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That article is interesting in that locals are upset with the rouge MAPPING of the rouges as if the unapproved (I say individually motivated) creation of new trails are already broadly accepted and an unspoken line was crossed by the mappers, not builders. Polar opposite to the situation in VT or NE as a whole. In my few visits to the Squamish/S2S area I was amazed at how many world class trails exist that are not on any official maps. Most were very well built, maintained and have creative signs set a bit back into the trail away from plain...

I also would love to see race tape back. Or at least in some sections. Blind crests on the track, sections with trail braiding, hard direction changes all seem like good candidates. You wouldn't even need it on both sides some times, just on the outside or inside of the turn could make the difference. I know Dak said it would be really helpful in places and I doubt hes the only one. Also, whoever marked the course is a coward. Sam's corner at the bottom should have NO marking on the inside. Leave it as open as possible and...

So fkn lame.

Just found these absolute gems! Why can’t someone make a proper flat shoe again. It’s insane how much better these dinosaurs are then my current ride concept

While I’m no 32er apologist. I’m old enough to remember this exact argument when 29ers came out. I was working at a shop in College when 29ers started to hit the market, people would come in and actually get pissed at us for having 29ers on the floor. Anyone remember anti-29er stickers on people’s cars? I can remember a few different stickers, one said “One less 29’er”. I even remember being at a trail head in Pisgah in college, my buddy unloaded his 29er from the back of my truck and a “local” said “those aren’t welcome here”. No one...

Did anyone else spot the floating brake arm that he, Maes, had on in Les Gets? Often desperation when brands put them on their design. Also of note was that during womans XC they talked about Alessandra Keller being back on 29" and simply needing more time to adjust to the 32". Winter project they claimed.

The article outlines the details the work well. " All but two of the 327 felled trees measured under six inches. The foresters’ inventory initially tallied potential fines at around $16,000. But the state law allows damages of up to triple that amount, depending on the circumstances". 327 saplings are pretty easy to remove. I can go on a ride and lop 50 aspen saplings encroaching on a trail in about 3 minutes. Now, 3,000 hours of work was put into this trail, so there was a lot more than lopping trees, thats a lot of work. "elaborate series of...

A lot to unpack for me after attending the race. I'm glad I went for sure... My wife did not want to go to the race after almost getting very hurt by a crazy person sliding down the hill through a crowd with a chainsaw flailing on a leash. No photos from me, since I was solo I just roamed the track and took the experience in... And what an experience it was. Part of me loves the unhinged nature of the French fans... But another part of me is grown enough to see that many (easily 30%) towards the...

I know it's not DH, but interesting: Cannondale XC is folding for 2027. Enve has a made-in-USA XC bike almost ready to debut, possibly at Soldier Hollow Utah UCI race. (Enve is based in Utah and owned by Utah cyclists) Cannondale team and staff will transition into the Enve XC team for 2027

I'll take one of those "no strava" signs. LMAO But yeah, good journalism, almost like that guy rides bikes. Funny how ski areas can get away with downing acres of trees, but build a little singletrack? you get fined or jail. But that's always how it's been here in the states. Watch. In 3 years the state will take out all that hand made beauty and make it a legal hiking trail, and pass it off as their idea.

Illegal trails are the life blood of mountain biking. Unfortunately, there is less land in the Northeast than other places so the viable spots are a) more tightly patrolled and b) not on logging land c) home to legal networks often controlled by older riders less down with cool features. There is also an outbreak of Sierra Club Stickuptheasseosis in the region who don't like trails that aren't for walking.

Never say never so I’ll say .0001% Josh makes a comeback with them.

Riders impeded by crashed riders should get a second run. changing the core dna of the sport and using ‘professionalism’ to cover it will kill the sport so fast. It is not a televised event people are allowed to attend, it’s a mountainbike race, in the real world, and the environment will reflect that.

wishful thinking.... but with Snowshoe losing DH, they are a great venue for an east coast enduro leg. Great backcountry riding and most of their bike park trails have a more enduro feel anyways. Good sized village and accommodations.

Hopefully crankworks does the broadcast style they did at Whistler a few years. Short section of cameras but primarily final stage finish line interviews and storytelling. Jesse winning Whistler live was peak enduro broadcasting imo.

I agree with your assertion, but there is something important to add too. Economics drives culture, and vice versa. There is a not insignificant portion of the population in the US that can't take risks, both physical and economic. A bad accident could put a family in generational medical debt, and you can't take half a year off to go race bikes, because then you won't have health insurance. This leads to a situation where young people that don't have significant financial backing from their parents cannot participate in bike racing. IIRC the Mallen brothers are an exception to this...

Posted this before, posting again... The old EWS points and event qualifier structure was a great example of a transparent, feasible ladder for talented and motivated riders to climb into the elite field. EWS points were earned at sanctioned local, regional and national level events each with their own points tier and value table. I remember on the website from 2018-2020 there were pages and pages of races you could earn points. An EWS license was about 30USD to get an account and start earning. It seemed that race organizers were welcomed with fair terms to have their races sanctioned...

As a huge fan of enduro and DH, and not the uci, This news has all the fixings for a forum debate on what it takes to build a successful bike race series. And that debate always leads to one set of answers…. 1. some people with passion, and a lot of time and cash to burn 2. Crankworx 3. Red Bull or monster energy And Everytime we have this lovely talk it ends at, Red Bull flutag is still a thing so maybe there’s a chance.