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Personally, I'm not American, so that doesn't play into it at all. Winning doesn't make you likeable. Dak presents as a nice guy and people like that. Having a bit of a unique set up could also play into it, but I think it's mostly just the nice guy thing. People also love an underdog and a comeback story, so everyone's been cheering him on as he's steadily improving after his injuries last year.
His contributions to the B-Practice podcast are probably a big reason that Vital favors him (Just like people here love Jesse M. because he actually posts in the forum periodically). It makes them feel like they're "one of your own." Shocking... do good PR things that expand your audience and let people get to know you... and you increase your fan base and marketability. I think people really appreciate his perspective, combined with Tanner and Jason, on the races and racing in general. It's one of the more interesting podcasts to me. On top of that, his journey over the last couple of years (while doing the podcast) is compelling and one that is custom built for a comeback story. And who doesn't love a good comeback?
Also not American. I really started to follow Dak after hearing him on the pod and getting the behind the scenes look at the World Cup circus. I'm way more interested in those details than I am in the highly polished WB stuff. Same reason I liked Moi Moi, Wyn and Ed.
All fair and I agree with all yall. Hes been smart how he engages fans.
All team announcements must be getting close dropping.. the uci team/rider page for mtb now has a 2026 tab that wasn’t there yesterday. Empty for now but ready to be populated
The podcast plays a big oart in It, at least for me (I'm a spaniard). You get a look behind the scenes and to "live" the WC thru his eyes, so there is a familiarity that others don't have, add to that he is a cool cat , normal dude and you get why he's loved around these parts. In a sense he is a Vital Rider.
She's trying to save her career by taking a break? She's the current world cup overall champion. I don't think her career needs saving.
The unspoken assumption here is that we should be rooting for athletes on the basis of their accomplishments, but that’s not at all how sports fandom works. Just rooting for the guy who you think will win isn’t fandom, it’s gambling without money.
Dak’s the homie and I’ll be cheering for him even if he’s DFL.
Saving it from burn out. Sammy has worked through mental struggles and RED-S in her past and a sabbatical will give her the chance to recharge for the future.
Scott is a Swiss brand
Yeah but the DH Factory team has been driven by Patrice Afflatet (plus Flo Payet and other French guys) for years.
Yes. The teams are often their own entities that partner with the brands, not full internal factory style.
Specialized is an Amurkan brand and their team is super French. Canyon is a German brand with a tres French team as well. Norco is a Canadian brand and hmm let’s call their team South African and American with some Canadian thrown in (?)
I’m hyped to hear BC on B Practice Podcast. I imagine he’ll have some violin segment or an insect report or something way out there…he’s so rad!
Scott 11 used to be a Swiss team when Calouri was at the helm
Dak liked a picture of my dog on IG, so he's good in my book.
Scott is now a full team of people's champs. I'm rooting for every single one of their riders to get a great result.
Are you just making up these team breakdowns out of thin air?
Specialized - French, Canadian, Danish, British. So... not super French?
Norco - Canadian company, three Canadian riders, SA team manager, one Brit, one NZ and one Austrian jr. No Americans? How does that make them a South African and American team? lol
Canyon - Australian x2, Canadian x2, French x1 (XC). Also not super French?
First of off, I don’t appreciate the tone. I asked ChatGPT and the FBI and SethBikeHack has confirmed.
Remember that just a drop of French makes anything super French. Ask Monsieur Maples: French!
Let us break it on down:
Norco team is GOAAT and the SyndiSessler, so boom yeah my mix checks out
LaSpecialized Gravity is Frencher than French hell oui
Canyon has Fabian Barel. Aggressively French.
Please feel free to lodge your complaints with the front desk, but understand that we are on ten weeks of holiday.
I heard Kim Kardashian has a good comeback story....
What does "notoriously French" actually mean?
1. Will the YT team be competing in 2026? 2. Will the Specialized team continue with the same riders for a long time...? 3. Did Angel really leave his team? He's riding a Santa Cruz bike and there are some videos...
I'm not sure what 'notoriously French' means, but based on the vibes I see on social media and YouTube clips, they seem to enjoy having fun and good vibes, even though they take it seriously.
Notoriously French = Butter is a macronutrient, phlegm is a letter, and fast is part of bike riding
Personally I find Dakotah a heck of a lot easier to relate to than someone like Jackson. Just a hard working dude from a similar part of the same country as me, also with questionable hair styles, that has overcome some adversity and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty at home. Nothing against Jackson, but his story is so far out of my realm that its just... not very interesting.
Which is Dak in a nutshell. Good vibes, loves having fun, but takes his performance seriously.
I'm not sure why anyone would think he doesn't perform well on a "notoriously French" team when you have Dylan Maples absolutely killing it for the past few years on Commencal Mucoff.
Good lord this thread is cooked
I think we can stop the circle jerk and everyone pulling each others Dak’s.
What a move for Jess Blewitt, such an opportunity to grow into an even more amazing racer
You spelled come back wrong 😂
Jack announced on one of his insta stories that he will be supported by Lusty Industries in Australia, so will be riding either Forbidden or Transition and wearing TLD and using Maxxis rubber.
French culture is not Harley Dangerous culture is the point. To be blunt…frenchies and red necks are not the same. But to my other point…some weird idolization here.
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