2023 Racing Calendar

I will note that I don't really follow the Enduro racing series at all, even with it's somewhat alignment to the DH and XC world cups this year. Maybe I just haven't had it served up to me like red bull did for so many years with DH and XC. But apparently enduro may not happen next year?

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I think the top Pinkbike comment is right on the money:

Can't help but wonder if Chris Ball has destroyed his beautiful creation from 2013 all in the name of "progress" .

A stand alone race series without the shackles of a corrupted international body. A race series that grass roots riders could race on the same track on the same day as their hero's. Incredible venues that sparked as much interest as the results would. A race series that was financially manageable for privateeteers and small teams , never mind the goliaths of the sport.

Now reduced to a overly complicated , two tiered sideline in the cycling media costing teams a fortune, that people don't seem to care much about any more , shackled by an international body of dumbf*ckery. Progress.... careful what you wish for :-(
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I haven't followed EWS/EDR that closely, but used to enjoy the clips that I did come across, it just feels like the whole thing has faded into a bit of obscurity, obviously not helped by the post-COVID bike industry crash.
 
ebarker9 said:
I think the top Pinkbike comment is right on the money:



I haven't followed EWS/EDR that closely, but used to enjoy the clips that I did come across, it just feels like the whole thing has faded into a bit of obscurity, obviously not helped by the post-COVID bike industry crash.
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Honestly that's probably more a long the lines of what Enduro really is. A more regional and more accessible bike series. It's not really a world cup, right? Maybe we're just asking too much of it. Doesn't help it's not as TV friendly.
 
NJ-XC-Justin said:
Honestly that's probably more a long the lines of what Enduro really is. A more regional and more accessible bike series. It's not really a world cup, right? Maybe we're just asking too much of it. Doesn't help it's not as TV friendly.
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To me, the original racing was interesting in terms of the different venues and riders hitting more natural trails with minimal practice at speed. The type of riding was a lot closer to what most of us do on a trail ride, just much faster, so it was "relatable" to a degree. It also felt closer to the kind of "adventure" TV thing that seems to at least have a reasonable level of viewership...thinking the different types of adventure races, Ironman, etc. Turning things into a multi stage DH event at resorts with some climbing just doesn't have enough to differentiate it from downhill, which is a much better TV product as you say.
 
Definitely looks like some rough times are ahead. I kind of wonder if we're in for a "crash" similar to what happened in the mid 00's after the boom of the late 90's.

What I don't get about some of the comments is the claim that GMBN has "wrecked" the enduro coverage when the post-race videos they produce are literally exactly the same as the previous EWS channel YouTube videos. With the only exception being GMBN has dropped the course preview videos Ric would do with a pro rider (usually Josh Carlson), which I thought were good as you got both a pro-rider as well as an "average Joe" rider perspective on what riding the courses was like.

The logistical costs of trying to do a live broadcast of an enduro race would be staggering, even in its current more simplified format.
 
Dak wins the US Open in Vermont but the big story is this 15 yr old kid who came in 2nd ahead of minnaar and goldstone. What the hell? And it looks like this kid Asa Vermette was fastest through the first four splits? Crazy. Asa is on Neko's frameworks bike and team btw

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Yeah, I can imagine Asa has a few teams interested when he's old enough to race Juniors. Next year?

Has anyone else put themselves on the mailing list for a Frameworks frame? I need a DH bike like a hole in the head, but I could be interested...
 
Ian F said:
Has anyone else put themselves on the mailing list for a Frameworks frame? I need a DH bike like a hole in the head, but I could be interested...
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I'm on the mailing list, but I wound up buying a new DH bike at the beginning of this season, so I'm probably/definitely not interested. I mostly just enjoy watching the content and development of the bike.
 
Man... Gwin is so freaking good with commentary... he just constantly drops little bombs of insight during the run. I know everyone (including myself) would prefer him between the tape (pipes?) but we can definitely enjoy having him in the booth for a few races.
 
I have to say that the time the races happens when in North America makes it more difficult for me to watch, much easier to get up at stupid early o’clock out of the way of…life! That said, I greatly enjoyed. I kind of liked MoiMoi commentary, even though I find MoiMoiTV a little too ‘fratty’. Another one down , one to go.
 
I was thinking the same thing. My only excuse for staying home to watch is I'm somewhat wiped out from traveling.
 
MSA in the books. Good race at least for the men. Watching the women's race was frustrating because Rick and CG were completely forgetting crashes when thinking about time in each stage. So stupid. Nina and Vali the class of the field and it's not really competitive after them right now. For the men's well dak was great and the crash aside he likely would have been top 3. 6th place with a crash is nuts and it was a great year for him. Clearly a top 5 guy now. Goldstone floats like a butterfly. He's like the new and lighter Laurie Greenland lol. If he can stay healthy he may be an all time great.

I'm likely not doing much of this next year and onward so this is a goodbye of sorts. My son will be in college and we barely rode creek this year. This was also the first year since 2019 we didn't attend either snowshoe or MSA. Many of the changes have really put a damper on the sport. Losing Rob of course but the year even with goldstone and Williams added almost felt anticlimatic. Is it just missing rob? The greater show production? No Pierron or Gwin? I feel like the sport lost something this year. And Rick and CG are a bit uninspiring. Gwin is insightful but they have a problem and I hope they get that. My wife used to watch world cups with us and you can tell it's less interesting for casuals like her. My son barely watches now. Damn. Good luck guys and stay active.
 
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I was doing a car club event all weekend, so I didn't get to watch the races, and I spend too much time on social media to avoid knowing the men's winner. I did manage to watch the women's replay before knowing, although it wasn't much of a nail-biter. I agree with you on missing Rob. Next year will be interesting as I don't know what sort of contract Discovery signed with Rick and CG and if that allows for any presenter changes. The production definitely failed a few times, although we need to remember Red Bull wasn't perfect either - especially at the beginning. I don't blame Rick and CG so much as the producers feeding them information. Live broadcast presenters can only be as good as the information they're given. Hopefully, the communication will improve.

Regardless, I enjoyed the season and look forward to next year.
 
Definitely a shocker. Really thought he'd be part of the Syndicate until he retired. I'm also shocked Norco has the funds to lure him away, unless the switch isn't entirely about money. Or Santa Cruz wanted to lower his salary - which is entirely possible given the change in the team dynamics and whatever bonuses they may owe to Jackson that I'm guessing were not planned. While a phenomenal talent, I don't anyone really expected him to win two races and finish second in the standings in his first Elite season.
 
He was on a Santa Cruz sponsored podcast and mentioned being blindsided by it, so apparently not his decision (could be word games). He also mentioned that he will be racing in 2024 (didn’t specifically say it would be DH WC).
 
In that case, I would guess his departure is purely about reducing the costs of running the team. One would imagine he was the highest paid of the four by a fair amount.
 
Ian F said:
In that case, I would guess his departure is purely about reducing the costs of running the team. One would imagine he was the highest paid of the four by a fair amount.
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I would tend to agree. Granted he gets on a capable bike, I would LOVE if he were yo win a few more WC races next year…
 
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