DH World Cup thread

[RustyMTB]

Head says the Frenchies, heart says Jackson Goldstone shrugs his shoulders, moans about the cold & smashes the lap record first try. Vali for the win, Pom pom has concussion problems, so not her I reckon. Bernard Kerr comes 30th, consoles himself by knocking out a two hour video on his school bus.

Flawless analysis I definitely won't regret.

 

[Tubby G]

Head says the Frenchies, heart says Jackson Goldstone shrugs his shoulders, moans about the cold & smashes the lap record first try. Vali for the win, Pom pom has concussion problems, so not her I reckon. Bernard Kerr comes 30th, consoles himself by knocking out a two hour video on his school bus.

Flawless analysis I definitely won't regret.

The two hour videos on the school bus have made the racing lifestyle so engaging to us though

 

[RustyMTB]

The two hour videos on the school bus have made the racing lifestyle so engaging to us though

Actually, you're bang on the money. One thing I love so much about the racing is that it's such a minority sport compared wth say, football for example, that so many of the athletes are hustling themselves through things like You tube & Instagram. That's obviously a double edged sword but the upside is us lot get closer to the action than you could ever hope for in nearly any other travelling circus sport.

My beef with Bernard is the relentless self promotion doesn't ever match the outcome. I find myself watching videos of him repainting his Land Rover & wondering how Pierron is spending his time. That's a bit unfair obvs but I'd sooner see a bit more winning than spinning.

 

[Tubby G]

Actually, you're bang on the money. One thing I love so much about the racing is that it's such a minority sport compared wth say, football for example, that so many of the athletes are hustling themselves through things like You tube & Instagram. That's obviously a double edged sword but the upside is us lot get closer to the action than you could ever hope for in nearly any other travelling circus sport.

My beef with Bernard is the relentless self promotion doesn't ever match the outcome. I find myself watching videos of him repainting his Land Rover & wondering how Pierron is spending his time. That's a bit unfair obvs but I'd sooner see a bit more winning than spinning.

To consistently compete at that level though and finish the race in whatever position is a huge achievement. As I’d say to my children, winning is great, but it’s the taking part that counts

Plus Bernard does have a fine choice in vehicles. I’d rather watch him paint his Landrover than spend hours on a spinning bike, which I’m sure he does too! He knows how to entertain us sports fans

 

[yorkshire89]

I'm up here to watch the race for the first time, can't wait! Looks like it's going to be wet and breezy one so should be a good watch

I'd love to see Reece or Danny take it, will be interesting to see how well Cathro does too. I think Amaury might win this though if he manages to stay on the bike.

 

[RustyMTB]

I'll be amazed if Cathro gets anywhere near the top 30. In no particular order, I'd argue it's a shoot out between Brosnan, Bruni, Pierron, Minaar, Coulanges, Wilson, Greenland, Daprela, Shaw & Hart. But it's Fort William, it's as brutal as it gets & anyone can come unstuck on that course in a heartbeat. Whatever happens, it'll be a fascinating race.

 

[Rusty]

I'm watching a podcast right now where one guy who I lmow was there, suggests Pierron's tyres were specially made for him for this race. Take it or leave it, I don't know either way “¯\_(ツ)_/¯“

Would not be unusual. Several XC riders in the past have used tires that are significantly lighter and a lot softer compound than the production version. Comes under 'pre-production' testing. Of course, on many occasion those tires don't see production.

 

[VWsurfbum]

Here's my attempt of the WC course in fort Bill.

 

[RustyMTB]

Bruni s'est cassé.

In thr juniors, Jordan Williams looks lit, beating Jackson Goldstone in timed training by 18 seconds & he beat him in the BDS finals recently by a similar margin.

 

[RustyMTB]

France, chains, mud.

 

[JP-NZ]

Was a pretty good race with a fair few riders taken out with mechanicals. Amuary as always on another level, my fantasy team took a beating :-(

 

[RustyMTB]

I think Bernie can legit feel hard done by, Amuary was immense, Laurie so close, has to be a matter of time before he's winning. Nina just great & Vali so unlucky. Jackson & Jordan looks like an epic battle in the making, I feel overall as a fan, you cannot complain, the day had something for everyone.

 

[RustyMTB]

Oh & Jenna Hastings looks like the real deal too.

 

[RustyMTB]

Quiet in here...

 

[B1rdie]

Watch out! I guess a mud avalanche is just about to happen…

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

 

[RustyMTB]

Go us. I was thinking I'd remember this race for rider errors, now it's the British race...ish.

 

[JP-NZ]

What a race!

Gutted for Laurie and BC both were on heaters and could have taken the top step.

Stoked for Matt Walker and his maiden win. How dam good is downhill

 

[Banktramp]

Edge of your seat till the very end, the commentary also builds the hype up!!

Love it.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Go us. I was thinking I'd remember this race for rider errors, now it's the British race...ish.

especially the womens race

 

[RustyMTB]

Watched Bernard's video last nght & have to admit I was shocked to see Jenna Hastings' prize money for finishing 2nd in the juniors was 130 Euros. Looked up the UCI's pre pandemic revenue - 2019 it was roughly £32 million. I have a memory of Olly Wilkins mentioning that a world cup win in elite men paid out around £3k. This seems paltry when set against event revenue, tv rights, merch sales etc. & even without those, it's still an elite sports event, drawing the best of the best. No wonder so many of them tart themselves about on Youtube & Insta!

 

[Banktramp]

Yeah €130 for second is a joke really, that wouldn’t even cover her clothing cleaning from all the practice mud!

 

[RustyMTB]

Keep in mind next year it goes to GMBN I.e. Discovery really & will 100% be a subscription service, presumably this equals more £££ for the UCI if Red Bull have walked away. I tried looking up GCN+ pricing but they're shy until you sign up & disclose your location. Anyone know roughly what that costs?

 

[yorkshire89]

Just asked my roadie friend and he reckons he pays £3.99 a month for GCN+, are they covering the DH next year?

 

[RustyMTB]

Cheers. Yes, Discovery did a deal with the UCI for rights to the world cup for the next eight years. They'll lump it in with GMBN I think, if their social media is any guide.

 

[Banktramp]

I pay yearly but the monthly fee is £6.99 according to the App Store.

 

[JP-NZ]

Keep in mind next year it goes to GMBN I.e. Discovery really & will 100% be a subscription service, presumably this equals more £££ for the UCI if Red Bull have walked away. I tried looking up GCN+ pricing but they're shy until you sign up & disclose your location. Anyone know roughly what that costs?

From my understanding.. UCI wanted more money and redbull was not keen. They didn't walk away, UCI took the rights elsewhere.

I have massive love for redbull productions for A. Bringing downhill to the world and enabling us to use their massive platform to watch and B. Making it free, all those cameras, the commentators etc and we sit in our lounges and enjoy one of the most exciting sports on the planet for nothing.

 

[Banktramp]

You say it’s free but in reality people who buy the “RedBull” product are paying for it, £2 for a tiny can is a lot of profit and it’s all about brand awareness.

A total of 9.804 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide in 2021, representing an increase of 24.3% against an already very successful 2020. Group turnover was up 23.9% from EUR 6.307 billion to EUR 7.816 billion.

So giving the DH series for free is small change compared to the F1 team they run.

 

[RustyMTB]

Yeah, bit mixed up thinking there. RB clearly fund the World cup & everything else they do to push the drinks brand. This is no secret, from the beginning, they have famously stuck north of 40% of their revenue into marketing. And by walk away, I mean the deal came up for negotiation & for whatever reason, either Red Bull or the UCI couldn't agree terms & it's changed hands. I'm speculating that either Discovery tabled an offer that RB felt matching outweighed the value to them or the UCI demanded a price that only Discovery were willing to pay.

Either way, the athletes still get zip in the scheme of things & that's a shame. Without them, you have no show.

 

[JP-NZ]

You say it’s free but in reality people who buy the “RedBull” product are paying for it, £2 for a tiny can is a lot of profit and it’s all about brand awareness.

A total of 9.804 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide in 2021, representing an increase of 24.3% against an already very successful 2020. Group turnover was up 23.9% from EUR 6.307 billion to EUR 7.816 billion.

So giving the DH series for free is small change compared to the F1 team they run.

Well its free for me then as Ive only ever drunk like two cans of red bull in my life (Caffeine free for 5 years and counting). No doubt others are paying exorbitant prices for bubbly water and thanks to them.

I'll pay GCN/Discovery a subscription to watch as I enjoy it so much.