Hello Vital MTB Visitor,
We’re conducting a survey and would appreciate your input. Your answers will help Vital and the MTB industry better understand what riders like you want. Survey results will be used to recognize top brands. Make your voice heard!
Five lucky people will be selected at random to win a Vital MTB t-shirt.
Thanks in advance,
The Vital MTB Crew
How about @ 11:05
Ha, I was going to say something about that too. curious for the lowdown on what he's has been up to
Pretty sure he's on the Specilaized advisory board now. I think he's also neighbors with the owner of Specialized. Pretty cool to see him still involved in the industry, def a legend in the background.
Roskopp?
oh yeah
https://www.vitalmtb.com/community/Eastern%20States%20Cup/blog/02/20/2026/entry/145566
boosh! posted to homepage
Downhill racing in the Rockies just got legit! Mountain States Cup is back and in a big way.
Check it out! Who is heading to Angel Fire in June?
https://www.instagram.com/p/DVNGMXmDfrJ/
Luke Meier-Smith's winning run from Lake Placid (on his channel...did this go up closer to the race?)
17 Questions with Greg Minnaar
Questions asked
1. How many times have you asked Jordi for setup advice at the FOX camp you’re at?
2. Since you’re retired and all, what percentage of your rides are on an ebike now instead of a pedal bike?
3. Loic basically said that 29-inch wheels arriving in DH saved your career and helped you earn more titles. Thoughts?
4. Do you think you’ve earned more money than Loic?
5. Who do you have winning DH World Champs 2026…Elite Men and Women?
6. As a tall rider, are you excited about those new 32-inch wheels?
7. Will 32-inch wheels bring you out of retirement to chase more World Cup titles?
8. What’s the amount of the biggest bonus you ever received in your career? You don’t have to specify who paid it out (but we’d love to know).
9. You broke onto the scene as a late teenager. Do you think it’s really that much different now for the kids coming up than it was for you?
10. Do riders and teams still have fun at World Cups or is it all business?
11. Line spotters during DH practice. What do you think about them?
12. Will Norco ever release the DH bike to the public?
13. What’s up with the anti-lock brakes on your e-bike? (our forum nerds see everything)
14. During your career, did you avoid energy drink sponsorships or did they just never work out?
15. Do you think in 20 years, we’ll look back at energy drink sponsorships like we look at cigarette sponsorships from the 70s and 80s?
16. Do you think social media has a negative impact on an athlete’s race performance?
17. Wouldn’t you rather be telling Vital MTB-ers to like and subscribe instead of answering these dumb questions?
Seemed like Greg got a kick out of some of the questions !
Welp...how's that gonna work? Not complaining b/c if I wind up going, I'm happy to.
Question of logistics & how it might work there & at other venues as the sport advances:
They already do that at Windrock. You have to have a wristband and sign a waiver to get to a certain point on the hill (right by the Redbull Ravine and jump line there). At the DHSE last year, you had to pay a fee to spectate and get your wristband. I remember, because I wasn't trying to get on the hill until about 10 minutes before my son's run (I was packing our cabin) and then was leaving immediately after his podium... so I debated even paying, as it was for about 30 minutes total on the hill. But my wife shamed me into it.🤣 (What do you mean you're not going to talk to him after his run and see him if he makes podium!?! What kind of father are you? Cheapskate).
I think Hard MTB has a lot of potential as a participation sport as well.
The NZ MTB Rally is coming up, March 14-21. Helis, boats and tons of riding - https://nzmtbrally.com/press-nz-mtb-rally-2026/
Race Book embedded (PDF)
Guess I should be clearer. I'm all for it & wondering if WindRock does it, how many other venues have implemented it.
In ye olden days, we could have charged a dollar & people would just not even support a kid.
Heck, to all the rec ball & travel ball parents out there sitting up on the bank across the park to dodge gate fee...it's a direct affront. 😆
I went to quite a few of the Monster Pro Cups last year as well as quite a few DHSE and DH Rockies races. I THINK that Windrock was the only one that officially charged a mandatory spectator fee to be on the hill. They're also one of the only ones that has enough of a bottleneck for access to the hill that they are able to do so, from what I've seen. They're also already set up with that infrastructure and staffing, because they have people who are verifying the ATV/UTV for operations of the OHV park in the same spot as they were checking for spectator passes.
I guess that other venues could use temporary fencing and such to route folks in a specific way and charge spectating fees, but it's pretty easy to bushwack a ski resort and avoid their attempts at corraling. The Monster Pro Cups that I went to did monetize with spectator lift passes that you could purchase, which I think is a good compromise that doesn't add a bunch more logistical issues for the organizers or venue.
2026 Downhill Southeast is underway. Track preview with Mclure and Arbogast, pinned at Trials Training Center.
Looks fast this year!!
Rain coming in tonight and through tomorrow. That place is treacherous when it gets wet. Saw insane carnage there last year from about 1:45 down through all those corners. Here's Titus's Instagram montage of the carnage from last year:
From Commitment to Change: WBD Sports Drives Historic Progress for Women’s Mountain Bike On International Women’s Day
On International Women’s Day, WBD Sports highlights how its Women in Mountain Bike initiative is turning long term commitment into concrete action. Through structural, sporting and educational initiatives, the programme continues to drive meaningful progress towards greater gender parity across the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
The Women in Mountain Bike initiative has become a central pillar of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) roadmap.
Since its inception in July 2024, marked by an inaugural networking breakfast for women from across the mountain bike community at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France), the initiative has continued to gain momentum and grow in scope.
Building on that first milestone, the programme has expanded rapidly and is set to increase its influence throughout the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Its objective is clear: to help create a more accessible, inclusive and equitable environment, while increasing female representation at the pinnacle of competitive mountain bike.
This International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the initiative’s achievements over the past year, as well as to look ahead to what lies in store in the months to come.
CREATION OF THE WOMEN IN MTB WORKING GROUP
One of the key milestones in 2025 was the appointment of a WBD Ambassador to lead the initiative: Anja Rodenbroker, who has been part of the core WBD Sports mountain bike team since the launch of the ambitious WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series project and roadmap in 2023.
As a first step under her leadership, a Women in MTB Working Group has been established. The 19‑member collective brings together riders, team managers, partners, and industry and corporate representatives from across cross‑country, downhill and enduro disciplines.
The group will meet regularly throughout the 2026 season to define a dedicated roadmap addressing the key challenges facing women in mountain bike.
2026 INITIATIVES: FROM HISTORIC CHANGE TO TANGIBLE ACTION
While the Women in MTB Working Group is still in its early stages, it has already begun developing initiatives and immediate actions. These include:
Rebalancing race scheduling: a landmark step will see the Elite Women’s race run last at a WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event this season, a decision that represents a historic first for the sport. This milestone moment is set to take place at the Saalfelden Leogang Salzburgerland UCI Downhill World Cup (11-14 June), where the women’s field, including local star Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres), will close the programme. Traditionally, men’s races have occupied the final slot and generally benefited from the prime broadcast window; this change marks a powerful shift in visibility, recognition and parity for women’s racing at the highest level.
Education around RED‑S: Raising awareness of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED‑S) across the mountain bike community is a key priority. RED‑S is a condition that affects both men and women and is caused by an imbalance between the energy intake and the energy demands of training and competition, and can have serious consequences for health, wellbeing and athletic performance, affecting areas such as hormonal function, bone health, recovery, mental health and long‑term development.
To support this, WBD Sports has engaged with Project RED‑S UK, a UK‑based initiative dedicated to advocating for and increasing awareness of RED‑S. The short‑term objective is to educate athletes, coaches, team managers, parents and all WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stakeholders on what RED‑S is, how to recognise its symptoms, how it impacts performance, and how to challenge the negative perceptions surrounding the condition.
Storytelling and awareness: the production of a mini‑documentary exploring the health challenges faced by women in sport is underway. The film focuses on the often-hidden struggles of female mountain bike athletes and builds on a shorter version released last season. This expanded edition will feature additional interviews with leading athletes and address a wide range of topics, from menstruation to body image.
Improving event facilities: a key focus is enhancing on-site sanitation and athlete‑dedicated facilities across all WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series events. While the objective is to improve conditions for all athletes, the need for this initiative was identified through discussions within the Women in MTB group, where specific challenges faced by female athletes and staff were highlighted.
A SHARED COMMITMENT
Beyond WBD Sports, other partners across the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series ecosystem have also launched their own initiatives to help address gender imbalance within mountain bike.
The local organising committee for the 2026 season finale in the Lake Placid Olympic Sites (New York, USA), taking place from 2 to 4 October, has introduced a dedicated Women in Sport programme this year, alongside a series of women‑focused activations planned around the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event. These initiatives will be amplified through WBD Sports’ Women in MTB Initiative, reinforcing a shared commitment to progress across the sport.
Now increase the number of racers in finals.
I’m sure femenists everywhere are looking forward to wbd’s doc on mtbing on your period.
I’m sure it will be pretty tasteful tbh. I also think both redbull in the past and eso currently has done a good job promoting the ladies as athletes. But I think extra prize money or a prize from a sponsor for the winner, or 30 women in finals would be a much better way to celebrate these athletes than changing the time of the race and self promotion.
Wow dude. Are you some sort of proud non-feminist? What on earth did you just decide to type? Holy shit!
I made it about five minutes on level 4/10 on the period simulator zapper we got. Mentioned it in the podcast ep discussion a couple months ago and the offer still stands: pm me your address and I’ll send you this thing. Strap it up and go about your day and you’ll never say some flippant garbage like that again. Cannot imagine being a pro athlete with that shit, let alone the bleeding. It’s been said before but I guess it bears repeating: if men got periods the world would look a whole lot different. I’d say if we simply went through ONE menstrual cycle we’d make massive changes next week.
Damn dude do you have women in your life? Yeesh
Is this in response to something that got taken down or am I missing something?
30 women in finals would be a little silly. I just checked Poland and Les Gets results and there were 31 and 33 women in Q1 respectively. So basically everyone would qualify minus one or two riders? I'm not sure that many women would help the category? Surely some sort of competitiveness is needed to push riders. Maybe 20 in finals, especially if all these fast junior girls come trough.
It's an experiment worth trying..
Putting the women last doesn't guarantee that they will be the main focus. Especially if the men have a really exciting battle.
I enjoy watching the women, there's been some good battles there as of late. The only drawback I see is a lack of depth in the field..
I’m being sarcastic because most the women in my family would find a documentary featuring athletes discussing “menstruation and body image” more insulting than inspiring. It’s a sarcastic comment that didn’t come across well at all in text. I get for as many women in the “don’t define me by my gender” camp there are plenty in the celebrate my gender and body camp. And again I’m pretty hopeful they’ll actually do a good job with it and it will not be patronizing. i apologize my comment came across so poorly.
Okay good, that scared me, as you’ve always had good things to say. Pinkbike has been a bummer with their reaction to the plan on giving the women the day at Leogang. Young men who haven’t lived? Over here we have dads. Good.
I will say though: the piece in the misspent summer book (I think) that vitalman Spomer referenced, and podcast comments from trainer coach guy about accounting for menstrual cycles in these pro racers are fascinating to me as a race fan. Michael Jordan scored a bunch of points with the flu once and sportsbros are still talking about it…as if he wasn’t also still Michael Jordan lol!
I think the crazy shit that happens during a woman’s period is definitely worth talking about when it comes to performance.
Post a reply to: 2026 Race Talk