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I used to work at one of the buildings on the right in that photo, seems like a weird place to have the finish. Its at least a 30min walk from Creekside base straight up a ski run, Im sure they will have shuttles going but still, odd.
I think it’s almost safe to say that the YT mob in its current form is not going to exist next year. Ric hinting at a turbulent team situation multiple times in today’s broadcast. Vali, Andi and Oisin all very popular riders - male riders maybe not constant podium contenders but very popular with social media and fans, which might be just as valuable.
Exciting to see where they end up.
Sure sounds like YT is pulling the plug on its race program, for the second time.
Teams own the points, not riders. This was one of the issues brought up (that I wholeheartedly agree with) when this system was introduced. What happens when a team folds? I hope there’s a mechanism in place for a logical solution to this but I doubt it. WBD doesn’t want deadbeat teams, they’ll be fine letting someone else figure it out for them. YT Mob would be on their 3rd strike now?—deadbeat status in my book.
Riders blew it not fighting this one harder. Teams, too, honestly. It diminishes the true stars of the sport. Shameful, and shoots the whole thing in the foot.
a team will definitely hire on the big riders from YT, but it’ll be at the expense of one of their current riders.
All you money guys in here love this though.
Not to mention Jack Moir, whose popularity seems to be almost single-handedly keeping EDR alive and who can still win races. I think silly season might have just got a lot sillier.
I would be surprised if most of the YT team doesnt get picked up elsewhere, very solid riders with strong support, obviously Texi is retiring Kasper Wooley will probably struggle due to his persistant injuries, but Oisin, Andreas, Moi Moi and Vali will get a ride somewhere.
Its the freeriders and slopestyle riders that get really boned out of YT closing, good luck finding free bikes for those people.
I recall an interview with Vali several years ago saying she had an offer from her “favourite team” but it would have required her to leave Sram/RS, so she turned it down and rode for the Rockshox Trek team. Since then she’s won 3 World Cup overalls and 3 World Champs so I can’t imagine this team wouldn’t still be interested and make room. I wonder if it’s Commencal Muc Off - Myriam is getting older and it makes sense given they were on Fox at the time she signed with Trek. The connection with Cecile makes sense as well. Pure speculation though.
can’t they just sell off the team?
Vali to Orbea
I'll just leve this here. Might be a joke I don't get, might be something... At least it's a proper rumor. Found at 11.11 here in one of the Fast AF vids from Les Gets: https://youtu.be/n67Vg95I4oQ?si=aZyHoPoK5WoLiSmj
Nigel Page to Syndicate Manager (Peaty's stepping back).
Interesting! Also. Pagey has not done a podcast since Nukeproof came back. I thought he v was working with them. I can't see Peaty stepping away.
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4282362364
Wow! An actual ad for the position. I hope Peaty stays on the circuit in some way.
A spot will be open on Yetis DH team as Camille Balanche announced her retirement after this year.
True.. also Bienve and Stark in Freeride, Fedko in Slopestyle. That team is stacked. Certainly among the best lineup of riders overall at the moment. But also kind of serves to show how messed up the bike industry is right now. Great ambassadors, great bikes, very reasonable pricing, still struggling
Here is the official retirement announcement from Camille Balanche - what an incredible career she has had, stepping into the sport so late (only a couple of years after picking up her first bike!), and achieving what she did is no mean feat. Congrats on the career Camille, all the best for the next steps!
If Vali is looking for a new ride at the end of the season, she's got to be one the hottest prospects on the market.. It will come down to who's got the room under the tent and space in the budget... She will be a big pick-up for someone..
Well it looks like Yeti have a open slot in their roster now!
I will be intereted to see how quick teams will be to drop riders if they have an off season once points no longer belong soley to the racers.
Some teams will def stay pretty loyal to racers, but I can absolutely see some teams under presure being quicker to cut racers in order to replace with an up and coming racer.
I would say the only potential issue is that Vali seems like she wants to stay with Sram and Rock Shox.. But, there might be a point where she has to move past that...
Someone on the other site mentioned Vali potentially already signed with Orbea?
It seems there was something potentially slipped in the race broadcast.. Her and Tawnee could be a hell of a team..
Pretty sure that’s for the logistical part of the team. Peaty is more the performance side and isnt booking flights etc.
Vali to Orbea was also mentioned in the Fast AF video I posted somewhere up on this page. In the video they say contract is already signed. It's at 11.11 minutes here: https://youtu.be/n67Vg95I4oQ?si=yhR1eql7lgTfT6UN
The “performance side” is covered by the 1st 4 bullet points in the job description I linked.
If true I wonder if Orbea are going to start another team or if Vali is going to join the Seagraves. Always had the impression that she and Tahnee did not vibe the best. But then again what do I know..
I used to get that vibe, maybe things have changed? I remember hearing about an incident involving Gee and Ratboy at an after party years ago that ended in a fight between Gee and Sam Dale, but they seem pretty friendly towards one another at Hardline nowadays.
I wonder how many people are at end of contract this season ? With all the mad rush for points last season would all those signings been on 2 year at least contracts ? Might be that there's not too many spots available unless teams can find extra budget , especially as I'm assuming the YT riders will be some of the better paid riders in the field .
If Nukeproof are looking to get back into racing they could do a lot worse than just buy out the YT team although I doubt they'd have the budget for that .
Id love to see Vali jump to Nukeproof, Talk about a massive boost for that reviving brand - shes Not cheap but i suspect It will be anther Gwin/YT setup, Take a massive investment punt on a rider knowing it WILL get you to the top of DH almost instantly.
I get what you mean and it would be cool , but if I was in a position to choose from a few offers I'd be staying well away from anyone who was using YT as an example of how they'd want to run their program 😁
It's a shame as it's not the people who ride for the team or work in the pits fault but YT do seem to have a way of ending up leaving riders in the lurch a bit .
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