All

Bruni will go down as one of the GOAT's, Finn has the potential but time will tell. 0% affiliated with UCI, Discovery, WB etc. If anything I have more personal and business contacts with non UCI, Disco etc. businesses. I simply see the constant bashing (some warranted, most not) of the current organisers tiresome and am happy to point out how RB has/had plenty of issues that people ignore.

Vital MTB forumites: MTB needs outside sponsorship! Whoop sponsors WC MTB. Also Vital MTB forumites: Not like THAT!

There's a big difference between racing 6-8 times per year as we are now vs. racing all year. Professional racers should be able to make a winter series work with a short (1-2 month) break in the fall shoulder season and then another short break in the spring shoulder season before the summer series. I would prefer that the "winter series" is in the southern hemisphere to catch their summer as you mention though. Each series should be at least 10 races. Riders are already skipping major events as it is, but I think that's just part of our sport...

USA Cycling Announces 2024 Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Series Dates and Locations This series will unfold across eight must-visit destinations, stretching across the country. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Cycling proudly announces the 2024 Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Series, a successor to the Professional Cross-Country Tour (Pro XCT). The upcoming series retains the successful format of the previous year while introducing a new opportunity for junior cyclists. In a strategic move to foster junior talent, the 2024 series now offers juniors the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships automatically. "This year's Cross-Country Mountain Bike National...

I heard a rumor that Cube would have a Factory supported XC squad, with 3 riders. Bart Brentjens KMC Team getting support from Ridley and potentially adding a young Canadian talent to the roster.

Zoe Cuthbert (U21 XC and EDR rider from Australia) has picked up a ride on Jenny Rissveds Team 31 after a couple of years doing the privateer thing.

Are there any major or even minor xc moves? I would assume most everyone was setup through 2024 due to Olympics

Are we allowed to talk XC in here?

Adding onto your point: From a value to (outside) brand, sponsoring a world tour team makes sense. Even if just looking at the big 3 races, Tour, Giro, and the Vuelta, the amount of major TV airtime they get, is likely a far greater ROI (visibility) than sponsoring an MTB team. To an extent, the cost of sponsoring an MTB with limited ask and limited return is just far less interesting to a marketing firm/agency/division than a bigger ask with a bigger return. Right or wrong, they potentially just don't care about targeting smaller markets.

I don't think it is a lack of hustle in getting outside sponsors, it is a lack of exposure for the sponsors in any form of MTB. We don't have the TDF with billions of viewers to drive viewing of other events. How many viewers does a typical WC XC or DH race get? Where on the socio-economic scale do those viewers sit? Big difference in advertising value between a 19 yo that attends a DH race with a chainsaw sans chain and a 40 something watching the big TDF stages on the weekend. This is the real reason that...

Really interesting you talk about this - been watching a documentary series about Rich Paul (LeBron's agent, friend and business partner) and he's absolutely brutally honest with new NBA players, telling them they've got until 33, so make as much money as possible, invest wisely etc. Only Martin Whiteley I can think of offering that kind of holistic service in "our" world.

i believe heritage plays a big role in this one. Road racing has a 50+ years head start. People are cool with the TV being on and some dudes rambling for 6 hours about the landscapes of France and they don't need to pay much attention to see what happened, because everything happens very slow. it would be interesting to see if both MTB and road cycling had the same start, which of them would attract more viewership. But we are not in that point, now are we? MTB isn't the cool new kid on the block it was in...

UFC is an interesting one, as relative the amount of money UFC makes, the fighters make almost 0. Boxers make so much more money than UFC athletes its insane. The UFC has a stranglehold on who fights and where and how much they get paid, that any attempts to speak up/out are crushed and you lose all your income. Im all for outside money, it's the only way we can grow the professional side of the sport. The truth is though, it will only come with better viewership. Which will only come with a better TV product and broadcasting. Which...

i would like to point out that before Mercedes happened in the 2010's, there was a Mercedes Benz Marin MTB racing team circa 1998 with British racers such as James Allaway and Dave Hemming. We also had: Volvo Cannondale, Schwinn Toyota, Trek Volkswagen, Ford Kona, Gary Fisher Subaru, Subaru on Mountain Dew Specialized, BMW Proflex, Klein Catera, Chevy Trucks on Team GT, Wiesmann Roadster on Nicolai made bikes and so on and so forth. The World Cup was also sponsored by German electronic maker Grundig in its beginnings, then by Diesel and then famously by Rocky Roads, thanks to the...

@Simcik since you brought up the marlboro thing, do you think there will ever be a time 5-10-20 years from now when we look at energy drinks like cigarettes? sure the money is huge for racers and events etc, but is the long-term cost (thinking about health of those who consume the product) worth it? i'm not trying to be holier than thou at all, but i've always found this topic interesting. can *controversial* sponsors buy their way in if the money is right? thinking that whole liv golf thing (which i don't know much about).