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This is the sickest thing I’ve seen all year!
Imagine having this type of talent on tap and doing anything but encourage them to film film film…
Nope, just bad......the only people it brings are the ones getting preyed on to lose money they don't have. John Oliver did a good video on it, and its not surprising to see it arrive in mtb (its everywhere) but still disappointing
https://youtu.be/Pxvfy4qQRog?si=uMCfWeSh10PSY6Fh
Assuming that Cathro's speaking the truth, the UCI basically just proved that racers should keep going if they go out of the course. They might not get penalized if they even get caught.
How Dare these riders have fun on their bikes! Don't they know it's the race season? What happened to No Pain No Gain?
THIS. and it was kind of an underlying narrative in the recent B line podcast, where Dak just barely missed the inside pole or whatever... and chose to pull off and hike up. but if this is the officiating we can expect... and pulling off is probly guaranteed 0 or close to 0 points... the UCI has just plastered a banner to all riders that says 'send it and let god sort em out'. typically, integrity should be enough of a reward to stay inside the poles. but if cheaters get rewarded, then you've ruined the delicate balance of doing the right thing just 'for yourself'. i dunno. they just need to learn how to tape tracks with poles. take away 'middle' ones or make the 'middle' ones red/pink...
if the rules and enforcement of the rules go out the window, then why compete? the wind got sucked out of enduro often b/c of the easy ability to cut the course without penalty. lack of basic rule enforcement is hardly a recipe for a sport to be taken as seriously as the olybet PR makes WC sound.
crazy that world cup DH racing (what i thought was the most simple and objective form of MTB competition) has so much subjectivity lately. lack of consistency in course boundaries, the idea that because you crashed doesn't mean you deserve a re-run if someone runs in front of you, going around the wand, literal skinsuits that are within the rules b/c they're two-piece, rotor guards that are really just fairings in disguise. it's a wild one out there. and i guess it's basically been this way since its inception, we just don't have cheat-proof course tape like we used to.
UCI's response: "well that's just like... your opinion, man"
So they will lose it elsewhere. Betting is not going away so why not bring eyes and maybe $ to Mtb.
He didn't cheat, he just created a French line
It's Schrodinger's line, both legal and illegal at the same time.
I think the blame falls firmly on the UCI.
1. Courses need to be clearly defined. Without that enforcement is subjective at best. If Amaury did this same line in practice and qualis, the UCI delegates should have brought it up sooner.
2. Rules need to be clear and objective. Without that it's not a sport. Competitive equity goes out the window.
This is the best take I’ve read on the subject so far. Hopefully lessons are learned, and all of us (Amaury included) can put it in the past.
Well said!
* laughs in Herbold *
And still no one has asked UCI..."Who put the 3rd pole in on that hump before finals & why?"
Looking at vital IG story, polegate is back on this weekend.
posted in loudenvielle thread about it
https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2025-world-cup-downhill-edr-loudenvielle-france?page=1#comment-624081
The big tree was clearly not enough, they had to add to pole to make it clear you can't go through the middle 🙄.
looks like POLES ARE BACK ON THE MENU, BOIZ!!! (the helmet covering the eyes is... intentional)
Clear as Mud.
Cathro just posted a video on the other side regarding electronic lockouts. One thing I've been considering for a while now, is what is legal with regards to electronic suspension and pre-programming various settings for position on track. From a simplicity perspective, GPS would be the most ideal way to do that, but the nature of mtb trails with trees/cloud cover/mountains etc with GPS isn't perfect. The solution to that, would be to have infrared or NFC (RFID) or bluetooth triggers at certain points next to the track to trigger the changes in bike/suspension setup.
This all ties in with the current conversation on what's legal and even pit boards passing information to the rider. One of the key differences (until the last couple of years) between moto gp and f1, was that f1 was allowing radio communications and moto gp was pit board only. Now moto gp teams can pass info/text to the moto gp rider's dash, but it's still very archaic and being regulated pretty closely.
So what is/isn't legal in terms of bike/rider communication or connections within a UCI DH race run. I am going to do some of my own searching on this... but just wanted to yell into the echo chamber here cause, whynot.
So there's no Wyn Masters on the start line today
If warner brothers do not get him in the booth for commentary then I just give up on the whole thing
They may be able to redeem some respect by giving wyn a full time position in the booth
I'm praying this is happening
Q1 qualifying results from Loudenvielle: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/results-loudenvielle-world-cup-dh-elite-qualifying-session-1
Wyn is at a race in Germany
Junior qualifying results from France: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/results-loudenvielle-world-cup-dh-junior-qualifying
I thought I read/heard somewhere that LCQ's were going to be on Youtube but I can't find anything, anybody have a link?
Elite Q2 results: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/results-loudenvielle-world-cup-dh-elite-qualifying-session-2
Last round they posted LCQ on Youtube after it was done; it wasn't live
I did it! I avoided you dingdongs and my dipshit friends and watched the YouTube Q2 as if it were live, with the only spoilers coming from UCI’s own YouTube channel (a “Dunne destroys another wheel!” and “Harnden crashes out!” Plastered on a couple of shorts…gonna employ a family member to navigate next week).
Sick!
Start gate rules are apparently beyond us, as a species. You must be there on time but also you can start a couple times if you want to work on your bike for a bit. Against the rules but the only face you see at the starting gate, the keeper of the wand, says it’s chill.
Dafuq
Gnarly race, loved it. It’s always nice to see the best in the world crash like I crash: geek it into a tree, slide out on flat, blow a move and nutride the route for a while, the aforementioned show up late and with a bike that doesn’t work…usually it’s a mud race for these, but today was great in the super dry.
love it, this DH racing.
Commentary crew is absolutely fine.
So I kind of like the new format when it comes to Q1 and Q2, but I wish they kept the vestiges of protection, and if top riders qualify in Q2, they still race at the back on raceday. It really sucked to see Jackson, Amaury, and Finn have 30 only seconds of their run broadcast in Poland because they got in in Q2.
yeehhh but thats a production issue, that could be fixed for most of the event. i dont think re-adding protection is the solution. honestly they will still mess up broadcasting runs regardless.
i dont mind how they wanna run stuff live. what i hate is they don't seem to take their entire allotment of event footage and create EXTENSIVE post shows.
like ur not quite losing customers by posting old footage. post highlights/recaps after the race. THEN during the off season, drop ENTIRE event productions on youtube to generate hype... every run, as much footage as possible. also the raw audio was... a pleasant change lol. id prefer if it was just neko and the aussie but... ill take raw audio (shrug)
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