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Ridiculous. It should be worth more. That would get more riders doing more events.
My understanding is that Mondraker won't be on Sram next year. Apparently, it won't be like how Commencal Muc-Off had a transition year to full kit. Find out for sure at Hardline Tasmania or while Ronan does 900 laps in New Zealand.
The final team standings will make for some potentially really interesting moves come October. Some big names are sitting out of the top 15 right now and looking at relying on Wild Card status for 2026.
1 COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION 544
2 CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM 516
3 YT MOB 456
4 ORBEA / FMD RACING 420
5 SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE 415
6 SPECIALIZED GRAVITY 397
7 NORCO RACE DIVISION 296
8 CUBE FACTORY RACING 287
9 ROGUE RACING - SR SUNTOUR 273
10 YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM 252
11 MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING DH 221
12 MS-RACING 196
13 AXESS INTENSE FACTORY RACING 189
14 COMMENCAL SCHWALBE BY LES ORRES 176
15 FRAMEWORKS RACING / 5DEV 175
16 TREK FACTORY RACING DH 153
17 SCOTT DOWNHILL FACTORY 108
18 GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM - DH 101
19 AON RACING - TOURNE CAMPERVANS 99
20 GOODMAN SANTACRUZ 93
21 CONTINENTAL ATHERTON 91
22 GWIN RACING 41
23 TEAM HIGH COUNTRY 34
24 PIVOT FACTORY RACING 8
Has any one other that Gwin on Gwin racing been to any world cups? If not, it's pretty impressive he's pulling in as many points as other whole teams.
I think Tomlinson has but I can't say for sure. Definitely some big names on the wrong side of that list. Trek, Giant, and Scott all out is kind of surprising, Atherton has to be feeling the hurt unfortunately being a race oriented brand.
I wonder if Atherton could get Kolb to go back ? It's a formula that both parties know work .
Yes, that makes sense.
The homework is important. There was at least three DH rounds this year were not all Wildcard team spots were used. So by in large those "unlucky" teams for 2026 should be OK? Ohh and the YT Mob is done, so that'll be an extra spot I suppose in the top 15?
That's why people don't want to do the homework. It's too hard sir. 🤣
There are some teams there that could benefit from having a high level elite woman like Vali.. But, some of those teams just to want to have enough points to be in the show, not so much concerned with the overall team title.. Or, if they wanted her to move up in the standings, do they restructure the team sponsors for her or will she have to give up her loyalty to Sram/ Rock Shox?
Isn’t it UCI points not WC points?
Yes. Top 4 riders on a team have their Uci points added up to rank the teams.
Filter to downhill and mixed elite to get the current rankings
https://www.uci.org/discipline/mountain-bike/4LArSj7CKcytMrGEDtKwkb?tab=rankings
So all the hub bub about the wild card and everything was kind of nothing if any team could go to any race they wanted to
Truer than not.
The sport is even smaller than it seemed.
not quite that simple. While there are rounds 5 teams have not applied for. A team cannot guarantee to sponsors they will be able to be at every round because they have no way of controlling who does or does not apply. And when eso announces who makes a round less than a month previously it makes it even more up in the air when most people secure funding and plan their accommodations and flights etc upto a year in advance.
Now I do think for the top riders the changes aren’t all that much. Teams still need to secure points and need talent to do so. ESO has every reason to help out top teams and popular racers at the expense of everyone else. It’s more an issue of how do the fringe riders get paid and the fringe teams get sponsorship in a system where you can’t be guaranteed anything. And how does an injured rider navigate a contract year. At least when the points followed the rider someone could provide points even if they were going to be injured much of the following season where they won’t be earning points. Now a team can take those points and instead sign someone who isn’t battling an injury and potentially at a discount because the rider who now is injured have that team enough points to be elite.
There was early critic what relying to wild cards would mean in terms of attracting sponsors to the team. As seen on WynTV for example teams like Rogue Racing and maybe Goodman SC hardly know if they can afford to race the whole season.
About Japan : one of the latest FastAf videos was hinting at a Japanese venue for 2027. Dunno if there's something solid there tho.
Bruni actually got there twice at least in the off season it seems. Venue spotting for WB maybe?
It was inevitable ESO / WB would give the points to the Factory teams to allow them the upper hand in negotiations with the riders.
The big teams are handing over the big bucks in what's basically now a pay to play system
Well performing teams like Rogue Racing will be in an advantageous position provided they stay in the top 15 . What's to stop them selling their team to a brand like Pivot or Giant.
When a team like Frameworks loses a super young rider like Asa are they going to be able to bring through another young talent or will they have to try and nab someone like Dak for his last years
I feel So many great riders fighting for so few spots on teams is going to lead toa possible flood or retirements in the next two years or you may see high profile riders having to build their own privateer teams if they want to stay racing.
It would be interesting to hear from a rider like Bernard Kerr , Danny or Laurie if the atmosphere in the pits amongst riders is changing.
Listening to Rachel Atherton speak at Hard-line about how crocked she is now from all her injuries must be making a lot of riders wonder if it's worth racing at all for what's basically a minimum wage salary for a lot of them.
Money guys love it though.
This is exactly it. If one wants to understand the decision to give the points to the teams, the mental shift you need to make is this: if you wanted investors to back teams (ie. people who aren’t in it for the marketing exposure, let alone love of the sport) how would you design the system?
I don’t love it, but this is how all major sports leagues work, and it’s how ESO wants DH to work. Investors will put up the money to buy the trucks, pay the staff, contract the riders, fund the travel, pay the entry fees, etc. and in return, they get an asset that appreciates if things go their way, and most importantly, that they can exit when they want to collect their profits. This is why points go to the teams.
If, IF it all works out the way ESO envisions, the one tangible benefit for the riders is that more of the field might get paid more than minimum wage.
No idea mate. Sorry. It came up as a "suggestion" and i didn't subscribe.
Maybe it was December - January time 2-3 years back.
He talks a bit about it at the end of this downtime podcast but doesn’t get into dollar figures more the infastructure needed that Maydena doesn’t have
Vali and Kolb will get a GIANT deal.
Fair enough and thanks for digging it out.
I guess it wasn't that podcast 😄
Can anyone shed light on if this has worked at all? I was always skeptical, since the US has a plethora of entrenched premium frame manufacturers. (Santa, Yeti, Pivot, Ibis, etc.) Seen zero uptick in people riding Mondrakers in the US. A year ago I rode the lift up with a shop owner who’s a Mondraker dealer and said it’s not going well.
I know of at least a few people who have been interested in the new Mondraker ebikes, but turned off by massive weight (on the full power one - 57 lbs) and bad value proposition (e13 parts at DT Swiss prices).
That would be unusual for Giant to pick-up 2 riders who are at or near the top of the podium... They always seem to grab whoever they can get cheap.. Either an up and comer or someone who's career is winding down... I can' t see Voli being cheap to sign... Kolb might be a bargain if nobody grabs him first.. He seems to be trending upwards..
There have been a few racers I've seen on them when I RARELY saw them in the past. Of course, those racers are getting frame deals as well, I believe. Kallie Stewart (upcoming US junior female) is probably most notable. Still not seeing an uptick of them in the wild, but we don't have a dealer here, either.
Damn I hope thats not true. Giant is such a boring brand and team.
Giant also already has 4 Elite Men: Remi Thirion, Luke Meier Smith, and the Jewett brothers
Who have produced a very lack luster season for the Giant team looking at the points table.
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