2010 Pro Gravity Tour - ANY SUGGESTIONS?

thom9719 · Aug 30, 2009

Don't schedule one (snowmass) on the same weekend as Crankworx. I know that's not your deal as much as MSC, and I know there are a lot of events going on throughout the year, but that should be a pretty major one to try and avoid.

Other than that, Keep the locations spread out. It was cool having all types of tracks and locations. A northwest ProGRT would be cool again in 2010.

Kyle,

davetrump · Aug 30, 2009

i know this depends a lot on the promoter's but it is a huge help to have races back to back weekends. this helps a lot if guys are traveling.

for example:

Windham was Aug 16, and Whiteface was Aug 30... that's two races just a few hours from each other but spread over three weeks. it would be way better to have events like this on back to back weekends.

Keep doing what you are doing. The races of the Pro Gravity Tour I attended where great.

ska todd · Aug 30, 2009

Since the WC sched is already published and we know when/where the events are, do the best possible job to link the events up. Also, you know that the WC sched is pretty compact in 2010, mid May - beg Sept, so try to take full advantage of it if you're looking to sched events earlier or later.

Other notes:
•limit on entry fees, especially for Ams & Jrs. ProGRT events shouldn't cost more than a WC to enter.
•all race entry fees should include the basics of lift tickets for scheduled practice & race times as well as parking for one car
•tracks should do the best to mimic WC style; fast, taped wide, 3-5 mins
•can you ditch 4X? pretty please

•participation in some of these events should be a criteria for Worlds team selection - USAC shouldn't c-block their sanctioned Nat series by only basing team selection off World Cup performances (well, unless all 7 spots were filled by US riders in the top 10 of WC overall rankings or something)

-ska todd

5150dhbiker · Aug 30, 2009

I have to say that I loved all the courses that we had this year (despite injuring myself in Angel fire and then trying to race with a broken hand and bad shoulder). Angel Fire is still one of my favorite places and would love to see that on the map next year.

I do agree that it would be nice to try to have the races somewhat closer together, especially if they're in the same state! Another thing I would like to see would be elimination during qualifying. I know it would be kind of tough though since the Pro field was typically around the 70 racer mark, but still...it would give me more motivation during qualifying!

Other then that, keep up the good work (oh, and keep 4x unlike what some people want*cough*^^^*cough*)

Eastern States Cup · Aug 30, 2009

UCI Points

Eastern States Cup · Aug 31, 2009

consistent set schedule at every event. The last practice being pro only and pro finals within 2-3 hours of the last practice/timed run.

If the Pro GRT is used for World Team selection, then the series should get out East earlier, instead of after the selection date.

downhill mike · Aug 31, 2009

The 5 K DH will be worth UCI points for 2010.

bizutch · Aug 31, 2009

Is there a link to for potential promoters to apply on the schedule? It would be great if we in the Southeast could weasle a race on the schedule, just to hear the sandy elitist vags whine about coming here!

ridingsupreme · Aug 31, 2009

Entry fee cap,
free lift tickets for pros,
elimination in qualifying (say the last 30% of how ever big the class is.)
And if your gonna have HUCKS in a National championship at least have some good techy and cornery stuff to give those of us who don't yet ride world cups or HUCK a chance.
Timing is pretty key as well, if possible it would be better to give 3 weeks between venues in different states or tie them together by making them back to back. Its exspensive driving back and forth to colorado twice in two weeks if u live in cali!
Oh ya and please make the Seattle venue happen again only this time later in the season when whistler is open!!! If i'm gonna drive 20 hours up the coast I would like to drive the extra 4 hours or w.e to whistler while i'm at it!
It would be awesome if deer valley stepped it up again, its really a beautiful area and even tho the track is pretty blown up and whatever you wanna call it it would be cool if they made a new track and held a race there again next year.
see what you can do about holding a PRO GRT event at tahoe or mammoth. I'm sure your aware they are great locations and have a very wide variety of tracks and trails to choose from and who knows, maybe they would even let us build a new trail!
lastly I miss the old Snowmass course that was fast between the tight trees. I'm not agaisn't wide open tracks but it would be cool if things got tight like deer valley after the bedrock drop and narrow like the wooded areas of the old snowmass.

Thank you so much for all your hard work Dylan. This year was a vast improvement to years past.

SuspectDevice · Aug 31, 2009

Dual Slalom.

4 Classes (Men, Women, Boys, Girls)

Grass, Gates, a few fade-away jumps.

Walking inspection only, top 32 qualify.

Peter Graves gives a new generation nicknames...

ska todd · Aug 31, 2009

Yup yup Mickey. Those sounds like the best suggestion yet! :thumb:

-ska todd

ianjenn · Aug 31, 2009

Dylan Dean said:
thanks for the input guys. glad you guys like the venues we had this year. that was one major step forward for us.. no more fontucky, santa ynez & sea otter type courses. they're good for local stuff, but not a major race.

scheduling.. yah, 1/2 of the series was out of my hands. UCI cat races took precedence & some of the venues (snowmass) got changed because of the resort, not by the Pro GRT or MSC.

scheduling conflicts will not happen next year (with major events), unless "they" change after i set this schedule.

from Todd's notes...

i think the major issue here is lift fees from the resorts. i'm gonna attempt to make a max fee for race entry... but we'll see how it goes from the regional prmotoers. i would HOPE that they see the advantage of this being more attendance, media, etc to drop rates for this one race... but there have been people out there who have been "butting heads".. i may draw the line at some point & say, if you wont' work with us, then we'll go somewhere else. Regardless, RATES WILL BE POSTED, so there are no surprise fees.

I'll be trying to adjust the course to match the WC style... with some flexiblility

I'm not a huge fan of 4x either... although my top D3/Nema rider is a 4x guy (graves).... so i can't "ditch" 4x... but i'm working on another project within the Pro GRT that'll include DS.

I'm definitely going to talk with USAC about the Pro GRT being a part of the selection process for Worlds... that's one thing that really pissed me off this year.

Thanks again for the thoughs guys.. keep 'em coming!

Tahoe....

NY_Star · Aug 31, 2009

I did the two east coast events. What i brought away from them was that the tracks had been used for the past few races and were getting a bit worked. This i know is more of a promoter concern but just saying. In concerns to the series i would spread the dates more evenly. It felt like there was a really dead point in the middle of the season.

Mike Buell · Sep 1, 2009

This is something I'd like to see with all events when possible. Having a day in between 4X and DH. ie. 4X on Friday and DH on Sunday. That way we could get 4X done and out of the way, and have Saturday to really prepare for DH. I think more people might race 4X if this were the case.
Same goes for DS
Thanks for some good races this year!

RUFUS · Sep 1, 2009

Mike Buell said:
This is something I'd like to see with all events when possible. Having a day in between 4X and DH. ie. 4X on Friday and DH on Sunday. That way we could get 4X done and out of the way, and have Saturday to really prepare for DH. I think more people might race 4X if this were the case.
Same goes for DS
Thanks for some good races this year!

I would have to disagree with anything besides practice on Friday. There are quite a few riders who work friday and don't leave for the venue until Friday after 5pm or EARLY Saturday.

It would be a huge disadvantage to those guys.

Eastern States Cup · Sep 1, 2009

Seeing how many were practicing Friday at the two East Coast stops this year, I'd say it would be a waste, at least for now. None of the events had any where near the numbers we used to get in NORBA's heyday.

Remember the days of 80 racers in the 30-34 expert class and pros having to worry about qualifying in the top 80 to make the finals ? Hopefully you'll get it there but until then Friday to Sunday offers more practice time than most pros will take advantage of.

Remember you want promoters to make a profit. They are also part of growing this back to where we were.

merft · Sep 1, 2009

The #1 thing to make ProGRT better is for NORBA to learn how to get and maintain sponsorships for the series. Then USE that money for the series to offset costs to the promoter and offer decent purses within the Pro classes.

In all honesty, if NORBA/USAC/whomever can't kick down $25k minimum for each ProGRT event, this is all a moot point. Fee caps won't happen. Free lift tickets won't happen. Decent purses won't happen. Sure as hell, UCI points ain't happening.

Tip #1 - Hire a marketing person who understands what an exclusive contract is.

Joss DeWaele · Sep 1, 2009

2009 was a great step forward in bringing U.S. gravity racing back from the grave. Using a collection of regional race promoters to represent a National Race Series was a brilliant idea, and we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who worked so hard to make it happen. Keep up the great work! Race promotion is largely a thankless, faceless job, but it provides so much to the sport and its growth.

As for improvements, I would suggest trying to find races that coincide with other festivities, especially those that are NOT bike related. Mountain bike racing will never be a stand-alone attraction for non-cyclists. However, if there are people around a mountain area enjoying music and alcohol, mountain biking makes a great side show. There have been a lot of comparisons to the old NORBA days, but those days are gone, and we need to think beyond those limitations. Even attaching a ProGRT race to a larger cycling festival, making Pro racing itself a side-show within a larger industry, might attract spectators that would otherwise never attend a race. And of course, music and alcohol are a must!

Finally, and selfishly, I would like to see the Utah race series considered as a ProGRT stop. Perhaps Brian Head. I know everybody loves Deer Valley, but Deer Valley does not love us. In fact, they despise us. To them, we are the bastard-child of their summer business. Personally, I don't think there is a better U.S. option for true World-Cup-Caliber-course venue than Deer Valley, but that will never happen.

Again, thanks to everyone who worked so hard in 2009. I very much look forward to 2010 gravity racing in the U.S.

stiksandstones · Sep 1, 2009

JDD
make sure for 2010 you focus on the 'unimportant' stuff, like design, marketing, branding, etc of the series. The whole look on paper, web, flyers, etc....has to look like the premiere gravity race series in america. Continuity throughout everything, strong visuals, etc.
There is no way to better polish a turd than with BNG.

Mike Buell · Sep 1, 2009

RUFUS said:
I would have to disagree with anything besides practice on Friday. There are quite a few riders who work friday and don't leave for the venue until Friday after 5pm or EARLY Saturday.

It would be a huge disadvantage to those guys.

I do understand this point, and realize that it is a reason why it would never happen at all races, thats why a lot of local races are only 2 day, but...

Races that are at the higher level that the pro GRT is, or at least should be thought to be at, national caliber events, should be at least a full 3 day schedule. I like the Idea of having Thursday practice, especially for someone traveling cross country for a race.

An optimum schedule to me (for a DH and 4X weekend) would look something like this.
* Assuming everyone is on the same DH course. A pro only or a pro cat 1 course would open up the schedule for a lot more time for everyone on Saturday, but then we would also have to figure out how to deal with increased lift lines.
* Same for a 3 day schedule just get rid of thursday.

Thursday:
9:30-11:30 Course inspection on foot only (with lift running)
12:00-4:00 Open DH practice
3:00-5:00 Open 4X practice

Friday:
8:00-10:00 Cat 2/3 4X Practice
8:00-11:00 Pro and cat 1 DH Practice
10:00 Cat 2/3 4X Seeding
12:00-3:00 Cat 2/3 DH
12:00-2:00 Pro and cat 1 4X Practice
2:00 Pro and cat 1 4X Seeding
4:30 Cat 2/3 4X Race
6:00 Pro and cat 1 4X Race

Saturday:
8:00-11:30 Cat 2/3 DH Practice
11:30-3:00 Pro and Cat 1 Practice
3:00-5:00 Pro only Practice

Sunday
DH Race schedule as normal with split class practice in the morning.

stiksandstones · Sep 2, 2009

Dylan Dean said:
oh absolutely! i wanted to do all that this year, but since we weren't "allowed" to get sponsorship all my plans got shot. I'm going to work with a designer & web guy to get everythign done professionally.

....but that's unimportant... i'm just trying to figure out how to embezzle all the $$

Embezzle it from an energy drink company, I hear it's all the rage in san diego county.

mtbrider106 · Sep 2, 2009

thats right the north west kicks ass

2010 Pro Gravity Tour - ANY SUGGESTIONS?

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