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A friend of mine in the Industry told me that he had heard from one of the reps that Orbea was withdrawing their US presence (at least in terms of inventory) due to tariffs. It was one of the reason's I bought my 25' Wild as I was assuming I wouldn't be able to get one easily next year or especially at a discount like it was right now.
That would all indicate to me they aren't going to suddenly put a bunch of money into a North American based racing effort if they aren't even trying to sell more bikes here...
They’ve had this truck at all the European races since the 2024 season. Before that they were on a much smaller setup. Things must have gone downhill (pun intended) real quick when just a year ago they were confident to invest big time in their program.
Kind of in line with what was said about key contractors letting them down, etc. That can kill a small business really quickly.
I'd pay money to see Oisin on a Nukeproof. I'd also like to think the YT enduro boys would follow. MoiMoiTV would be great for rejuvenating the brand!
Given the instability of the tariff situation, i can't say I blame them..
Vali going to be needing that privateer bonus from Wyn
How is the syndicate looking for next year? No doubt Jackson’s bringing in big points but the others have been very hot and cold for the last few years. Felix Griffiths has had a particularly underwhelming season
FWIW all my chats with Orbea this year has been focused around them trying to make a bigger splash in the U.S. and Canada. They've added personnel, and I've been in contact with them about a few things to come in the future. Typically when a brand doesn't plan to sell something in the US, we don't get hit up to be apart of the coverage.
We knocked out another B practice podcast this week, and had a few rumor topics come to light:
1. Dak signed a two year deal with Mondraker that ends this year. He was SUPER tight lipped about what the future holds.
2. Cami is retiring, Richie is EDR World Champ, Tyler Waite will be in Elites next year. I'm curious what Richie decides to race, and who they add to the team alongside Tyler (assuming he stays with them)
3. Max and Till Alran will be in Elites next year. Can anyone confirm how many Elite riders you can have on a team? I see online that a team maxes out at 10 riders, but is there a per-category rider limit? (paging @BGoldstone) Currently, Commencal Muc-Off has Loris Vergier, Amaury Pierron, and Dylan Maples. Will the Alran's get bumped to Elites, making for a 5 elite rider roster?
I thought I heard on Downtime that teams are limited to four male elite racers.
IIRC can’t they also have a “development” team?
4 elites per team so most likely Dylan is the odd man out. Rumour in here was Frameworks but he probably has a few options
* edit - 4 riders per category
4 was what I remember hearing, thanks for the confirmation. Dylan on Frameworks seems like a good fit.
My wife surprised me by donating to Wyn for the next few rounds, I dont think Vali getting the award was ever a scenario in her mind 😅
I know it's not the same, but it's the closest thing I can think of. When Force India F1 tram folded in mid 2018, Stroll took over by making the Racing Point team. They ran the rest of the season as Racing Point Force India team to keep the original constructors name/entity. The drivers kept the championship points, but the team lost the constructors points. The rest of the teams voted that they could keep the TV rights prize money from the old team.
It's likely we don't have the information to determine this, it's very likely a contractual item, but regarding keeping the points it's probably the question of who owns them - the named entity participating in the championship or the legal entity entering/running the team. I.e. If Specialized Gravity changed frame sponsors (has happened before when they left Lapierre), would they keep the points (legal entity behind the team) or lose them (named entity as they would drop the Specialized part of the name).
Rules don’t say what happens if a team folds but sounds like the YT riders are free to sign with another team.
Rumor here is that WB wanted $750000 for MSA to host in 2026 and previously the cost to host was significantly lower.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a few scenarios emerge in the next few months that weren't on anyone's bingo card.
Did you get that from a PB comment? I ask because I saw that but thought it must be a joke.
No I heard from two different sources here. I can’t verify but feel it’s a pretty reliable rumour.
I saw it as part of a sliding scale where they said $1m to host in 2026. I thought it was satire, someone please tell me they aren't serious?
I’ve heard similar figures thrown about involving the cost of Snowshoe hosting the WC
Aon racing to disband at the end of this year? Not really much from them, lots of injuries and some team riders not mention the brands in social media.
Reece probably get a commentary job from Warner brothers
I hope not . Reece Wilson is an exciting rider to watch and was finding some form before injury, Monika Hrastnik has had a podium and Hattie has shown she has the pace and probably just needs more racing experience to put it all together.
I would guess that you wouldn't put the effort into staring something like that then knock it on the head after a year .
I have piped up with this before, but i saw an Aussie podcast a couple of years back, where they had either the owner or creator of Maydena bike park, in Tasmania on. He gave a reason for not holding DH events down there (Australia or New Zealand) was the cost of buying the rights (from UCI/W
, which were in the region $1,000,000 up front. I can't remember which currency they were talking about, but that figure, feels to be in the ballpark of what MSA were asked to pay for 2026.
Wouldn't surprise me, or at least some form of guarantee into 7 figures as part of an agreement to host a world cup.
While those fees aren't public since WBD took over, you can go on UCI and see the World Champs ones - For 2029 MTB Worlds there is a 20,000 CHF Bid fee and then actual hosting UCI fee is 620,000 CHF
And this is all before you actually organise and run the event
Another hint that YT are shutting their team down.
Hello, one quick question: what is the point of having a goddamn World Cup race in a place that doesn't have an emerging scene that wants to evolve? Is it money laundry, or what? As a local I'm sure you must have a better idea than us others.
I mean, it totally made sense for Poland to step it up, as they are constantly progressing in MTB since many years now. Same for Slovenia or Croatia. Something has to add up, as this is very expensive, beginning with the fee you have to pay to the UCI to the rest of the logistics involved.
I wish you guys all the best!
Mx
A future Korean multinational sponsor, perhaps?
Peaty is not stepping back, the job posting is a separate job
Will Greenland stay on the Syndicate?
He is at it for 3 years now. nothing heard from contract renewals since he joined..
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