Have we done this yet?

Including all his royalties etc he’s declaring a cool $1 million… to ride his bike (albeit rather quickly)!

Not jealous, not jealous, not jealous…

Cudos to Cathrovision too, loving it

Is that all? I’d definitely want more to ride those courses.

Yes I was surprised. I mean fair play to the guy, but it does make you realise there is actually money in DH. I wonder how many Tues’s YT will sell next year off the back of his win?

I bought one early this year on the back of continual good reviews in Dirt’s top 100…just sold it as I’m actually faster DH on my 160mm trail bike!….I’m sure more time on it would’ve helped but it seems you have to unplug your brain and totally commit to get the best from a DH sled, even one as good as a Tues.

Interesting and quite surprising, I’d have guessed the top riders would be looking at a 1 – 2 100k/year.

Pleased for him, it’s an exciting sport with an unhealthy amount of risk….prior to knowing this I thought only the Athertons got good deals but I’m optimistic about Bruni, Brosnan, Minnaar etc now too.

I’m a wee bit surprised there’s that much money in the industry- obviously that’s income from a million different sources and sponsorships and he’s PR gold in the states, but still.

I know not everyone likes him (after seeing him on the internet) but he’s 29 (6 years on Minaar), he’s won 4 overalls, it’s just ridiculous.

Doesn’t seem unreasonable, MTB seems to be on a steady up over the last 10 years. Not quite the 90’s televised glory days, but the trails are definitely a lot busier than they were 15 years ago (and that’s before TC’s existed) and it’s that which sells bikes and pays his wage sustainably (not the fleeting Grundig, Nissan etc external sponsors).

prior to knowing this I thought only the Athertons got good deals

How much are they on?

I suppose the Atherton’s might have a different type of deal, they have their own team so Trek might be paying them £Xmillion, but out of that they have to employ a team of people and pay for travel etc.

I seem to recall Gwin has some mainstream sponsors, he was in an Audi ad with a couple of US sports stars I don’t remember the name of.

If he gets that from the bike industry I’m pleased for him, for too long people have talked about the MTBs peak back in the 90s etc how how Palmers $300k a year was never going to happen again.

Enjoying Cathrovision – had never heard of it before

As regards Gwin’s money, yeah it’s good but he’s right at the top (and being american probably helps too

I wonder if successful enduro racers might “sell” more bikes

I bought a Tues this month and it was order number 67 thousand odd. Let’s say their average bike is £3000, that’s a fair turnover.

Jesus that’s 200 million turnover for YT!!!!!

67,000 bikes at 3k a pop right?

Edit: there were a few years when their YT Wicked (great bike btw) was less than 2k so probably down a bit on my figure.

67,000 bikes at 3k a pop right?

Yep. Every single order number was at least £3k.

😐

One of the Pinkbike polls I seen earlier was along the lines of which manufacturer will your next bike be from. YT was the most popular choice.

Worth every cent, I suspect!

One of the Pinkbike polls I seen earlier was along the lines of which manufacturer will your next bike be from. YT was the most popular choice.

Yea, when I was 13 my first car was going to be a Ferrari 360.

Still reckon that all the riders are underpaid, say the top 10 guys/gals make £100k average each, so they’re fine but the bottom half of the top 100 will be struggling to pay for their travel and expenses, with a very real risk of a career ending injury at any time.

Compare that to the top footballers in the world who cry when they fall over…

Still, if I was good enough i’d happily ride for flights and free bikes!

Shows how much of a rip off YT are if they have that much cash to blow 😉

He certainly has done well out of it though the jumps do look money related (to spesh then YT, hope he stick with them for a bit this time)
In one of the syndicate vids Cathy’s saying what the team budget is and what is salary, they aint all on that. Minnaar has his diamonds and bike shop, peaty had royal and all the other stuff now, Athertons are doing well at pulling in external sponsors like jeep.

How the other half live
https://www.morvelo.com/blog/privateer/
Masters doing a privateer kit hand out doesn’t seem so far fetched

I was of the understanding that some of the YT and Canyon riders have dibs in the local distribution of their respective bikes in their home countries, I think Minaar may have a similar deal?
I expect there is a huge jump from 30th place to being a regular on the podium and not just in the amount of kit and support you actually get given.

Fair play to Gwin, I think when he won on a YT on it’s first race, they probably thought the price was a bargain. You can’t put a cost on that sort of advertising. Win on a Sunday, sell it on Monday…

I wonder if successful enduro racers might “sell” more bikes

I’m sure they do if they are the right character for a sponsorship deal. I wonder how many Hightowers have been sold off the back of Cedric Gracia.

https://www.yt-industries.com/en/world-of-yt/yt-family/
They have been pushing for a while, Cam Zink
https://www.yt-industries.com/en/detail/index/sArticle/1452/sCategory/239
Tippie
ANDREU LACONDEGUY
etc. been a big set up before launching the US sales effort, I’d also say Canyon was fairly strategic picking up Brosnan to launch down here – they have been playing the slow game with getting out of Europe and understandably as the costs and risk of direct sales to the other side of the world is much bigger – mate got a sender which then needed the shock replaced (Fox X2) via Europe the week he got it.

edit

I wonder how many Hightowers have been sold off the back of Cedric Gracia.

Loads probably, also the rave reviews, it’s been under people like Chris Ball for 2 years, sure Sven Martin is on one in all the promo vids in fact the EWS is a SC love in from that respect. Cedric is also exactly the sort of brand ambassador you want. Out going, always there for the fans, spent hours with the kids taking them riding when I have seen him, never turned down a photo with someone but a very considered thinker and businessman. Again he has his bike park stuff, bike shop, bar and all the promo stuff, couple that with moving to a tax haven years ago there is some sensible financial planning going on – Ferrari in the garage and an electric heated drive to clear the snow.

https://kovarikracing.com/programs/
Also interesting to see where some of the ex pro’s end up, with the retirements this year I don’t think all of those will be on the golden ticket. Interesting to see Cathro showcasing his coaching and analytical skills in the vids, nice bit of advertising for work along with being a really insightful view into the world.

Compare that to the top footballers in the world who cry when they fall over…

Simply get 13.5 million along to watch over the year live (http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-premier-league-2016-2017/1/) and sell the TV broardcast to the punters and you might get close to paying them all 😉 Don’t balme the footballers for being good at the one that pays well, same as the boxers really lots of kids have that as their only way out.

*Marketing tw*t mode on*

YT has a strong portfolio of athletes with great exposure across multiple sport focused media platforms

*off*

But ultimately though they make well good bikes and have some of the best riders in the world in their respective fields. As YT say Good Times

He certainly has done well out of it though the jumps do look money related (to spesh then YT, hope he stick with them for a bit this time)

Like most walks in life, there’s two main sorts- those who let their careers happen to them, and those who manage their careers. Can’t see DH being much different, most of the riders probably can’t believe they get paid a bit of money to ride their bikes, the few with a bit of talent and nous can use it as the basis for a life after racing, Gwinn seems to be one of the very few able to make enough from racing and sponsorship alone to make a good living without getting into something else on the side. In the future no doubt he’ll open a chain of coffee shops or start a brand of alcohol free beer.

Still Gwinns money is loose change to the likes of Dungey, Tomac etc, bet he wishes he could have had as successful a career in MX.

The one I’m really curious about though is Lopes, I reckon his best years must gave been up their with Gwinn (adjusting for inflation, blah blah)

Gwin’s a smart guy whose media reach is bigger than just MTB (unlike most racers) – thanks to his dominance, tyreless and chainless runs etc, he’s been on much bigger channels like Ladbible, People Are Awesome etc etc which dwarf MTB channels for viewability.

More viewability = more eyeballs on sponsors’ branding = stronger negotiating position for him. That also puts him in the crosshairs of non-bike sponsors looking to reach an MTB audience through him.

I’d argue that the question isn’t “why does Gwin earn so much” as “why aren’t the other racers doing as good a job of their media to get a slice of the action”

Top sportsperson earns lots of money.

Hardly surprising, is it?. At least he’s actually entertaining, and risking his arse on a regular basis.

Unlike Gary **** Lineker.

I am surprised by the number but gladly so, he deserves it and more

Think Minaar is also pretty savvy.

Watch his interview with Rob Warner and look at his bike shop and the house he is buying.

Good luck to them!

CaptainFlashheart – Member
67,000 bikes at 3k a pop right?
Yep. Every single order number was at least £3k.

Well I’ve bought 4 now and 3 have been more than that.

The US audience loves ‘extreme’ sports stars, they can earn a fortune through product placement, adverts etc. And remember the US audience is massive. Far harder to do it in the UK, with a much, much smaller audience, and less focus on ‘extreme’ sports.

Compare that to the top footballers in the world who cry when they fall over…

Football is global and millions watch the Premier League. Whereas cycling, let alone mtbing is nowhere near it in terms of global reach. There’s kids in Africa, the Amazon, etc. wearing Man U tops, but I don’t think they’ll be wearing Syndicate tops anytime soon.

Realise Wiggins is more ‘famous’ but he is getting that much just for the Skoda adverts alone…

I know not everyone likes him (after seeing him on the internet) but he’s 29 (6 years on Minaar), he’s won 4 overalls, it’s just ridiculous.

And he doesn’t need handles on his kitchen cupboards and drawers.

Even allowing for inflation it’s still more than the ‘big money’ days. Iirc Shaun palmer was on $300,000 in ’95/96 (half a mil today) and he was seen as the guy that brought the money, and was the last big contract before all the major sponsors pulled out.