2025 Team Rumors

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9/11/2024 2:43pm
gibbon wrote:
His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you that you now have to do your job standing on your head you have 2 options , you either do it or you don't . Without wanting to get all godwins law about it , following orders isn't a justifiable defence anymore .

For what it's worth I think some of the criticism of WB over the past couple of years has been over the top . I don't have a problem with paying for coverage of the races , GCN was a fair price and I watch it now on stay live which is pretty cheap as well . The sport probably does need to grow to be sustainable and a part of that is probably less riders at world cup weekends . My fear is that you end up removing what made the sport great in the first place in an effort to appeal to an audience that doesn't exist . It's a niche sport within a niche sport and I just can't imagine anyone who doesn't ride mountain bikes ever sitting down to watch a 3 hour broadcast of a mountain bike race .

Anyway that's probably a bit off topic 🙂 so I'm going to go for Reece Wilson on a new foes team managed by Nigel page and Sam hill as chief line spotter .

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gibbon
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9/11/2024 2:46pm

Anyway that's probably a bit off topic 🙂 so I'm going to go for Reece Wilson on a new foes team managed by Nigel page and Sam hill as chief line spotter
Now I'd pay to watch that!!!

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1
bizutch
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9/11/2024 3:28pm
Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it...

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it just a result of the reality of the lack of money in the sport. 

Chris Ball must of realized that for an increased DH season and effectively forcing DH teams to have more riders ,  that the money to support that would more than likely come at the expense of Enduro programs .

 

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

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9/11/2024 4:03pm
Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it...

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it just a result of the reality of the lack of money in the sport. 

Chris Ball must of realized that for an increased DH season and effectively forcing DH teams to have more riders ,  that the money to support that would more than likely come at the expense of Enduro programs .

 

bizutch wrote:
I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all...

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

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9/11/2024 6:18pm
But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round...

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

Maybe since enduro is relatively new compared to DH and XC, putting it with one of those two as much as possible is the best thing.. Keeps a DH element to XC races like we used to have at so many races.. A triple header of XC, DH, and enduro could make for a crazy schedule, or just add an extra day or two to a weekend.. But, now that the "cool new toy" aspect has worn off for enduro, it may need to piggyback on another series to really build up a following..

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bizutch
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9/11/2024 7:14pm
Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it...

Enduro budgets and e-bikes gone . How much of this is a result of the running of the series by ESO/WB/EWS and how much is it just a result of the reality of the lack of money in the sport. 

Chris Ball must of realized that for an increased DH season and effectively forcing DH teams to have more riders ,  that the money to support that would more than likely come at the expense of Enduro programs .

 

bizutch wrote:
I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all...

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round...

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his focus on enduro .😁

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thegromit
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9/11/2024 7:41pm
bizutch wrote:
I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all...

I heard from more than one that at one of the EDR or EWS rounds this year, all of 2 people walked through the pits all day.
You can have a sport people like, but it doesn't make it a spectator sport.

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round...

But you can put on an event that people want to attend . The crowds at Maydena prove that , I remember taking my boy round the pits at a tweed valley round on the Thursday and he had a great time getting stickers and swag , to this day his favorite bike brand is YT because they gave him a big bag of stuff .

How you package Enduro as a professional sport with coverage has always been a tough question and I always personally preferred the photo epics you used to get on PB and Vital rather than videos but I realize I might be an outlier there .

I just think it would be a real shame if Enduro as a professional sport disappeared.

Funny to think back now but do you remember when the EWS started people thought it might spell the end of downhill as all the money went into the shiny new thing . Funny how things turn out .

bizutch wrote:
my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his...

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his focus on enduro .😁

Wasn't he a junior then. Hes probably gained more fans going to enduro than he would have if he stayed in DH.

1
1
casey79
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AU
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1160th
9/11/2024 7:53pm
bizutch wrote:
my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his...

my one key memory was all  Richie Rude fans almost melted at the thought of him "abandoning" DH to drop something like 20lbs to put his focus on enduro .😁

Before the current dabbling by Richie at racing DH world cups his last World Cup race was in 2013 when he raced in the Elite category as a Jnr at round 6 in Leogang.
 

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earleb
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9/11/2024 9:02pm

Someone give Sven Martin the budget to deploy 6 squids across the EDR race course / weekend and produce a mixed media slideshow like the old Vital shows and Enduro coverage would be great again. 

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casey79
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9/11/2024 9:30pm Edited Date/Time 9/11/2024 9:36pm
earleb wrote:
Someone give Sven Martin the budget to deploy 6 squids across the EDR race course / weekend and produce a mixed media slideshow like the old...

Someone give Sven Martin the budget to deploy 6 squids across the EDR race course / weekend and produce a mixed media slideshow like the old Vital shows and Enduro coverage would be great again. 

Misspent Summers has Sven and Boris doing great thinks on their site after Vital and their (Sven and Boris) partnership ceased. 

8
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Primoz
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9/11/2024 11:17pm
gibbon wrote:
His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you...

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you that you now have to do your job standing on your head you have 2 options , you either do it or you don't . Without wanting to get all godwins law about it , following orders isn't a justifiable defence anymore .

For what it's worth I think some of the criticism of WB over the past couple of years has been over the top . I don't have a problem with paying for coverage of the races , GCN was a fair price and I watch it now on stay live which is pretty cheap as well . The sport probably does need to grow to be sustainable and a part of that is probably less riders at world cup weekends . My fear is that you end up removing what made the sport great in the first place in an effort to appeal to an audience that doesn't exist . It's a niche sport within a niche sport and I just can't imagine anyone who doesn't ride mountain bikes ever sitting down to watch a 3 hour broadcast of a mountain bike race .

Anyway that's probably a bit off topic 🙂 so I'm going to go for Reece Wilson on a new foes team managed by Nigel page and Sam hill as chief line spotter .

You know he is getting paid to follow orders, right? Having the ability to put a roof over your head and food on the table is somewhat important at the end of the day, important enough for a lot of people to stay in shitty jobs. Important enough to be the only justification, besides all the other possibilities of justification. 

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9/12/2024 12:05am
gibbon wrote:
His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you...

I understand where you're coming from but he's a grown man with his own views I'm sure . If an MBA at your work tells you that you now have to do your job standing on your head you have 2 options , you either do it or you don't . Without wanting to get all godwins law about it , following orders isn't a justifiable defence anymore .

For what it's worth I think some of the criticism of WB over the past couple of years has been over the top . I don't have a problem with paying for coverage of the races , GCN was a fair price and I watch it now on stay live which is pretty cheap as well . The sport probably does need to grow to be sustainable and a part of that is probably less riders at world cup weekends . My fear is that you end up removing what made the sport great in the first place in an effort to appeal to an audience that doesn't exist . It's a niche sport within a niche sport and I just can't imagine anyone who doesn't ride mountain bikes ever sitting down to watch a 3 hour broadcast of a mountain bike race .

Anyway that's probably a bit off topic 🙂 so I'm going to go for Reece Wilson on a new foes team managed by Nigel page and Sam hill as chief line spotter .

Primoz wrote:
You know he is getting paid to follow orders, right? Having the ability to put a roof over your head and food on the table is...

You know he is getting paid to follow orders, right? Having the ability to put a roof over your head and food on the table is somewhat important at the end of the day, important enough for a lot of people to stay in shitty jobs. Important enough to be the only justification, besides all the other possibilities of justification. 

Easy there comrade 😜 I totally agree that that's the case for the majority of people in the world , especially these days . But that post was specifically about Chris Ball who all things considered, I believe, has done pretty well for himself over the last few years. So if someone who can afford to say NO to his corporate overlords doesn't , then what chance do the rest of us have . Chris Ball is not the poster child for the oppressed worker .

Anyway, pleased it looks like Atherton racing might continue .

 

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NJPA Rider
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9/12/2024 2:08am

It looks clear to me that Chris Ball taking on multiple race formats is a lot and possibly too much. If they can narrow their focus to DH and XC, they can make them great. They can have more races in more countries.  Enduro will not die. If anything DH inspires people to ride enduro locally.  Enduro is awesome without WB or UCI. It can develop separately from XC and DH. 

 

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Maxipedia
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9/12/2024 2:33am
gibbon wrote:
 When Tahnee became an Elite in '15 , Rach was starting her dominant run and Tahnee had to wait for the next 2 1/2  years for...

 When Tahnee became an Elite in '15 , Rach was starting her dominant run and Tahnee had to wait for the next 2 1/2  years for her first win as Rach won 14 races in a row (and 2 World Champs)!! It wasn't until Rach was injured in '17 that Tahnee got to win a senior race.
Rach is the genuinely the nicest (bonkers.....but nice) person I have ever met but both her and Tahnee are fierce competitors ,as you need to be to compete at the highest level.
There is no love lost  between the teams though.FMD's manager is also Tahnee's Dad. And he is........devisive 🙄.I think when they moved into the same valley where the Athertons lived and trained, and had built a lot of the tracks it caused some friction.

Thanks, I didn't pay attention to these details. I haven't had any contact to Tahnee or Tony or FMD personally, but I always admired her story and how their family supported the racing. It is quite something. On the other hand, I have met Rach more than once and I confirm what you say, and her brothers more than that and they must be some of the nicest people on the circuit, regardless of what PB commentators think of Gee's facial expressions. I actually vividly remember right now how I was in Livigno exactly 20 years ago, looking for a certain bolt for an M1 copy bike that one of our riders lost; all team mechanics sent me away and didn't wanna bother, but the Athertons, man, they took their time and took their entire tool box apart to help me. We didn't find a proper bolt and they were genuinely bummed they couldn't help, but that shows characters and I will always remember that. There's a good hardware store in Livigno, by the way. Smile  

Looks like the Atherton team will be fine, hoping that FMD will also find a frame sponsor to keep their story going. Phoebe has done well this year, Tahnee either way and I think there are other positives too. Like their long running presence and professionalism can't hurt and the collaborations with Fox Suspension, Fox Head and Shimano definitely hold some meaning. They will be around.

Question: do you see any brand ENTER the circuit the next year?

Cheers, 

Mx

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jonkranked
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9/12/2024 6:06am
casey79 wrote:
Before the current dabbling by Richie at racing DH world cups his last World Cup race was in 2013 when he raced in the Elite category...

Before the current dabbling by Richie at racing DH world cups his last World Cup race was in 2013 when he raced in the Elite category as a Jnr at round 6 in Leogang.
 

he raced up in elite the entire 2013 season IIRC.  i think people were just more surprised he was switching to enduro after winning DH jr worlds the same year.

4
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barryjenson
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9/12/2024 10:09am

Teams pull out of enduro - I guess there’s a minimum of 20 EDR & E riders with no ride in 2025

No ebike racing - WBD decision, no ebike teams.


So, if there’s no teams as brands focus there budget on other discipline - due to costs, no exposure of enduro etc etc, more focus on DH / XC then WBD don’t kill enduro , the industry does so WBd have clean hands. Balls sold out and killed what he create all in the name of moneys.

 

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Stiksandstones
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9/12/2024 11:12am
gibbon wrote:
His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

Truer words may not have ever been spoken.

3
1
bizutch
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9/12/2024 12:08pm
gibbon wrote:
His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will...

His bosses are Wb.....They spent $100million on making a film, realized it might not make as much as they wanted so canned it (no one will ever see it) so they could take it as a tax write down.
Chris Balls job isn't to make dh/enduro better, it's to make it profitable. And he's smart enough to know that if doesn't do it (and quickly) then Wb will kick him to the curb and find someone else who says they can.
 If some Mba at Wb says they'd like man on man racing with compulsory pit stops halfway down because that's what F1 has ,then it's his job to make it work.
 

Truer words may not have ever been spoken.

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

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gibbon
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9/12/2024 1:46pm
bizutch wrote:

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

Tony Ellsworth?

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Jrp
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Derby , TAS AU
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9/12/2024 1:54pm

Has E EDR definitely gone then and if so how do we know ?? 

Yip definitely gone. All the teams know now 

1
metadave
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9/12/2024 3:20pm

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

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ardor
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9/12/2024 3:36pm
bizutch wrote:

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

gibbon wrote:

Tony Ellsworth?

Hahaha. I actually laughed out loud when I read this. 

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bulletbass man
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9/12/2024 3:45pm
metadave wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of two day races was accommodating e-edr.

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metadave
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9/12/2024 4:15pm
metadave wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of...

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of two day races was accommodating e-edr.

I suppose Win on Saturday, sell on Sunday doesn't have the same effect

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Poleczechy
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9/12/2024 6:15pm
metadave wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason they canned the E-EDR?

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of...

My guess is simply it gets extremely low views and hinders the execution of the edr races.  Chris ball said a factor into getting rid of two day races was accommodating e-edr.

Also the logistics of shipping the batteries limited the series to Europe only, which really defeated the purpose of a “World Cup” 

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1
9/12/2024 6:51pm
metadave wrote:

I suppose Win on Saturday, sell on Sunday doesn't have the same effect

Not for the race promoter...

While we may not see ebike racing on a world level, someone will grab that ball and figure out a way to make something happen... Ebikes sales are one of the bright spots for the industry right now.. 

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1
9/12/2024 8:30pm
bizutch wrote:

I keep saying UCI sold the series the devil himself.

 

gibbon wrote:

Tony Ellsworth?

Nah, that dude from Sick Bikes!

3
1
mfoga
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9/12/2024 9:36pm
Conkey wrote:

What the fuck is a kilometer?

It's how countries that haven't been to the moon measure distance. 

Mr.Nally wrote:
Sorry champ, but our Apollo program used the metric system, and the Soviet Union landed plenty of things on the moon other than humans. More importantly, does...

Sorry champ, but our Apollo program used the metric system, and the Soviet Union landed plenty of things on the moon other than humans.

 

More importantly, does the UCI hate miles or privateers more? 😁

Anything not Europe is what they hate most 

1
Mr.Nally
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AS
9/13/2024 1:08am
mfoga wrote:

Anything not Europe is what they hate most 

I think it's the big teams that prefer to keep things in Europe as much as possible. But hey

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