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And how many races were won due to a rider's sprinting ability that would have been eaten up by gear box efficiency? Color me suspect, but I don't think gearboxes are the biking panacea people claim they are.

I love the belt drive & Pinion innovation but.... How many UCI DH race runs were lost last year to a broken mech or broken chain? I can't recall a single one.

I'd posit that a small-ish brand like Intense just couldn't field the costs associated with running 2 elite level teams.

I've got a solution to this whole mess: Rachel Atherton: please announce that you are seeking entry into the first UCI Downhill World Cup at Bielsko Biala. Currently, Continental Atherton has 619 points and is on the bubble. But with Kolb off to another team, they don't get to keep those points, right? Right? Do Charlie Hatton's points get Rachel in? I'm not sure I'm right with what I'm proposing here--but if I am, and Atherton Racing isn't eligible--I'd love to see Chris Ball explain why Rachel Atherton is not allowed to race.

Sometime in 2017 - "Enduro will breath new life into mountain biking and once included by the UCI, it will draw crowds bigger than we have ever seen at a single event. It will be more spectator friendly than any of our other disciplines we currently have or ever have" - UCI spokesperson (probably). 2025 - "ENDURO IS DEAD" (pretty much everyone in every forum)

There are some rumblings going around that Richie Rude will only be racing downhill this year

I think Laurie is staying with the Syndicate this year.

Last paragraph really resonates with me. If the bike industry invested half of what it invests in r and d and marketing into building trails, pump tracks, and dirt jump spots they would probably see a much better long term investment for their money. You don’t need a ton of elevation or an insane amount of acreage to make a good riding spot. But you do need time and money. And a 3-6k investment is a lot easier to make when you don’t need to drive an hr or more to use it.

UDH was on the trek Slash gen 5 in early 2019 prototypes.. which means Sram was planning it before that

I believe you (of course) but can barely believe any brand would pay someone to race Enduro. Zero coverage and no return for the brands. It’s not worth it to pay those guys to fly around the world and for hotels. Sorry not sorry.

We should probably do a few predictions posts, eh? I've got a number of thoughts going into the new year, and will synthesize them into one post, but I do think we're going to see more companies pull the plug this year. I'll go out on a limb and say Atherton Bikes may be one of those stragglers who calls it quits. I have literally no data on this, so please take this with a huge grain of salt, but when I was poking around their website I realized I can't just "buy it now" with respect to a frame...

I think he was just lucky

Charlie won worlds at home and rain, I mean he's a talented rider, but after that win he hasn't showed the same pace as the first 5 guys...

This looks very much chainless to me?

Rachel Atherton in an Evie Richards IG post from a Red Bull training camp would suggest she might be racing?

Or maybe the other fast Colombian.