Carkworx world tour and Red Bull Hardline for the win! GTFO if you're not here for the thrills and spills!

Totally agree re: the feeder series! It is a LOT of work for very little reward. We see it all the time with local GE and DH series. Someone puts their hand up to give it a crack. It lasts one, maybe two years, and they give it away in frustration. I don't blame them one single bit. Kudos for even giving it a go. One of the biggest problems is that AusCycling give race promoters/organisers fuck all help in organising and promoting these things. I imagine it is much the same everywhere, and I don't see it changing. All national/international organisations give only lip service to grassroots, and put all of their real focus on the top end of town.

Unlike road cycling, the mountain biking community really don't care that much about racing. Most regular road cyclists will watch the Tour, and numerous other races during the year, but mountain bike racing is just a fraction.

Music is the only thing in the world that can use all of your senses at 1 time. I dont really listen to music much anymore I watch more edits with music attached to them....OOOHHHH a Dean edit??? Im not much into this style of music as a whole-- however I have listened to several songs-- they made it into my rotation. fun to play guitar along with

In alpine skiing there is a first and second run. Best overall time from both runs wins the race. Top 30 from the first run race for the win in the second run an get WC points. A well proven format. I don’t see why this would not work in MTB DH. And if there are to many people showing up to a race I guess raising the necessary points to a level where 60-80 racers can enter the WC would do the trick.

Top 5 podium, men and women should have equal numbers in the final and it should be minimum 40 riders, no semi final rubbish just the last chance quali! Top 30 qualify then the next 30 qualify again for 10 spots! Trouble is the sport is governed by TV and sponsors🤷🏼‍♂️ I don’t watch the official coverage they can stick it✌🏻 I support Moi Moi, Wynn, Gas to Vlog, BK, Danny and all the other riders who vlog the races🤜🏻💥🤛🏻 If Redbull did a Hardline series that would take over the world cups👍🏻

I only watch Cathro on Pinkbike and rider edits and I haven't watched enduro for ages , corporate greed from the organisers and the UCI are killing the sport. Hardline and the freeride events are far better . They seem to be on a mission to push privateers out of the sport too. Red bull should build their own DH series and directly cut out the UCI.

Downhill ist alive and enduro is getting better. No one needs E-Enduro to sell E-Bikes

Down hill and enduro is being taken down, by too many entities taking away from the sports and not giving any thing back, could name names, but you get the point! IT Has comes to the point where riders need to start taking the sport back to where it used to be?

what stabilization?

Yup that's the issue - hard to keep track when it's expensive to watch.

I think they are on the way to build a "protect" group of 30 riders or so who can stay at the top for many years. No possibility for building the dream story from the low to the top.

There was a post last year that a German TV station showed that viewer retention was very low. Viewership might be up because of accidental viewing, watching something before or after DH racing and ending up watching a bit of DH. That doesn't do much for the sport.

F1 of Cycling my arse, if you won every race this year your prize money would be about 25k before tax! The presenters get paid more than that.

charging 100€ for 3days to saw the Worlds in Andorra after 15hours of driving- we said- FUCK YOU + had lot fun in La Molina Bike Park + Les Angles Park. BOICOTOTE GREEDY UCI, Hardline is the Future

US downhill is going to thrive in the shortcomings of the UCI.

e-ERD is dumb with World Cup racing and world champs. Stop thinking about it like you know what an e-bike is. Think about from zero knowledge. Cycling is human powered, professional cyclist are peak fitness, so how do you reconcile that with having a motor, it doesn't make sense. That doesn't mean that e-bikes and e-bike racing shouldn't exist, professional cycling should remain 100% human powered, without the sideshow crossover that is some other federations problem. It's like saying nascar should have a taxi cab class because they both have a driver and 4 wheels.

I used to love watching DH with Warner commentary,not sure what’s going on these days😢 if they had a 16 race series like other world championships ide pay a subscription fee oh with Warner commentary of course 🎉

-The top 10 should only be protected going into only the next race, and reset for the following year. If you are consistent you get rewarded. -Top 10 from previous year get fixed numbers 1-10 or pick something that suits them. Like Moto current #1 gets a red plate background. Junior leader has a green background. - Qualifying and LCQ on Friday or Saturday, Race on Sunday. -The podium should be 5 it makes for a better story. -It should be 50 spots for riders, and 10 protected from the last race. It ends up being 60 in theory but that would account for a weather event effecting the top 10. -Out of the 50, 5 are LCQ positions. - More variations in track styles, not every track needs a motorway. - More races in more parts of the world, UCI needs to stop hating DH. -

No Warner, No interest. Warner IS DH & DH is Warner

Im caring less and less about the UCI European cup.. Hardline, crankworx, even the monster series are killing it though.. Calling yourself a world cup and existing on one continent, so goofy.. "but no if we cut it down to 20 people, then everyone will watch".. hearing the uci wants to be like F1 is the dumbest shit ever.. they have so much more money, actually go all over the world and have legitimate safety reasons to limit the field... it's so fucking stupid the ones making the decisions on this are so far removed from the people that watch..

Here speaks the words of experience. I still think we should have 40 male riders and 20 females in Elite finals. The depth of talent coming through from juniors in both categories is awesome and needs to be inclusive in elites going forwards 🤘❤️🌈🕊️🌏

Brightest news is no more e enduro 😂

Clearly the riders Union that stated they were going to do something have pussied out, otherwise they would have taken some kind of action over the last couple years.

Not having protected riders is a good idea, but qualies have to be televised. Someone like Bruni not being in the finals is fine, but we have to see at least one ride.

Dean, this is the most considered summary I’ve heard - I feel better able to think this through now. And just a shout out to you as well 🎉 You’re growing really fast now and it’s a privilege to be along for the ride, so thank you. Not that for one moment I would recommend this for your own opportunities, but if you were to find yourself working on behalf of a pro-riders’ Union representing them at the table, I for one would know things would start looking up. Your skills and confidence now as a public speaker plus your knowledge as a rider and the respect with which you are held by the riders make you ideal. So, whoever it ends up being, I hope they seek your advice. BK’s an obvious choice once he’s retired from UCI racing: I just think he has too much on his plate just now to add this in a way that wouldn’t call out a certain lack of patience with so many responsibilities. But when he does retire, he’d be another advocate who could deliver that role. Peaty, Aaron and Greg also come to mind, but again as with all the great talent, you included, they’re all in demand from all and sundry and just don’t have space for this role. Anyway, without a more formal linked international feeder series (cf F2 and F3) it’s utter madness to reduce rider entries for the medium and long term survival of International DH and - astonishingly - enduro. RBHW, RBHA, RBR and CrankWorks etc are a parallel form of sporting competition and their equivalent, especially in importance, can also be seen in motorsport (bikes and cars) 🎉🎉🎉🎉

It would be cool if the bike companies got together and created their own "league" like the NFL or MLB or NBA.

Personally, I think with all these changes being brought into all aspects of MTB by WBD and UCI, riders and spectators are going to start leaving and concentrate on other venues like Hardline and Crankworks. Maybe Redbull, will capitalise on this and create their own race format. Either way, the sport is slowly being eroded by greedy corporations.

Trying to access the WCDH in the USA required a Byzantine subscription stack….i didn’t bother. Ed Bull, WYN tv and other vlogs did the trick instead (and bunch better too)

No WCDH in the USA??? Why alienate the biggest bike market in the world?

Wish the riders would just tell the organisers that if you dont listen to the changes that riders and fans want then you wont have an event to even broadcast. Semi finals is nonsense, does absolutely nothing for the sport. Also the price for a subscription to get sub par media coverage compared to redbull days is not something the majority of fans would entertain paying for.

I think as mountain bikers we all felt we had some ownership of our sport. Redbull did a good job and kind of respected that. Now its been made clear by ESO that they own it and will do what they want with it so an apathy from the mountain bike community is creeping in. Your mtb random fan is not giving up his Sunday ride to pay to watch others ride and your hardcore fans are being turned off by all the changes and lets face it "elitism" that doesn't sit well with the general personality tpyes who mtb. Either way fans always win in the long run. We are the consumer and any business that doesn't listen to the consumer is a dead business.

Individuals and their socials and hardline / and racers are deep riders are some of the best Tho the tracks are getting faster one line

After watching most races for the past 5 years, this year I haven't watched one. I won't pay for a subscription for something that happens less than once a week through the season. I miss watching, but I can't pay, so the sport has lost a fan.

Thanks Deano. Such good points you have bought forward. We need you on the board… I think we can agree uci have nearly killed this sport..😢

UCI is dead Hardline is the series we all want to see. I don’t pay for a subscription that is useless other than for one race a week. Corporate greed kills World Cup. The sports not dead. We all still love to see you guys ride

UCI changes? Oh them, they are the reason I refuse to watch UCI and only religiously follow every rider on YT + social medial? They have no sympathy for riders, one of the most challenging sports there is. If you look MTB in essence, we love challenge AND we cheer for everyone ~ thus 5 podium stand is a must. Semis are so stupid, a lot of riders don't even have time to fix mechanical or eat. Can we address how stupid the points are? People can qualify be top of the top and still earn zero points. It's not a mystery that wrong people are on the top we need more riders on the board and more protests. They already slowly but intentionally destroyed enduro, I don't want to see that bunch of greedy people can ruin such an amazing sport. Bruni's argument was yeah trails get beaten up and he wanted less riders for quite some time. I don't agree with Bruni, beaten trails force you to pick your lines, smarter lines. We need more people to race on the top level for progression and should not shrink it down. One of our national riders doesn't race local, because there is no challenge. We need to allow them.

LOL The Leaked photos--somebody put it out for a reason. I have a feeling that racing is dead more people are going to start putting out edits racing will become almost 2nd to edit creation. I really dont watch many downhill events unless it's urban downhill racing. I think the one number idea is really good racers kits change so often I lose the riders I want to watch (columbians) EVERY motocross guy knows 499 is travis no matter what he is wearing you know the number. Which brings me to a question I have --- have you considered putting out edits or are you just done looking to grow yourself in other ways? I think you could put out a legit edit that a LOT of people will watch.

I think the organisers need to get some better communication skills and ask the rider's what they want, instead of just going and making changes. They have tried some new things the past couple of years that aren't necessarily working and now are going off and making other changes. Have they even sent riders and teams a survey or asked their opinions? I for one think the way to be able to watch has got worse. I love the sport and will pay to watch, but why can't they have one source to go to? I will even pay to go overseas and watch the events in person, but now if I do, but have subscribed to watch in my country, and then want to watch coverage also while overseas, I don't want to pay again, or have to go through the hassle of setting up a VPN. Just give one streaming service that is reliable and works world wide.Also I quite enjoy riding my E-bike (as well as normal bikes), but I honestly couldn't care less about E-bike racing, and don't believe that it is a huge part of why E-bikes sell.

I got Stan to watch the racing, but for some reason the World Championship in Andorra wasn't on there or the Enduro

Good take. I reckon making it harder for privateers to compete will definitely be a detriment the sport. Also, the Semi-Finals round seems to be not well received by most.

No we haven't, you won't tell us riders what we can and cant do. The jump wouldn't be there is we didn't want it. Because red bull decided it was too dangerous and removed the feature.

Good commentary on the race. Your comments about riding well in the rain are really applicable to life in general. Approach life every day with an open, positive mind and life will be better, no matter what you are doing. Focus on what is within your control, and you will succeed in racing and life. Also, I think more coverage of the riders outside of their runs is great. I like getting to know more about the riders on a personal level and getting more of an opportunity to connect with them. It's important for it to be on a level they are comfortable with though, not something injected in the middle of a race run. It should be organic, on their terms, and not a distraction from the race.

Felt like I was taken out of the race watching the tahnee Finn run. Didn’t like it and I agree about personal life stuff. Unless they are willing to be in spot light. They both kind of have that social media presence so they may want that. Good race though. The only drama I want to know is why Bernard Kerr didn’t make the final. I also like the semi final on qualifying day but I also think the last chance qualifier is a better idea. Give those riders a second chance they earn. And complainers of semis will have no excuse to complain if they didn’t qualify. Love the race updates with you dean. Still waiting for story time about Stevie. Chainsaw!!

Love the podcast, deserves more views. Love that it's down to Earth.

I didn't like showing Tahnee during Finn's run at all. Just not my thing. I pay to watch all WC racing (Jr DH, Men & Women DH, XCC, XCO) and the only good thing about it was, I got to see some racing. Not showing the Elite Semis is so disrespectful to the racers that I can't even verbalize it. They demand that the racers throw themselves down the mountain in anger 3 times (Quali, Semi, Final) and yet only broadcast 1 of them. I know the rumor is that semis are going away next year which is fine, but that brings me to the absolute worst thing about WC DH racing.... 30 men and freaking 10 women in the finals. Those numbers need to be 40/15... Minimum!! Both fields are too deep and the current 10 for the women is just going to discourage girls from ever hopping on a DH bike in the first place (which is already hard enough to get them to do). The UCI talks about "growing the sport" out of one corner of their mouths and out of the other they seemingly do everything to squash it, all with a smarmy look on their face... Lastly, the UCI needs to officially change the series name to what it is - The European Cup. Not a single DH race in the USA? Go phuck yourselves UCI.

Good 1,yeah I agree with ya about leaving the personal life out of the runs. This year's racing is great and the broadcast is excellent especially seeing the world champs version as the comparison.

What a crazy race weekend with the weather.

Corny to film Tahnees reaction, wanted to watch Finn's run and wonder if they even asked her if she wants to be filmed. They minimised the rider and interviewed someone who has just finished their run a few times too which is frustrating as we want to see their run

I was sad to see Tahnee was the only elite woman hit by the rain - that top split suggests she might still be in the race for the title if it had started raining 10 minutes later. Would she have won? Can’t say as some of that first split speed will have been Becuase it will have speeded up initially in the rain (drying and sticky by the last 5 of the Elite Men’s). Anyway, another great review: really liked this and learned a lot despite being a bit nerdy about it myself. On Loic’s change of pace, watch Ben C’s PinkBike roundup where he got an exclusive from Loic on what was said, what happened and why. So cool about your take on dealing with change. As for the personal stuff: I’m horrified. The camera person will have been told to hunt out the shot. There’s a name for it: stalking… At Snowshoe, I want a win for Tahnee and for Bernard; partisan? Of course, but Tahnee has earned it as much as anybody (as has PomPom of course) and BK could retire and focus on running one of the best DH Enduro teams. Thanks mate 🎉