Read on UCI IG comments, I thought it was hilarious:
"2026 schedule is just Loic doing solo runs at home while being followed by a drone flown by Cedric"
It might even finally become a Toyota commercial...
Broke out DH rounds, dates and countries. Poland should be rad!
May 3-5, Fort William, Scotland
May 17-19, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
June 7-9, Leogang, Austria
June 14-16...
Broke out DH rounds, dates and countries. Poland should be rad!
May 3-5, Fort William, Scotland
May 17-19, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
June 7-9, Leogang, Austria
June 14-16, Val di Sole, Italy
June 28-July 7, Les Gets, France (not sure which weekend DH falls on)
September 6-8, Loudenvielle, France
October 4-6, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada
World Champs is Andorra, August 26-September 1 before Loudenvielle
Our physios are Polish so we have been looking forward to Bielsko-Biala. Going to be a hike from Ft William...
That polish round should be good. Definitely a country to visit. Good food, great outdoors and on top of that good prices like in every eastern european country
.
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup...
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
Do we know it's beneficial? I have no idea how much you have to pay the UCI and what the infra requirements are but I bet it's not cheap.
Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will weigh in.
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup...
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
Do we know it's beneficial? I have no idea how much you have to pay the UCI and what the infra requirements are but I bet...
Do we know it's beneficial? I have no idea how much you have to pay the UCI and what the infra requirements are but I bet it's not cheap.
Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will weigh in.
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup...
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito...
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
I would talk with Jeremiah from Team Trail Party. He's the one who's organized all the DHR and TTP races (at Angelfire, Pajarito, Durango, etc..). He's extremely passionate about gravity racing in the US (and especially West of the Mississippi).
Genuine question: do we know why snowshoe is not on the calendar this year? Is it a decision from snowshoe or from UCI or ...?
I most definitely do NOT know the answer to this, but while I was there this year more than one local told me the WC weekend is Snowshoe's busiest / most profitable weekend of the entire year.
Broke out DH rounds, dates and countries. Poland should be rad!
May 3-5, Fort William, Scotland
May 17-19, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
June 7-9, Leogang, Austria
June 14-16...
Broke out DH rounds, dates and countries. Poland should be rad!
May 3-5, Fort William, Scotland
May 17-19, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
June 7-9, Leogang, Austria
June 14-16, Val di Sole, Italy
June 28-July 7, Les Gets, France (not sure which weekend DH falls on)
September 6-8, Loudenvielle, France
October 4-6, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada
World Champs is Andorra, August 26-September 1 before Loudenvielle
Here's an idea: The UCI put forward 20 tracks between April and October (or before or after these months due to better weather in different counties) and it gets sent out to the riders, then the riders pick 10 rounds for the year that they want to race, vote get counted and there are your 10 rounds of racing that everyone would be happy with ?
In failing that bring back a NORBA series, no wonder teams are pulling out of racing why would you pay someone to race when there is hardly any racing happening on the biggest stage, I know there is training and getting over injuries but every sport has to deal with that but having a break between October and May is crazy for biggest championship in the world that riders what to be racing in.
Was hoping for a new us dh round. Maybe I’ll make the trip to msa next year.
Yeah man me too. I wish the US had a series that could rival the World Cup. I often wonder what it’d take to do so and think, if I won the $1bn+ lottery could I just make a race series ro pull top teams/riders from the WC.
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup...
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
Resorts in the US get very little in return for hosting an event at this scale. It is a huge undertaking and extremely costly. Plus the US doesn't have government programs helping cover the cost of hosting a World Cup. Take France for example, specifically Les Gets. The entire town basically shuts down so we can have a world cup. Their government sees the penalty of disrupting logistics for an extended weekend and cost of hosting an investment into increased tourism in the future.
I most definitely do NOT know the answer to this, but while I was there this year more than one local told me the WC weekend...
I most definitely do NOT know the answer to this, but while I was there this year more than one local told me the WC weekend is Snowshoe's busiest / most profitable weekend of the entire year.
Nah, not even close. Peanuts compared to what they do over a holiday weekend in the winter.
Yeah I thought about the travel distance aswell, 27 hour drive right at the start of the season
It's more about just getting through the tunnel, setting up in bad weather, breaking down in bad weather, back through the UK and the tunnel, then pretty far east at 80klm an hour... Not complaining because we have it pretty easy being based in NE France but not all teams are as fortunate. I will say I'm happy to start the season on a tame track like Ft William instead of Lenzerheide...
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito...
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
I can't agree more with this, except for a few infrastructure short comings on the mountain at Sandia but ABQ is an actual city to support the influx of people. It's a chicken and the egg problem that has plagued Sandia, winters are inconsistent at best but the focus is winter sports with we will concentrate on bikes "next year". It sux and its hurt my feelings for more years than I would like to admit.
The expansion of our most established Downhill event, Red Bull Hardline lands on the shores of Tasmania in 2024.The iconic Wales edition will return for it's 10 year anniversary later in June.
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup...
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito...
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
Wow thats good to know! Haven't ridden sandia since 2012 when we lived there. Hope they start cutting some good trails up in the ABQ. City could use the good vibes.
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito...
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
Wow thats good to know! Haven't ridden sandia since 2012 when we lived there. Hope they start cutting some good trails up in the ABQ. City...
Wow thats good to know! Haven't ridden sandia since 2012 when we lived there. Hope they start cutting some good trails up in the ABQ. City could use the good vibes.
I remember hiking around Sandia back in 92-93 thinking how much fun it would be to have mountain bike trails running there. while at UNM.
On another foot, DH AND Enduro rock. Why put it out to pasture. Many ideas have been given on ways to film that hold water. Heck, use drones that are tethered to riders for crying out loud.
It took a bit of digging on the UCI website but it sounds like the host is only responsible for the calendar fees and the prize money which are not that crazy: (https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/4V9c9rytuA8x4UQqI2c1Bq/f26fbd…
and htps://downloads.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/6o8yjhJhjRYuYuaJvAQ4Ng/5151c0815dd56e41d5cb3d6af3837cca/ProcedureENG.pdf)
Obviously, the host and the promoter (ESO) are also responsible for all the logistics but it should not be that different than other race promoters out there that operate on shoestrings and volunteers.
UCI also published studies about their event's impacts (https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/5vfgNQ6Fu108U3X4FdUaSj/d240f9…)
Even if all that is half true, it should not be impossible to find more venues internationally.
The past has seen many places that are not high-caliber rich mountain resorts (Loudenvielle, La Bresse, Metabief, and many more)
If the cost is not the problem, there may be a lack of motivation to organize anything outside of western Europe.
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito...
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
I can't agree more with this, except for a few infrastructure short comings on the mountain at Sandia but ABQ is an actual city to support...
I can't agree more with this, except for a few infrastructure short comings on the mountain at Sandia but ABQ is an actual city to support the influx of people. It's a chicken and the egg problem that has plagued Sandia, winters are inconsistent at best but the focus is winter sports with we will concentrate on bikes "next year". It sux and its hurt my feelings for more years than I would like to admit.
ABQ definitely has some structural issues, but it’s a city of around 1 million, with a decent airport and the amenities of a city this size.
Sandia needs some major improvements, but the new management company seems like they’re interested in the benefits of summer operations when there’s an advocacy group in AMBA that has taken initiative on the mountain already.
The owners and previous management didn’t want to invest in MTB, for whatever reason. With winters being increasingly less reliable, ski areas need summer traffic to be profitable. The ski area is 45 minutes from downtown and about an hour from Santa Fe, that’s a pretty good population of riders. I am certainly biased, since I live less than 12 miles from the bottom of the chairlift.
There’s good terrain available, with potential for double black tech trails along with the usual machine-built flow stuff that will bring bigger numbers.
I share your enthusiasm as I too am close to Sandia. I started riding and building dh trails a long time ago, in fact I approached Kerry(usfs) in 2013 and only this year are some of the trail I cut starting to become legal and he has since been promoted to larger responsibilities. Sandia would be amazing but I have no delusions that the new stewards will do anything. The first time I ever talked to someone at Sandia was Richard Abruzzo and he died in 2010.
To keep this on topic the US needs real racing NORBA may have hated you but it was for a time a legit series to race. A World Cup or two should be in North America and it’s BS it is just the euro cup.
https://www.redbullscreeningroom.com/catalog/521
Program overview
The expansion of our most established Downhill event, Red Bull Hardline lands on the shores of Tasmania in 2024.The iconic Wales edition will...
The expansion of our most established Downhill event, Red Bull Hardline lands on the shores of Tasmania in 2024.The iconic Wales edition will return for it's 10 year anniversary later in June.
EVENTS
February 2024, Australia
June 2024, Wales, UK
AVAILABLE DISTRIBUTION PRODUCTS
Live Show: 2 hrs (x2)
Hardline Tasmania at Maydena leads into the weekend of the 24-25 Feb.
Thredbo Cannonball runs from Monday 12 - Saturday 17 Feb, 2024 traditionally has a host of international riders (this year Syndicate and Dorval AM Commencal teams had a majority of their riders) with more to make the journey Downunder in 2024 for the cash prize at Thredbo, Hardline and some summer training in Aust and NZ.
Resorts in the US get very little in return for hosting an event at this scale. It is a huge undertaking and extremely costly. Plus the...
Resorts in the US get very little in return for hosting an event at this scale. It is a huge undertaking and extremely costly. Plus the US doesn't have government programs helping cover the cost of hosting a World Cup. Take France for example, specifically Les Gets. The entire town basically shuts down so we can have a world cup. Their government sees the penalty of disrupting logistics for an extended weekend and cost of hosting an investment into increased tourism in the future.
It's not only in the US. Just look at Champery. They have a legendary venue, put all their effort into having a World Champs there, then it died as a World Cup place to be. Why? Too expensive. So we are left with memories. I remember being there in 2011 and it was flooded with many thousands of tourists, they literally had nowhere to go, nevermind how expensive Switzerland is.
On the other hand, we have Leogang, one of the most popular bikeparks in Europe. At the 2012 Worlds I talked to somebody who worked on the event and said that they got serious money, multiple millions, only from the Salzburg state/county and that was but one of many sources of funding. Point is, if you are too small and can't turn your image into some revenue, you probably can't afford hosting a World Cup. Although I am very sure it is very very different for each of the places we grew accustomed to have World Cups in...
Read on UCI IG comments, I thought it was hilarious:
"2026 schedule is just Loic doing solo runs at home while being followed by a drone flown by Cedric"
It might even finally become a Toyota commercial...
Our physios are Polish so we have been looking forward to Bielsko-Biala. Going to be a hike from Ft William...
That polish round should be good. Definitely a country to visit. Good food, great outdoors and on top of that good prices like in every eastern european country
.
Dont give them any ideas! :D
What do we need to do in the US to get a race back here? Pushing series like DHSE and Downhill Rockies and the NW Cup is great but how do we get resorts/mountains to realize it is beneficial for them to bid on these events?
Yeah I thought about the travel distance aswell, 27 hour drive right at the start of the season
Do we know it's beneficial? I have no idea how much you have to pay the UCI and what the infra requirements are but I bet it's not cheap.
Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will weigh in.
Really good questions here.
Our local mountain (Sandia Peak) has been anti-MTB for years, but operations were just taken over by the company that runs Pajarito and Purgatory. The terrain could make for a top level race, and the proximity to an airport and a major city (Albuquerque) seems like it would make for a great venue. I've been trying to figure out how Angel Fire's experiences with the UCI were, and how their ongoing relationship with Downhill Rockies is.
We've talked about what it would take to get a DR race here, even if we're technically not in the Rockies...
I would talk with Jeremiah from Team Trail Party. He's the one who's organized all the DHR and TTP races (at Angelfire, Pajarito, Durango, etc..). He's extremely passionate about gravity racing in the US (and especially West of the Mississippi).
Genuine question: do we know why snowshoe is not on the calendar this year? Is it a decision from snowshoe or from UCI or ...?
It’s great that Red Bull is going to cover the events again next year. Can’t wait to hear Warner and see Smith again!
I most definitely do NOT know the answer to this, but while I was there this year more than one local told me the WC weekend is Snowshoe's busiest / most profitable weekend of the entire year.
Here's an idea: The UCI put forward 20 tracks between April and October (or before or after these months due to better weather in different counties) and it gets sent out to the riders, then the riders pick 10 rounds for the year that they want to race, vote get counted and there are your 10 rounds of racing that everyone would be happy with ?
In failing that bring back a NORBA series, no wonder teams are pulling out of racing why would you pay someone to race when there is hardly any racing happening on the biggest stage, I know there is training and getting over injuries but every sport has to deal with that but having a break between October and May is crazy for biggest championship in the world that riders what to be racing in.
Man, gutted. Snowshoe is so much fun. I flew out there in the past and it was 100% worth the trip.
Yeah man me too. I wish the US had a series that could rival the World Cup. I often wonder what it’d take to do so and think, if I won the $1bn+ lottery could I just make a race series ro pull top teams/riders from the WC.
Resorts in the US get very little in return for hosting an event at this scale. It is a huge undertaking and extremely costly. Plus the US doesn't have government programs helping cover the cost of hosting a World Cup. Take France for example, specifically Les Gets. The entire town basically shuts down so we can have a world cup. Their government sees the penalty of disrupting logistics for an extended weekend and cost of hosting an investment into increased tourism in the future.
Nah, not even close. Peanuts compared to what they do over a holiday weekend in the winter.
Snowshoe
It's more about just getting through the tunnel, setting up in bad weather, breaking down in bad weather, back through the UK and the tunnel, then pretty far east at 80klm an hour... Not complaining because we have it pretty easy being based in NE France but not all teams are as fortunate. I will say I'm happy to start the season on a tame track like Ft William instead of Lenzerheide...
I can't agree more with this, except for a few infrastructure short comings on the mountain at Sandia but ABQ is an actual city to support the influx of people. It's a chicken and the egg problem that has plagued Sandia, winters are inconsistent at best but the focus is winter sports with we will concentrate on bikes "next year". It sux and its hurt my feelings for more years than I would like to admit.
https://www.redbullscreeningroom.com/catalog/521
Program overview
The expansion of our most established Downhill event, Red Bull Hardline lands on the shores of Tasmania in 2024.The iconic Wales edition will return for it's 10 year anniversary later in June.
EVENTS
February 2024, Australia
June 2024, Wales, UK
AVAILABLE DISTRIBUTION PRODUCTS
Live Show: 2 hrs (x2)
Wow thats good to know! Haven't ridden sandia since 2012 when we lived there. Hope they start cutting some good trails up in the ABQ. City could use the good vibes.
I remember hiking around Sandia back in 92-93 thinking how much fun it would be to have mountain bike trails running there. while at UNM.
On another foot, DH AND Enduro rock. Why put it out to pasture. Many ideas have been given on ways to film that hold water. Heck, use drones that are tethered to riders for crying out loud.
Interestingly, Snowshoe is still on the calendar for the World Championship XC Marathon. (https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/1SViSK0UVc1YNPyIjcOr5Y/3fcf05…)
It took a bit of digging on the UCI website but it sounds like the host is only responsible for the calendar fees and the prize money which are not that crazy: (https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/4V9c9rytuA8x4UQqI2c1Bq/f26fbd…
and htps://downloads.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/6o8yjhJhjRYuYuaJvAQ4Ng/5151c0815dd56e41d5cb3d6af3837cca/ProcedureENG.pdf)
Obviously, the host and the promoter (ESO) are also responsible for all the logistics but it should not be that different than other race promoters out there that operate on shoestrings and volunteers.
UCI also published studies about their event's impacts (https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/5vfgNQ6Fu108U3X4FdUaSj/d240f9…)
Even if all that is half true, it should not be impossible to find more venues internationally.
The past has seen many places that are not high-caliber rich mountain resorts (Loudenvielle, La Bresse, Metabief, and many more)
If the cost is not the problem, there may be a lack of motivation to organize anything outside of western Europe.
ABQ definitely has some structural issues, but it’s a city of around 1 million, with a decent airport and the amenities of a city this size.
Sandia needs some major improvements, but the new management company seems like they’re interested in the benefits of summer operations when there’s an advocacy group in AMBA that has taken initiative on the mountain already.
The owners and previous management didn’t want to invest in MTB, for whatever reason. With winters being increasingly less reliable, ski areas need summer traffic to be profitable. The ski area is 45 minutes from downtown and about an hour from Santa Fe, that’s a pretty good population of riders. I am certainly biased, since I live less than 12 miles from the bottom of the chairlift.
There’s good terrain available, with potential for double black tech trails along with the usual machine-built flow stuff that will bring bigger numbers.
I share your enthusiasm as I too am close to Sandia. I started riding and building dh trails a long time ago, in fact I approached Kerry(usfs) in 2013 and only this year are some of the trail I cut starting to become legal and he has since been promoted to larger responsibilities. Sandia would be amazing but I have no delusions that the new stewards will do anything. The first time I ever talked to someone at Sandia was Richard Abruzzo and he died in 2010.
To keep this on topic the US needs real racing NORBA may have hated you but it was for a time a legit series to race. A World Cup or two should be in North America and it’s BS it is just the euro cup.
Hardline Tasmania at Maydena leads into the weekend of the 24-25 Feb.
Thredbo Cannonball runs from Monday 12 - Saturday 17 Feb, 2024 traditionally has a host of international riders (this year Syndicate and Dorval AM Commencal teams had a majority of their riders) with more to make the journey Downunder in 2024 for the cash prize at Thredbo, Hardline and some summer training in Aust and NZ.
World Champs at Andorra slot into the end of the 2 month Summer break 28 Aug - 01 Sep 2024.
World Cups traditionally don't clash with the TDF and Olympics which cover all of July and half of August hence the length of the break in 2024.
Plus national champs happen at that time
It's not only in the US. Just look at Champery. They have a legendary venue, put all their effort into having a World Champs there, then it died as a World Cup place to be. Why? Too expensive. So we are left with memories. I remember being there in 2011 and it was flooded with many thousands of tourists, they literally had nowhere to go, nevermind how expensive Switzerland is.
On the other hand, we have Leogang, one of the most popular bikeparks in Europe. At the 2012 Worlds I talked to somebody who worked on the event and said that they got serious money, multiple millions, only from the Salzburg state/county and that was but one of many sources of funding. Point is, if you are too small and can't turn your image into some revenue, you probably can't afford hosting a World Cup. Although I am very sure it is very very different for each of the places we grew accustomed to have World Cups in...
Mx
Post a reply to: 2023 Racing Talk