2023 UCI Downhill/Enduro/XC mega thread

I probably resemble that. I’ve taken to doing a century about once a month on the hard tail. I also feel they are distinguished in that the down hill guys seem so much about survival. You can only go full bore down hill so much between falls. Having the muscle to sustain a high speed impact and still be ready for the next lap is very different than being able to maintain 400 watts for 20 minutes.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Finally got to sit down and watch Les Gets DH.

Awesome race. Good to have Hatton in the booth, although he's not nearly as good as Gwin. Still better than Cedric though. The drone footage was a bit overdone. Especially in the trees.

Psyched for Benoit. That guy's super consistent and he's been working his way up the ranks for years. It's cool that he's finally standing on top. He reminds me a bit of Brosnan in his prime. Super dialed, hits all his lines, and looks very in control.

This whole season is really good though. This is the first time in as long as I can remember that we haven't had a repeat winner yet. The racing is so much more interesting when there's a bunch of legitimate contenders. And the fight for the overall is tight - there's ~250 points separating the top 5 guys, and there's 400 points up for grabs at every race. The last couple rounds will be interesting.

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One DNF from Iles, Bruni, Goldstone, Benoit or Loris (consistently in the mix) and it's a big potential hit to their overall.

I think if they actually got one stretch the same for all of them in the trees and the guy in the truck actually knew when to switch to and from that camera the follow drone would be cool. Right now they only get it right a few times in a full day.

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Originally Posted by grskier

the follow drone would be cool.

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It’s literally nauseating to watch.



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Originally Posted by jm2e

It’s literally nauseating to watch.



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I'm saying it could be done well, that's all. They've shown they can do it, but only like 1/50 right now. Certainly not something I'd broadcast.

I actually like some of the drone footage. I find it gives perspective on how incredibly fast they are going that doesn't come through on the chest or helmet types of "go pro footage". So, of the alternatives, I like it better than the helmet cam. It certainly isn't causing me to tune out.

Ibis drops out of the EWS… will this be the first domino? I can’t imagine the investment comes close to paying off these days with the complete lack of visibility.

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Originally Posted by smmokan

Ibis drops out of the EWS… will this be the first domino? I can’t imagine the investment comes close to paying off these days with the complete lack of visibility.

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EWS/EDR is dead. They killed it. I mean it always was tough for coverage but the media used to be way better.

DH looks like maybe they can rebound as the coverage is improving. The field will be different though.

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Originally Posted by Eluder

EWS/EDR is dead. They killed it. I mean it always was tough for coverage but the media used to be way better.

DH looks like maybe they can rebound as the coverage is improving. The field will be different though.

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Yup.

And really, DH is on life support. Chris Ball is doing a really good job of fucking everything up by making all disciplines exceedingly expensive to compete in.

Another entity (Redbull, Crankworx, etc) has to start a competing league at some point, right? There's a better way to do this across the board with the flow of money/sponsorships, TV/media coverage, and the way things are run.

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Originally Posted by smmokan

Another entity (Redbull, Crankworx, etc) has to start a competing league at some point, right? There's a better way to do this across the board with the flow of money/sponsorships, TV/media coverage, and the way things are run.

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I was wondering if Redbull's continued presence with Rob and Eliot was either for picking up the pieces or to gauge the crankworx/redbull hardline, plus a few other events a year league.

Crankworx is potentially a viable series, but it doesn't really matter until the factory teams view it as prestigious. You can have the best race series with awesome venues and great coverage, but none of that matters if the teams aren't sending their top talent to those races. It's kind of a chicken and egg thing - a legit alternate race series can't exist until top racers go to it, but top racers won't go to it until it's legit. Really, I think for an alternate race series to take off, it'd need a substantial influx of cash to get it rolling. See, for example: Liv Golf.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Crankworx is potentially a viable series, but it doesn't really matter until the factory teams view it as prestigious. You can have the best race series with awesome venues and great coverage, but none of that matters if the teams aren't sending their top talent to those races. It's kind of a chicken and egg thing - a legit alternate race series can't exist until top racers go to it, but top racers won't go to it until it's legit. Really, I think for an alternate race series to take off, it'd need a substantial influx of cash to get it rolling. See, for example: Liv Golf.

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We just need MTB to take off in the United Arab Emirates

Indoor enduro makes sense.

Could put a DH course in the Burj Khalif.

Just spitballing here

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Originally Posted by grskier

We just need MTB to take off in the United Arab Emirates

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https://www.trailforks.com/region/mushrif-park-56233/

I hear blue trail #6 is rowdy AF.

https://www.timeoutdubai.com/news/mo...-national-park

when anything and everything was “epic”

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Originally Posted by bennymac

https://www.timeoutdubai.com/news/mo...-national-park

when anything and everything was “epic”

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Lulz

"The first phase of the winding Mushrif National Park mountain bike trail can accommodate 3,000 riders per day, and is a healthy 3m wide to ensure you and your bike gang can ride in tandem."

Part of me wants to go to Dubai to experience all this ridiculousness.

But part of me also feels like I’d just be helping hammer in another nail into the climate change coffin.

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Originally Posted by Canada1

I actually like some of the drone footage. I find it gives perspective on how incredibly fast they are going that doesn't come through on the chest or helmet types of "go pro footage". So, of the alternatives, I like it better than the helmet cam. It certainly isn't causing me to tune out.

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Devinci also throws in the towel: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/devinc...ro-racing.html.

edit: I meant to quote Smmokan. You get the point.

I dont know what happened at devinci over the years but its like they keep zhooting themselves in the foot. They had a killer dh bike , team and people were buying them big time. Carbon price was inline with other companies and all their alloy bikes, made in house, were priced extremely well. Totally ditched dh bikes, team , clean lines on the rest of their bikes and maybe designers? Idk and cranked the prices up. They seem a step behind the times. Rocky too. Ditch the dh bike, team, crank up prices and possibly now ditch the enduro team . Not sure how that business model is supposed to remain competitive.
I like that new hp spartan and a number of the rockies but at those price points i just can't

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Wonder if something like the Lifetime race series could work for DH and/or Enduro. I think it would be badass if they did an enduro-focused series that was a mix of single day, 2-day, and longer stage races to balance things out and really showcase different areas. It certainly seems to be working for endurance/gravel over the last two years.

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Originally Posted by grinch

I dont know what happened at devinci over the years but its like they keep zhooting themselves in the foot. They had a killer dh bike , team and people were buying them big time. Carbon price was inline with other companies and all their alloy bikes, made in house, were priced extremely well. Totally ditched dh bikes, team , clean lines on the rest of their bikes and maybe designers? Idk and cranked the prices up. They seem a step behind the times. Rocky too. Ditch the dh bike, team, crank up prices and possibly now ditch the enduro team . Not sure how that business model is supposed to remain competitive.
I like that new hp spartan and a number of the rockies but at those price points i just can't

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I think the majority of devinci's income comes from non-bike work. They're a metal fabrication company that makes bikes on the side.

They're certainly a big enough bike company that some jobs will be lost if the bike side of things folds. But my understanding is that the corporate higher ups are probably mostly concerned with other income streams.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

I think the majority of devinci's income comes from non-bike work. They're a metal fabrication company that makes bikes on the side.

They're certainly a big enough bike company that some jobs will be lost if the bike side of things folds. But my understanding is that the corporate higher ups are probably mostly concerned with other income streams.

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Oh i didnt know that. I thought they were just ccm, rocky mt, devinci group. After chainsaw passed it was almost like they just started coasting

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Super fun to ride dh all day at Killington and then watch the fox us open men's open class. Saw minaar, Goldstone, Norton, and others racing.

Dakota Norton on his way to.....?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1a8664ce38.jpg

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Stoked for Dak.
Weird perspective in that pic makes it look like he’s rocking a 26/27.5 mullet.


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Originally Posted by jm2e

Stoked for Dak.
Weird perspective in that pic makes it look like he’s rocking a 26/27.5 mullet.


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Cropped from video.

The difference in precision between the top world cup guys and everyone else was insane. Minaar, Goldstone, Dak all on another level of smoothness and quietness.

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