I think it's a combination of factors. First of all, there are a LOT more downhill skiers, both as a percentage of the skiing population and in sheer volume, than there are downhill MTBers; so many more people can relate personally to downhill skiing. Add to that the fact that downhill skiing is an Olympic sport - - just think of how many sports most people would not pay much attention too except for the fact that they get televised every four years. Finally, part of that is the monster $ it would take to camera-up a MTB DH course as opposed to a skiing run. Because ski slopes are open, sight-lines are relatively long and give television spectators a much better perspective of the speed involved when they can have long pans. Compare that to the, maybe, 50 feet or so in the woods that a cameraman on a DH course can capture.I don't understand why there is this idea that mountain biking isn't TV friendly. There's more than enough technology out there to properly broadcast downhilling, and usually a massive crew of spectators on course . . . As far as I know, downhill skiing is the more popular of skiing disciplines (compared to slalom), . . . .
I really think that IS the crux of it. We all understand it, can appreciate it and dig it; but to the layman spectator, racing is head-to-head competition. To them, one person on a course against nothing but the clock is just a time trial that should lead up to the "real" action.I also don't buy that the sport needs a gravity discipline that pitches people head to head in order to attract the common man.
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