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lol they deleted my pic of the new altitude. hahahah. Just a picture of a bike in a parking lot with tape on it. Of all the spied pics here they delete that one? lol

Put Peaty back on the horse

I can make myself available. I'll need a bike soon though so I can get up to pace.

I thought in Crankworx response, they said they pretty much catered to all the riders concerns except for the appearance fee.

If Crankworx providing appearance fees, travel expenses, accommodations, etc, I feel like there would then be a significantly higher expectation for athletes to perform, regardless of conditions, etc. (ie - we're paying for you to be here and to perform). At that point, I'm sure athletes would have to sign contracts (ie - we'll give you this, but here are the expectations if you do) and I think it would really run the risk of becoming more of a performative show rather than a true competition. I think it's the event organizers role to ensure the athletes have a safe...

one takeaway from that linkedin post is that these kinds of "stunts" essentially threaten to make an already challenging business model unsustainable. my counterpoint to that is that if event host / organizers run the competition with the expectation that some/many of the riders will take a net financial loss in order to participate, then the business model is already unsustainable.

Very interesting reading the comments and replies in that Linkedin post. Here's another one from Mark: "The riders are the stars & do deserve a safe environment for the level of risk they take. BUT I have worked a lot of other tours in action sports and know first hand that the organizers of Crankworx are by far the BEST in terms of caring for the athletes (within their abilities). One of the issues now is the nature of outdoor sports in the mountains where we have to deal with the weather. Not every comp can happen in perfect conditions...

haven't read it through so right this second i'm only posting to share, this isn't a statement of agreeance or disagreement Rant Alert: I retired from the Crankworx World Tour at the end of the 2022 season after my 20th year of working on the project. As a co-founder of the tour and former co-owner, I am completely disheartened by the male slopestyle athlete's decision to not participate in the 2024 season's kick-off event in Rotorua. Holding last minute negotiations to get appearance fees and increased prize money after traveling to the event already knowing what the prize money status...

If you happen to be on LinkedIn, look up a post by Mark Taylor.. He was formerly with Crankworx and his it sounds like it wasn't Benzos and mansions during his time. I wanted to copy and post it here, but the app wouldn't let me.. I would transcribe it, but I haven't reached that point of boredom during my unemployment yet... Also, back Darren Kinnaird did a Pinkbike pod with some insight into running Crankworx.

It's clearly not worth the ROI to the sponsors or event organizers. If it were, they'd be paid big money already, and everyone would be bending over backwards to support the riders health and finances. They'd make even more money long term by supporting and building the future slopestyle competitors...if there was money to be made. Look at any other sport with big money, you'll see a huge fan base propping that all up. It's just not there in MTB. It's really that simple.

At the end of the day, all of us are working off assumptions.. Like I said previously, if I were one of the organizers, I'd open up the books for the riders to see. As for the rider's expenses, it's a bit easier to estimate with a bit of homework.. But, even if done on the cheap, it's still expensive. Especially if traveling from the US or Europe to New Zealand. As a former manager once told me, the perfect compromise is one that leaves nobody completely happy. The rider's could have had everything but the appearance fees.. I can't...

Last piece of the puzzle is that someone will find out what the venue/event organizer is making off the comp & if they're being greedy, unreasonable...or are just too lazy to bother properly funding the promotion in advance with sponsors/grants/contract distribution agreements/etc. In the end, if we find out the event promotor told riders in advance we have the name recognition, the course and the cameras...but we're on a shoestring budget and they show up THEN complain...it's a whole different story.

Again (big fan of irony here), if riders want the general public to back them here, they'd publish $$$ numbers for what they're getting paid to show, compete and/or bonuses for positions. They' publish the money that's being offered by the organizers. They'd publish the money the excluded or financially shorted riders are NOT getting. They'd publish the cost to compete, travel expenses, etc You got a bubble gum company tossing you free product? Let us know. We can't be for you and you can't have leverage/discussion/footholds in a dispute with a venue/organizer if you issue vague statements without giving...

Thinking about this whole situation dispassionately for a minute, and there's several key points seriously need exploring: • Is slopestyle a competition or an exhibition show? If it's a competition, the host event shouldn't be liable for appearance fees, travel & food etc. If it's a show, the riders need to create a "product", pitch it out as a product, with a booking fee. Just like Martyn Ashton used to do with the Animal tour, or Danny Mac with Drop & Roll. • Why are athlete/sponsor deals so bad? A frame or some wheels or whatever is not enough. An...

I'm liking this less and less from the riders the more I think about it and the more that comes out. Looks like Crankworx was willing to play ball and met them on most their issues, and for the money one, they even made some adjustments for that. If the riders boycotted simply for the fact the Crankworx isn't funding all their personal costs, I kinda agree with Crankworx. No one is forcing the riders to go and to travel to these events. If you can't afford to do it, then so be it, you can't go. Like they're essentially...

Probably nothing. It's all part of their massive marketing budget. If they don't sponsor crankworx it wouldn't change their sales either. Red Bull's profits in 2023: €1.56 billion They print money. Crankworx is a rounding error on a balance sheet.