I wonder if DH and even XC would have more general appeal if the TV coverage looked like that. Then there would be more money in it for the riders.

Because that probably changed cameras every 3 to 4 seconds? Over a 4 minute run that would need ~70 cameras. And each one would have to get it perfect, and the director would have to be perfect. All that for a couple of thousand viewers at most in the UK. Compared to Sky doing a premiership game with 3 cameras and charging millions of people £50 a month to watch it.

The BBC covered the Worlds at Fort William a few years back and it was a bit pants, lots of shakey telephoto stuff of the top section and nadda in the woods. We’re not a sport that’ll ever look good on live TV as to look good you either need lots of cameras, or crap tracks out in the open.

Skiing is a comparably niche sport, with probably a comparable “ohh that looks exciting” factor for the broader population. So Ski Sunday was good telly as it’s cheep to make as the whole track could be covered by relatively few cameras. But racing bikes down a ski run would be dull.

The rear wheel landings are to get the bike back on the ground as quickly as possible, and thus be faster. That’s all there is to it.

Suspension is run so hard because it helps the bike skip over the ground, instead of the wheels hitting every bump and slowing down each time it does so. So instead of the wheels falling into holes, they stay above them, which is faster. The reason most people don’t run suspension like that it is because it takes a lot of strength and fitness to be able to ride it- both holding on and keeping the bike where you want it. Then there’s the fact that lots of people also set it up to be comfortable, not fast.

That’s a great display of riding, though. I think that Gwin will do well this year, but not dominate like he did last year.

need bryceland to get a win i say,