I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
Interviews. I think your access to all of the top racers would make for compelling content. Being able to hear from the racers directly and then see the results would help spectators create a narrative for the race (that we aren't really getting right now).
Maybe comparing sponsoring ews racers to other forms of marketing might help. Anyone remember the YT goat man short action film? Rumor was (in pb comments) that it cost nearly a million dollars (usd) to make. I think that's completely ridiculous, what could the ROI have been on that! I know that's a completely over the top example, but even much more humble ad campaigns cost money. For me, if I'm choosing between two bikes and one company sponsors mountain bikers to race ews and the other sponsors christopher walken.... I'll be choosing former.
Sorry im late to party...Someone said earlier in here about enduro being more 'relatable' to the consumer (consumer being the content watcher) and this is the...
Sorry im late to party...Someone said earlier in here about enduro being more 'relatable' to the consumer (consumer being the content watcher) and this is the argument i've heard, over and over and over "they ride the bikes we are selling". But why must 'relatable' be a selling point, 2 examples of completely non-relatable (Rampage for bikes and Formula 1 for cars) are things mortals can not do and in Rampage's case-the most watched MTB event in the world, and Formula 1 with an extremely high view rate.
Even take world cup DH, I see the viewership numbers they are pretty staggering (and multiple times more viewership than american supercross and certainly more than american outdoor motocross) and DH isn't exactly 'relatable' or even the 'bikes we sell'.
I guess the point is, every story can be told in a way that resonates with an audience, EWS just hasn't done it, yet. For me? it's been a bit too touristy, a bit too "were just having fun" and too many espressos. Someone also mentioned the Keene Redbull series, I don't recall the viewership on that, it might have been shit, but, the stories and insight were good, it showed me it's a serious sport, not just a bunch of guys and girls wasting their own money or their sponsors money.
As for ROI...well, the company I represent has some investment via athletes in EWS, when they win-we lean into it, when they have a shit weekend, it sucks, but, at the end of the day it's always told via marketing/sales strategies as the product we make has DNA/ethos/whatever buzzword from the high octane racing of EWS and UCI World Cup DH and World Cup BMX and that feedback, development, testing with these riders does count for something, as you all know they do things to gear/equipment that us mortals can't do....I mean, I ate shit friday after work, but that's not enough hahaha.
So tell us stikman! Does tld want to see way more betterer live race feeds from ews?
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
Wow. Never thought a top 3 guy (where ironically I know every part on his bike) would chime into this thread. First, I completely agree the risks & riding you guys are doing is absurd. Even the guy who gets like, 60th, is doing things that most of us in this forum can't fathom.
To be honest, (ironically) you were the only rider who has published anything I found entertaining. Your practice lap on the pro stage was great not just for the riding, but when you stopped and looked at a line, hiked up, rode it, and found time. I dig the cerebral side of the sport, and the vibes you pick up when chatting trailside figuring out whats what. Reminds me of what its like to be at a race (though as a riff raff rider, not a top rung pro).
The problem is, your plate is full. Its hard to stay focused as a racer, do all the little things right, then somehow also be this content powerhouse "on the side".
BTW, having been around this for a long time, if there is one thing that always seems to yield a lot of views, its talking gear. I'd suggest giving a 2 minute breakdown of how you are setting up your bike race to race, what you might be changing, why you are changing it, etc. People friggin love that stuff.
I'll stop there at risk of totally fanboing out on you
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
Wow. Never thought a top 3 guy (where ironically I know every part on his bike) would chime into this thread. First, I completely agree the...
Wow. Never thought a top 3 guy (where ironically I know every part on his bike) would chime into this thread. First, I completely agree the risks & riding you guys are doing is absurd. Even the guy who gets like, 60th, is doing things that most of us in this forum can't fathom.
To be honest, (ironically) you were the only rider who has published anything I found entertaining. Your practice lap on the pro stage was great not just for the riding, but when you stopped and looked at a line, hiked up, rode it, and found time. I dig the cerebral side of the sport, and the vibes you pick up when chatting trailside figuring out whats what. Reminds me of what its like to be at a race (though as a riff raff rider, not a top rung pro).
The problem is, your plate is full. Its hard to stay focused as a racer, do all the little things right, then somehow also be this content powerhouse "on the side".
BTW, having been around this for a long time, if there is one thing that always seems to yield a lot of views, its talking gear. I'd suggest giving a 2 minute breakdown of how you are setting up your bike race to race, what you might be changing, why you are changing it, etc. People friggin love that stuff.
I'll stop there at risk of totally fanboing out on you
Jesse, to piggyback off what Jeff said, I don't think we can fairly ask you to do anything more on race day.
I also agree that I rarely pass over a video on bike set-up; I loved the MGM Alternative testing videos, and your insights played a massive role in my choice for my current enduro race bike. I'd greatly appreciate an understanding of how you tune suspension, adjust tire pressure, and change tires to suit different courses.
To reiterate the first point, thanks so much for everything you already provide!
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
Stick to what you are already doing. Its honest, enjoyable to watch, and a great perspective. Most other guys that try to tell a story, more often than not, come across super cringy. As others have said, your stuff is about the only content (other than Vital RAW) that I can watch start to finish.
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
I look at like trying to capture Rally racing live which they still really haven't figured out yet or at least not that I have seen. The ROI is on results, race recaps and team videos. Now that excludes bike development and testing as important as well.
DH coverage is really good but even then how much do we see of that entire race 1min out of 5...
DH racing has qualifying and a race order as well so you have an expectation that as you go on the next guys/gals will be faster adding to that anticipation. Enduro has no set order of arrival as far as I know since there is no qualifying.
Larger field of competitors with over 100 in elite men in Enduro with only 60in the Men and they only tend to show top 40 on the live coverage.
I think the biggest thing ews racing brings to a brand is credibility. I also think win on Sunday and sell on Monday is a very real thing. Those top guys will always have a large value for brands. Jesse for example brings a lot of credibility to the quality of his sponsors products and by being a top 3 guy he also brings eyes that otherwise would not be paying attention to Rocky Mountain or race face. So I do think while direct roi may not be high enough to pay a top 20 guy a good salary it makes a lot of sense to get them enough of a budget they can train, travel comfortably, be race prepared with mechanics and part stock, and hope to crack into the cream of the crop. Also just fielding racing both at top level with pro teams and funding local race series gives brands tons of credibility with those who actually race. Which may not be a huge market, but it is a very committed and high spending one.
Keene’s Red Bull series was best ews coverage made, I think there is a great need in ews for quality productions like that. I also miss raw at ews.
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
I love the FPV videos that you and Jack put out, it really helps give a sense of the intensity. Besides making sure that the angle, resolution, and sound are OK (your latest ones seem to have that sorted), one suggestion would be to do a train of thought voiceover after the thought. It'd be cool to hear stuff like this section coming up is super tricky, OMG I was so gassed at this point, or I nailed that line there.
As terms of coverage, I'd echo what others have suggested that probably the best addition given the limitations for the format would be something like pre-race interviews focusing on how they're prepping with several of the top riders, and then paying the top riders to FPV film both practice and race, then release after-the-fact side by side analysis.
I think we are talking about 2 different independent topics here: the value of EWS as entertainment and supporting a EWS team as a sound investment.
I think Moutain bike marketing is really a regional business, people buy the bikes they see at their trailhead, the bike they see in the store, the bike the local pros are racing, and the bike their friends are riding.
That's why you see Spe and Santa Cruz in the bay area, Intense in Socal, Yeti in Colorado, Transition in PNW
(If I would be hired to promote a Mtb brand, that's where I would start: some grassroots effort in some Mtb hotbeds and hire one iconic worldwide figure).
Step2, for a brand to look competitive in their different markets, they need to demonstrate some more global/worldwide stance, such a brand would appear more credible, That's where having an EWS or WorldCup team can help. The exposition they are getting thru media at a specific event is not that relevant. These racers also bring value as ambassadors in the different communities they are visiting and they might be vectors to activate new regional markets, they can also double down as product testers, storytellers, etc.
Is it cost-effective to support an EWS team (that would strictly race only), above a threshold, and if the cost is low enough (meaning a low budget team for a big enough brand): yes. For everybody else, it's not and it's not sustainable.
The second topic is why the EWS media coverage sucks. I don't think the format really matters. The most popular sports are the most boring to watch (tennis, baseball, tour de France, Formula 1). I just think the execution has been crappy and the storytelling has been sub-par. The 2 reasons are: it's a young sport and it takes years to build name recognition and likeability for the different racers ( and the top racers have not been able to demonstrate a lot of charisma so far).
The series itself is lacking a title sponsor like Red Bull that would push the execution further because they have actually something to sell to the audience like some soda, cookies, chips, and cars (not necessarily just bike stuff).
If redemption was going to happen, I believe it would be with brands outside the industry to start being involved with EWS team and in the event broadcasting as Red Bull did.
As is EWS is doomed to a privateer/small team/ enthusiasts survival mode.
To rehash some of of the previous comments: Jesse you are doing a stellar job representing your sponsors! On race weekend your priority should be the result, not the videos. But this is where I think there is a huge disconnect for a lot of riders: why don't we see proper edits during the off season? Jesse and Richie seem to be the only one putting out quality edits, and Jesse and Jack are the only top guys with decent youtube channels. It fully blows my mind how little of some of the other top 20 we see in decent edits, with europeans being particularly guilty of this "I'm only paid to race" mentality.
Chiming in with the accepted stance here: while I'm always saying I'm not racing anymore (the 6 years of juniors XC was enough), this year will be the second year after 2020 with no racing since 2017 - all other years have had at least one multi-day race in them. I'm loving the experience, Enduro2 (racing in pairs, blind) is THE MOST AMAZING thing to do with a good friend of yours who is about as fast. Trans stuff is also amazing, a few days of racing coupled with a few days of hanging out with new people.
Watching/following EWS? Yawn. There's so much content about all possible things out there I can't really be bothered. Yeah, it's the most relatable form of racing for me. Literally THE form I like to do. But I don't follow it. I do follow DH racing a bit (having a few friends pumped for it and having a case of beer at stake in the fantasy league helps).
So yeah, it's WRC vs. F1. Actually went to watch WRC in Croatia a few months ago and it was insane. The noise and speed of the cars (and drivers!!) was amazing. But hiking and driving around for the whole day to see 5 Rally1 (and 30ish Rally2?) cars pass you three times... Yeah, done it, will see how many times I'll repeat that. And no, I do not religiously follow WRC otherwise, I have a look here and there if I see there's an event on.
F1? If I'm home, I watch the quallys and the race. If not, I watch the 10-ish minute YT recap of all the events afterwards. So exactly like DH and EWS. Hell, Le Mans 24h is more interesting to watch than WRC would be!
Could it be down to the fact that the competitors are not racing head to head (like in XC, F1, etc.), but at the same time the race is stretched out over multiple days (unlike with DH, alpine skiing, etc)?
Regarding privateers, just recently talking with someone who is involved with rallying this exact thing was mentioned - even top level Rally1 WRC is almost a passion project with some factory money thrown around and I'm guessing the push for Rally1 hybrid regulations, where the cars appear to be quite a bit cheaper than in previous years was done to ensure manufacturer participation. With three teams you can't afford to lose any participants...
Seeing what the pros can do on a bike is insane, confirmed. I had a great opportunity of that comparing my POV of last years Megavalanche with a colleague's who was just outside the top 10 in the end. Night and day. But still, I think catering to the average joe with the events could make sense in the long run when it comes to enduro. Cater to the masses paying the entry fees and make their time good. That's the best way to experience enduro if you ask me
EWS100 is a step in the right direction in that regard.
EDIT: @human powered suicide machine, I just now noticed your MTB fantasy league link. Case in point, where's the enduro fantasy? I almost said where's Pinkbike's only for me to check if there is one, lo and behold, there actually is!!
@jesse - so rad you chimed in. thank you! i selfishly hope you focus on racing and not vlogging/interviewing if your goal is podium contention and you're in your racing prime. let the media nerds and race organizers stay up late editing and uploading. your POVs are dialed.
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
As others have said, please don't do more on race day, it's hard enough to do what you're doing already. I've really enjoyed your off-season trail breakdowns from Squamish, and the MGM stuff was great. Bike setup vids would be awesome, especially different setups for varying tracks/conditions.
On a more general note, the thing that holds my attention is the ability to tell an engaging story without being over the top or saccharine. Cathro and Winton have this down pat. Lael Wilcox, Sofiane Sehili and a raft of ultra riders seem to manage it well (20+ hrs on a bike with no sleep leads to interesting narratives).
Ultimately, be yourself - engaging while having fun on bikes!
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane...
I have wondered this for a while as well.
If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race.
More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for the broadcast. All I heard from the EWS staff was that they were busy making a ton of coverage, but it didn't really show this weekend did it?
Having said that, I am curious if there are any suggestions for how I could help improve my coverage. I have largely stuck to my strict POV videos as I don't want to be taking too much away from my racing preparation. But maybe there is something else I can add in that would be easy for me and you would all think engaging.
I do have an idea already so hopefully I can find the space to trial it at the next race. First I have a world cup to watch!
My two cents here.
Jesse, I truly believe your current coverage, POV videos, plus the Jank of Flies & MGM series is one of the best out there from any rider. As others have said I believe on the race days you should focus on your racing, that is, if you want to be up there on the top3 and I believe you want it for sure. I think it is really hard to do a really good coverage and race at the same time. You then need to take some time from your rest and/or training time to edit those videos and at the same time during your practice/race days think on what content to record to then have a good video. But I could be mistaken ofc. If you want to add some juicy content, as someone mentioned, doing some tech videos on your bike setup (and ALN, Remi) for each specific race and why you choose it, that would be awesome. You could also do some live coverage on the trail head while waiting to start, but at the same time maybe you need to be focus and "in the zone" to get the best result so doing a live interview or comments at that point would not be your first priority.
As per the EWS coverage, my thoughts about it. I agree they could do better, this last "EWS Show" was exactly what others said, a mashup of other videos plus some extra bits. On a podcast 2 weeks ago with Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin they mentioned that this new "show" will go deeper into the race, and I quote "...tech deep dives, look at stuff that was slightly off, slightly corky, give more coverage to the U21, Masters, EWS100, EWS80..." showing what they usually couldn't show on the traditional "highlights" video. There is almost nothing of that on this first EWS Show vide, let's hope for the best and that their next one in Petzen/Jamnitza is better.
That said. It is hard to do something like the WCDH as on enduro you have +300 riders spread across aprox 40km in the middle of nowhere, usually on places that don't even have an easy access on a vehicle. Having X amount of cameras in the trails is a grueling task, talking about big rigs with big camers and tons of equipment. But then, as others mentioned, you can take advantage of current tech development, get couple of persons (with some knowledge of the race/riders) in the track and get interviews, get some raw footage (as per the always glorious VitalMTB RAW videos), put that together after the race and you will get something good. On top of that, give those same persons access to the IG account and let them do live retransmission whenever is possible. Dan Wolfe (irish rider) has been doing something like that for Pinkbike for a while, but at the end of the day, he is also a racer and needs to focus too on his racing. These days everyone expects to see the "right here right now" content so you can provide that with this setup. Yes, it will not be 4k and curated content, but I believe must of us don't care about that but we are more interested on getting more insights and direct content while the race its happening.
Then the live timing... no words to describe it, this latest change... what a piece of cr*p. I've been following the EWS since its beginning back in Punta Ala and going through their several iterations of trying to improve their website and the live timing. This last one, just wrong. Is slow, hard to understand, the live commentary gets deleted after a while so you can't check them if you log in after race started. Tons of errors on the page due to high concurrency access. But what do they think, that only couple of persons access the live timing? They have their stats from previous years (hope they have it) so they can plan accordingly and get a well built site plus underlying infrastructure to support this traffic (sorry, my inner database administrator talking through).
About ROI...hhmmm... vast majority of riders don't know what is the EWS or who is Jack Moir, Jesse, ALN, Katy Winton, Noga Korem, Jose Borges, etc, etc. Most of the riders out there are weekend warriors that only have couple of hours each week to spare on the bike, rest of their times they have family, kids and work to attend. We, writing on these forums, following the races, looking for every bit of information about the race, we are the minority. So I don't really see common persons that get into a bike shop for their first time saying "I want to buy Jesse Melamed's bike". What they may ask is "I want X, Y or Z bike that my adrenaline junkie friend recommended because he says that bike is fast as hell" and that friend, maybe, but not always, could be one of us. So yes, on that case you could say there is some ROI from the EWS races and sponsoring riders.
There is so much else that could be said. I've been myself following/covering the EWS for my own blog in Spanish for several years. I even took some time off from my software engineer work for couple of years (2016-18) and lived on my van to travel to as many races as I could. I did lots of live coverage from my own IG account, again, mostly in Spanish, but also in English. I was in Tweed Valley race past year, planned to be on this one too, but some health issues prevented that. Seeing how the EWS events developed from the first one in Punta Ala in 2013 to current ones, has been amazing but at the same time I can see that they could do so much better from the coverage point of view.
Squids to the rescue!! I also miss the slideshow with the voiceover, plus the race track preview by the Squids, so much fun and good laughs with those ones.
Boris! Boris!! Did you get the shot?!?! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Squids to the rescue!! I also miss the slideshow with the voiceover, plus the race track...
Boris! Boris!! Did you get the shot?!?!
Squids to the rescue!! I also miss the slideshow with the voiceover, plus the race track preview by the Squids, so much fun and good laughs with those ones.
Yes. All this talk about how to cover the EWS but the Squids have been doing the best job since whenever it was they started doing it... the track preview, the voiceover interviews, this recap-like vid, this is the best EWS content out there... I watch this I want to ride my bike, I want to watch these racers, the squids make the race fun and they make it interesting (I don't want to throw shade but fun and interesting are not words I would use to describe that ews show gmbn or whomever produced). Invest in the squids!
Brilliant stuff. Goes to show, we don't need full track coverage of every stage, just give us shots of a couple spicy bits of track (like 2:20-3:30 here).
I did like the old vids from EWS. But i think, as others have said, what kind of story do they(EWS) want to tell. I find that trying to compete with coverage, in time is not the way to go. The format does not lend it self to try to do a sort of DH coverage. The raw bits, interviews and squid-fun is way better. We, who love the sport and are total nerds, do not need the brake down of all the stages and sort of live through the stages. I think a lot of us read that through the result sheets.
I vote for raw bits, insights, interviews and carnage-sections. So what if it comes out a couple of days later, is there that much difference in it? I look at the results to find out who won, but I still want to know how or where. But the answers to those questions could be answered in many different ways.
Don't try to press the format into a cube it doesn't fit, make your own way, don't worry about that the coverage being in a form that "everybody" likes ( my teacher once said, if you formulate a sentence everybody likes, it doesn't say anything).
Brilliant stuff. Goes to show, we don't need full track coverage of every stage, just give us shots of a couple spicy bits of track (like...
Brilliant stuff. Goes to show, we don't need full track coverage of every stage, just give us shots of a couple spicy bits of track (like 2:20-3:30 here).
This is great, probably the best thing I've ever seen related to EWS...which is the problem. These are the fastest mountain bikers on the planet yet the product is a snooze!
I truly think the format just isn't a good match for live coverage yet, and I value live coverage over everything else. Great to participate in, fun to attend, but it's just too hard to make a great TV show out of it--the actual racing part, at least. Red Bull got the DH dialed in to a fantastic 2 hour TV show. Supercross is a tight MNF kickoff straight away with the first moto on the line within a minute. When it comes to live coverage, stage racing just ain't that!
May as well scrap the live timing until you can let me watch it live too. The year is 2022! I require all-day livestreams from every rider's helmet cams, let me choose between those and still cameras and drone feeds or I can also let some george michael sportsmachine moderators do the minority report ENHANCE there's been a crash on stage 4 Melamed has stopped to read a comic book...but right now these recap vids are pretty much reading a newspaper report from 2 months ago like some hot air balloon race in 1887. Weak.
The WRC format is the best we can expect right now (falling way short though). It'd be like Red Bull's DH coverage with clips of yesterday's and this morning's stages, hoping that Richie Rude hasn't already put a minute on these fools.
As for the question about whether it's worth it for sponsors?--I guess I'm saying no, it's not, because the product kinda sucks. Better off pushing to get your Kuwahara on next season of the HBO ET reboot or whatever.
I want to be a fan of the racing but I'm only into the vloggers right now. Doing the heavy lifting for the whole thing, sorta undercutting it at the same time.
I did like the old vids from EWS. But i think, as others have said, what kind of story do they(EWS) want to tell. I find...
I did like the old vids from EWS. But i think, as others have said, what kind of story do they(EWS) want to tell. I find that trying to compete with coverage, in time is not the way to go. The format does not lend it self to try to do a sort of DH coverage. The raw bits, interviews and squid-fun is way better. We, who love the sport and are total nerds, do not need the brake down of all the stages and sort of live through the stages. I think a lot of us read that through the result sheets.
I vote for raw bits, insights, interviews and carnage-sections. So what if it comes out a couple of days later, is there that much difference in it? I look at the results to find out who won, but I still want to know how or where. But the answers to those questions could be answered in many different ways.
Don't try to press the format into a cube it doesn't fit, make your own way, don't worry about that the coverage being in a form that "everybody" likes ( my teacher once said, if you formulate a sentence everybody likes, it doesn't say anything).
I've stayed up until 5am twice to watch the Whistler EWS livestream.
Both years it was boring and confusing,with a few fixed cameras on the last meters of the last stage.
If someone is willing to broadcast it, they have to do a way better job than that.
why we can't have nice things.
boris karate chopping trees, sven puking, the best action from the race that weekend and 1/4 the views of a spoof vid about whistle blowing. i'll never understand it. (and no, it's not only about view counts, but it sure is hard to see what goes big and what doesn't sometimes). RAW from EWS would be epic, but as it stands, we don't have budget for those either - not for a dedicated filmer to focus on that stuff.
i also received an interesting text today, anonymously (no not, sven or that crew), that mentioned there were significant changes (cuts) from the top down which meant the experienced filmers from the good seasons were not there b/c they weren't paid enough and bounced. sounds like a shoestring crew is in place and "you get what you pay for." they also said there isn't any kind of plan in strategy in place for filming and live stream trials weren't close to ready for primetime. i have no idea if any of this is true, but the product from tweed would indicate as much.
Just watched the DH WC race. I don't own a DH bike, I probably never will. I have walked a few courses and watched a few races in the flesh, it always boggles my mind how mental these courses are, you get no perspective on how insane and steep they are until you are watching someone fly down sections you'd be walking... never mind you can't walk down half of it, let alone up.
And at the end of 4 minute course, the top ten is within fractions of a second of each other which is bonkers to me. This is what makes DH special, and trying to push EWS into a similar format is never going to work unless they make it a long format, where you can follow riders like in WRC. You have no perspective where someone is or how they are doing, but maybe they need to try make it more like stage racing so at least you can follow how each rider is doing, run some splits along the course? GPS tracking? not like you get to see more than a few corners and crashes in WRC.
You can do some cool stuff with drones in small open sections without fucking up a run with a helicopter, but we are a jaded bunch, as long as the coverage is shit we won't watch so it won't justify investment. This is what scares me most as it should other fans of DH racing.... Red Bull, regardless of what you think of their product, does an amazing job of delivering for free something a (relatively) small community wants, and does it well. It makes me sad that that is all going to go out the window. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised, but more likely trying to find a way to even watch it here in Australia, because fuck knows how that will work.
Anyway, thank you Red Bull, Rob Warner et al. Thou shalt be missed.
My opinion, which as someone said, is worth as much as you paid for it.
why we can't have nice things.
[img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2022/06/10/12593/s1200_Screen_Shot_2022_06_10_at_5.03.19_PM.jpg[/img]
boris karate chopping trees, sven puking, the best action from the race that weekend and 1/4 the views of...
why we can't have nice things.
boris karate chopping trees, sven puking, the best action from the race that weekend and 1/4 the views of a spoof vid about whistle blowing. i'll never understand it. (and no, it's not only about view counts, but it sure is hard to see what goes big and what doesn't sometimes). RAW from EWS would be epic, but as it stands, we don't have budget for those either - not for a dedicated filmer to focus on that stuff.
i also received an interesting text today, anonymously (no not, sven or that crew), that mentioned there were significant changes (cuts) from the top down which meant the experienced filmers from the good seasons were not there b/c they weren't paid enough and bounced. sounds like a shoestring crew is in place and "you get what you pay for." they also said there isn't any kind of plan in strategy in place for filming and live stream trials weren't close to ready for primetime. i have no idea if any of this is true, but the product from tweed would indicate as much.
Makes sense re: budget cuts. The difference in post-race summary vid coverage this season has been the biggest thing I've noticed. They used to be awesome 20ish min videos with lots of on-track pro footage (not phone/dadcam), stage by stage, for the top females and males. It gave you a way to follow the race as it developed.
One thing people seem to have not grasped fully is that the EWS have essential "dumbed down" the sharp end of the race series to facilitate TV production.
The Pro-stage is all about TV, a stage that most often finishes near the paddock or a town, short enough to have multiple cameras placed on it and practiced once raced twice. So essential the pro stage idea was added to the racing to make TV. Like WRC has it's Power stage. Video the pro stage on Saturday, make a small live or Re-live show and then tell the story of the Sunday morning racing via social media. After that the races race the Pro-Stage again to finish the racing day and this like World Cup DH could be televised.
Obviously, course holds, schedule changes are just as likely for EWS as WCDH, but maybe harder to manage for EWS?
The possibility to televise and tell the EWS story is there and maybe this is why ESO want DH and EWS at the same venues? So they can use the DH/XCO TV equipment to televise EWS? As they know the viewing figures will not be there for EWS on it's own?
Sadly the addition of this Pro Stage ideas as really diluted what was once a physical and technically hard discipline. Now it's more of a riding not physical challenge. With 3 days to do a total of only ~2,500-3,000m of climbing and one stage you race twice, so the hours on the bike, the number of stages to learn etc... is greatly reduced compared to 2014-2018 seasons.
The racing is still great, but the visuals are poor compared to WCDH speeds and sadly for EWS it's always gonna be compared to DH.
What actually happens to EWS coverage and participation at the elite level now that ESO own DH, XCO and EWS is going to be interesting to see,
Sorry im late to party...Someone said earlier in here about enduro being more 'relatable' to the consumer (consumer being the content watcher) and this is the...
Sorry im late to party...Someone said earlier in here about enduro being more 'relatable' to the consumer (consumer being the content watcher) and this is the argument i've heard, over and over and over "they ride the bikes we are selling". But why must 'relatable' be a selling point, 2 examples of completely non-relatable (Rampage for bikes and Formula 1 for cars) are things mortals can not do and in Rampage's case-the most watched MTB event in the world, and Formula 1 with an extremely high view rate.
Even take world cup DH, I see the viewership numbers they are pretty staggering (and multiple times more viewership than american supercross and certainly more than american outdoor motocross) and DH isn't exactly 'relatable' or even the 'bikes we sell'.
I guess the point is, every story can be told in a way that resonates with an audience, EWS just hasn't done it, yet. For me? it's been a bit too touristy, a bit too "were just having fun" and too many espressos. Someone also mentioned the Keene Redbull series, I don't recall the viewership on that, it might have been shit, but, the stories and insight were good, it showed me it's a serious sport, not just a bunch of guys and girls wasting their own money or their sponsors money.
As for ROI...well, the company I represent has some investment via athletes in EWS, when they win-we lean into it, when they have a shit weekend, it sucks, but, at the end of the day it's always told via marketing/sales strategies as the product we make has DNA/ethos/whatever buzzword from the high octane racing of EWS and UCI World Cup DH and World Cup BMX and that feedback, development, testing with these riders does count for something, as you all know they do things to gear/equipment that us mortals can't do....I mean, I ate shit friday after work, but that's not enough hahaha.
That's interesting about the SX vs. RBTV DH viewing figures - is that domestic US viewership vs. Global RBTV figures?
Either way WCDH is watched the world over, and the web-player and phone app work perfectly, and come with stats etc...
The sad reality is a company like Discovery will not create a single point of viewing for WCDH or EWS coverage, they will sell it and distribute it to so many different platforms in different regions that the whole thing will lack the simple coherence RBTV provided.
Might be a saving grace for EWS coverage but a death kneel for DH?
To be honest, (ironically) you were the only rider who has published anything I found entertaining. Your practice lap on the pro stage was great not just for the riding, but when you stopped and looked at a line, hiked up, rode it, and found time. I dig the cerebral side of the sport, and the vibes you pick up when chatting trailside figuring out whats what. Reminds me of what its like to be at a race (though as a riff raff rider, not a top rung pro).
The problem is, your plate is full. Its hard to stay focused as a racer, do all the little things right, then somehow also be this content powerhouse "on the side".
BTW, having been around this for a long time, if there is one thing that always seems to yield a lot of views, its talking gear. I'd suggest giving a 2 minute breakdown of how you are setting up your bike race to race, what you might be changing, why you are changing it, etc. People friggin love that stuff.
I'll stop there at risk of totally fanboing out on you
I also agree that I rarely pass over a video on bike set-up; I loved the MGM Alternative testing videos, and your insights played a massive role in my choice for my current enduro race bike. I'd greatly appreciate an understanding of how you tune suspension, adjust tire pressure, and change tires to suit different courses.
To reiterate the first point, thanks so much for everything you already provide!
DH coverage is really good but even then how much do we see of that entire race 1min out of 5...
DH racing has qualifying and a race order as well so you have an expectation that as you go on the next guys/gals will be faster adding to that anticipation. Enduro has no set order of arrival as far as I know since there is no qualifying.
Larger field of competitors with over 100 in elite men in Enduro with only 60in the Men and they only tend to show top 40 on the live coverage.
Keene’s Red Bull series was best ews coverage made, I think there is a great need in ews for quality productions like that. I also miss raw at ews.
As terms of coverage, I'd echo what others have suggested that probably the best addition given the limitations for the format would be something like pre-race interviews focusing on how they're prepping with several of the top riders, and then paying the top riders to FPV film both practice and race, then release after-the-fact side by side analysis.
I think Moutain bike marketing is really a regional business, people buy the bikes they see at their trailhead, the bike they see in the store, the bike the local pros are racing, and the bike their friends are riding.
That's why you see Spe and Santa Cruz in the bay area, Intense in Socal, Yeti in Colorado, Transition in PNW
(If I would be hired to promote a Mtb brand, that's where I would start: some grassroots effort in some Mtb hotbeds and hire one iconic worldwide figure).
Step2, for a brand to look competitive in their different markets, they need to demonstrate some more global/worldwide stance, such a brand would appear more credible, That's where having an EWS or WorldCup team can help. The exposition they are getting thru media at a specific event is not that relevant. These racers also bring value as ambassadors in the different communities they are visiting and they might be vectors to activate new regional markets, they can also double down as product testers, storytellers, etc.
Is it cost-effective to support an EWS team (that would strictly race only), above a threshold, and if the cost is low enough (meaning a low budget team for a big enough brand): yes. For everybody else, it's not and it's not sustainable.
The second topic is why the EWS media coverage sucks. I don't think the format really matters. The most popular sports are the most boring to watch (tennis, baseball, tour de France, Formula 1). I just think the execution has been crappy and the storytelling has been sub-par. The 2 reasons are: it's a young sport and it takes years to build name recognition and likeability for the different racers ( and the top racers have not been able to demonstrate a lot of charisma so far).
The series itself is lacking a title sponsor like Red Bull that would push the execution further because they have actually something to sell to the audience like some soda, cookies, chips, and cars (not necessarily just bike stuff).
If redemption was going to happen, I believe it would be with brands outside the industry to start being involved with EWS team and in the event broadcasting as Red Bull did.
As is EWS is doomed to a privateer/small team/ enthusiasts survival mode.
Watching/following EWS? Yawn. There's so much content about all possible things out there I can't really be bothered. Yeah, it's the most relatable form of racing for me. Literally THE form I like to do. But I don't follow it. I do follow DH racing a bit (having a few friends pumped for it and having a case of beer at stake in the fantasy league helps).
So yeah, it's WRC vs. F1. Actually went to watch WRC in Croatia a few months ago and it was insane. The noise and speed of the cars (and drivers!!) was amazing. But hiking and driving around for the whole day to see 5 Rally1 (and 30ish Rally2?) cars pass you three times... Yeah, done it, will see how many times I'll repeat that. And no, I do not religiously follow WRC otherwise, I have a look here and there if I see there's an event on.
F1? If I'm home, I watch the quallys and the race. If not, I watch the 10-ish minute YT recap of all the events afterwards. So exactly like DH and EWS. Hell, Le Mans 24h is more interesting to watch than WRC would be!
Could it be down to the fact that the competitors are not racing head to head (like in XC, F1, etc.), but at the same time the race is stretched out over multiple days (unlike with DH, alpine skiing, etc)?
Regarding privateers, just recently talking with someone who is involved with rallying this exact thing was mentioned - even top level Rally1 WRC is almost a passion project with some factory money thrown around and I'm guessing the push for Rally1 hybrid regulations, where the cars appear to be quite a bit cheaper than in previous years was done to ensure manufacturer participation. With three teams you can't afford to lose any participants...
Seeing what the pros can do on a bike is insane, confirmed. I had a great opportunity of that comparing my POV of last years Megavalanche with a colleague's who was just outside the top 10 in the end. Night and day. But still, I think catering to the average joe with the events could make sense in the long run when it comes to enduro. Cater to the masses paying the entry fees and make their time good. That's the best way to experience enduro if you ask me
EWS100 is a step in the right direction in that regard.
EDIT: @human powered suicide machine, I just now noticed your MTB fantasy league link. Case in point, where's the enduro fantasy? I almost said where's Pinkbike's only for me to check if there is one, lo and behold, there actually is!!
On a more general note, the thing that holds my attention is the ability to tell an engaging story without being over the top or saccharine. Cathro and Winton have this down pat. Lael Wilcox, Sofiane Sehili and a raft of ultra riders seem to manage it well (20+ hrs on a bike with no sleep leads to interesting narratives).
Ultimately, be yourself - engaging while having fun on bikes!
Jesse, I truly believe your current coverage, POV videos, plus the Jank of Flies & MGM series is one of the best out there from any rider. As others have said I believe on the race days you should focus on your racing, that is, if you want to be up there on the top3 and I believe you want it for sure. I think it is really hard to do a really good coverage and race at the same time. You then need to take some time from your rest and/or training time to edit those videos and at the same time during your practice/race days think on what content to record to then have a good video. But I could be mistaken ofc. If you want to add some juicy content, as someone mentioned, doing some tech videos on your bike setup (and ALN, Remi) for each specific race and why you choose it, that would be awesome. You could also do some live coverage on the trail head while waiting to start, but at the same time maybe you need to be focus and "in the zone" to get the best result so doing a live interview or comments at that point would not be your first priority.
As per the EWS coverage, my thoughts about it. I agree they could do better, this last "EWS Show" was exactly what others said, a mashup of other videos plus some extra bits. On a podcast 2 weeks ago with Ruaridh Cunningham and Ric McLaughlin they mentioned that this new "show" will go deeper into the race, and I quote "...tech deep dives, look at stuff that was slightly off, slightly corky, give more coverage to the U21, Masters, EWS100, EWS80..." showing what they usually couldn't show on the traditional "highlights" video. There is almost nothing of that on this first EWS Show vide, let's hope for the best and that their next one in Petzen/Jamnitza is better.
That said. It is hard to do something like the WCDH as on enduro you have +300 riders spread across aprox 40km in the middle of nowhere, usually on places that don't even have an easy access on a vehicle. Having X amount of cameras in the trails is a grueling task, talking about big rigs with big camers and tons of equipment. But then, as others mentioned, you can take advantage of current tech development, get couple of persons (with some knowledge of the race/riders) in the track and get interviews, get some raw footage (as per the always glorious VitalMTB RAW videos), put that together after the race and you will get something good. On top of that, give those same persons access to the IG account and let them do live retransmission whenever is possible. Dan Wolfe (irish rider) has been doing something like that for Pinkbike for a while, but at the end of the day, he is also a racer and needs to focus too on his racing. These days everyone expects to see the "right here right now" content so you can provide that with this setup. Yes, it will not be 4k and curated content, but I believe must of us don't care about that but we are more interested on getting more insights and direct content while the race its happening.
Then the live timing... no words to describe it, this latest change... what a piece of cr*p. I've been following the EWS since its beginning back in Punta Ala and going through their several iterations of trying to improve their website and the live timing. This last one, just wrong. Is slow, hard to understand, the live commentary gets deleted after a while so you can't check them if you log in after race started. Tons of errors on the page due to high concurrency access. But what do they think, that only couple of persons access the live timing? They have their stats from previous years (hope they have it) so they can plan accordingly and get a well built site plus underlying infrastructure to support this traffic (sorry, my inner database administrator talking through).
About ROI...hhmmm... vast majority of riders don't know what is the EWS or who is Jack Moir, Jesse, ALN, Katy Winton, Noga Korem, Jose Borges, etc, etc. Most of the riders out there are weekend warriors that only have couple of hours each week to spare on the bike, rest of their times they have family, kids and work to attend. We, writing on these forums, following the races, looking for every bit of information about the race, we are the minority. So I don't really see common persons that get into a bike shop for their first time saying "I want to buy Jesse Melamed's bike". What they may ask is "I want X, Y or Z bike that my adrenaline junkie friend recommended because he says that bike is fast as hell" and that friend, maybe, but not always, could be one of us. So yes, on that case you could say there is some ROI from the EWS races and sponsoring riders.
There is so much else that could be said. I've been myself following/covering the EWS for my own blog in Spanish for several years. I even took some time off from my software engineer work for couple of years (2016-18) and lived on my van to travel to as many races as I could. I did lots of live coverage from my own IG account, again, mostly in Spanish, but also in English. I was in Tweed Valley race past year, planned to be on this one too, but some health issues prevented that. Seeing how the EWS events developed from the first one in Punta Ala in 2013 to current ones, has been amazing but at the same time I can see that they could do so much better from the coverage point of view.
...that was a lot of text...sorry guys
https://youtu.be/osJ0BV6GiX0
Squids to the rescue!! I also miss the slideshow with the voiceover, plus the race track preview by the Squids, so much fun and good laughs with those ones.
I vote for raw bits, insights, interviews and carnage-sections. So what if it comes out a couple of days later, is there that much difference in it? I look at the results to find out who won, but I still want to know how or where. But the answers to those questions could be answered in many different ways.
Don't try to press the format into a cube it doesn't fit, make your own way, don't worry about that the coverage being in a form that "everybody" likes ( my teacher once said, if you formulate a sentence everybody likes, it doesn't say anything).
I truly think the format just isn't a good match for live coverage yet, and I value live coverage over everything else. Great to participate in, fun to attend, but it's just too hard to make a great TV show out of it--the actual racing part, at least. Red Bull got the DH dialed in to a fantastic 2 hour TV show. Supercross is a tight MNF kickoff straight away with the first moto on the line within a minute. When it comes to live coverage, stage racing just ain't that!
May as well scrap the live timing until you can let me watch it live too. The year is 2022! I require all-day livestreams from every rider's helmet cams, let me choose between those and still cameras and drone feeds or I can also let some george michael sportsmachine moderators do the minority report ENHANCE there's been a crash on stage 4 Melamed has stopped to read a comic book...but right now these recap vids are pretty much reading a newspaper report from 2 months ago like some hot air balloon race in 1887. Weak.
The WRC format is the best we can expect right now (falling way short though). It'd be like Red Bull's DH coverage with clips of yesterday's and this morning's stages, hoping that Richie Rude hasn't already put a minute on these fools.
As for the question about whether it's worth it for sponsors?--I guess I'm saying no, it's not, because the product kinda sucks. Better off pushing to get your Kuwahara on next season of the HBO ET reboot or whatever.
I want to be a fan of the racing but I'm only into the vloggers right now. Doing the heavy lifting for the whole thing, sorta undercutting it at the same time.
And so it goes?
Hyped for Leogang LOL
Both years it was boring and confusing,with a few fixed cameras on the last meters of the last stage.
If someone is willing to broadcast it, they have to do a way better job than that.
boris karate chopping trees, sven puking, the best action from the race that weekend and 1/4 the views of a spoof vid about whistle blowing. i'll never understand it. (and no, it's not only about view counts, but it sure is hard to see what goes big and what doesn't sometimes). RAW from EWS would be epic, but as it stands, we don't have budget for those either - not for a dedicated filmer to focus on that stuff.
i also received an interesting text today, anonymously (no not, sven or that crew), that mentioned there were significant changes (cuts) from the top down which meant the experienced filmers from the good seasons were not there b/c they weren't paid enough and bounced. sounds like a shoestring crew is in place and "you get what you pay for." they also said there isn't any kind of plan in strategy in place for filming and live stream trials weren't close to ready for primetime. i have no idea if any of this is true, but the product from tweed would indicate as much.
And at the end of 4 minute course, the top ten is within fractions of a second of each other which is bonkers to me. This is what makes DH special, and trying to push EWS into a similar format is never going to work unless they make it a long format, where you can follow riders like in WRC. You have no perspective where someone is or how they are doing, but maybe they need to try make it more like stage racing so at least you can follow how each rider is doing, run some splits along the course? GPS tracking? not like you get to see more than a few corners and crashes in WRC.
You can do some cool stuff with drones in small open sections without fucking up a run with a helicopter, but we are a jaded bunch, as long as the coverage is shit we won't watch so it won't justify investment. This is what scares me most as it should other fans of DH racing.... Red Bull, regardless of what you think of their product, does an amazing job of delivering for free something a (relatively) small community wants, and does it well. It makes me sad that that is all going to go out the window. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised, but more likely trying to find a way to even watch it here in Australia, because fuck knows how that will work.
Anyway, thank you Red Bull, Rob Warner et al. Thou shalt be missed.
My opinion, which as someone said, is worth as much as you paid for it.
The Pro-stage is all about TV, a stage that most often finishes near the paddock or a town, short enough to have multiple cameras placed on it and practiced once raced twice. So essential the pro stage idea was added to the racing to make TV. Like WRC has it's Power stage. Video the pro stage on Saturday, make a small live or Re-live show and then tell the story of the Sunday morning racing via social media. After that the races race the Pro-Stage again to finish the racing day and this like World Cup DH could be televised.
Obviously, course holds, schedule changes are just as likely for EWS as WCDH, but maybe harder to manage for EWS?
The possibility to televise and tell the EWS story is there and maybe this is why ESO want DH and EWS at the same venues? So they can use the DH/XCO TV equipment to televise EWS? As they know the viewing figures will not be there for EWS on it's own?
Sadly the addition of this Pro Stage ideas as really diluted what was once a physical and technically hard discipline. Now it's more of a riding not physical challenge. With 3 days to do a total of only ~2,500-3,000m of climbing and one stage you race twice, so the hours on the bike, the number of stages to learn etc... is greatly reduced compared to 2014-2018 seasons.
The racing is still great, but the visuals are poor compared to WCDH speeds and sadly for EWS it's always gonna be compared to DH.
What actually happens to EWS coverage and participation at the elite level now that ESO own DH, XCO and EWS is going to be interesting to see,
Either way WCDH is watched the world over, and the web-player and phone app work perfectly, and come with stats etc...
The sad reality is a company like Discovery will not create a single point of viewing for WCDH or EWS coverage, they will sell it and distribute it to so many different platforms in different regions that the whole thing will lack the simple coherence RBTV provided.
Might be a saving grace for EWS coverage but a death kneel for DH?
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