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@sspomer any chance that you can promote/post the q2 replay to the front page? I didn't look at the q2 results from the Loudonville and was able to watch it without spoilers. It was tricky as I had to cover both eyes and scroll the form to find it. Makes for a fun pre-race race if you can catch it spoiler free.
It’s Fine in Australia, just an NZ issue
Somebody always does this in Leogang, but it never starts to look like a normal thing to do, eh?
I know I'm probably asking too much, but separation of Q1 and Q2 results would be good, so we can look at who got through without risking seeing the Q2 results before watching the replay.
We can definitely make a separate video post with the Q2 session and feature that on the homepage, good call.
As for the results post, we've been separating Q1 and Q2 for the first two races this season already, but just today we were discussing lumping them together to keep everything tidy and in one place. We will post Q1 results as soon as they are available though, so you'll have a couple of hours to consult them before Q2 results get added, that might help a little...?
Thanks for the heads up. I didn't want to open the Loudenvielle results as it said Q1 and Q2 and I didn't want to risk seeing a spoiler. BTW thanks for the quick response. I love this place, you guys are the best.
😍
Q1 elite results are in! https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/results-leogang-uci-elite-world-cup-dh-elite-qualifying
Huge crash for Pontvianne yesterday (hence the DNS in Q1)... Let's hope he keeps his incredible pace !
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I agree with Veefour, you and Spomer rock!
Also q1 claiming scalps in the men’s field again.
When you read past position 30 and realize there are maybe millions of dollars invested into the people not getting to race finals, I seriously think this is going to choke off sponsorship & race teams. There is virtually no reason to field a rider and/or team. I mean, the elite 3-4 man factory backed teams are getting 1, maybe 2 riders at most into finals.
But you have to field a team of 10 to get points? The investment versus the exposure is god awful.
thought it was a maximum of 10 riders not a compulsory 10.
To stop the big/wealthy teams hoovering up all the lower ranked riders for a small pile of cash just to collect their handful of points each.
Elite Q2 just finished, wow, the pace is picking up! https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/results-leogang-uci-dh-world-cup-elite-qualifying
Flip side is that Qualifiers rounds are getting more coverage than in the past. Lots more talk about Q1 and Q2. The competition level has gone up. From a pure racing perspective this is a much better system. Rides must perform in this new system. Maybe some of the riders consistently not making the cut just aren't worth the money.
I think it speaks to just how complex the tracks across the world are & how truly diverse the skill set of World Cup racers really is.
One week you are 59th in qualifying because the track, distance, sprints, elevation, terrain, soil type don't sync up to the exact combination of skills & health & bike a particular rider has.
Next week, you rip 6 seconds out of the entire field like Hemstreet between a group of splits.
The diversity & technicality of downhill is unmatched. It's not even a randomness. 60-80 guys and no such thing as the same top 20 guys every week. Take the top 40 motocross guys every week, line them up, drop the gate & position might vary by 5-8 placings. But you are who are no matter what track you show up at.
In DH...I love that 50th place can get a top 5.
Finals Start Lists for Leogang - get your Fantasy picks in by 1030pm PST tonight.
Agree with this. I think WBD is going to need to really consider a live broadcast of qualifying (especially Q2). It's been fun this year and today's Q2 times show how much everyone is laying it on the line. This could be a value add for the big teams because they will get 1.5 -2X exposure with quali and finals with people paying attention.
Hate to keep bringing this up, but Pivot team once again with no riders in finals. That’s a lot of money to keep missing. I get that BK is hurt and would most likely be in them if he was racing, but damn that sucks. Gutted to see Danny Hart not making it, really pulling for that Norco team to do well.
Dak would have qualified in Q1 with his Q2 time. Maybe conditions improved but it’s an argument against holding out for the LCQ. Dakotah is obviously benefiting from the extra run post injury but under normal circumstances I think you’re better off trying to make it happen in Q1
Sorry, I know this has been asked and answered, but I can't find it. Where is the Q2 replay posted? Is it on Max or YouTube somewhere? Thanks!
https://www.youtube.com/@uci_mtbworldseries
I'm not seeing the Q2 replay up there yet.
Hopefully they put it up. I had a quick look and the Q2 replays from both Poland and Leogang are by far the most watched vids on their channel from racing so far this year.
Lower woods later in the day is going to be faster without rain in the mountains. The dew overnight plus clouds that run through don't have to rain to soak a mountainside with condensation.
It's what is most beneficial about going last in Finals (assuming no storms).
It's worth noting the 'Q2 replay' is not a replay... It's an edited/produced highlights video. And I think that's the direction they wanna pursue, which makes sense given how lackluster direct replays of their runs with normal commentary are. Better to allow them time to chop it up a bit better, add in some excitement if possible to compensate for rics play by play. And deliver a superior product in the end.
If anything it's what they should be doing. That was the bread and butter of red bulls youtube presence in DH racing. The highlight edits they made. Like 2019 Snowshoe, their highlights video is one of the greatest DH showcase productions ever. And WBD would do well to copy that homework. Like... We have not gotten an amazing edited narrated highlights video of Graceys run, nor Jacksons. That's a SWING AND A MISS for the sport of DH. Those performances need to have 10-15 minute mini docs around them. But nobody is stepping up to bat on that. So we get fragmented interviews and recap/analysis from various platforms like PB and Sven and stuff.
That's great... But the people trying to SELL us this content, need to step up and give us a reason to buy. Make short, high production content akin to Red Bull's race recaps.
(Edit: Norco's just posted their recap. Great stuff. If only the company controlling the whole thing and charging for access could do the same...)
If they replaced Chris and Rick (keep Neko) with Rob and Elliot, I'd pay.
Huge shoutout to the Vital team for creating such an awesome fantasy league. It makes watching the races insanely fun and exciting, and has gotten me engaged in DH racing in a way that nothing else could. And I've never even set foot on a DH bike before.
is anyone else getting more and more worried it won't show up as they hit refresh every 5 minutes?
Maybe delayed by XC coverage?
I'm guessing that the the addition of XC to this round means we might not get the DH Q2 coverage this round. WB have been anything but consistent with their coverage , wouldn't surprise me at all if this is the case.
I hope I'm wrong.
Got some reactions following todays Q2 session here.
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