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At the end of the day, someone will take that chance.. I'm sure most of them will tell you it was good up until it wasn't. Plus, as a racer, your time to make money is pretty limited, so sometimes that means taking a chance on a team vs. going out and trying to do it on your own..
New rankings are out and Goodman has dropped to 18th. They’ll probably stay in that range after losing Pontvianne for the rest of the season. Rogue stayed at 15th after not scoring points in the last round. I could see Giant catching them as Rogue lost Simon Chapelet for the year and Daprela has a shoulder injury of some sort, didn’t start the worlds final or at Lenzerheide Scott could sneak into the top 15 depending on the YT situation. Outside chance FW gets in but tough with Asa only getting junior points. If he wins out that’s only 120 points so up to Anna to get back to form post injury.
Also a tight battle for 10th and the last spot for a 2 year exemption. 300 point difference from yeti in 6th to trek in 11th.
While it's looking very unlikely that Frameworks will be able to climb into top 15, I will say it's even more unlikely that the UCI/WB will not grant them a spot on the season wildcards should they miss out. It seems like the Pivot/Aon/Atherton will potentially be fighting for one spot. I personally don't think Pivot & Atherton will be able to catch up.
there's 8 wild card spots and based off this year every team that applied for a wild card got one.
Kinda wild that Yeti is ranked that high. Digging into it, most of their points came from Cami who is retiring. Also amazing that she's earned nearly as many points as Bruni this year (1105 vs. 1126). I bet they go shopping for a replacement top 10 rider.
Richie placed 4th at the first WC stop in Szczyrk and he's consistently top 10 in Crankworx dh races and other DH races (Tennesse National, Monster Pro DH, NZ National champs, CDN Open, etc). Not sure what the point system is for those races, though.
How high would the entry fees need to be to see a team try and tank it out of the top 15?
The yeti juniors make up a chunk of those points behind Cami. Richie only has 5 races that have scored points. If you are in the rankings and drill down to the team riders you can see which races and how many points they’ve gotten
I'm sure they could just not accept the slot.
And decide to go for a wildcard? That’s what I’m talking about: that a team with a surefire wildcard entry would try and save some money…even with an Asa Vermette I wouldn’t try it, seems like the money dudes would take offense.
Dak to Gwin Racing. Aaron has made no secret he wanted Dakotah a couple years ago when he started up, and they ride a lot together so maybe now’s both their chances.
From the boys at OTB podcast - Vali might turn up at North American races on a Commencal. Sounds like she may have already signed to Commencal Les Orres. Makes a ton of sense given Cecile & SRAM connections as well.
YT and Flossman…
get the gasface.
dylan maples to frameworks?
Or Dylan Maples to syndicate, if Greenland should leave the team.
Change the hole set-up for the final rounds? Can`t believe that!
Head start for 2026, it makes some sense. Though she is leading the overall and doesn't have a massive advantage over Gracey, so there can be some risk. On the other hand, if the contract is effective immediately, a contract is a contract. People have had issues racing for far less than the sponsor correct frame used in the run.
A contract is a contract, which depends on agreement of both parities…I believe that Vali would have enough bargaining power to finish the season on the known set up and race with a blank rainbow shirt?
If this is true of Vali, good on her for securing something so quickly. She, along with the rest of the Mob, is probably on the hook for the last two rounds unless they can get something else sorted. YT already stopped paying for a bunch of stuff, much to the Mob's surprise.
Is it really a surprise that a top level rider like Vali could find something that quickly? There were probably several team managers trying to figure out how to sign her..
Vali, just herself, as a team, has enough points to be in the top 15. So just by signing Vali, you're guaranteed a spot in the wcdh circuit as long as she's on your team for the next couple years.
And this is the time when they’re selling 3- and 2- year spots, right?
I'd want on a 3 year deal at the minimum.. 1st year might not be great adjusting to a new bike and team.. 2 and 3 she should be back to her normal speed...
Maybe she races the Commencal bike at some of the North America non-WC races to start getting a feel for it, and sticks with the YT for the WC races?
That would almost certainly be a breach of contract.. I'm sure Vali and her management team want to avoid that.. I'm sure the day after her contract expires, she's on the new bike..
If you’re not getting paid by your employer (allegedly), then that’s also a breach of contract on their side…
True, but if Vali and her agent want to try and get any of that money later, it will help their cause if they show that they continued to uphold their end of the deal in good faith.
These next 2 rounds will be interesting.. If the team is having a hard time getting to European races, how will things be at these 2 North America rounds? Maybe she pits out of the Sram truck?
It almost seems like trying to negotiate a mutual split would be a good thing for her right now..
Let's start a list of who is looking for a new DH team for 2026 :
- Vali Höll
- Andy Kolb
- Oisin O'Callaghan
- Dylan Maples
- Dakotah Norton
- Stephano Introzzi - he is the first rider in the UCI ranking without a team
- Greenland ?
- Brosnan -> signed with canyon until end of 2026
- Iles ?
What about Brosnan? Is his contract coming to an end?
I looked and he signed for 2026 too, so he is staying my bad
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