I am probably reading into this too much...but I think the fact that he said the bike he will be riding will be exactly the same as the production model suggests that it might be a company that doesn't currently (but will as of the announcement...obviously) have a DH bike in their range. No matter who he has ridden for he has generally made at least minor adjustments to the production model to create his ideal race bike. So, if it is a new bike, it would make sense that he essentially designed it, so that that he would not...
What was going on with the step down right after the berms and before the lower jump section in the trees. It looked like there was a big box with a tarp on it (or maybe some form of machinery?) right at the take-off. Is it closed permanently or just getting rebuilt?