World Cup Downhill MTB Race Talk

4/27/2019 4:54am
Red Bull apparently trying to ban other energy drinks from being displayed on the hotseat/podium. Feels over the top to us, what do you think?

"Following the discussion at the team managers meeting yesterday we are mindful of the short notice in announcing Red Bull drinks exclusivity on the podium and hot seat and the situation that this leaves a number of riders in, so we will not enforce the request for Red Bull - only drinks/bottles on the hot seat and podium this weekend.

We will continue to work with Red Bull following this event to find a solution for the rest of the season, which we will communicate to you as early as possible before the next round in Fort William.

In the meantime, we would remind you that the partnership with Red Bull and Red Bull Media House is continuing to enable us to improve and grow the UCI Mercedes Benz World Cup series and your understanding of their marketing and sponsorship needs would be appreciated."


- Simon Burney, UCI Mountain Bike Sport Coordinator
4/27/2019 5:28am Edited Date/Time 4/27/2019 5:34am
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes will mind...a real athlete shouldn't drink that energy drink crap anyways! Is beer in an opaque cup ok?

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4/27/2019 7:36am
Does monster ban other drinks from podium of the Monster Energy Supercross?

Redbull gives the world the ability to watch world cup DH, without them the sport would die...so, if there is some controversy about cans of soda on the podium, I don't care, just don't piss them off! haha
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4/27/2019 7:44am
Without the sport would die??? That‘s bullshit
Red Bull came when Downhill was big on Freecaster, Red Bull pays more money, that‘s all. With a lot of bad decisions in the past! Limited Content, one hour brake after the woman’s finals...no Red Bull isn‘t what the sport need. They‘re bring a lot good things of course, but not just good
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kolsen
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4/27/2019 8:20am
Farking Red Shit
sspomer
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4/27/2019 8:27am
mtnrush666 wrote:
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes...
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes will mind...a real athlete shouldn't drink that energy drink crap anyways! Is beer in an opaque cup ok?

i think most legit, fitness-based athletes on a hotset or podium have special red bull / monster cans with water in them. when they take a swig and give the thumbs up, it's not the actual energy drink going down their neck.
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sspomer
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4/27/2019 8:30am
or, could just run these (i always loved the idea of these things)
anti hero beer can wraps

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jcook
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4/27/2019 8:44am
mtnrush666 wrote:
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes...
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes will mind...a real athlete shouldn't drink that energy drink crap anyways! Is beer in an opaque cup ok?

Yes if Steve Peat was still racing
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Roots_rider
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4/27/2019 8:53am Edited Date/Time 4/27/2019 8:55am
mtnrush666 wrote:
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes...
So I am guessing they can still wear hats, shirts, etc. from their sponsoring energy drink, just not the actual drink. I don't think the athletes will mind...a real athlete shouldn't drink that energy drink crap anyways! Is beer in an opaque cup ok?

sspomer wrote:
i think most legit, fitness-based athletes on a hotset or podium have special red bull / monster cans with water in them. when they take a...
i think most legit, fitness-based athletes on a hotset or podium have special red bull / monster cans with water in them. when they take a swig and give the thumbs up, it's not the actual energy drink going down their neck.
Pretty sure some are labeled on the bottom as water, only for athletes at large events. At other events I’ve been to, I’ve seen redbull get dumped out and replaced with water, far from cameras obviously.
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Dylan Dean
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4/27/2019 8:57am
I see a lot of contracts needing amending...

So us this for energy drinks only? ...Or ALL drinks?
jimmypop
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4/27/2019 9:06am
Will this carry over to component sponsors as well? This could get interesting!

I'm sure someone at the UCI has a Swiss account that the major sponsors deposit into.
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sspomer
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4/27/2019 9:15am
Dylan Dean wrote:
I see a lot of contracts needing amending...

So us this for energy drinks only? ...Or ALL drinks?
what kind of amendments? if a monster rider can't take a swig in hotseat or podium, does that mean the sponsorship isn't worth it? or contingency dollar amounts would change? as long as they can wear the helmet or hat, isn't that enough?
Scrub
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4/27/2019 9:39am
Just bring a can of "Whip Ass" to the podium.
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Jim_Busse
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4/27/2019 9:59am
If they had a brewery as a title sponsor, I'd be behind this move.
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smelly
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4/27/2019 10:47am Edited Date/Time 4/27/2019 5:08pm
Is anyone actually surprised by this move? Had to figure it was part of RedBull's long game in sponsoring the series.
4/27/2019 11:06am
a couple questions

1. did red bull negotiate this as part of their contract with the uci?

2. is red bull paying for exclusivity on the podium or otherwise?

some opinions

i would think that the other teams and sponsors involved in the uci dh circuit most certainly would have needed to been aware of this exclusivity that red bull wants.

i would presume that you cannot just come in after the fact and say oh by the way we want exclusive advertising rights for the podium.

this seems like a pretty cut and dried contractual issue to me. if red bull did not negotiate and pay for this as part of their sponsorship contract then why would they get this option?

if the uci goes along with this the uci will piss off a lot of other sponsors and or get sued .

of course these are my completely un-educated opinions and i could be and probably am completely wrong and then everyone can laugh at me and call me an idiot but hey is that not what the internet is for?
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Dylan Dean
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4/27/2019 11:19am
Dylan Dean wrote:
I see a lot of contracts needing amending...

So us this for energy drinks only? ...Or ALL drinks?
sspomer wrote:
what kind of amendments? if a monster rider can't take a swig in hotseat or podium, does that mean the sponsorship isn't worth it? or contingency...
what kind of amendments? if a monster rider can't take a swig in hotseat or podium, does that mean the sponsorship isn't worth it? or contingency dollar amounts would change? as long as they can wear the helmet or hat, isn't that enough?
So based on the contracts i've dealt with, & DEPENDING on the rider, it'll say something like the athlete is required to have a bottle/can/etc on the podium, etc. Now if they were smart, they would have negotiated the contract to read something like "if it's permitted by event, etc" so in case instances like this happen, they won't get screwed. Now will a company drop a rider or hold back $ or whatnot if the contract doesn't have that? VERY UNLIKELY. they generally understand the circumstances that are beyond the athletes control.

HOWEVER, when i wad negotiating contracts, i ALWAYS told my athletes.. no matter the company, the person, etc, dont rely on "friendship" and "trust" to cover your ass. Shit happens. even the smallest thing could ultimately lead to a contract being terminated, funds withheld, etc. If a company changes philosophy, gets bought out, new people are hired, they might see need to make roster changes. While this issue seems minute in grand scheme of things, it CAN BE USED as justification to take action.

So if they are smart (which many are not), they need to make sure their contract reads correctly or have written authorization to change. Now this doesn't meant they have to re-write/sign a new contract with the company. An email from their TM should suffice stating that it's ok if they don't have a bottle on the podium, etc. as long as there is a track record.

Hot seat should be any issue

That's just the former agent in me trying to make sure people's asses are covered. but since i'm not anymore, i could care less (kidding)

Now that i'm at RynoPower thought, i'm curious if our water bottles are allowed on the podium or hot seat.
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4/27/2019 12:05pm
iceman2058 wrote:
Red Bull apparently trying to ban other energy drinks from being displayed on the hotseat/podium. Feels over the top to us, what do you think? [i]"Following...
Red Bull apparently trying to ban other energy drinks from being displayed on the hotseat/podium. Feels over the top to us, what do you think?

"Following the discussion at the team managers meeting yesterday we are mindful of the short notice in announcing Red Bull drinks exclusivity on the podium and hot seat and the situation that this leaves a number of riders in, so we will not enforce the request for Red Bull - only drinks/bottles on the hot seat and podium this weekend.

We will continue to work with Red Bull following this event to find a solution for the rest of the season, which we will communicate to you as early as possible before the next round in Fort William.

In the meantime, we would remind you that the partnership with Red Bull and Red Bull Media House is continuing to enable us to improve and grow the UCI Mercedes Benz World Cup series and your understanding of their marketing and sponsorship needs would be appreciated."


- Simon Burney, UCI Mountain Bike Sport Coordinator
The need to fuck off and when they had got as far as fuck off goes they need to fuck off some more.
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nacnud73
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4/27/2019 1:28pm
So no more champagne showers???
1
4/27/2019 2:07pm
I'd just wear a huge foam Monster Energy can costume to the podium...

I get that they are bringing this to us and I appreciate that, but a little slack here. Maybe Monster should do that to them in Supercross where the money is a lot greater.
Dylan
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4/28/2019 12:44am
From the couple of Instagram stories I've seen and a quick google of the weather it looks like it could be good racing conditions. Purely internet speculation though


Moodge
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4/28/2019 1:44am
Give them a hand, they'll take your arm.
LLLLL
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4/28/2019 2:20am
Turned on YouTube yesterday and holy crap there was a lot of world cup coverage... To much to be honest I haven't even watched a vital slide show yet ?
Duane_White
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4/29/2019 9:54pm
I'd just wear a huge foam Monster Energy can costume to the podium... I get that they are bringing this to us and I appreciate that...
I'd just wear a huge foam Monster Energy can costume to the podium...

I get that they are bringing this to us and I appreciate that, but a little slack here. Maybe Monster should do that to them in Supercross where the money is a lot greater.
If Redbull started to get retaliation effort from as you say maybe Monster you would think they would reconsider. How far could all this go? Now is Redbull the only one that can bring coverage to the world? I bet not. What if no Redbull athletes podium could we see an empty stage at the awards presentation?
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4/30/2019 3:30am
Team videos are dropping in from Maribor, here's a first batch:

Mondraker



Propain



Tanner_Carl
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4/30/2019 7:13am
Sorry in advance if this has been covered already, but no signs of Martin Maes? Perhaps he's going full enduro? I know the talk at the end of last season was to race the first two rounds of each WC DH and EWS and decide what series to go from there.

Any pointers will be appreciated!

thanks,
1

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