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A thought I had teased out in a much longer form that I think is applicable to the Pivot situation (and I think we'll see it more often from other teams): I think Pivot is going to leave elite-level racing and BK Sport will be the team that carries on. I think the BK Sport merch brand has been the long game slow rollout of Bernard knowing Pivot want to exit racing and knowing he'll need to be on a differently-named team. Sort of similar to how FMD (a privately-owned racing team) is now partnered with Orbea. I didn't think...

If I was closer I’d live stream Qualies

The more I read this current topic the more it seems something like a u23 class with a mandatory move up to the elite ranks after having won 2 overall titles might be a better option than the current system, primarily to allow for more gradual rider development and actual life development. If they truly do want to axe the junior class maybe a developmental class like this could race the venues the weekend before the elites or the weekend after. A post race production could be released as a form of media, it could be great… But it could...

If it does go the route of no specific juniors class at World Cups, it does not eliminate that juniors can race them. That is how it used to be. Look at moto. There are junior classes but if you make it to the national level pro races, you can be 16 or older and race elite. I do think moto is more advanced for developing younger racers with more clear standards, racing the same tracks and the overarching organizer (AMA) is in charge of alot of the development series. Having things like the 'Futures' races at SX helps develop...

Losing Vital Raw hits hard, ngl, its just a big part of the DH weekend.

I hear they're bringing in Leo Messi to comment in Val Di Sole. Next time the drinking game will be any time Ric says "If anyone can do it it's xxxx".

Huge shoutout to the Vital team for creating such an awesome fantasy league. It makes watching the races insanely fun and exciting, and has gotten me engaged in DH racing in a way that nothing else could. And I've never even set foot on a DH bike before.

It's worth noting the 'Q2 replay' is not a replay... It's an edited/produced highlights video. And I think that's the direction they wanna pursue, which makes sense given how lackluster direct replays of their runs with normal commentary are. Better to allow them time to chop it up a bit better, add in some excitement if possible to compensate for rics play by play. And deliver a superior product in the end. If anything it's what they should be doing. That was the bread and butter of red bulls youtube presence in DH racing. The highlight edits they made. Like...

@sspomer your gonna need a big ole banner on the front page otherwise your gonna be feilding that question 2million more times this year. Good luck, were all counting on you.

The build-up to finals: WynTV, VitalRAW, pit bits, Cathro All these things drive engagement. It makes me wonder if WBD and the UCI have any concept of how important these sources of media are for them, and the ecosystem, as a whole.

Whaaattt? Is it really a downhill World Cup if there’s no vital raw?? Love the domestic race coverage but vital raw and WC dh coverage is vital’s brand…

Thanks for this, Sven. It's super insightful to see what riders and media need to go through to keep the dream alive.

As a trail builder who likes clean forests, f*** course tape, that plastic ribbon has a way of sticking around forever. I'm talking in generalities here, not necessarily WCDH, but I'd like to see tape completely go away (same with tear-offs). Poles are a better solution, just need to use a wee bit of common sense. Stripe them if they're a caution/jump marker vs course marker. Works for color blind riders and can be done with a handy roll of gaff tape instead of having a separate inventory of markers. Just put 3 black stripes on markers that won't DQ...

Well, in a sense, you could argue that UCI/WB is the general owner of the whole Circus ( i wonder who takes care of visas for the NBA games in China, do team owners do it or does the NBA lesdership arrange the whole thing). In any case, for several reasons the WC is still Europe based and It should be easier for two Big orgs like UCI and WB to open a channel within the EU authorities so the teams can apply for some sort of workvisa so people from outside the EU can stay here for the whole...

The above link is for the men. Here are the elite women's rankings: https://dataride.uci.ch/iframe/RankingDetails/156?disciplineId=7&groupI…

Thank you for posting this. Too many people are using a racing rumors thread to talk crap on Kerr. It's also pretty sexist and BS that people are talking crap on Jenna when she works incredibly hard at her craft and has the speed. Can we move on from this please?

Jenna won as many races as Jake Jewett last year. ...and she won the Women's Elite New Zealand Continental Series race this last weekend beating Sascha Earnest who by many accounts is a podium threat for this upcoming women's World Cup season. It's fun to pretend she's only around because her and BK are together, but I think a tough couple seasons for injuries made us forget that she's actually pretty fast and was a Junior World Champ.

+ Sacha Earnest