Warning!! old school moan about the Olympic Xc

mtbmatt, I think that BC are caught though, medals equals money, how many XC racers does the UK have who realistically could win a Medal in London.

What about giving potential future medalists a taste of the Olympics to gain experience now before they have a genuine medal chance in the future?

UCI points were gained by lots of British riders, myself included and almost all of them by traveling overseas without any funding by BC.

British Cycling were quite happy to only have one male and one female representing us at the Olympics. We could easily have had 2 had they provided some funding for people to travel and race overseas. Or possibly get some more UCI races in the UK.
This is shameful especially as we were hosts.I would have expecte d every British sporting body to have pulled out all the stops preceding the Olympics to ensure we were fully represented.
Never trust the establishment

shirley dh receives less funding than xc(is that correct?), its not even an olympic sport

we dont seem to have a problem producing great dhers

What about giving potential future medalists a taste of the Olympics to gain experience now before they have a genuine medal chance in the future?

but if it is going to divert money from another area where medals are more certain? I think the current focus is the result of chasing government money for better or worse, I certainly don’t think it is helped by how the BCF,BMBC, etc merged and how XC has been regarded.

just playing devils advocate.

So you don’t like XC kimbers.
I assume that’s Danny hart, haven’t a clue who the girl is?
Each to their own, I;ve never seen a downhill race, I have seen snippets.
You have to get into the head of some racers. To me rolling downhill has no value whilst hurting myself going uphill gives me a buzz.

shirley dh receives less funding than xc(is that correct?), its not even an olympic sport

we dont seem to have a problem producing great dhers

Roll models and quality of competition. IF you are lucky and get a good batch they push each other, this is where the comments about Tim Gould, Dave Baker etc fit in. The UK had good XC racers but did nothing to bring through the next generation, when they retired not much was left. I think too the foot and mouth, 24hr racing etc pretty much killed the sport.

but if it is going to divert money from another area where medals are more certain?

It really wouldn’t have cost much. We were the highest ranked country with only 1 rider present.

Put lots of competitors on the track at the same time and you can see a race.

But is XC really that good a spectator sport? You get a glimpse of a few riders as they pass your spot and you miss %90+ of the action elsewhere on the lap surely? That’s why they tried to make it more viewer friendly this time but even the TV missed the crashes and seatpost failure.
Not a fan of DH type time trial either. Many sports are good to particpate in but doesn’t make them a good spectacle.

I think too the foot and mouth, 24hr racing etc pretty much killed the sport.

Switzerland has 24hr races as well you know…

But is XC really that good a spectator sport?

Are many sports? really?

To me rolling racing downhill has no value whilst hurting myself going uphill gives me a buzz.

Switzerland has 24hr races as well you know…

don’t doubt it,

it also has Cristalp, swiss bike masters, a lot of very good XC racers, a history of good XC racers. etc.

What it lacks is DH riders and yet look at the courses available to them?

Which does point to something in the mentality of riders?

What it lacks is DH riders and yet look at the courses available to them?

Which does point to something in the mentality of riders?

Why ride DH when you can ride uphill AND downhill 😉
MTB XC is pretty much their national sport.

Why does a thread asking why we do not have the strength in depth in the xc scene these days, have to become a dh vs xc vs whatever sort of thread?

Just cos it is not your chosen style of racing does not mean it’s necessarily crap. At least it is not dressage or something.

Are many sports? really?

The big ones, the popular stadium sports are that’s why they’re big-not being flippant.Where you get to see it all.Obviously history ,exposure and marketing all come into it as does conveience and the craic you get with some events
I cannot understand why anyone would go and watch golf(or play it for that matter) but loads do.

with rob warner screaming himself hoarse while danny hart showed more balls than all the lycra posing pouches on view today

What a load of rubbish you speak.You wear what suits the sport and lycra suits cross country you dont see baggy shorts in xc racing .In fact look at old mammoth downhill videos no body armour there either.What kit is compulsory for downhill now? and isnt it just another form of timetrial ? I find downhill dull and aimed at kids who are stoked rad and gnar

Gravity enduro may represent the sport as we know it in future years.

The next Olympic cycling discipline ???

Yeh because they would look great on TV…

Gravity enduro may represent the sport as we know it in future years.

The next Olympic cycling discipline ???

very much doubt it, IOC/UCI are clear on this, man not machine. and yes i know not total consistency by their actions, then there is always the considerable issue of what gets dropped to make room? where you stage the event etc.

Oh and the fact that just because the UK is crap at XC doesn’t mean that most other countries see a reason to change the format.

nick1962, i do understand where your coming from, but to me sport is something to do not watch, but yes i can see why football, Tennis, rugby et al work. What you see is what is happening there is nothing happening that you can’t see.

but to me sport is something to do not watch

+1
But revenue for investment comes from large scale participation and/or paying punters or from sponsors/advertisers or manufacturers to sell there wares to. Chicken and egg.

.

mrmo

very much doubt it, IOC/UCI are clear on this, man not machine

Sorry mrmo but how does gravity enduro represent machine more than man any more than xc? As I pointed out earlier, a top flight xc bike is a specialist race machine, and costs many thousands. Yes, Nino Schurter could show up a local race on a £500 bike and win, but he wouldn’t win a World Cup on the same.

Similarly Joe Barnes or Jerome Clementez would still podium at a gravity enduro on the same £500 bike. Rider not bike.

I’m just curious to hear why you see a distinction that Enduro is so much more “about the bike” since I really doubt it’ll ever be an Olympic sport and I hope the same is true for DH.

I don’t understand why it seems so hard for XC fans to understand the joys of DH or vice versa. Statements like “rolling downhill” are as blinkered and idiotic as suggesting that all XCers mince downhill with their brakes on. However I’ve noticed that comments like this tend to come from those that are slow at whichever discipline they’re denigrating.

XC is like masturbation, it’s fun to do, but no one wants to watch it!

walk into a shop buy a cheap bike will it be closer to an XC bike or a DH bike. the UCI seem to have in their heads ideas of what bikes are. Hence in part the rules about what a road bike should look like, what a MTB should look like.

Reality is irrelevant.

Then what can be made to work on TV, after all you have to keep sponsors happy. Hence mtb laps getting shorter.

Then as it is a sport, XC is closer to a pure test of fitness and skill than DH, Enduro etc. yes both do demand but to the lay man less so. your just rolling downhill etc.

And finally location, where could you hold a decent enduro near london?

XC is like masturbation, it’s fun to do, but no one wants to watch it!

40,000 spectators over 2 days says you are wrong.

40,000 spectators over 2 days says you are wrong.

And many of those I spoke to today had never been to a bike race, let alone an MTB race. They loved it! They really got in to it.

It was superb.

Chill out will ya, it was light hearted humour!

Humour should be funny, in case you didn’t know.

Rolling down hill was a childish poke in the eye at the dopes that click onto a thread about XC racing only to slate it and suggest that XCers not ride off road at all.
There’s a small part of me that says **** it. Why bother spending your free time to grow the sport though access and funding. When the greatest obstacle seems to be other mountain bikers. I have only had encouragement from the areas road clubs.

colint – Member
Ha, thanks, I’ll go back to cross then.

There ends my first xc season

LOL that made Epping Forest look like a Black run lololololol

…Hence mtb laps getting shorter…

i took part in a ‘mini xc’ race last week; as many laps around a 2k lap* as possible in 1 hour.

it was ace!*

(*jumps and berms all over the place!)

🙂

40,000 spectators over 2 days says you are wrong.

Chapeau to anyone who can knock one off in front of a crowd that big 🙂
Edit Apologies CFH

mrmo
And finally location, where could you hold a decent enduro near london?

Nowhere. I don’t think enduro would or should be in the olympics. I was simply curious why you cited “rider not bike” in relation to it.

mrmo

walk into a shop buy a cheap bike will it be closer to an XC bike or a DH bike. the UCI seem to have in their heads ideas of what bikes are. Hence in part the rules about what a road bike should look like, what a MTB should look like.

£880 will buy you a vitus escarpe. How much does a Mclaren venge or Pinarello XTRACK? or Scott Scale SL S? I don’t get your point.

Then as it is a sport, XC is closer to a pure test of fitness and skill than DH, Enduro etc.

Start another thread for that one.

Edit : can’t be arsed

Oldgit, I think there’s a worrying amount of MTBers who have a big problem with other riders being better than them, or even worse, starting out as worse riders but getting better than them. This animosity is not good for encouraging healthy competition and improvement.

Oldgit, I think there’s a worrying amount of MTBers who have a big problem with other riders being better than them, or even worse, starting out as worse riders but getting better than them. This animosity is not good for encouraging healthy competition and improvement.

You mean there are riders on here who are better than me?
That’s it I’m cancelling my subscription.

Oldgit, I think there’s a worrying amount of MTBers who have a big problem with other riders being better than them, or even worse, starting out as worse riders but getting better than them. This animosity is not good for encouraging healthy competition and improvement.

I dont think thats it.

I think its mbuk and that old chainspotting video. Its poisoned the minds of lots of young men into think racing a bike and wearing lycra is gay.

Fortunately, they were just joking. But they hadnt realised the people they were telling this stuff to all had really low IQ’s and hence they thought they were being serious.

davidtaylforth – Member

I think its mbuk and that old chainspotting video. Its poisoned the minds of lots of young men into think racing a bike and wearing lycra is gay.

anyone who remembers ‘chainspotting’ would be at least 30 by now.

if Xc racing has a bad image, then it’s up to Xc racers to change it, if they want to…