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This is the main thing I think of when people say they want DH to be like F1: they’ll change the rules, the actual rules, like on a Tuesday between races. Fake shit!

agree on all points. But when you got Talking Heads like Needles babbling and getting to insert his input with a bunch of TV puppets, this is what you get. I'd be very intrigued to hear a team manager's focus group interview. People like @Captain23 who can give some insight from all sides.

It's expensive to bid, it's expensive to run and the coverage/returns are just not worth it. You used to have to run 2 lower level events before you could be considered for a Wc.

Right? How about the most recent World Cup winner, Benoit? The dude has grinded for years to be at the top. Where would he be if he was coming up through the scene right now?

It really makes me sad. So much of our current crop of top 30 riders came through the trenches. Would we even have Dunn at a world cup right now if he had tried to come up through the new supposed rules? I much prefer the any one is a threat when they are on one approach of old. Let people race god damn it.

Loic wins, the "Gypsies" have been eradicated Gone are the days of a US, Kiwi, Australian young guns living by the skin of their teeth on Baguettes and hand me down tires in a sprinter Van. You've been replaced by influencer's, media profile and out of industry sponsorship. Hyperglobal meganet faketeeth racing reigns supreme. Middle aged men in Suit tops, Jeans and New balances have sealed your fate.

How can teams plan for a new season when the UCI can't get the schedule out? The teams need to time to get their finances and entice new sponsors to help, and you cannot do that without information in a reasonable amount of time. I don't understand the need to be so covert about this information. Any insight?

A true rider’s union will never happen because some of the top guys couldn’t care less about the bottom half of the field. I can think of numerous Bruni quotes off the top of my head. I’m guessing the rumored changes have already been discussed with the riders and managers of the current larger teams and their input has already been given.

In general, it can be said that the UCI sucks. and we need a new federation or red bull. ISF not FIS for the snowboarders ...

Kinda feel like a lot of companies will re-think how they want to spend money and instead of putting it into a Russian roulette, they will probably pull out to support something else. What will happen to pros that miss races due to injury and for example will also not be able to be national champs... end of their career? This will most likely also affect innovation in downhill and MTB overall and again, it will most likely pull out money from it... What next? One photographer per country but only two lenses and one lens for finals? Must have...

"Growing the sport" 🙄, thanks for nothing ESO

Reading this stressed me out.

Dude It was on SBS, chill out. World champs is a shambles to watch every year regardless of who is broadcasting the World Cup season.

They want it to be as big as it needs to be to satisfy their profits. They really don’t care if it’s “big” for the benefit of the sport, only if it’s a benefit to them. The two don’t align and never will which is the crux of the problem.

Gwin has done what 2 races in 2 years? I would bet he would say he shouldn’t have been picked.

Why can’t they just leave the 60 riders(now 30) alone and cut the semi? I really disliked how much he said um and in my opinion. Lets hear the facts. how are you growing it?? I want the stats from red bull broadcasts to now! What have you actually achieved. I just don’t understand why cycling has to exponentially grow all the time. Downhill and especially freeride are fringe extreme sports. Bold opinion here. LEAVE IT THAT WAY. There are more than a million of us already. Many are entitled jerks who cruise around in spandex repping brands they paid...

The whole 'growing' the sport thing pisses me off. I'm not sure how restricting access to the top level of competition whilst refusing to help establish a pathway to get there 'grows' the sport. I'm not sure how basically destroying top flight enduro 'grows' the sport. The want to 'grow' subscribers to their broadcast to increase it's 'value' so they can charge sponsors,teams and venues more. Who does that help exactly?

He lost view of what is good for the sport versus what is good for the WB stakeholders. I'm also always baffled when anybody claims DH is too long and complicated when few of the most popular sports are baseball and football, even the most popular cycling event is the fucking endless hours long Tour de France...It's also pretty insulting for the viewers who would be too dumb to understand an offroad time trial. Everybody wants to compare DH with Formula 1 but have you ever watched a Grand Prix without falling asleep on the couch? I see zero evidence...

I want to gouge the guy’s eyes out with my thumbs