45.82 billion in debt.
Using massive debt to buy exclusive rights then charging more than many people are willing to pay doesn't seem ideal.
Nah, smart business! There is certainly plenty of mountain bikers who will pay enough to cover the losses of both of those businesses. 🤣
500 million mountain bikers paying $30 per month for 6 months and it breaks even.
Mountain States Cup vibes
Both companies still make money. While I don't love the streaming business model for a lot of reasons, I think its a lot more complicated than we're boiling it down to here. Ignoring Disney for a second, WBD is kicking off over $5B in free cash flow per year, and adjusted EBIDTA of over $2B. Not saying all their moves are genius, and I'm pretty indifferent to the WC coverage, but its worth noting that not all leverage is bad leverage.
"no one is watching" UK/Ireland you mean, plenty of people still watching.
And lets face it, this was coming all along and yes it will come to rest of the world too at some point, just like every other sport. Hockey (national and NHL), football, NFL, F1, rally, depending on the package deal that's 35-80 euros in Finland, so in a year or two, DH is just another acronym on that list. Trying to grow something is a bitch, it will make people angry (as it did with those another sports which were much cheaper too at some point) but, it has to be done to make money and evolve.
For the meantime, I'm happy for my 5 euro hbo max deal and will most likely pay when the time comes at some point.
fontana #2 pov (with a rainbow at the start gate!) - a hardline tasmania thread has been started here too.
only a week away! https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2025-hardline-tasmania-bikes-practice-event
RACER trailer about amaury and myriam by sleeper. looks sick!
Sleeper edit no more to say , just can't wait for the full video. when you have some injuries and are interest in downhill you can only admire this athlete for such dedication.
jewett bros on a testing lap (kinda racing related, right?)
Racing related: first footage I've seen of Goldstone in a while, I know it's a play lap, but my god the kid can just do anything at anytime. One of the sickest follow cams I've seen!
After picking up a few local Australian sponsors Dean Lucas signed up for a local DH race as his swan song. Didn’t end up as planned.
Damage
he will live to podcast again
Damn, that's broken and separated. That will be a rough one to recover from.
Saw this on Emmett Hancock's IG, and then checked the site - Canadian Enduro League on hiatus for 2025:
2025 Season Update
After much reflection and despite a winter full of planning for an amazing season, we've decided to hit pause on our events for 2025.
We're endlessly thankful for every rider, family, trail builder, organization, resort, brand, and all the OGs who've been with us since 2016. The support everyone has shown is nothing short of amazing. The spirit of our community is what makes riding truly special, and we're excited to explore some epic trails with you all, our friends and families, this summer.
This is certainly not goodbye, it’s just a little breather to recharge, and realign our gears for the future. Stay tuned for updates in September/October about what's next.
See you on the trails.
The CEL Team
matt walker talks about his prototype session
Video Contents
0:00 - Intro, Build Overview & Size
1:22 - Adjustable Pivot Location and Progression
3:04 - Tire Choice, Pressures, Inserts
3:47 - Suspension Settings, Bars, Tinkering
6:00 - Maven Brake Power and Unique Lever Position
7:45 - Seat Height, Testing Philosophy
8:52 - Tuned Mass Damper
Loic Bruni and Loris Vergier discover the brand new track in La Thuile, a first time venue for the DH World Cup. Is it summer yet??
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFzqUFvv_Se/?igsh=YmN5YW9iY2ZwOTdk
the crash of Erice at Red Bull Hardline…hard to watch and hope she can recover quickly.
Random thought,
How screwed are riders with a contract up after the 25 season?
Teams keep the points from 25 moving forward, so riders loose a big part of their bargaining power.
I would think a little bit but results still matter. Teams keep the rider points for the following season but then they lose those points for future seasons as well. If your a top 20 rider and looking to move on from team A to team B, team b isn’t going to view you as rider with 0 points but the potential to bring x number of points to the team.
Brilliant. North America take notice. Maybe the Walton's (Walmart) will build the best wc track in the USA, or three of them here!? They could be the Mercedes of the iconic dh, but also own it and the broadcasting, or work a deal with some else here!
Frenchies would still bitch about any track this side of the Atlantic.
I had thought the system could be tweaked to protect the riders and help the riders hold value they can negotiate with:
Teams keep half the points earned, riders keep half the points earned.
Let's say Ronan Dunne gets 1000 points next year and gets an offer from Max Commencal, he should be able to take points with him. Mondraker retains half the points for supporting him for the season and Ronan gets half the points for...well, being on the bike, doing the work, and taking the chances.
If "we" are looking to make downhill more professional, let's treat the athletes like professionals and acknowledge their value. "Points" aren't worth much but teams wanting those points certainly could be.
Honestly with Whiteface on the calendar this season (and for a few more to come likely) we just need one more race here in the US to put DH on the map in North America (mainly because we have US Open too.
A lot of people say west coast, but I think we need a Colorado race, some of the best ever US DH tracks have been in CO!
With Vermette, Blevins, Amos, Batten etc... all from CO and the Durango bid for 2030 Worlds we need that WC ASAP
I do not disagree with this point at all. Would be awesome to have another iconic World Cup track in Colorado. It's been since what, 2004 that there was a World Cup in the Rockies at Angel Fire?
It does seem like the Forrest Service requires a whole lot of money, studies, and surveying to open new trails. A trail versus a full on WC track is something else. Seems like it could be a heavy lift to make it happen and a chicken or the egg type of situation. The specific resort may want approval to build the trail before pitching the location to the UCI and the Forrest Service would want the UCI approval before approving a proper DH track.
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