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Well as one of the "Older Crowd"..I am just super bummed at what cutting down the # of people making WC final's did to the sponsorship side. And I get part of it is the industry hurting a ton. But it just seems different this year. Your young, Up and coming..Welcome! Your over 30..We love Ya and what u did..Stop by and say hi! Maybe it's just me..But I would think Minnar saw what was coming, Danny's time might be limited. Gwin better be on game this year. Jack Moir U would think be offered a decent ride for DH if he wanted it with the YouTube. AND Dak has sorted out HOW many bikes in the last 10! Years? I'll start with Morphes..Lol. I'm happy for the younger people that got a sick contract, And this season will be awesome!! I will just miss watching some of the greats go at them if this continuous.
If Mondraker had kept Dak and added Oli Clark .... that would have been some line up .
The strength in depth of the men's field now is pretty crazy now . Of the top of my head Santa Cruz , specialized, commencel , canyon , mondraker, Trek and Scott all have at least 2 riders who you would say are genuine contenders for the win .
"I am not one to dis someone". You can't say "no offence but" before offending someone, especially if you don't/can't/haven't done better.
Public speaking (especially to a huge audience) would be very intimidating.
Just saying
When Jack's post said that after 14 years, he wanted time to do things he wants to do.. Even if there was an offer on the table with someone, that doesn't mean he has to take it. There comes a point where one's mental health becomes the priority. He even mentioned that he had previously considered retirement.. Not everyone wants to race to the point that they are lucky to qualify.. Burnout is a real thing, even amongst some of the best in the biz...
DVO has their own tooling and entire team that builds their stuff, just housed in a portion of a Suntour factory.
and? he gets the paid, by the fees WE pay to see the races, therefore WE can expect decent commentary and not this amateur hour we got right now
Fox gear with Bell is interesting.
Perhaps a multi year deal with Bell starting last year with 100% gear.
I have no idea mate, it will be interesting to how his set up is this season. From what you have suggested, it sounds like "Spesh un-caged"
I like Dak but I think some vital users have a slightly biased view on him. Sick guy, love listening to him, still very fast. But I think it’s very healthy and appropriate for sports teams to sign new younger talent.
Fox, Bell, Giro and probably some others are all under the same parent company now. So makes sense. And like you say they were already in Bell helmets. So an easy relationship to keep going
Jenna riding in 5:10’s and dharco in the new reel🤔
Chimpy is a fucking legend.
I just hope we get to see more Moi Moi TV either at world cups or in Aus (or hopefully both).
Trek Unbroken going "official" with Maxxis?
Obviously, yes. At Oisin's bikecheck, are very well visible Maxxis tires.
In one of his follow up posts with Rudd, he said that championship winning year took all he had. Reminded me Nico Rosburg giving it all to beat Hamilton that he retired after. The cost is just super high at that level. A close friend played professional ball sports and when he retired I remember him lamenting, "i am just so tired of being told when to workout, what to eat, where to be." Most of us enjoy bikes (and sport) as an escape, at the top it's the opposite.
If Jack can get some backing to continue on youtube filming his riding and covering events, I think its a win/win for everyone.
I’m guessing when that team was formed a couple years ago, Dak was the highest paid out of those three guys. Ronan was just starting to have results, but very inconsistent, and pinky was first year elite. Both those guys probably got a huge pay bump this year, deservedly. They probably couldn’t afford 3 top 10-ish salaries, so the move to another first year elite, with a ton of potential, at a much lower cost, makes sense. Dak wasn’t gonna take a pay cut, they probably knew that, so made sense for everyone to move on.
Interested to see the pivot announcement. Seems like some big changes, sponsorship and rider wise.
Getting to the top is hard... Staying on top is just as hard... From the outside looking in, pro racer seems like a dream job.. For those that have that job, it's a job that takes a lot of work to keep that job..
Scott just dropped a 24hr countdown to a team announcement with two silhouettes. One has long hair (Dak?) and one has short.
https://www.instagram.com/stories/bikeonscott/3804164398135408512?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=MXNwNW5zZGl2bmluYw==
Clearly Dak. Conspicuously hiding his hands, avoiding #frecklegate 2.0.
Second is... Dante Silva? The ears?
possibly jess blewitt with the long hair left, and dak with a cap on on the right (looks a bit similar to his instagram profile pic)
Vali showing off the key team sponsors for 2026, Troy Lee, DT Swiss, Muc-Off and Renthal. Also showing us the shifter of a wireless DH groupset from Sram.
yaaaah, Mister Norton has been liking Benoit's (Coulange) last few posts. They're team mates alright!
(i'm such a nerd for digging this up).
Huge favor, but can you all screenshot and hard post instagram stuff instead of linking. Especially if it’s an instagram story?
Some of us don’t have any Instagram and can’t view the links. Plus if it’s a story, it’ll be gone in 24hrs even if you can view it.
Cheers mates!
Would love to see some off season follow cam footage of Dak riding Benoit’s wild ass loamers he builds.
Left side is definitely long blonde hair. Crank up the exposure in photoshop and you get a better idea of both of them.
I know we all belive its dak, but can it be Jess Blewit? Any idea where is she woing? Scott or Frameworks?
Exposure Tweak
Dante Silva?
Eargate
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