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awwww shit. IT'S ON

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,503
1,719
Warsaw :/
How happy are we all getting to see riders most folk have never heard of having a go in the final?

I propose a compromise to a 50 rider final with no stupid semi
Never had an issue with a lot of riders. Even the old 80 was good for me. It's like ads before movies in cinemas. If someone doesn't like it one can always tune in late.
 

aaronjb

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2010
1,105
659
Ha! Yes. We prefer rocks. You know, the ones the size of apples or cantelope that are loose and move. That's the best. Thanks. :D
I live in New England and I'm still salty that so many racers who come out of the US did so while running on faster, open tracks like this, and relative to the EU racers can't seem to ride a bike quickly through woods (especially when wet).
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,646
1,094
coloRADo
I see lots more Ohlins. Cool.

Is it just me or are these guys running 2.3" tires? They just seem skinny. Maybe it's the camera?
 

Gary

my pronouns are hag/gis
Aug 27, 2002
8,560
6,473
UK
if they'd stuck with fastest 30 qualifiers. would they all have missed the rain (or at least had similar conditions)?
Makes you think, hey?
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,114
21,665
Canaderp
I live in New England and I'm still salty that so many racers who come out of the US did so while running on faster, open tracks like this, and relative to the EU racers can't seem to ride a bike quickly through woods (especially when wet).
More families with disposable income out west, for funding things like bike and ski racing, as opposed to hockey and crap?

Any biker east of Michigan should have no excuse for not being exposed to wooded slime roots and rox.
 

Gary

my pronouns are hag/gis
Aug 27, 2002
8,560
6,473
UK
Gotta be happy to see Greg on pace today.
Not just because of his clean shaven personality
 

aaronjb

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2010
1,105
659
Ric when other riders are .5 seconds down with 1/2 the track left: "It's over for today"

Ric when Bruni is 2.8 seconds back and has 30 feet to the finish line: "CAN HE DO IT??!!"
 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,940
1,682
Brooklyn
Ric with the weird sponsor plugs throughout the broadcast again, mentioned someone's glove brand? That an on-screen side hustle?
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,749
3,216
Also, neither will be wearing the rainbow jersey tonight.

Superb commentating.
Also throwing Aaron and Amaury under the bus by asking them to ask question, which clearly was not agreed on earlier. Good to know they grow the sport so professional.
Camera coverage was good though, only the editor missed sometimes the switching over points.
 

aaronjb

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2010
1,105
659
Loved that overhead drone shot for the full runs, was hoping they'd go even higher and get us some satellite photos.

I think the theories about ESO/UCI in cahoots with the larger trade teams to get the field whittled down to 30 riders - any of whom could win on a given weekend - have credence.

Time for a B league, I guess.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,646
1,094
coloRADo
The camera work was better for the latter riders. So like what, top 10 get the special footage?

I muted the volume. Couldn't take it. Maybe after a few beers. But it was like 7am here.
 

vivisectxi

Monkey
Jan 14, 2021
520
626
yeast van
Definitely going to be interesting to see the overall standings after this.
ch:
RankPrev Name / UCI MTB TeamTotal
1ILES Finn969
SPECIALIZED GRAVITY
2GOLDSTONE Jackson *816
SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE
3DAPRELA Thibaut *807
COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING
4VERGIER Loris782
TREK FACTORY RACING GRAVITY
5BRUNI Loic768
SPECIALIZED GRAVITY
6KOLB Andreas696
CONTINENTAL ATHERTON
7BROSNAN Troy605
CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM
8WILLIAMS Jordan *581
SPECIALIZED GRAVITY
9SHAW Luca540
CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM
10GREENLAND Laurie531
SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE
Showing 1 to 20 of 184 entries
PreviousNext

UCI DHI Elite Women Standings 2023



After Round 4


Search:
RankPrev Name / UCI MTB TeamTotal
1HÖLL Valentina *1242
ROCKSHOX TREK RACE TEAM
2BALANCHE Camille1020
DORVAL AM COMMENCAL
3HOFFMANN Nina868
SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE
4CABIROU Marine713
SCOTT DOWNHILL FACTORY
5ATHERTON Rachel616
CONTINENTAL ATHERTON
6HRASTNIK Monika545
DORVAL AM COMMENCAL
7HEMSTREET Gracey *496
NORCO FACTORY TEAM
8SEAGRAVE Tahnee399
CANYON CLLCTV FMD
9BLEWITT Jess *365
GT-CONTINENTAL FACTORY RACING
10GALE Phoebe *287
CANYON CLLCTV FMD

c/o this helpful site:
https://thesendicate.net/uci-world-cup-downhill-standings
 

aaronjb

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2010
1,105
659
The camera work was better for the latter riders. So like what, top 10 get the special footage?

I muted the volume. Couldn't take it. Maybe after a few beers. But it was like 7am here.
Even Redbull.tv had abbreviated camera coverage for all but the final 10-20 race runs, with full runs for the top qualifiers/last to go down.

This year, though, the coverage is so terrible for all but the top racers that the decision seems intentionally designed to reduce sponsor exposure for all but the big factory teams who can pull in riders who consistently finish near the top.

The intent seems to be to have a field of no more than 30 riders in the finals, which would align with Chris Ball's public statements about "growing the sport" - get more sponsor and series buy-in money from the larger trade teams. Ironically, growing the sport in this way actually shrinks the pool of riders competing on a given weekend.

Wasn't Ball a rider's rep when A/B practice was introduced? I'm guessing he'd like to see that model in DH across the board. The points system is no longer a rewards system but instead is punitive and designed to exclude riders, not to offer more riders more opportunity to race.

It's a short-sighted plan, though, since there's no adequate feeder system into the top ranks. National series are mostly a joke no matter where one resides, so pushing the lower-ranked riders back to those series will put pressure on races already kept together with duct tape and shoestring.

In other words, ESO/UCI want theirs, and screw you if you're not a top-30 rider or a sponsor on the sleeve of one of those riders who relies on multiple smaller sponsors to get to the races.

DH racers should have formed a union. I'm sure that the big manufacturer trade teams didn't exactly offer open arms support for their riders who otherwise would have signed on, though.

All of this means that the grassroots will continue to steer toward young riders whose parents have the means to get them to races and support them with expensive bikes, equipment and coaching from their own pockets. I was at a regional enduro/DH race recently in the U.S. (ESC), and I was astonished at expensive camper/trailer hardware in the pits. There were a few dozen overnight setups that all gave me strong white-collar suburban vibes. We're not exactly building an inclusive on-ramp to the sport these days. I don't recall anything like this even in the heyday of the 90s.
 
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Gary

my pronouns are hag/gis
Aug 27, 2002
8,560
6,473
UK
Ric with the weird sponsor plugs throughout the broadcast again, mentioned someone's glove brand? That an on-screen side hustle?
Do you mean during Bruni's run?
He mentioned Loic was wearing "special alcantara palmed gloves" He didn't mention any brand though. Loic's gloves appeared to be plain white with no discernable logos. and Alcantara is soft grippy suede material often used in gaming wheels. So maybe something new from Fox if he's still riding in Fox kit?

TBH I'd quite like it if the commentry did go into riders kit and equipment choices a bit more. including the odd bit of speculation and rumour. Warner was quite good at that without any of the blatantly obvious product placement Claudio and Pagey crowbarred in. Geniune nerdy tit bits of info we'd be interested in. Shit the new viewers (if there actually are any) probably wouldn't. Them explaining the basics of DH as a sport to newbs during the first GCN presentations was dire. nowhere near as bad as at Worlds tho.
With the new format there's around 5 hours of airtime to be filled over the weekend and there's only so much to say with limited camera placement and a most riders on the exact same lines and (to the untrained eye) going pretty much the same speed.