some talk from the off:kolb to yt vergier to commencalbrosnan to trekvermette to ytshaw to norcoStevens-mcnab to trekcanyon quit with fmd and pirelliatherton finished for 2025conti gt...
some talk from the off:
kolb to yt vergier to commencal brosnan to trek vermette to yt shaw to norco Stevens-mcnab to trek
canyon quit with fmd and pirelli atherton finished for 2025 conti gt history in 2025
Stevens-McNabb has been posting on his IG stories with a Trek Session with Trek Factory Racing stickers on it so that the move makes sense. Shaw to Norco makes a lot of sense too, Greg loved having him as a teammate. Vergier has just seemed off this year, the breakup with Trek seems like a done deal.
some talk from the off:kolb to yt vergier to commencalbrosnan to trekvermette to ytshaw to norcoStevens-mcnab to trekcanyon quit with fmd and pirelliatherton finished for 2025conti gt...
some talk from the off:
kolb to yt vergier to commencal brosnan to trek vermette to yt shaw to norco Stevens-mcnab to trek
canyon quit with fmd and pirelli atherton finished for 2025 conti gt history in 2025
Stevens-McNabb has been posting on his IG stories with a Trek Session with Trek Factory Racing stickers on it so that the move makes sense. Shaw...
Stevens-McNabb has been posting on his IG stories with a Trek Session with Trek Factory Racing stickers on it so that the move makes sense. Shaw to Norco makes a lot of sense too, Greg loved having him as a teammate. Vergier has just seemed off this year, the breakup with Trek seems like a done deal.
Just the front triangle is TFR , rear triangle is the Union colour scheme. Might have just needed a replacement front end in a hurry?
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel brands pre-2008.
Big teams want the kid.
I would assume he's already got multiple contract offers.
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel...
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel brands pre-2008.
Big teams want the kid.
I would assume he's already got multiple contract offers.
Yeah that seemed to be the inevitable path from the start, right?
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel...
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel brands pre-2008.
Big teams want the kid.
I would assume he's already got multiple contract offers.
Yeah that seemed to be the inevitable path from the start, right?
Per the Downtime, he's one of the subjects of this year's Race Tapes; really curious to see what they show regarding him being courted by other teams this season.
Atherton bikes and frameworks were interesting developments to see try to establish themselves on the World Cup scene. Warner Brothers are about to nuke the whole sport...
Atherton bikes and frameworks were interesting developments to see try to establish themselves on the World Cup scene.
Warner Brothers are about to nuke the whole sport by pushing out these smaller brands. The large factory teams are probably in favour of the new format as it guarantees them exposure at all the races.
I wish riders would boycott but if they won't I hope that the elite riders salaries increase by a substantial amount because crashes and Injuries have been getting worse the last few years
Interesting your assumption is that Warner bros are the cause of Atherton's budget issues that have been on going for multiple seasons.Likely that budget/sponsorship/money is far...
Interesting your assumption is that Warner bros are the cause of Atherton's budget issues that have been on going for multiple seasons.
Likely that budget/sponsorship/money is far more complex than just who is or isn't running one race series. But hey.. life is easier when you see it all as black/white, left/right 👍.
On your final point. Judging by how many pads and the size of bzones and that sort of thing at world cups compared to say the recent crankworx in whistler. Your comment about safety at world cups is unfounded.
If the series was so bad surely your boycott would have happened already?
What I meant is no other new independent brands will have the chance to establish themselves at the elite level now since the factory teams get...
What I meant is no other new independent brands will have the chance to establish themselves at the elite level now since the factory teams get priority
no independent brand wants any piece of this given the costs and horrible return, I don't think. We'll see a load of teams exit, as it can't make sense financially. And the idea of a strong continental series Sounds nice, but it will be bushiest of the bush leagues. I mean, solid for the athletes, but the coverage will be as it is now - almost nothing.
Interesting your assumption is that Warner bros are the cause of Atherton's budget issues that have been on going for multiple seasons.Likely that budget/sponsorship/money is far...
Interesting your assumption is that Warner bros are the cause of Atherton's budget issues that have been on going for multiple seasons.
Likely that budget/sponsorship/money is far more complex than just who is or isn't running one race series. But hey.. life is easier when you see it all as black/white, left/right 👍.
On your final point. Judging by how many pads and the size of bzones and that sort of thing at world cups compared to say the recent crankworx in whistler. Your comment about safety at world cups is unfounded.
If the series was so bad surely your boycott would have happened already?
What I meant is no other new independent brands will have the chance to establish themselves at the elite level now since the factory teams get...
What I meant is no other new independent brands will have the chance to establish themselves at the elite level now since the factory teams get priority
no independent brand wants any piece of this given the costs and horrible return, I don't think. We'll see a load of teams exit, as it...
no independent brand wants any piece of this given the costs and horrible return, I don't think. We'll see a load of teams exit, as it can't make sense financially. And the idea of a strong continental series Sounds nice, but it will be bushiest of the bush leagues. I mean, solid for the athletes, but the coverage will be as it is now - almost nothing.
Warner Brothers Discovery is taking a massive financial hit in it's sports entities right now as well.
So a "feeder" series they won't film and yet will block outside filmers from covering and/or overcharge for rights to do so...not really set up for success.
Say Downhill Southeast wanted to tie into it. They'd be blocked from or charged to have any rights to film their own product. I'm certain the same would apply in Europe in terms of conflicts, price gouging or outright denial of access to film. Warner Bros would rather own & choke out filmers.
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel...
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel brands pre-2008.
Big teams want the kid.
I would assume he's already got multiple contract offers.
Asa will stay with Frameworks next year, but my guess is that he already signed for 2026 with another brand, a brand that already has the logo on the FW jerseys
Asa will stay with Frameworks next year, but my guess is that he already signed for 2026 with another brand, a brand that already has the...
Asa will stay with Frameworks next year, but my guess is that he already signed for 2026 with another brand, a brand that already has the logo on the FW jerseys
WD-40 is getting into the mtb game, too? I bet their E-bike is going to be slick!
What I meant is no other new independent brands will have the chance to establish themselves at the elite level now since the factory teams get...
What I meant is no other new independent brands will have the chance to establish themselves at the elite level now since the factory teams get priority
no independent brand wants any piece of this given the costs and horrible return, I don't think. We'll see a load of teams exit, as it...
no independent brand wants any piece of this given the costs and horrible return, I don't think. We'll see a load of teams exit, as it can't make sense financially. And the idea of a strong continental series Sounds nice, but it will be bushiest of the bush leagues. I mean, solid for the athletes, but the coverage will be as it is now - almost nothing.
Warner Brothers Discovery is taking a massive financial hit in it's sports entities right now as well.So a "feeder" series they won't film and yet will...
Warner Brothers Discovery is taking a massive financial hit in it's sports entities right now as well.
So a "feeder" series they won't film and yet will block outside filmers from covering and/or overcharge for rights to do so...not really set up for success.
Say Downhill Southeast wanted to tie into it. They'd be blocked from or charged to have any rights to film their own product. I'm certain the same would apply in Europe in terms of conflicts, price gouging or outright denial of access to film. Warner Bros would rather own & choke out filmers.
A little birdie (Someone who is a part of the WB/Dis broadcast) disclosed this to me this winter:
WB/Dis is all-in on sports moving forward. Their understanding is it won't be too long before AI is driving all cinema, from screenwriting, to the visuals, as we know it. In the coming years sports is going to be the only 'real' thing on the screen.
So, whether they're taking a massive hit on it or not, it's where they see the future of live production in the next 2 - 10 yrs.
No tin foil hat here, and whether I agree with any of it doesn't matter. This is a real thing.
Here, Ashton Kootcher is talking about exactly this. Fwiw, I don't follow this page, this post populated in my feed after I spoke about this exact topic with other mtb colleagues and friends.
Time will tell how it all plays out. And disclaimer, I don't agree with any of the current governing body rumor moves. I'm as invested in the current DH WC, and past as anyone.
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries (Drive to Survive... etc). I don't totally buy the AI thing as the classic sitcom / drama show has been declining for years.
I think Clay Harper nailed it on the head with the last Vital podcast. Red Bull / UCI saved the sport by producing the content for free and allowing for the top 10% of racers to enter. We have moved past that and its time to drive some real value by making a good in person and TV package. Its time to develop the top 1% of racers into a series that people that are not core fans can follow and enjoy.
No one that watches F1 owns a F1 car let alone a sports car but they sure enjoy watching it. The same can be said about MXGP / Pro Motocross. Right now I bet 95% of people watching a DH world cup have been to a lift access resort and I bet that is like 15% of people that even ride mountain bikes.
So yes there will be a lot of growing pains and things that we think are integral to the sport are going to be cut out of it and change but that maybe the cost of progress.
If the World Cup truly develops into an elite series there will be no other option then for regional and national series to develop into something worth funding and paying attention to for no other reason then these elite teams will need a place to farm new talen from.
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries...
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries (Drive to Survive... etc). I don't totally buy the AI thing as the classic sitcom / drama show has been declining for years.
I think Clay Harper nailed it on the head with the last Vital podcast. Red Bull / UCI saved the sport by producing the content for free and allowing for the top 10% of racers to enter. We have moved past that and its time to drive some real value by making a good in person and TV package. Its time to develop the top 1% of racers into a series that people that are not core fans can follow and enjoy.
No one that watches F1 owns a F1 car let alone a sports car but they sure enjoy watching it. The same can be said about MXGP / Pro Motocross. Right now I bet 95% of people watching a DH world cup have been to a lift access resort and I bet that is like 15% of people that even ride mountain bikes.
So yes there will be a lot of growing pains and things that we think are integral to the sport are going to be cut out of it and change but that maybe the cost of progress.
If the World Cup truly develops into an elite series there will be no other option then for regional and national series to develop into something worth funding and paying attention to for no other reason then these elite teams will need a place to farm new talen from.
Wanker ^^^
How may F1 copied sports series are we going to have in time? Go karting, RC cars, jet ski, snooker, chess, equestrian.. Any time Suits get involved, the sport as a whole suffers.
The beauty of our sport is, on their day any Top 50 rider can challenge a podium. Do we have to vanilla everything?
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries...
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries (Drive to Survive... etc). I don't totally buy the AI thing as the classic sitcom / drama show has been declining for years.
I think Clay Harper nailed it on the head with the last Vital podcast. Red Bull / UCI saved the sport by producing the content for free and allowing for the top 10% of racers to enter. We have moved past that and its time to drive some real value by making a good in person and TV package. Its time to develop the top 1% of racers into a series that people that are not core fans can follow and enjoy.
No one that watches F1 owns a F1 car let alone a sports car but they sure enjoy watching it. The same can be said about MXGP / Pro Motocross. Right now I bet 95% of people watching a DH world cup have been to a lift access resort and I bet that is like 15% of people that even ride mountain bikes.
So yes there will be a lot of growing pains and things that we think are integral to the sport are going to be cut out of it and change but that maybe the cost of progress.
If the World Cup truly develops into an elite series there will be no other option then for regional and national series to develop into something worth funding and paying attention to for no other reason then these elite teams will need a place to farm new talen from.
Wanker ^^^ How may F1 copied sports series are we going to have in time? Go karting, RC cars, jet ski, snooker, chess, equestrian..Any time Suits get...
Wanker ^^^
How may F1 copied sports series are we going to have in time? Go karting, RC cars, jet ski, snooker, chess, equestrian.. Any time Suits get involved, the sport as a whole suffers.
The beauty of our sport is, on their day any Top 50 rider can challenge a podium. Do we have to vanilla everything?
I agree w/ @phillipmccavity And I know exactly zero people who watch F1. I've watched exactly zero F1 races. It's so unattainable. It's sterilized. It's boring.
5 real reasons dh will not be the next f1/supercross
1). Riding bikes in the woods is for nerds and hicks
2). F1/supercross was broadcast on tv world wide before a production mtb was ever sold. Main thing that introduces a kid to something is their parents or their friend’s parents by proxy.
3). Not head 2 head racing. But speaking part of the reason dh is so god damn fun is because you race the clock/track instead of your opponent I very much hope that never changes. But head 2 head is so much viewer friendly than watching 20 women and 30 dudes do the same exact run with mild variation for 3+hrs. Which is why all these changes to make a more mainstream friendly tv package is simply moronic. They were never going to watch the race. The vast majority of these “new mainstream f1 fans” only watch drive to survive and the occasional YouTube video.
4). Always going to sell more cars and motorcycles/outdoor equipment than Mtbs. Big companies find partners easier than small ones. Big operations can hire people to find more sponsor dollars rather than have a guy doing it on the side of his normal job. And it’s very cyclical. If redbull puts a helmet ona guy then monster will. It progressive sponsors a team then geico wants one. I don’t buy that these brands care about the tv package or team colors. They care about eyeballs and where their competition is getting them.
5). Eso is doing a very poor job with the industry and existing fans. Ultimately the number one thing that brings in new fans is participants and existing fans. Telling racers and fans alike to start paying more attention to their national series doesn’t seem like a winning formula to grow the world cup’s popularity.
5 real reasons dh will not be the next f1/supercross1). Riding bikes in the woods is for nerds and hicks2). F1/supercross was broadcast on tv world...
5 real reasons dh will not be the next f1/supercross
1). Riding bikes in the woods is for nerds and hicks
2). F1/supercross was broadcast on tv world wide before a production mtb was ever sold. Main thing that introduces a kid to something is their parents or their friend’s parents by proxy.
3). Not head 2 head racing. But speaking part of the reason dh is so god damn fun is because you race the clock/track instead of your opponent I very much hope that never changes. But head 2 head is so much viewer friendly than watching 20 women and 30 dudes do the same exact run with mild variation for 3+hrs. Which is why all these changes to make a more mainstream friendly tv package is simply moronic. They were never going to watch the race. The vast majority of these “new mainstream f1 fans” only watch drive to survive and the occasional YouTube video.
4). Always going to sell more cars and motorcycles/outdoor equipment than Mtbs. Big companies find partners easier than small ones. Big operations can hire people to find more sponsor dollars rather than have a guy doing it on the side of his normal job. And it’s very cyclical. If redbull puts a helmet ona guy then monster will. It progressive sponsors a team then geico wants one. I don’t buy that these brands care about the tv package or team colors. They care about eyeballs and where their competition is getting them.
5). Eso is doing a very poor job with the industry and existing fans. Ultimately the number one thing that brings in new fans is participants and existing fans. Telling racers and fans alike to start paying more attention to their national series doesn’t seem like a winning formula to grow the world cup’s popularity.
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries...
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries (Drive to Survive... etc). I don't totally buy the AI thing as the classic sitcom / drama show has been declining for years.
I think Clay Harper nailed it on the head with the last Vital podcast. Red Bull / UCI saved the sport by producing the content for free and allowing for the top 10% of racers to enter. We have moved past that and its time to drive some real value by making a good in person and TV package. Its time to develop the top 1% of racers into a series that people that are not core fans can follow and enjoy.
No one that watches F1 owns a F1 car let alone a sports car but they sure enjoy watching it. The same can be said about MXGP / Pro Motocross. Right now I bet 95% of people watching a DH world cup have been to a lift access resort and I bet that is like 15% of people that even ride mountain bikes.
So yes there will be a lot of growing pains and things that we think are integral to the sport are going to be cut out of it and change but that maybe the cost of progress.
If the World Cup truly develops into an elite series there will be no other option then for regional and national series to develop into something worth funding and paying attention to for no other reason then these elite teams will need a place to farm new talen from.
He was wrong about F1 not being profitable. Even the worst team in F1, HAAS has stated that being in F1 is profitable for them.
I agree w/ @phillipmccavity And I know exactly zero people who watch F1. I've watched exactly zero F1 races. It's so unattainable. It's sterilized. It's boring.
Yeah because you don't watch it you must be right, lol! 🤣 That's why the average F1 race has 400k attendance over a weekend, because it's so sterilized and boring.
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries...
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries (Drive to Survive... etc). I don't totally buy the AI thing as the classic sitcom / drama show has been declining for years.
I think Clay Harper nailed it on the head with the last Vital podcast. Red Bull / UCI saved the sport by producing the content for free and allowing for the top 10% of racers to enter. We have moved past that and its time to drive some real value by making a good in person and TV package. Its time to develop the top 1% of racers into a series that people that are not core fans can follow and enjoy.
No one that watches F1 owns a F1 car let alone a sports car but they sure enjoy watching it. The same can be said about MXGP / Pro Motocross. Right now I bet 95% of people watching a DH world cup have been to a lift access resort and I bet that is like 15% of people that even ride mountain bikes.
So yes there will be a lot of growing pains and things that we think are integral to the sport are going to be cut out of it and change but that maybe the cost of progress.
If the World Cup truly develops into an elite series there will be no other option then for regional and national series to develop into something worth funding and paying attention to for no other reason then these elite teams will need a place to farm new talen from.
He was wrong about F1 not being profitable. Even the worst team in F1, HAAS has stated that being in F1 is profitable for them.
It's profitable for every team because they share revenue. That's why the field is limited to 10 teams, nobody wants to share with more teams. Hence why Andretti was not allowed to join and why Renault will probably sell their team to andretti for more than $1B. BTW, Haas isn't the worst team, that would be Sauber which will become Audi in 2026.
With the budget cap F1 teams have become somewhat profitable (or at least not a money drain like they used to be), but the bigger point is the franchises became worth in the region of a billion dollars when you could previously buy an underperforming team for peanuts (Brawn bought it for 1 pound and convinced Honda to invest 120 million as that would have been the severance and closing-donw-business legal fees if they went forward with closing shop).
5 real reasons dh will not be the next f1/supercross1). Riding bikes in the woods is for nerds and hicks2). F1/supercross was broadcast on tv world...
5 real reasons dh will not be the next f1/supercross
1). Riding bikes in the woods is for nerds and hicks
2). F1/supercross was broadcast on tv world wide before a production mtb was ever sold. Main thing that introduces a kid to something is their parents or their friend’s parents by proxy.
3). Not head 2 head racing. But speaking part of the reason dh is so god damn fun is because you race the clock/track instead of your opponent I very much hope that never changes. But head 2 head is so much viewer friendly than watching 20 women and 30 dudes do the same exact run with mild variation for 3+hrs. Which is why all these changes to make a more mainstream friendly tv package is simply moronic. They were never going to watch the race. The vast majority of these “new mainstream f1 fans” only watch drive to survive and the occasional YouTube video.
4). Always going to sell more cars and motorcycles/outdoor equipment than Mtbs. Big companies find partners easier than small ones. Big operations can hire people to find more sponsor dollars rather than have a guy doing it on the side of his normal job. And it’s very cyclical. If redbull puts a helmet ona guy then monster will. It progressive sponsors a team then geico wants one. I don’t buy that these brands care about the tv package or team colors. They care about eyeballs and where their competition is getting them.
5). Eso is doing a very poor job with the industry and existing fans. Ultimately the number one thing that brings in new fans is participants and existing fans. Telling racers and fans alike to start paying more attention to their national series doesn’t seem like a winning formula to grow the world cup’s popularity.
I wish people would quit using the F1 comparison. Supercross/MX is a little closer, but both are still worlds beyond where MTB is. Some quick googling informs me that the 2024 F1 team budget is $135 million per year and that EXCLUDES driver salaries and the salaries of the three highest paid employees. A friend of mine worked for one of the top 450 teams in SX/MX and that was a $20 million/year operation which included the salary of two riders. Between the racing formats, they do what, 31 race weekends a year in moto?!?! 14 rounds in F1. And we get 7 rounds + World Champs??? I don't know all the financials of a World Cup program, but I suspect the top teams are in the $2-3 million range.
I'm not saying DH can't learn from these other series and maybe even copy some of the things they're doing, but the money involved in the sports is in no way comparable. So when I hear about these grand plans from WB et al, my first question is, "where's the money coming from?"
I thought this was a team rumors chat, not an argument about what the sport is.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk.
While I somewhat agree, these are things that are going to weigh heavily on the next 2-3 years of contracts and what teams exist moving forward. If a team isn't sure they have a place in a game, are they going to sign people for more than a year going into this season? Will they already be trimming heavily? Will another broadcaster finally pick up on smaller regional or national feeder series and make them something where people can eat and support racing locally which will actually increase competition? I think that the conversation above will have a very heavy place on this and next years team rumor threads
Further, as DH specific bikes are niche. Going to set limited amount corporation teams, for DH racing will kill off brands of bikes who focus on gravity. How and why is that a good thing. Only a handful of people will benefit in profit, if it ever achieves that…doubtful. The parallels they are trying to achieve, come with way more unsavoury results for most of us. There is debate in Mx/Sx about, limiting teams and privateers. A few egos out there would love to be a team owner and have lots of the pie for themselves only, to the detriment to the sport. Its always an entity trying to get rich.
I wish people would quit using the F1 comparison. Supercross/MX is a little closer, but both are still worlds beyond where MTB is. Some quick googling...
I wish people would quit using the F1 comparison. Supercross/MX is a little closer, but both are still worlds beyond where MTB is. Some quick googling informs me that the 2024 F1 team budget is $135 million per year and that EXCLUDES driver salaries and the salaries of the three highest paid employees. A friend of mine worked for one of the top 450 teams in SX/MX and that was a $20 million/year operation which included the salary of two riders. Between the racing formats, they do what, 31 race weekends a year in moto?!?! 14 rounds in F1. And we get 7 rounds + World Champs??? I don't know all the financials of a World Cup program, but I suspect the top teams are in the $2-3 million range.
I'm not saying DH can't learn from these other series and maybe even copy some of the things they're doing, but the money involved in the sports is in no way comparable. So when I hear about these grand plans from WB et al, my first question is, "where's the money coming from?"
Think the current market will see a few teams disappear along with the new fees/legislation. Take a look at companies house…
Stevens-McNabb has been posting on his IG stories with a Trek Session with Trek Factory Racing stickers on it so that the move makes sense. Shaw to Norco makes a lot of sense too, Greg loved having him as a teammate. Vergier has just seemed off this year, the breakup with Trek seems like a done deal.
Just the front triangle is TFR , rear triangle is the Union colour scheme. Might have just needed a replacement front end in a hurry?
Frameworks will not keep Asa unless some angel investor comes into the sport like back when NYSE big wigs were tossing money at small 2 wheel brands pre-2008.
Big teams want the kid.
I would assume he's already got multiple contract offers.
Yeah that seemed to be the inevitable path from the start, right?
Per the Downtime, he's one of the subjects of this year's Race Tapes; really curious to see what they show regarding him being courted by other teams this season.
no independent brand wants any piece of this given the costs and horrible return, I don't think. We'll see a load of teams exit, as it can't make sense financially. And the idea of a strong continental series Sounds nice, but it will be bushiest of the bush leagues. I mean, solid for the athletes, but the coverage will be as it is now - almost nothing.
Warner Brothers Discovery is taking a massive financial hit in it's sports entities right now as well.
So a "feeder" series they won't film and yet will block outside filmers from covering and/or overcharge for rights to do so...not really set up for success.
Say Downhill Southeast wanted to tie into it. They'd be blocked from or charged to have any rights to film their own product. I'm certain the same would apply in Europe in terms of conflicts, price gouging or outright denial of access to film. Warner Bros would rather own & choke out filmers.
Asa will stay with Frameworks next year, but my guess is that he already signed for 2026 with another brand, a brand that already has the logo on the FW jerseys
WD-40 is getting into the mtb game, too? I bet their E-bike is going to be slick!
j/k
There is a Big Old "S" on that jersey
You can already see the drive towards live sports with NBC / Fox / Netflix with their motorsports, stick and ball, and their sports based docuseries (Drive to Survive... etc). I don't totally buy the AI thing as the classic sitcom / drama show has been declining for years.
I think Clay Harper nailed it on the head with the last Vital podcast. Red Bull / UCI saved the sport by producing the content for free and allowing for the top 10% of racers to enter. We have moved past that and its time to drive some real value by making a good in person and TV package. Its time to develop the top 1% of racers into a series that people that are not core fans can follow and enjoy.
No one that watches F1 owns a F1 car let alone a sports car but they sure enjoy watching it. The same can be said about MXGP / Pro Motocross. Right now I bet 95% of people watching a DH world cup have been to a lift access resort and I bet that is like 15% of people that even ride mountain bikes.
So yes there will be a lot of growing pains and things that we think are integral to the sport are going to be cut out of it and change but that maybe the cost of progress.
If the World Cup truly develops into an elite series there will be no other option then for regional and national series to develop into something worth funding and paying attention to for no other reason then these elite teams will need a place to farm new talen from.
Wanker ^^^
How may F1 copied sports series are we going to have in time? Go karting, RC cars, jet ski, snooker, chess, equestrian..
Any time Suits get involved, the sport as a whole suffers.
The beauty of our sport is, on their day any Top 50 rider can challenge a podium.
Do we have to vanilla everything?
I agree w/ @phillipmccavity And I know exactly zero people who watch F1. I've watched exactly zero F1 races. It's so unattainable. It's sterilized. It's boring.
It's actually a lot more healthy business wise than before the Liberty takeover...
5 real reasons dh will not be the next f1/supercross
1). Riding bikes in the woods is for nerds and hicks
2). F1/supercross was broadcast on tv world wide before a production mtb was ever sold. Main thing that introduces a kid to something is their parents or their friend’s parents by proxy.
3). Not head 2 head racing. But speaking part of the reason dh is so god damn fun is because you race the clock/track instead of your opponent I very much hope that never changes. But head 2 head is so much viewer friendly than watching 20 women and 30 dudes do the same exact run with mild variation for 3+hrs. Which is why all these changes to make a more mainstream friendly tv package is simply moronic. They were never going to watch the race. The vast majority of these “new mainstream f1 fans” only watch drive to survive and the occasional YouTube video.
4). Always going to sell more cars and motorcycles/outdoor equipment than Mtbs. Big companies find partners easier than small ones. Big operations can hire people to find more sponsor dollars rather than have a guy doing it on the side of his normal job. And it’s very cyclical. If redbull puts a helmet ona guy then monster will. It progressive sponsors a team then geico wants one. I don’t buy that these brands care about the tv package or team colors. They care about eyeballs and where their competition is getting them.
5). Eso is doing a very poor job with the industry and existing fans. Ultimately the number one thing that brings in new fans is participants and existing fans. Telling racers and fans alike to start paying more attention to their national series doesn’t seem like a winning formula to grow the world cup’s popularity.
Basically everything has been already said...
He was wrong about F1 not being profitable. Even the worst team in F1, HAAS has stated that being in F1 is profitable for them.
Yeah because you don't watch it you must be right, lol! 🤣 That's why the average F1 race has 400k attendance over a weekend, because it's so sterilized and boring.
It's profitable for every team because they share revenue. That's why the field is limited to 10 teams, nobody wants to share with more teams. Hence why Andretti was not allowed to join and why Renault will probably sell their team to andretti for more than $1B. BTW, Haas isn't the worst team, that would be Sauber which will become Audi in 2026.
With the budget cap F1 teams have become somewhat profitable (or at least not a money drain like they used to be), but the bigger point is the franchises became worth in the region of a billion dollars when you could previously buy an underperforming team for peanuts (Brawn bought it for 1 pound and convinced Honda to invest 120 million as that would have been the severance and closing-donw-business legal fees if they went forward with closing shop).
I wish people would quit using the F1 comparison. Supercross/MX is a little closer, but both are still worlds beyond where MTB is. Some quick googling informs me that the 2024 F1 team budget is $135 million per year and that EXCLUDES driver salaries and the salaries of the three highest paid employees. A friend of mine worked for one of the top 450 teams in SX/MX and that was a $20 million/year operation which included the salary of two riders. Between the racing formats, they do what, 31 race weekends a year in moto?!?! 14 rounds in F1. And we get 7 rounds + World Champs??? I don't know all the financials of a World Cup program, but I suspect the top teams are in the $2-3 million range.
I'm not saying DH can't learn from these other series and maybe even copy some of the things they're doing, but the money involved in the sports is in no way comparable. So when I hear about these grand plans from WB et al, my first question is, "where's the money coming from?"
I thought this was a team rumors chat, not an argument about what the sport is.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk.
Rumor is there ain't enough money out there for all these riders.
While I somewhat agree, these are things that are going to weigh heavily on the next 2-3 years of contracts and what teams exist moving forward. If a team isn't sure they have a place in a game, are they going to sign people for more than a year going into this season? Will they already be trimming heavily? Will another broadcaster finally pick up on smaller regional or national feeder series and make them something where people can eat and support racing locally which will actually increase competition? I think that the conversation above will have a very heavy place on this and next years team rumor threads
Asa to Red Bull or Monster?😏
Further, as DH specific bikes are niche. Going to set limited amount corporation teams, for DH racing will kill off brands of bikes who focus on gravity.
How and why is that a good thing. Only a handful of people will benefit in profit, if it ever achieves that…doubtful.
The parallels they are trying to achieve, come with way more unsavoury results for most of us.
There is debate in Mx/Sx about, limiting teams and privateers.
A few egos out there would love to be a team owner and have lots of the pie for themselves only, to the detriment to the sport.
Its always an entity trying to get rich.
There are 24 rounds of F1 not 14.
It's the end for us :
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