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I wouldn’t read into it much. Pivot/bernard have plenty of opportunity in plenty of spaces.
Masters Walker Masters podium was one of the truly great enduro moments. Race winner. Fan favorite. Not many of those guys left in enduro.
Long ramble, sorry. Just offering a different perspective from this because my first reading of the podcast episode was completely different.
I listened to the whole podcast. I think the answer BK gave seemed accurate and I didn't hear it as complaining (and he even said in the podcast that it's going to sound like sour grapes coming from him). Did you listen to the whole podcast?
What was the question Elliot asked again: "How has Hardline changed?"
He described a particular way it changed: It used to be everyone being cool and helping each other and racing in an silently agreed upon way. Now that agreement is off, That's how Hardline has changed. That agreement may have been off before that unshared line but him pointing that out definitely makes it seem like that was the line-in-the-sand to him.
I kind of understand how he feels even though that feeling isn't necessarily objectively "correct." When I took my music production business from semi-serious to very serious I had similar experiences. Me being cool and everyone else being cool through some unspoken mutual respect in a "high tide lifts all boats" sort of way eventually turned into me being cool and other people not coming in with the same intention. It felt like a personal attack for a long time.
It wasn't "just business" for me just like it seems like it's not "just racing" for BK. My business was personal. To be honest it still is (but I've added some boundaries)! I really only charged money at first because I needed to eat food and live in a place while helping people make records. I charged people as little as I could to make sure both myself and the artist could make records and eat food because music is hard and I wanted us all to succeed. I performed a service while making sacrifices so they could have a better result and a better record and more success as a musical artist. The silent agreement was people understood I was worth more than what I was charging and they were happy to pay it because I was giving them much more than they were paying for. Later, as client bases got larger, clients didn't always operate with that same understanding.
As an example: In one instance, a band was pissed that was charging them more than my one-radio-single-style-song rate even though we agreed to that one-radio-single-style-song rate. The original agreement was to do one rock song to be their album's first single and the band had confirmed that via email and pre-production phone calls. But then they showed up with "one song" that's 20 minutes long and has 4 short silent breaks in it. Clearly trying to game the agreement to do 5 songs for the price of one. They were trying to take advantage of me. Luckily I had included some language in my emails/contracts that they neglected to read (and I mentioned it on the phone but they just claimed I didn't say anything) protecting me from that sort of misunderstanding/bad-faith reading.
But there probably aren't emails and contracts between riders clearly defining relationships at a race.
Undefined expectations can lead to different parties having different expectations. That's the crux of the whole thing.
I imagine BK feels like he helped others a bunch and has told everyone else about "a line" he found with the expectation they'd have done the same...and it's probably played out like that many times over the years at Hardline. Then when other people didn't act that way because that wasn't the way they expected it to go, he probably felt a little like it was a personal choice (rather than a "business choice") to not tell him. He expected everyone to be cool and be friends and share that info while other people expected everyone else to be looking for ways to gain advantage and keep things to themselves the way they would at a World Cup.
I could see it either way, for sure. My lived experience that colors the way I interpret events says this was an assumed shared mutual respect and collaboration that wasn't actually shared amongst all riders. Taking a different perspective, though, I could definitely see how a different person with different life experience could read what he said as "making himself a victim" if that's the life experience they've lived.
Out of interest did you see Adam Brayton's track walk vid at the Wales event? At one point he mentioned a line where there was a gentleman's agreement the previous year, which he said BK then broke. 🤷♂️
I didn't watch Adam's trackwalk.
I wasn't saying anything other than saying I have felt something similar to what BK said so I got a completely different takeaway from that podcast. I'm not here to be the arbiter of right or wrong nor am I pretending to be.
Was BK the only person to take that alt line the previous year or is he the only person named by Adam as taking it (as a response to the podcast)? What was the line like? I'd love to compare the runs out of curiosity.
I'm sure it'll still be on YT, shouldn't be too hard to find.
Taken from Redbull bike snippet of BK's "whinge"
Troys comment lol
And for clarity’s sake - here’s the line in question. Straight out of the Sam hill playbook, and if I remember correctly he was the one who spotted it in the first place. Bernard knew there’s no way he could call out hill for riding an inside line.
Adam Brayton trolling Bernie is one of the greatest internet gags of all time. My personal favorite was the 'public bike park' series feat Roidy 🤣
I'd hardly say the hardline thing was the nail in the coffin. If anything that was more so 'cringe' and just tasty troll bait for poking fun at him, for both fans and fellow riders alike. And it would be easy enough for him to roll with the punches.
The nail in the coffin for me came a while ago, and I'm still blown away how it all worked out and is overlooked by this point 🤦♂️
What was the nail in the coffin for you? The Jenna thing? ply explain thx
Too early to start enduro rumours?
It’s the end of August and the season is done apart from worlds.
that’s nearly 4 months of brands having athletes that aren’t racing - what value is there?
I’m going to go with there not being any brand representation from Specialized, canyon or pivot for 2026. Riders in contract year won’t get renewals in enduro. Some retire, some simply won’t have a ride.
Probably for the inevitable 2026 thread but an interview with Clive gosling on pinkbike sounds like there will be a Nukeproof team in DH and maybe enduro next year .
Will be interesting to see how starting a new factory team from scratch works now in terms of the teams owning this season's points .
2026 team rumors thread is official - https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2026-team-rumors
I hate to be even mentioning the subject again but could all the people making snide comments about a certain relationship stop and think about how the younger party feels about having her private life as a topic of conversation?
Most of the people frowning on the relationship probably waffle on about mental health constantly while being oblivious to the effect their own comments have on people.
I'm all for free speech but these professionals are entertaining us and putting their lives on the line for peanuts and some readers of these Mtb sites are talking trash about riders private lives.
The other thing that occurs to me (and I have no doubt I'll be downvoted for this, but here goes nothing) is that people are all for equality and empowerment in the post covid world, so why is it seemingly beyond comprehension that it may have been Jenna that let BK know she was interested in him, as opposed to him 'grooming' her?
I've got no meat in the game and don't care one way or another, but isn't it at least possibility? It may explain why her parents don't appear (on the face of it) to have a problem with their relationship. 🤷♂️
You can always tell a girl who is interested in you no. Or at minimum not yet.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone imply Jenna is at all at fault or that she doesn’t have the right to do what she wants to do and be with who she wants to be with. I’ve only seen people question bernard. Who while doesn’t have Brian lopes level of bad reputation doesn’t exactly have the best one either. He’s always come off to plenty of people as a bit of a tool and I think his choices just solidify that thinking for certain folk. Choosing to date aside his handling of the relationship and the optics of it is very immature for a guy in his 30s whose also a team manager. (as as well the team manager of the much younger woman he is dating who he brought on as a 17 year old). I only wish em happiness and success. But I think plenty of people could fathom Bernard’s happiness and success coming at the expense of Jenna’s while she doesn’t have the life experience or resources to draw on that bernard has. It’s his moral compass that people question both in and out of that relationship.
Firstly I'll say again I've got no real opinion, nor am I too bothered either way, just putting forward something as a possibility. I subscribe to the theory that the mind is like a parachute, it only really works when it's open.
AFAIK Emelie Siegenthaler has been involved with the team throughout this saga. She missed out on a WC podium to Kate Weatherley some years ago and predictably the other site's comments exploded. She was very quick to call out people overstepping the mark. She defended Kate's right to race and acknowledged her result. I've never met her, but she comes across to me as someone who wouldn't be part of that team if it went against her principles (but maybe she's turning a blind eye 'cause she's on the big bucks as a line spotter), sure, that's pure speculation on my part.
I also believe the Athertons and Wyn Masters would take steps to distance themselves if they were uncomfortable. Based on various vlogs I've watched, I haven't seen evidence of that. Again, what do I know?
I've seen comments from people who are around the pits and in the WC environment alluding to Daprela's situation, I don't recall anything from those same people regarding BK and Jenna, maybe I missed those comments.
To me they seem happy, though I could be wrong. Oh well, if I am I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it.
The 13-14 year age difference aside, the really problematic part for me is the fact that he was/is still her boss, and that relationship began when she was a teenager.
If he was her teacher or coach at school and they started dating shortly after she graduated people would be up in arms. How is this any different?
This is where I'm at as well. I mean... it's his team. But if I were to start dating a subordinate at my job (regardless of age difference), one of us would end up having to resign... and most likely, as the person in the position of authority, it would be me. That's pretty prevalent in company policy around the US, espcially if the person is a direct report of the person in authority (which Jenna would be to Bernard). That being said, PFR is Bernard's "company," and he can do with it as he wishes. Of course, his sponsors can also choose to do with it as they wish, and withhold sponsorship if they don't approve.
CAN WE PLEASE STOP WITH THE RELATIONSHIP STUFF? this is a dead horse that is now pulp. (not saying i agree with it). PLEASE KEEP IT OUT OF TEAM RUMORS AT THIS POINT
Go make another thread if this is that big of a deal for you guys
So many bad looks.
The conflicts of interest, the power imbalance, the implications for fellow teammates…there are contracts with both their names on them, I’d presume. This would be wildly out of line if there was no age gap, let alone what we have here, where the manager met the rider when she was a teen.
You’re gonna tell me that this somehow isn’t a valid topic of discussion when it comes to the makeup of the teams at the highest level of the sport? Fully fried take.
Never said it wasn’t valid. Said take it to a different thread at this point. Just like CS length talk in tech rumors.
Ah, they tried to pull thee olde The Who “A quick one while he’s away on you,” lol. I had essentially the same experience when I decided to “go pro” move out of my basement luthier shop and quit touring with bands as a guitar tech to open up a brick and mortar guitar shop. The music industry is a brutal way to make a living, let alone dealing with that kind of stuff. Best of luck to you.
p-tucky (eric porter) off diamondback after 15 years.
That's a seriously classy goodbye from Eric. Such a bummer to see sponsored athletes who are so intertwined with a specific brand have to part ways due to the current situation.
Porter naming his other sponsors in a goodbye to my sponsor vid is why Porter will always be Porter. The dude has made a life for himself riding bikes, always hustling!
The "current situation" is over. Brands that are still using that as a reason they are doing poorly are lying and disingenuous.
If you are letting go of riders now, it's either simply because "your" business is not going well, you should not have been in the sponsorship business in the first place, or most likely, the business has shifted and brands sponsoring riders just because...is no longer smart business.
The industry is level.
Why?
Seems like there’s still some discussion to be had on this Team Rumor.
He’s a pedo it’s weird af. 14 year difference and her boss? Definition of grooming.
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