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August MBA anti-UCI rant

4K views 63 replies 31 participants last post by  Axe 
#1 ·
So I see that the August issue of MBA has a 4 page anti-UCI rant about the shorter XCO tracks and dumbing down of pro courses. It's a bit ironic that they use the Sea Otter race as an example, as I think the paved section of that course exceeded the maximum allowance under UCI MTB regs of 15% of the total course length.

But aside from that, they're lamenting the loss of 20 mile long lap races in the mountains dictated by the UCI with the shorter courses that are to be between 4-6km in length.

They were pointing out that the UCI requirements to make races spectator friendly by keeping them compact is a waste of time because no one comes out to watch anyway, again using Sea Otter as an example.

I think that Mont Sainte Anne is pretty typical of the attendance in many European World Cups, and that is a 5km course that is easily accessible by the thousands of spectators that show up, and a pretty challenging course for the riders.

I personally think it was a poor idea of the UCI to shorten the race length from 2 hours to 1:30-1:45, as endurance should be a bigger component of a race, but aside from that, it seems that the MBA idea of 20mile long laps almost guarantees that it won't be spectator friendly and won't encourage people to attend or sponsors to support the races.

It's also a bit ironic that on the page preceding the anti-UCI rant to take back mountain bike racing, there's a full page ad for a product called EPO Booster. What are they really saying about their viewpoint on MTB racing? :skep:

Anyone else read the article and have any thoughts?
 
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#43 ·
I just did three laps of the Saint Ann course in the pouring rain.

First the course is a lot of fun, for me at least it is what mountain biking is about. Wicked descents and wicked climbs.

Second the course is hard, really hard. The climbs are so hard that it takes all the technical skills I have developed over 20 years of riding in BC to make them. The descents put a knot in your stomache every lap.

To spectate the course is amazing. You can see the riders in 5 or 6 different places each lap. You actually get to watch the race instead of waiting 30 minutes for the racers to come through.
 
#45 ·
I was on set of really bald Ikons today. On the wet rocks and roots they were decent but in the deeper mud struggled a bit.

Catharine tried Ikons and a new mud tire today. both had there plus and minuses for her. I suspect that she will probably run Ikons on Saturday.
 
#47 · (Edited)
The women's race was fast but not quite as crazy as the 2010 World Champs, the top 10 were covered by 5 minutes this year instead of 2:40 (edit: I just looked back at the 2008 results, 12 minutes covered the top 10 riders, in 2009 it was 5 minutes for the top 10).

There were quite a few crashes, this was definitely no cake walk. I think all of these gals crashed at least once, and many other gals came by looking dipped in dirt. Most of the course was drying up to the point of being dusty in places, but there would have been some muddy sections in the trees. With the bright sun it was hard to see with the big contrast between sunny and shady spots. Quite a few crashes at La Beatrice in the first lap, and that might have been the one that finally took Sabine Spitz out as she crashed quite hard just in front of MHP on that first descent. It was also quite warm and there seemed to be a lot of heat related DNF's in the XCO races.
 

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#48 ·
Here's one of the technical climb sections at MSA that LMN mentioned. Harder to see without the course tape but you can see the tape posts
 

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#50 ·
I walked some of the technical parts of the course last night just to take pics and there was a moment or two there where I couldn't even see where a trail might continue up, it looked like it dead ended into a rock pile. I bet if I looked close I could find some chainring teeth beside some of those rocks, lots of scrapes on the tops.

No one ever shoots video or photos in these areas because there's not much "action" compared to the descents.

The next section further west that runs down through the trees then exits across the bridge was another gnarly mess, and it was drier last night than on Saturday morning.
 
#52 ·
"it seems that the MBA idea of 20mile long laps almost guarantees that it won't be spectator friendly and won't encourage people to attend or sponsors to support the races. "

I loved XC racing when i was 14-17. I raced as a Youth then Junior in the UK at a modest level around the country. I was inspired by the idea of 'wilderness racing' that I read about where XC was a 20-mile+ loop. I watched the video of the Grundig World Cup in Aviemore over and over again till it almost wore through.

But as XC racing got more about shorter courses and more laps, I lost interest. As did all the guys I raced with. We all moved on to big days out on our own loops, or 100km Enduro racing.

If you go to an XC race in the UK you'll see that it's simply not a spectator sport, whatever the lap distance. Unfortunately it's no longer an inspiring aspect of MTB racing either. It's usually some very fit guys on a course that has little in the way of a technical challenge. There are some good courses, but I'd suggest that the reason it's become a small-scale thing here is that it's simply not exciting to watch and the event as a concept isn't interesting.

The Tour de France - people wait for days to see riders flash past in a few seconds because it's a small part of a hugely inspiring undertaking by the riders. I'd want to see the Tour Divide riders pass by my house if i lived on-route. It's not seeing the guys on bikes that people go to see, it's seeing a part of something bigger and emotive. 2 mile XC loops just don't seem 'big' or epic enough to interest many people, it's just people riding in circles in the woods if you don't appreciate how damn fast they are.

I agree with Berkeley Mike - the 'podium thinkinhg' isn't attractive to anyone but the glory-chaser racers. I'd enter a single-loop 2-3hr xc event even though my weaker climbing and better descending would put me back and i'd no chance at a podium - but the big-loop element would appeal. I'd not bother riding anything that sees me covering the same ground 3 or more times in 1.5hrs, that's just a sprint.

XC should be about crossing-country, not short-track sprints. So I'd agree with MBA's sentiments - I'll look out for the article. I'm no fan of the UCI anyway.
 
#61 ·
This whole argument is funny from a company that published Motocross Action. Couldn't you make the same argument about MX/SX- that enduros are the purest form of racing, and MX tracks are merely dumbed-down, spectator-friendly courses?

You could certainly make the same argument about NASCAR- boring races around predictable tracks with only left turns.

Given the popularity that these sports with dull, spectator-friendly courses have achieved over decades of working toward it, it's a bit surprising that a mountain bike mag would call the UCI to task over a 3-year-old attempt to make pro mountain biking more relevant to larger audiences in population centers.

I like to WATCH pro racing, and short tracks are fine by me. I like to PARTICIPATE in longer enduro races. I want folks like JHK, Wells and Craig to be able to make a good living racing bikes and keeping me inspired/entertained, and to do that, we need pro-caliber races that grab the eyeballs that sponsors need.

I'm not a big fan of the "let's give up and stop trying to sustain real pro mountain biking in the US" attitude...
 
#62 ·
I'm not a big fan of the "let's give up and stop trying to sustain real pro mountain biking in the US" attitude...
That attitude will change as soon as American wins a world cup again.

And if I was a betting man I would say a resident of Fort Collins will win in Windham this weekend.
 
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