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https://www.pinkbike.com/news/new-xc-discipline-and-more-prize-money.html
For 2018, we can expect to see a new addition to the World Cup season, with short track XC being added to the mix. The newly labeled XCC is claimed to be both spectator and T.V. friendly and will take place at every round that hosts an XCO (Cross-Country Olympic) round. The event will be a 20-minute race and will take place on "wide and flowing" one to one and a half kilometer long courses
Really like this idea. Would be good to see some events which are 3 or 4 XCC races run across the same day, with points for each race, then at the end of the day most points win.
I think it would open XC racing up a bit for people, as a beginner you'd spend less time trudging about in no-mans-land and get another shot again at racing in the same day.
Sounds great. More XC formats would make things way more interesting I reckon.
I'd have an even shorter course, like 500m. Like track cycling for MTBers. There are loads of different race formats in track, and even road.
Would this be like the Xc Eliminator (XCE) they tried for a couple of seasons to almost total indifference.
By all means keep arsing about with the format in the vain hope of making it 'more Tv friendly' because at the end of the day, that's what is important.
Why not just hold an uphill race the day before the downhill one. No need for two courses that way.
Why not go the whole hog and just run a summer CX series alongside the world cup.
The Belgies would love it.
If i read this right, they are going to use the XCC as a qualifier for the front two rows of the XCO event the next day.
That sounds risky for the top riders as you'll get the full field trying to smash through to get up front.
By all means keep arsing about with the format in the vain hope of making it 'more Tv friendly'
Not talking about TV friendliness - I just think it'd be more fun to actually ride.
I quite like the idea, as long as it doesn't degenerate into a summer CX race.
Because that would be nothing like XC? A lot of recent events have incorporated secions the DH track into the lap, even Pinkbike cover the XC now.openmtbkie - Member
Why not just hold an uphill race the day before the downhill one. No need for two courses that way.
<Dick mode> If you can't ride your (not actually 'you' Molster) bike round a course for an hour...then maybe xc is'nt for you </Dick mode>
I can ride my bike round a course for an hour. But so can many other people slightly faster or slightly slower, so there tends not to be a lot of actual racing when I do it.
thisisnotaspoon - Member
openmtbkie - Member
Why not just hold an uphill race the day before the downhill one. No need for two courses that way.
Because that would be nothing like XC? A lot of recent events have incorporated secions the DH track into the lap, even Pinkbike cover the XC now.
I think he was joking, I found it funny anyway.
😆
spawnofyorkshire - MemberIf i read this right, they are going to use the XCC as a qualifier for the front two rows of the XCO event the next day.
That sounds risky for the top riders as you'll get the full field trying to smash through to get up front.
Its also a daft idea beacuse 20mins of max effort is very different to an hour and a half of just below max effort.
Sounds like a way of getting the big names to ride XCE, which actually has it's own world series already but isn't getting much publicity.
Example of this years XCE race:
As an aside how come Pinkbike are getting these stories out there and STW just ignoring them? Come on STW pull your finger out, spend some time on news reporting rather than dodgy reviews (like those Hope flats, that got a great write up, but are generally known to be rubbish).
THey ('lympics people) jsut need to grab a big bike bash programme for PROPER races!!
If you plan it right, you can hill climb in the morning, pint to pint at lunch, XC eliminator mid afternoon, then lake jump for prizes...
DrP
Rorschach - Member
<Dick mode> If you can't ride your (not actually 'you' Molster) bike round a course for an hour...then maybe xc is'nt for you </Dick mode>
Lol meet PvP xce world champion and hell of an xc weapon, and enduro man and giant. I would hesitate to knock anyone on the scene having actually seen them ride.
IMO Cross country in any format just doesn't look good on TV.
It might be better if everyone just realised this and moved on.
It doesn't matter.
A short-ish lap with 4X type stuff in it would be interesting I think, that urban XCE up there looked a bit sterile- the wagon wheels and lycra probably don't help much.
Not to mention the tarmac! Really not the way to sell mountain biking.the wagon wheels and lycra probably don't help much.
kayla1 - Member
the wagon wheels and lycra probably don't help much
You mean standard XC race equipment?
A short-ish lap with 4X type stuff in it would be interesting I think, that urban XCE up there looked a bit sterile- the wagon wheels and lycra probably don't help much.
There was a post on Facebook the other day, guy came 7th in the Sheffield urban CX, on an On-One Fatty!
[quote=kayla1]the wagon wheels...probably don't help much
^^ This ^^
29ers should stick to downhill where they belong! 😈
You mean standard XC race equipment?
Yes, because they're not racing a 'standard' XC race, are they? Have a separate class for jump bikes with low seats or something more (visually) interesting/entertaining if you're trying to get (new) people excited about something that's currently a bit dull. Something along these lines-
[img] 
[/img]
Winch up a climb and plummet down via jumps and drops and stuff for shortish 2 or 3 lap races- it's basically 4X but with a climb added in to get back to the top for another lap or two to reduce the sprinty BMX element. I'd quite like a go at that myself...
A short-ish lap with 4X type stuff in it would be interesting I think
beaten to it above!
what you`ll get though is that xc elimator course posted above which is just embarrassing.
[quote=kayla1 ]Something along these lines-
Winch up a climb and plummet down via jumps and drops and stuff for shortish 2 or 3 lap races- it's basically 4X but with a climb added in to get back to the top for another lap or two to reduce the sprinty BMX element. I'd quite like a go at that myself...
The trouble is, the vast majority of the event (time wise) would be spent climbing and that's also where the majority of the racing would take place. I doubt you'd get the head to head excitement on the techy bits you're imagining - from a racing POV it would be nothing like 4X. However you may have an idea there with your pic - have a continuous uplift on the climb (rope tow or something similar?) so the only place they can race is on the DH bits 🙂
I though the original XCE format was pretty good entertainment before they decided it sould be round car parks, the one a Cairns a few years back was a good example of how it can work.
what you`ll get though is that xc elimator course posted above which is just embarrassing.
Except in most of the world XC is still the main part of mountain biking and the races are far more followed than in the UK. It's simply that the magazines in the UK gave up on XC years ago for whatever reason. The UCI are global if this is popular in mainland Europe and the States, then it'll be a success and the UCI wouldn't give a toss if the UK thinks it's a crap format.
Hmm, yes, you're right. It needs to be in a relatively compact area like a 4X track with a short-ish, sharp-ish climb back up, or build it so there are two or three climby bits interspersed with fun stuff. Don't run it on a flat car park with a plank of wood and two bricks as a 'jump' though #BITD #watchoutforcars #RaleighBurner 😆
It's simply that the magazines in the UK gave up on XC years ago for whatever reason.
I can come up with two reasons, one magazine advertising, and pushing the next big thing, hence DH, Enduro, etc. Two UK MTBers are generally fat unfit middle aged IT managers who can't ride for ****, but riding XC would reveal just how crap they are, so they bought the latest skill-compensator being pushed by the aforementioned advertising.
mrmo - those definitely aren't the reasons I was thinking about 🙂
1) XC became less like the kind of riding that MTBers do day-in-day out. Courses being more durable TV-friendly circuits. Not landscapes that most would aspire to ride. Money brought roadies and CX racers pushing out the technically gifted riders who weren't quite as fit. The mainland Europeans who started to dominate just didn't appeal in the same way as the Americans had.
2) XC racing became something that was pretty hard to find in the UK. Fun weekend-long events like the Keilder Classic, Mountain Mayhem, singlespeed champs, and then the 24-hour racing phenomenon took over as a better example of what people wanted from XC events. Challenges rather than flat-out speed tests.
3) Suspension brought more technical terrain into play and took it from trialsy/stuttery 'can I clear this' to who can go the fastest.
Basically, when I watch XC racing, it doesn't feel like people doing the sport that I do. When I watch DH it does.
when I watch XC racing, it doesn't feel like people doing the sport that I do.
Have you seen a current XCO world cup?
Yes a couple of this years. It's much better than it was a few years ago. It seemed to revive a bit when the Dalby World Champs course was revealed, but then lulled again.Have you seen a current XCO world cup?
Hopefully they can keep it up. The damage was done in the 90s.
I still think they'd be better moving away from circuits and doing some kind of longer ridge-run type ride that normal riders would truly aspire to enter.
For some reason most of the mountain bikers I know would rather enter the 3 peaks than most XC races.
Basically, when I watch XC racing, it doesn't feel like people doing the sport that I do. When I watch DH it does.
Which is a UK issue, i know people complaining about where some XC race courses are going and turning to Cross, you can race without the level of risk, after all racing doesn't pay the bills for most.
I don't like to be negative, but that XCE video hardly makes it look appealing. Like urban DH, MTB on concrete just seems wrong to me. Maybe if they had to do it on road bikes - then Peter Sagan might give it a go.
The new discipline could be an improvement anyway.
29ers should stick to downhill where they belong!
😆
The thing is, alternative XC formats are always designed to widen the appeal of XC to more viewers, to make it more accessible and exciting and understandable and generally less like XC. And then all the XC fans lose their shit because it's not exactly like XC. I think XCE was pretty ace, or could be at least, but it faced a wall of hate instantly.
XCE was awful.
Every round was like it's a knockout does mountainbiking.
does this new thing mean it'll go away?
The newly labeled XCC format sounds very similar to the Ligh****er Valley/Ripon Rowels race of old (anyone remember that one), except that event had a mountain bike time trial (1 lap) followed by the XC race in the afternoon.
Interesting range of comments about why XC has been in decline with many valid points. In my opinion: when you give it full gas at an XC race, it's hard and that ain't for everyone. I love the build up to the race, being held on the start line with the adrenaline building and then turning myself inside out for an hour and a half, but recognise that many other just enjoy the recreation. Perhaps this draws them away from XC races to other types of event that are popping up on the calendar. Not worse events mind, just different.
I've been racing XC continuously since 1996 as a Juvenile and hope that the excellent UK series such as Nutcracker continue so that I can race well into the grand vet and super vet categories. I heave heard that some series are struggling for numbers which is a shame, particularly when we have a great crop of promising young riders coming through the XC ranks.
This isn't a really interesting thread!
I guess the comments on here sum up the challenge that the uci, or any event organiser has - there are so many different opinions, each person would like to see something different.
I think this does sound interesting. XC (or even road tours for that matter) may not make interesting TV for the average punter, so this could be a good way of getting more interest at a grass-roots level.
I think the right mix of tech for the jumpy types and some grindy bits could work.
Something like an off-road crit perhaps?
On the other end, I'd also like to see something akin to an off-road audax, similar to a motorcycle enduro or rally.
* sorry, I meant to type 'this an interesting thread' and didn't mean to come across as an obnoxious wazock - damn auto correct
It's interesting to see XC from the rest of the world perspective. It's more popular and has better grass roots support in other areas - they have regular evening races run by local clubs, plenty more XC events with decent prize money which is keeping the flow of riders coming through.
XC (or even road tours for that matter) may not make interesting TV for the average punter
This is the thing, even the tour de france is pretty dull for the most part, but road cycling is on trend so it draws in viewers. What ever you do to xc, the too cool for skool wanabee enduro gang will dismiss it out of hand (I put wanabee because I've been in xc races with good enduro racers and they smash the proverbial out of it and normally win sports cat).
I like the idea of the short course as a different event, but not as a seeding for the proper event.
What ever you do to xc, the too cool for skool wanabee enduro gang will dismiss it out of hand (I put wanabee because I've been in xc races with good enduro racers and they smash the proverbial out of it and normally win sports cat).
Well I'm very much an also-ran when I race enduros and I enjoy the odd XC race.
Are you sure you haven't just got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder? Do you think the words you've used will encourage more too coolfor school wannabe enduro warriors to try XC?
they have regular evening races run by local clubs,
Who runs cross races and road races, now look at MTB who exists to do the same? pissing about with formats really isn't going to fix anything. If your competitive you will race, but there needs to be somewhere to race.
Who runs cross races and road races, now look at MTB who exists to do the same? pissing about with formats really isn't going to fix anything
2 different things going on there. UCI is looking after it's end and BC who needs to sort it's crap out with the infrastructure and set ups
Are you sure you haven't just got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder? Do you think the words you've used will encourage more too coolfor school wannabe enduro warriors to try XC?
I was attempting to be mildly humourous! 😳
edit. Its a valid point re. club structure. Not many organised mtb clubs (round here anyway) who would put on grass roots events.
Same here for me. There's not a great deal XC-wise in Kent, though it has been of more interest to me lately.
And just think; We'll get to obsess about the new bike specific to it!