In just this week alone, Ibis and Davinci have canned their EDR teams and Katy Winton and a host of other riders have confirmed that they don’t have rides next year. Is this the beginning of the end of EWS/EDR then? Will we see it just die away like 4X did, which used to compete for attention against DH (amazingly enough) and had it’s own rainbow stripes world Champs

Given the post lockdown sales blues that most bike companies are facing, I can understand why, but this year especially EDR has fallen off the map for me, I can’t remember the last time I paid any attention to it.

Ibis have just released a new enduro bike as well . I’d love to know if this is because of the current poor coverage and the changes to how the EWS/EDR runs or if its down to a lack of money in the industry post covid , I suspect its got more to do with the second but the first can’t help .

There are rumours about teams leaving downhill as well so it’s not just enduro

Enduro just seems like a race format that is more fun to do than to watch.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but it will limit the number of pro riders it will support.

Maybe Enduro full stop? Didn’t Kev put out an appeal for entrants for an event this year and the NN had spaces the week before. Although these two events are at the more technical end of the spectrum so appeal to less riders.

I’m still following the EWS coverage but it sure is a hard sport to televise and capture the excitement and realty of.

They do need to come up with a better format of coverage, I think live probably isn’t the answer but perhaps instead a highlights package post event. I’ve seen it compared to rallying but they get to use in car cameras and helicopter footage which I can’t really see happening.

Recently I realised that I had no idea what had happened in what used to be called EWS so far this year. It seems they’re made WC DH paid viewing only and given EWS almost zero coverage!

Let’s face it, it’s not really that “pro” is it? I wonder how many of them actually make enough money to support themselves from the racing?

I think teams pulling out represent a consolidation of spending by brands. It’s hard to see how much more benefit there is in funding a team (quite expensive) vs just sponsoring a rider with free equipment (almost zero cost). Most of the name recognition is of the riders anyway, not their team. I also wonder how effective a form of marketing it is for brands, when social media and the internet seem to have a bigger influence on what people buy. It’s not as if any one brand is substantially different to another, despite their best efforts.

There’s at least the same amount of video coverage of enduro on the official channels, but for some reason a lot of the MTB media aren’t sharing it this year. I wonder if that’s because they perceive Discovery as a media competitor?

Enduro playlist with previews, highlights, interviews etc:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5W-TcQwJltJMDXEQDdHeeqyQiAycA_7x&si=_xwOYrkiqjeYqMgJ

Free to view DH highlights, juniors racing, semis, qualis etc:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5W-TcQwJltK6ZNqd1scJeegqa_MQmHs1&si=iPPp7al0natmui5s

Enduro just seems like a race format that is more fun to do than to watch.

I think basically this.

For Enduro to pay its way there will need to be some cross-funding from DH, but the whispers coming from that direction are not great either.

Sticking the pointy end of DH behind a paywall and adding an extra layer of quali (semis) so something at 90% intensity can be free to air is a dick move by people who are largely concerned with cashing their chips now rather than looking to the future.

Enduro has to have the big manufacturers on board to survive. If they don’t perceive that they are getting the exposure they will increasingly focus on riders who can generate revenue from Instagram rather than race results.

Was 4X any good to watch @nickc? It’s unusual to have a timetrial as the main event, and the actual bike race not be that popular.

Enduro is able to directly market the product (the bikes) rather than just the brand, so it feels like that should mean something. But the technical challenges for effective televison seem way, way beyond the scope of the sport. DH coverage is difficult enough from what we see.

It’s almost impossible to film it to make it a watchable event even highlights .they’ve proved that .

The costs involved for each team just simply doesn’t stack up anymore against sales of bikes

For me I’ve never really got to grips with it or engaged in it like I do the dh .

There’s at least the same amount of video coverage of enduro on the official channels, but for some reason a lot of the MTB media aren’t sharing it this year. I wonder if that’s because they perceive Discovery as a media competitor?

Aren’t riders banned from filmed their own content, with media outlets only being allowed to use official footage?

Not that I know of, or else MoiMoi TV etc wouldn’t exist?

“ There’s at least the same amount of video coverage of enduro on the official channels, but for some reason a lot of the MTB media aren’t sharing it this year.”

That must be why it’s passed me by – I visit here, pinkbike, nsmb and vital, and a few others. If it’s not on those sites, I don’t hear about it!

They do need to come up with a better format of coverage, I think live probably isn’t the answer but perhaps instead a highlights package post event. I’ve seen it compared to rallying but they get to use in car cameras and helicopter footage which I can’t really see happening.

I suppose the problem is that coverage is pretty labour/resource intensive Vs XC/DH/CX and Road cycling has a big established, global audience which justifies the spend for the advertisers.

So realistically live coverage is out, the current edited format seems to be too short (its typically just a 45min show isn’t it) and misses too much, probably because there’s only a handful of camera operators trying to cover a lots of sections of different stages and running between hills and if it was all helmet cam footage that wouldn’t work either.

I reckon it needs a longer highlights show (1.5hrs at least?) And they need to look at the possibilities for more, longer range drone coverage supplemented with some helmet cam footage. They’ve been using drones for shorter sections of CX and DH, take the lessons learned there and apply it to a bigger (geographically) event. That still means a lot of effort will be needed for editing, it’s still not going to be cheap but they need some logistical flexibility to cover each round and marching camera crews about in mountains isn’t going to work.

Someone also needs to take a flyer on TV Slots, I’ve only ever spotted it at stupid times on Eurosport, and you have to search on GCN for it. If Enduro is starved for exposure and the coverage just doesn’t do it justice then sadly these days it’s going to die, the OP’s reference to 4x makes the point.

I’m not sure. 2 teams that didn’t have riders at the pointy end of the field is not really much of a change. They also didn’t appear to do much of their own marketing / social media stuff off the back of the team.

As it’s the last race of the season then it’s not surprising there are riders at the end of their contracts who are now looking for rides. It’s not as if GT have said the won’t be racing next year it’s just that Katy is at the end of her contract that sounds like it’s not been renewed. I hope she does find a ride

There is also a global slump in bike sales after the covid boom that brand owners are having to deal with

That must be why it’s passed me by – I visit here, pinkbike, nsmb and vital, and a few others. If it’s not on those sites, I don’t hear about it!

Must admit I’d be really interested to hear various media outlets’ take on why they’ve not run with coverage like previous years, but then run stories about the decline of the sport & coverage.

Is it a resistance to publishing/promoting a ‘competitor’ content or something else?

I reckon it needs a longer highlights show (1.5hrs at least?) And they need to look at the possibilities for more, longer range drone coverage supplemented with some helmet cam footage. They’ve been using drones for shorter sections of CX and DH, take the lessons learned there and apply it to a bigger (geographically) event. That still means a lot of effort will be needed for editing, it’s still not going to be cheap but they need some logistical flexibility to cover each round and marching camera crews about in mountains isn’t going to work.

It sounds simple, but TV isn’t cheap.

Take a drone. £500-£4000 /day depending if you just want some FPV stuff or a pilot + camera operator. And they want paying for the week to fly there, scout locations etc, fly back.

Go-Pros, yes every Tom Dick and Harry sticks one on their helmet to capture the gnarr of Swinley for free. But as a profesional that’s £400/day to wrangle cameras and cards and for enduro that’s going to need 2 people per stage. And likewise they all want paying for the week, flights, per diems and accomodation.

Even just having a camera at the finish line costs thousands (cameraman, sound guy, director).

And then there’s production office and editing costs.

While full on live coverage is near impossible, they could still do a lot better than a Twitter feed to provide live coverage.

With the likes of YouTube live it’s not unreasonable to expect some on course stuff during the race, whether it’s someone at an interesting point in a stage or at a stage end etc.

The problem there is firstly condistency of delivery, and secondly, for every person that thinks youtube live or similar is great, there’ll be 100 complaining pinkbike forum users moaning it’s not Hollywood standard broadcast.

And as we know, there’s sadly a vocal group who refuse to pay but want more output, to hell with wages, costs, logistics or any of the real life factors that impact the viability of broadcasting a difficult sport.

If GT are the bike of choice for many privateers (DH per pinkbike), why would a brand need to pay riders when the jobs being done at a more grass roots level.

Sensible budget allocations I’d think to drop your paid athlete liabilities and increase your privater support by lowering bike/frame pricing to those that purchase.

Enduro is able to directly market the product (the bikes) rather than just the brand, so it feels like that should mean something. But the technical challenges for effective televison seem way, way beyond the scope of the sport. DH coverage is difficult enough from what we see.

Exactly, I expect DH is far more workable for TV and if you can make a DH bike that wins you can sell an Enduro bike.

Was 4X any good to watch @nickc? It’s unusual to have a timetrial as the main event, and the actual bike race not be that popular

In the early to mid noughties it was great. It was usually on on the Saturday evening after qualifying and the field was full of the downhill racers doing it for a laugh. Once they stopped, probably due to the risk of injuries, it just felt a bit pointless.

As DH seems to be moving to 3 minute tracks to make coverage easier, perhaps enduro should just be the same 3 minute track(no tree coverage) done 5 times. Or two tracks right next to each other so cameras can cover both courses.

I’ve never really got into watching Enduro even though it matches my riding quite closely and I’ve raced a few. I love watching DH but I never really ride it and have never raced it. I also own an Enduro bike but not a DH bike and with no desire to buy one.

In last weeks Downtime podcast with Jack Moir they talked a lot about how the coverage could be improved, he was suggesting that it’d be good to see mini clips uploaded straight after each stage finish to keep people engaged through the day. And where they are sharing a venue with the DH, why not let them come down after the downhill is finished, you’d have the cameras and the crowds all there already.
As it stands the coverage just struggles to engage, dry commentators talking over 5 second clips usually of pretty dull sections of the trails (I know that most of the interesting parts will be hard to access with broadcast quality equipment)

Looks like messrs Ball and Cunningham cashed out at the right time…

At least RC managed to buy his RS4 before the gravy train stopped!

What’s happened? Is it cancelled?

It’s the old squash problem isn’t it? Great sport to participate in, loads of potential for increased participation. Absolute balls to watch on TV let alone online.

The opposite of, say, cliff diving. Dangerous to take part with a participant base in the hundreds, but makes great online 1 minute footage with stunning settings and athletes in swim suits. Appeals to anyone who likes stunning views, athleticism and swimsuits. Which is a much bigger pool of people than like watching what is essentially a very drawn out time trial.

It’s a real pity, because it a much more appealing sport for me than DH. But the DH format seems much, much easier to package for spectators, and especially for TV.

I love watching DH but I never really ride it and have never raced it. I also own an Enduro bike but not a DH bike and with no desire to buy one.

Me too. You would’ve thought that the bike industry sells more enduro-a-like bikes than it ever would DH bikes, which makes the whole situation even more weird. Enduro seems to me to be the race series that more closely matches “normal group riding” i.e. stroll to the top and kill yourself trying to keep up with the naturally talented descender in your group, so for the UCI and bike manufacturers to treat enduro so poorly that it has teams folding while DH and XC is more and more popular just seems, I dunno, like they don’t care?

You would’ve thought that the bike industry sells more enduro-a-like bikes than it ever would DH bikes, which makes the whole situation even more weird. Enduro seems to me to be the race series that more closely matches “normal group riding” i.e. stroll to the top and kill yourself trying to keep up with the naturally talented descender in your group, so for the UCI and bike manufacturers to treat enduro so poorly that it has teams folding while DH and XC is more and more popular just seems, I dunno, like they don’t care?

Very very much so. That’s what a decent chunk of us do, we ride something at least relatable to their tracks… but slower 🙂

I was watching the stage previews from Chatel and thinking “Damn, got to find some of them next year”.

I’d love to know if this is because of the current poor coverage and the changes to how the EWS/EDR runs or if its down to a lack of money in the industry post covid

Both.

At least RC managed to buy his RS4 before the gravy train stopped!

They’ve jumped ship to another gravy train (DH).

But seem to be doing their best to run that into the buffers as well.

In the early to mid noughties it was great. It was usually on on the Saturday evening after qualifying and the field was full of the downhill racers doing it for a laugh. Once they stopped, probably due to the risk of injuries, it just felt a bit pointless.

Before my time, but seems like you’re saying it was only good because the more famous DH athletes were there, and they weren’t really trying anyway.

Enduro seems to me to be the race series that more closely matches “normal group riding” i.e. stroll to the top and kill yourself trying to keep up with the naturally talented descender in your group, so for the UCI and bike manufacturers to treat enduro so poorly that it has teams folding while DH and XC is more and more popular just seems, I dunno, like they don’t care?

TBH, where i am (and everywhere i’ve ridden/lived/raced/visited) Enduro is very much a niche.
Normal group riding is very much XC/trail riding, and outnumbers Enduro (probably) 10 to 1. Although a lot of the folk doing it are riding Enduro-a-like bikes.

Enduro seems to me to be the race series that more closely matches “normal group riding”

It does, but maybe it’s about how the interest in enduro is all around the timed descents bit, but, we have that bigger/faster/better in DH already. Enduro could be seen as DH with more XC and XC doesn’t interest this crowd or sell these bikes. Hence with 95% of these bikes now pedalling well at 160mm+ travel, the distance between stages and uphills don’t add anything to the marketing value of the category apart from a lot of broadcasting faff.

A ‘lightweight’ class in DH might work well to develop and market good bikes for most of us – race the same DH run so the competition that pushes the brand’s R+D is to close the time gaps between the full DH class and the Enduro bike class.

Class could be based on weight not travel, bikes must be a weight that you or I could accept for a full day’s riding in Scotland or the Lakes. Rely on reviews to weed out any poor pedalling bikes – and I still see this category being majority e-bikes in future anyway. Perhaps EWS level Enduro racing should be on e-bikes already..

I always thought the 4x was a far more interesting and entertaining sport to watch than the DH was – Fort Bill when it was on was absolutely brilliant. It was far more engaging than the DH as you were seeing a real fight for first with multiple riders on the short course. DH (and to an extent, Enduro) is incredibly dull to watch – live or on TV – the 1 person passing and then waiting for the next one to pass in a few seconds just doesn’t make interesting viewing material.

I watched the World Champs DH and really didn’t enjoy it – the last 30 seconds as they came through the VisitScotland sign and then into the motorway and finish seemed to be the most exciting bit, the coverage just didn’t do it justice.

I watched the XC stuff and was glued to the tv as there was so much more going on and could be seen…there was so much more interest and excitement going on.

However, I don’t tend to watch any bike racing on the tv as it is all very dull, but the XC stuff proved more entertaining than the DH.

Sorry, very long-winded pile of mince.

The bike industry is apparently contracting due to lack of bike sales since Covid has ended and people are no longer buying bikes to go do some exercise…money is very tight; cost of living for most people is meaning they aren’t spending as much on past times, so less bikes being sold. Also, the bike industry seems to be thinking increasing the price of all their stuff is going to encourage more sales…so in the end, no as much money in biking as before. The public are tightening their belts (in terms of spending money on bikes) and the bike industry is now starting to do the same and things needs to be trimmed/cut.

DH bikes have 1 purpose – to go down hill fast – they don’t tend to go up hill unless they are pushed or carried, so I suspect sales won’t be high, but are likely to be popular with the DH based. Enduro bikes do tend to be able to ride up and down hills, so I’d guess would have a much wider appeal. These are a niche within a niche so volumes are never going to be high.

Harsh reality but that is it…reality. I do feel sorry for the riders who aren’t securing a ride for next year – despite me finding racing incredibly dull to watch, the riders have amazing skills and abilities (which I do admire) – but how they turn that into a sponsored ride and a way of earning a living is a new challenge – and I’ve no idea how to solve that.

“Damn, got to find some of them next year”.

I know, right. Some of those tracks looked like so much fun to ride.

Let’s face it, it’s not really that “pro” is it? I wonder how many of them actually make enough money to support themselves from the racing?

More than you suspect. You can’t sustain a multi year career from racing if your not being paid enough to be earning a living from it. Some of the most vocal in dh complaining about wages are making in excess of £100k per year after all costs according to their companies house submissions

DH (and to an extent, Enduro) is incredibly dull to watch – live or on TV

Well that’s your opinion, but even Discovery’s pisspoor coverage can’t suck all the excitement out of the DH World Cup races for those of us who appreciate the amazing current crop of athletes.