2021 Mountain Bike Team Rumors

danposs86
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153
Joined
11/23/2018
Location
GB
4/1/2021 8:28am
Maxipedia wrote:
Tahnee on Fox goggles, pretty predictable.
There is a photos of her using Fox goggles 6 weeks ago at least, just been made official now?
jeff.brines
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933
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8/29/2010
Location
Grand Junction, CO US
4/1/2021 8:57am
danposs86 wrote:
Fort William 2021 has been cancelled:
https://fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk/

(Granted not a team rumour)
This is surprising to me.

66M people in the UK. 4K new cases everyday. About half the population has at least one dose of the vaccine (which is showing to work pretty well, even without the booster).

Add to that number the subset that has already had it and the further roll out of the vaccine over the month of April and I have to think they could have had the race with very (very) minimal risk.

This isn't COVID from March of 2020. Its now April 2021. We have a vaccine, we understand how to treat it, the case fatality rate continues to fall.

We have to make decisions with the most up to date information, not in a state of perpetual fear.

What am I missing>?
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sspomer
Posts
5068
Joined
6/26/2009
Location
Boise, ID US
4/1/2021 9:13am
danposs86 wrote:
Fort William 2021 has been cancelled:
https://fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk/

(Granted not a team rumour)
This is surprising to me. 66M people in the UK. 4K new cases everyday. About half the population has at least one dose of the vaccine...
This is surprising to me.

66M people in the UK. 4K new cases everyday. About half the population has at least one dose of the vaccine (which is showing to work pretty well, even without the booster).

Add to that number the subset that has already had it and the further roll out of the vaccine over the month of April and I have to think they could have had the race with very (very) minimal risk.

This isn't COVID from March of 2020. Its now April 2021. We have a vaccine, we understand how to treat it, the case fatality rate continues to fall.

We have to make decisions with the most up to date information, not in a state of perpetual fear.

What am I missing>?
$$$?
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Masjo
Posts
210
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Location
Ancaster CA
4/1/2021 10:08am
"Options for a later date are still being examined with a final decision to be announced in the next few weeks."
There is still hope for the event to happen this year. It would be a massive disappointment for Reece to be wearing the rainbow stripes and not be able to race in his home country.
I'm sure money is a part of it, but there are race cancellations going on elsewhere in Europe. Many have been postponed already and just not talked about as much as they are not high profile races. Paris-Roubaix was recently postponed, and that is probably the biggest one-day classic/monument on the road cycling calendar. The original race date was allegedly stopped by the local prefect (even though soccer/football was still ongoing) though France's national lockdown is probably also partly to blame.
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4/1/2021 10:14am
It's obviously a money thing. Road racing containing on all across Europe.
Except they just cancelled Paris-Roubaix.

I think part of the justification for cancelling some of the road races lately was that they couldn't stop people from lining the streets. But it would seem like they could close Ft. William to the public and focus on making it a fuller, more robust streaming production.

Maybe they cancelled it because none of the teams will have their bikes by then? Cool
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4/1/2021 10:20am
I’d highly question if ft bill has anything to gain by holding a spectatorless event. Probably simply too many headaches and issues between government and uci to make the event go without the influx of cash to local economy.
2
4/1/2021 10:40am
Except they just cancelled Paris-Roubaix. I think part of the justification for cancelling some of the road races lately was that they couldn't stop people from...
Except they just cancelled Paris-Roubaix.

I think part of the justification for cancelling some of the road races lately was that they couldn't stop people from lining the streets. But it would seem like they could close Ft. William to the public and focus on making it a fuller, more robust streaming production.

Maybe they cancelled it because none of the teams will have their bikes by then? Cool
Yes, the first road race of 2021 to be rescheduled.

There have been a ton of world tour and non world tour races already this year. In Europe and some in the middle east. And, Paris Roubaix is over 100+ miles of roads and involves thousands of support staff, police, shut roads, a velodrome and yes, hundreds of thousands of people line the streets.

No comparison to a MTB race at a controllable venue. MTB racing is far safer and easier to manage with tiny (by comparison crowds) in often private venues. But races getting canceled because there's just not enough money to manage the Covid restrictions and still keep fans away. With road cycling the money is in the TV contracts. Same with motocross which is running full gazz now too.

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4/1/2021 11:01am
danposs86 wrote:
Fort William 2021 has been cancelled:
https://fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk/

(Granted not a team rumour)
This is surprising to me. 66M people in the UK. 4K new cases everyday. About half the population has at least one dose of the vaccine...
This is surprising to me.

66M people in the UK. 4K new cases everyday. About half the population has at least one dose of the vaccine (which is showing to work pretty well, even without the booster).

Add to that number the subset that has already had it and the further roll out of the vaccine over the month of April and I have to think they could have had the race with very (very) minimal risk.

This isn't COVID from March of 2020. Its now April 2021. We have a vaccine, we understand how to treat it, the case fatality rate continues to fall.

We have to make decisions with the most up to date information, not in a state of perpetual fear.

What am I missing>?
Scotland is the most cautious in their approach to the pandemic in terms of the four nations, its not surprising they are still cautious about this! You also have to understand that the hospitals in the highlands are small and serve a huge area. You can't have a massive influx of people and expect their hospitals to cope with both injuries from the WC as well as the increase number of infections. Vaccine rollout is all well and good, but there are still many unknowns about the effectiveness of vaccine cover from mutated forms of the virus, especially from athletes/spectators travelling from outside of the UK. Additionally cases in Europe are rising again - not fear mongering, just a sensible approach that differs to the American approach....

As mentioned, its likely the highlands and islands council will dictate what can and cannot be arranged as well. It may not be wholly up to Nevis range/organisers.
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1
MiSo11
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Location
Denver, CO US
4/1/2021 11:04am
I’d highly question if ft bill has anything to gain by holding a spectatorless event. Probably simply too many headaches and issues between government and uci...
I’d highly question if ft bill has anything to gain by holding a spectatorless event. Probably simply too many headaches and issues between government and uci to make the event go without the influx of cash to local economy.
I tend to agree with this assumption and would also venture a guess it has to do with international travel restrictions and/or getting exemptions to the current international travel restrictions. If they are going to make less $$$ without fans and/or incur a higher cost to improve the video feeds, the organizers probably feel it isn't worth the headache.

Which is a bummer for us racing fans
Primoz
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SI
4/1/2021 11:13am
This is a reply to Jeff's post, but I won't quote it to prevent a wall of text.

Well the UK is going ahead with vaccinations very strongly, but it's a beacon of light in an otherwise very dark world. Worldwide travel is still very much something that is far from easy, so that might play into the decision a lot?

Jeff you mentioned 4k cases per day with 66 million inhabitants. In Slovenia (granted, one of the worse-off countries in Europe lately) we have just passed back over 1000 new cases per day on Tuesday (this is a 7-day rolling average, mind you) after a low low of just under 700 3 weeks ago and the absolute daily peak of 3500 around January 1st. And we have entered a 'stringent lockdown' (it's actually a joke and something that makes it seem the joke of our government is doing something, while at the same time doing diddly squat) until 12th in an effort to take the number of new cases down a bit, since apparently the 'UK strain' is rampant now.

So it might be a consequence of the worldwide situation as opposed to the local situation.
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Maxipedia
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Location
Brașov RO
4/1/2021 1:56pm
danposs86 wrote:
There is a photos of her using Fox goggles 6 weeks ago at least, just been made official now?
I haven't seen them until now.
trpfanboy
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Sebastian, TX US
4/2/2021 7:03am
Brett Rheeder off Fox suspension, didn't like the terms with Marzocchi, will be running a variety of different suspension setups to find what he likes. His DJ is on an Öhlins fork, though it looks like a dps in the rear. He also confirmed he has some stuff from Intend and EXT.
4
metadave
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CA
4/4/2021 8:27pm
I feel like she's making a point with what she's doing, and it's likely it's been with support by whoever is backing her. I feel like the average joe is about to get a lesson on the behind the scenes world of how racing works.
6
brash
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AU
4/4/2021 11:10pm
ehhh I dunno, she says she waited for Trek to tell her they wouldn't be renewing before putting feelers out, rather than pro-actively looking for a deal whilst under contract. A bold strategy that didn't pay off unfortunately.

In racing, no one owes you anything!
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5
mwolpin
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Kenmore, WA US
4/5/2021 7:21am
brash wrote:
ehhh I dunno, she says she waited for Trek to tell her they wouldn't be renewing before putting feelers out, rather than pro-actively looking for a...
ehhh I dunno, she says she waited for Trek to tell her they wouldn't be renewing before putting feelers out, rather than pro-actively looking for a deal whilst under contract. A bold strategy that didn't pay off unfortunately.

In racing, no one owes you anything!
There’s definitely two sides here and I think she covered them both. The raw emotion and honesty from Katy is eye opening to a lot of people who think the sponsored life is easy. Huge props for her not hiding it.

On one hand, I think she’s placing more blame on herself for not being proactive. However, seeing what happened in the offseason, I personally can’t help but think Trek was not as upfront and honest with her. Yes, it’s a business, but to not be upfront with her - someone who has consistently performed (maybe more so than any other Trek gravity athlete) - seems pretty bad. The whole “let’s wait and see after the season” delay, then sign two massive DH riders and only to say, “sorry, we don’t have budget” reflects poorly on Trek.

It also raises questions about where they think they’ll sell bikes. Investing so heavily on the DH side - remember Reese also signed a big extension - which doesn’t sell much bikes and ignoring the Enduro team, which is a bike built for more people, seems like it will deliver much in return.
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4/5/2021 8:29am
mwolpin wrote:
There’s definitely two sides here and I think she covered them both. The raw emotion and honesty from Katy is eye opening to a lot of...
There’s definitely two sides here and I think she covered them both. The raw emotion and honesty from Katy is eye opening to a lot of people who think the sponsored life is easy. Huge props for her not hiding it.

On one hand, I think she’s placing more blame on herself for not being proactive. However, seeing what happened in the offseason, I personally can’t help but think Trek was not as upfront and honest with her. Yes, it’s a business, but to not be upfront with her - someone who has consistently performed (maybe more so than any other Trek gravity athlete) - seems pretty bad. The whole “let’s wait and see after the season” delay, then sign two massive DH riders and only to say, “sorry, we don’t have budget” reflects poorly on Trek.

It also raises questions about where they think they’ll sell bikes. Investing so heavily on the DH side - remember Reese also signed a big extension - which doesn’t sell much bikes and ignoring the Enduro team, which is a bike built for more people, seems like it will deliver much in return.
I agree with you on the she is saying she should have been more proactive about looking ahead of rime. I think it's commendable on her behalf to take that attitude..

If the Loris or Vali deals fell through, maybe it would have changed things for her.. I think I recall reading that Reece was on a contract year.. If he didn't win the worlds, he might be the one shopping for a new ride.. How much more heat would Trek be getting for letting the world champ go? Remember what happened with Specialized and Kate Kourtney? Also, if you were in Treks position, would pass up the opportunity to get two of the highest profile racers out there right now?

As for bike sales, enduro bikes out sell DH bikes big time. I don't think any of the big companies are in the DH game for bike sales.. Mostly exposure and marketing mixed in with some R&D.. The biggest knock against enduro is that it's too hard to give it coverage like DH.. Also, I still think we will be seeing some events cut from the calendar this year again.. Hard to load up too much on racers that might not be racing..

Another of people talking about Trek having record sales numbers, but those numbers aren't staying consistent. They are selling everything they can get, but there's also a lot of uncertainty as to when the next shipment of bikes will be available. Lead times on the new Session are already getting out there..
4/5/2021 10:07am
Yes, I think Reece winning worlds meant the end for Katy. My guess is they went deep in the funds to pay for Loris and Val (and Jolanda already) and planned to not re-sign Reece and keep Katy. However, he won worlds, has to be renewed which was costly and that extra money had to come from somewhere. So Katy didn't get renewed. I would bet Reece's 'bump' up in annual salary after a worlds win (plus worlds bonus) was most of, if not all, of Katy's annual salary.


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4/5/2021 3:06pm
That's why many pros have agents or managers to handle that stuff.. Some people don't want to be talking numbers and such.. It sounds like Katy is taking this as a learning experience and most likely will be proactive next time a contract year comes around..
jonkranked
Posts
859
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5/5/2016
Location
Norristown, PA US
4/5/2021 7:03pm
I agree with you on the she is saying she should have been more proactive about looking ahead of rime. I think it's commendable on her...
I agree with you on the she is saying she should have been more proactive about looking ahead of rime. I think it's commendable on her behalf to take that attitude..

If the Loris or Vali deals fell through, maybe it would have changed things for her.. I think I recall reading that Reece was on a contract year.. If he didn't win the worlds, he might be the one shopping for a new ride.. How much more heat would Trek be getting for letting the world champ go? Remember what happened with Specialized and Kate Kourtney? Also, if you were in Treks position, would pass up the opportunity to get two of the highest profile racers out there right now?

As for bike sales, enduro bikes out sell DH bikes big time. I don't think any of the big companies are in the DH game for bike sales.. Mostly exposure and marketing mixed in with some R&D.. The biggest knock against enduro is that it's too hard to give it coverage like DH.. Also, I still think we will be seeing some events cut from the calendar this year again.. Hard to load up too much on racers that might not be racing..

Another of people talking about Trek having record sales numbers, but those numbers aren't staying consistent. They are selling everything they can get, but there's also a lot of uncertainty as to when the next shipment of bikes will be available. Lead times on the new Session are already getting out there..
maybe i'm not remembering correctly, but I seem to recall hearing that KC's deal with Scott was already in the works before she won worlds. was that not the case?
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4/5/2021 8:36pm Edited Date/Time 4/7/2021 8:19am
jonkranked wrote:
maybe i'm not remembering correctly, but I seem to recall hearing that KC's deal with Scott was already in the works before she won worlds. was...
maybe i'm not remembering correctly, but I seem to recall hearing that KC's deal with Scott was already in the works before she won worlds. was that not the case?
Could have been... The way it read out to me was Specialized told Kate early on that she wasn't getting a new contract... So, she was already shopping before she won the worlds.. That win had to up her asking price and made Specialized look bad by not keeping her... It would have been good of Trek to let Katy know ASAP that they planned on not offering her a new deal..
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dolface
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1359
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10/26/2015
Location
CA US
4/6/2021 6:49am
jonkranked wrote:
maybe i'm not remembering correctly, but I seem to recall hearing that KC's deal with Scott was already in the works before she won worlds. was...
maybe i'm not remembering correctly, but I seem to recall hearing that KC's deal with Scott was already in the works before she won worlds. was that not the case?
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