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agree on that. What Tippie offers is unique - closest I can think of is Wyn Masters. He's gonna go to a ton of events, bro down with the people, probably be on the mic, and always be the biggest presence in the room, no matter what room he's in. Norco could use him.

There are so many fast racers you could sponsor. There is only ONE Tippie in the whole word

I'm guessing one of two things... 1) She just wanted to quietly fade away.. 2) The decision isn't final and maybe she wants to do less races.

VitalMTB podcast from MSA said Vero Widdmann quits racing. Her name was mentioned alongside Camille and Monika, which I was very surprised as I had not seen any such announcement from Vero anywhere.

Racing and an ambassador like Tippie both come out of the marketing budgets for most companies. Which one is going to potentially sell more bikes? The guy racing or the guy at races and other events stoking other riders as well as hyping up your brand? I might be biased since I know Brett, but he brings a lot to the table and maybe for less than a WC racer.. That article really sums up Brett quite nicely.

Tippie isn’t competitive, and you’re not really hiring him to ride. He's basically a marketing ambassador. You aren’t paying him to even ride, really. He has a skill set that’s beyond riding and something that most people, regardless of their riding ability, don’t have. He’s not really a “modern” influencer, because social media isn’t his medium, but a brand would basically “sponsor” him in the same way as an influencer, not as a racer/freerider. You’re paying for the personality and story, not the talent.

Their enduro team was done last year but they graciously kept me on board for this year with my contract having another year on it. Sounds obvious of course, but the bike industry isn't always so giving. The DH team took me in and I had a blast all year long, which was the main reason for doing DH at the end of the year. I just wanted to hang out with the team some more, and who wouldn't take the chance to race World Cup DH while they can. As for next year, stay tuned.

did you get high on dw‘s farts before posting?

I highly doubt pivot drops BK, but his results racing outside of quirky events are steadily slipping. It would be cool to see really fast riders in DAVE WEAGLES MASTERPIECE, and destroying track. And maybe BK as a team mgr can actually put that together. Atherton getting a bigger and more diverse team seems called for as well. We all know that bike is also weagles masterpiece. No matter where dak lands :::: Dave weagle wins again!

I haven't had any direct interactions with Tippie in many years, but can 100% confirm this.

Tippie was in NWA quite a bit over the last couple of years as part of YT events. Everything said on that writeup is true. He's unflagging in his positivity and stoke. He includes everyone and interact with everyone from the kookiest kid to the most seasoned pro. He's almost uncomfortably positive and full of stoke at times, but a brand really couldn't ask for a better ambassador. I hope he lands somewhere. Dude is a legend, and his story of climbing out of the dark depths of addiction is inspirational.

No way would trek let go of Sacha - she showed some great form to end the season.

To quote the special one: If I speak, I am in trouble

Wherever the relationship is now (seems healthy enough) its undeniable it wasnt at least a little bit dodgy. Adult team manager getting romantically involved with team member he signed when she was underage. I think it being called out somewhat isn't necessarily a bad thing so that sort of shit doesn't become normalised.

Axess nukeproof racing it’s a done deal Same as Osin to trek Hauser off trek Dak to axess nukeproof Vali to commencial Who will yeti sign? Which elite female Also gamut team need to sign more, probably some good riders!

Pivot riders had some injuries, but they also all underperformed. Didn’t intense have a US based development team run by John Hall? Dante Sylva was with them.

Racing is way cooler than selling bikes. It’s rarely the best financial decision.

why do ppl think intense can found an international race team when they just exited the european markets due to finacial reasons?

No reason for Maples to not test a different bike if given the chance. Breeden will move his team to Nukeproof. Intense could then form an American international race team to complement their current domestic team. This international (UCI) team will have Dak, Maples, and some young Americans. Also, Pivot had an American junior female (Tegan Heap) and dropped her with little to no notice. They also had two Canadians in the Jewitt brothers, who left. I don't see North Americans vibing on that team.