Why is MTB racing dead?

[Fred Thistle]

Thread title is the topic. ?

it's not dead


just past it's prime in your neck of the woods

 

[Fred Thistle]

You are missing the point. The competition levels of pro road and mountain bike racing make no difference to low level amateur racing. Lots of people bought MTBs during the height of the MTB fad. Companies poured money into the sport because of its apparent popularity. Lots of those wouldbe mountain bikers found out that mountain biking is pretty dang hard. The images shown in TV commericals and magazine ads do not match up with the reality unless you are in good shape, and most people are unwilling to ride enough to get in that kind of shape..

hahaha
too true!

 

[Robert Merivel]

Thread title is the topic. Just 10 years ago mountain bike racing in the USA was very big, as big if not bigger than road racing. There were many amateur races in the US racing hubs of Colorado and NorCal just to name two popular racing areas. Now there are less than half the amateur events in the US than there were 10 years ago (approximation mine, no statistical analysis was done there). Pro MTB racing seems close to non-existant in the USA and on life support on an International level.

Why is this?

Armstrong factor focusing most of USA's attention on road competition?

Economic problems in US (and rest of world) leaving room for only one primary market of bike racing (road)?

There are cycles to everything. Expansion, contraction. Expansion, contraction. Activity, rest. Activity, rest. Birth, death. Birth, death. It's the nature of life, the universe and everything. These cycles can be observed in all aspects of our lives. It's normal and it's healthy.

Is Mt. Biking racing dead? No, just cycling through a cycle. It's not really a spectators sport anyway, like a criterium can be, but it never was. It's sort of a tt in Nature, just you and the natural surroundings. Some people can't quite handle being out in Nature...too silent for their hyper active, "got to keep busy being busy doing absolutely nothing" worlds.

However, why we might be seeing less races promoted may be due to a few factors. The fact that America's economy (and everyone else's, except Poland, or at least the Poland prior to "the crash") is teetering on extinction while internet addiction and texting is running rampant. Throw in the fact that one out of every two Americans is overweight and one out of every three Americans is obese, one begins to see a not so pretty picture forming. Americans are becoming docile and more concerned with eating and entertainment than going out and being active (racing?). American students are actually showing signs of increased ignorance, duh. Attention spans are decreasing. Prescribed and non-prescribed drug use is at a all time high. Denial, that infectious dis-ease, is running rampant. Personal and business bankruptcies are at an all time high. Unemployment is over 20 % in this country, although MSM would have you believe it is far less. Americans are being controlled and manipulated on a massive scale. It's a pretty bleak picture, but the worst of it is yet to come. However, I'm a little off course here and if you are one of those in the 'right above' category, don't take it personal. It just happens to be a cycle that is taking place right now. We'll come out of it sooner or later. When enough oil has spilled on the shores, when enough illegals kill enough legals, when the mock president of the usa continues to lie to the masses, when enough dollars are printed, when enough gmo foods kill enough americans, when enough flouride contaminates enough livers and kidneys, when enough law abiding citizens are thrown in jail, when you just can't pay those combined taxes any longer, when enough people finally wake up and say: "Enough is enough" then, maybe then, we'll see more exciting Mt. Bike races in our local areas.

I personally believe Mt bike riding will soon reach an all time high. When gas works it's way back up to 5 bucks a gallon and VAT (taxes) make it cost prohibitive to drive anything other than a bike...

I'm rambling here, what was the question? Oh yeah, Lance is not going to be on the podium this year. He...just...doesn't...have...it. Lost the killer instinct sometime last winter (was it the tummy bug?). It's that family life...too much sex. Lost his vital energy. Gone south on him. Too much texting. Living in the past.

PS. Road racing? Too dangerous. Too many "wanna be's" trying for the podium...glory. Too cut throat. Course, that hasn't changed, ever. Yeah, now I remember why I left a fairly solid cat 2 road racing career many moons ago for mountain biking...safer, sweeter and waaayy more fun. Time to get off this vibe sucker and go for a ride!

 

[Fred Thistle]

Not enough money.

You get more money, you get more depth, more depth more competition, more competition more passion, more conflict, better stories, more compelling sport.

Doing it is cool...awesome when trails are sweet!!!!

watching it is... never that cool. Like triathlon or timetrials, you almost know who will win after the first half

again doing
watching

 

[BikeCentric]

Well I've done 4 MTB races so far this year and I'm happy to report that the amateur fields are still pretty darn big here in NorCal - Sport being the biggest. Sadly there are like 3 Pros at each race and the Expert field is tiny too. It appears that there is just very little sponsorship money so little incentive for people to aim for the high categories. So they are combining the Pro and Expert fields because both are so small. Also you don't need a USA Cycling annual license to race Sport so most people are just sandbagging in Sport.

But anyway, a good old MTB race beats a stupid office park crash-fest crit any day of the week.

 

[ximikemaoyi]

Rosetta Stone is the best way to learn second language.

 

[Dryland]

Well its not dead here in SA
Come in October to the http://www.capepioneer.co.za and see why..........

 

[BroDeal]

Well I've done 4 MTB races so far this year and I'm happy to report that the amateur fields are still pretty darn big here in NorCal - Sport being the biggest. Sadly there are like 3 Pros at each race and the Expert field is tiny too. It appears that there is just very little sponsorship money so little incentive for people to aim for the high categories. So they are combining the Pro and Expert fields because both are so small. Also you don't need a USA Cycling annual license to race Sport so most people are just sandbagging in Sport.

Sandbagging is what MTB is famous for.

Did anyone understand that crazy train of Robert the Muppet's?

 

[Hugh Januss]

Did anyone understand that crazy train of Robert the Muppet's?

Yeah he just wanted to make sure that everyone is aware of his

Originally posted by Muppet "fairly solid cat 2 road racing career"

Whatever that is.

 

[Rip:30]

You are missing the point. The competition levels of pro road and mountain bike racing make no difference to low level amateur racing. Lots of people bought MTBs during the height of the MTB fad. Companies poured money into the sport because of its apparent popularity. Lots of those wouldbe mountain bikers found out that mountain biking is pretty dang hard. The images shown in TV commericals and magazine ads do not match up with the reality unless you are in good shape, and most people are unwilling to ride enough to get in that kind of shape..

Yup.

Another angle is that in the early to mid 90s MTN bike had an "extreme" element that appealed to the Gen Xers at the time. Then the X games came, some mtn biking was initially included (remember DH snow mtn bike races--lame), but was eliminated once moto, skate, and snowboard progressed their radicalness and made mtn bike look pretty lame.

So mtn bike is now in an awkward identity crisis and most people view it as just extra boring road racing.

On the other hand the bike and suspension technology has come so far, and it's now more fun then ever to rip up and down trails. There's a bike that fits any level of skill and riding style now.

 

[Rip:30]

Because it turned into a freak show when it embraced the "extreme sports" image and started using stupid terms like "gravity racer." Crap like dual slalom and four cross did not help. Neither did rampant sandbagging.

Enduro//24 hour/100 mile events are where it's at now.

Ya, because everyone has to wear spandex and pedal uphill in order to be a legit athlete.

Q: what's the most fun part of a mtn bike ride, going up or going down?

 

[barn yard]

xc mtb has no mainstream appeal as it is just an absolutely terrible event for spectators

in 2010 if you cant mass market a sport, you are going to have problems

 

[Rip:30]

You are right, he did race on the road and the dirt for the two years after he won the US Criterium championship. However, during those two years he moved to Belgium and was essentially a full time road racer who would occasionally contest the really big mountain bike races.

My point is that he didn't do much of anything in his 2 seasons in Europe as a pro road racer. He was fast enough to beat a field of Category 1 racers in the USA, but not nearly fast enough to win in Europe against the best pro road racers in the world.

So I think the real reason he chose to stay with mountain bikes is because he wasn't all that fast compared to the top Euro road racers. Even in the mountain bike world, the thing he was really known for was his downhill skill. He was never the best cross country racer.

The other thing is - he should really stop bragging about his BMX national championship. He won the BMX Cruiser championship when he was 16, except nobody cares about the cruiser (24" wheel) class. The only reason that class is around is so the younger kids (under 12) have an easier time getting over the jumps. So he won the BMX cruiser championship at the age when the only thing that was important was real (20" wheel) BMX championship.

I know it seems like I am bashing Tomac, which I'm not. He is way faster than I ever was. I am only using this to illustrate how one of the fastest mountain bike riders in the world was only an average rider among the pro road racers.

Cadel Evans is a slightly above average roadie now, I guess.

Michael Rasmussen

FLOYD LANDIS

Fredrik Kessiakoff

Jakob Fuglsang

Tom Danielson


Or flip it and put the top roadies in some mtn bike events... CRASH.

 

[Rip:30]

xc mtb has no mainstream appeal as it is just an absolutely terrible event for spectators

in 2010 if you cant mass market a sport, you are going to have problems

It's gotta be participant driven in the US. I can't see it ever having mass spectator appeal in this country. Euro mtn events (especially Swiss), seem to still thrive off of both mass participation and spectation.

 

[BroDeal]

xc mtb has no mainstream appeal as it is just an absolutely terrible event for spectators

in 2010 if you cant mass market a sport, you are going to have problems

I don't think that is it. Triathlon sucks as a spectator sport, yet it is packed. Entry to the M-Dot races are in so much demand that people pay double for a community slot. Those are $1100.

Way on the fringe are 100 mile trail running events. The number of them have gone radically up, and the big ones have lotteries for entry.

 

[BroDeal]

Q: what's the most fun part of a mtn bike ride, going up or going down?

Smooth, twisty, and rolling single track, preferrably with coverage from the sun.

Unfortunately I live in the kingdom of rocks...

 

[Rip:30]

Smooth, twisty, and rolling single track, preferrably with coverage from the sun.

Unfortunately I live in the kingdom of rocks...

Sounds like a ripping 29er dream. Coffee + Big ring.

I live on some really steep mountains, so my view of the world is a bit distorted.

 

[9000ft]

XC mtn bike races don't have to be unfriendly to spectators. A 3-4 mile course can loop back onto it self and have plenty of interesting sections to watch an places that are all close enough that you can easily walk from section to section to catch the progress of the race. Now this means you have to walk around a bit including uphills so the typical overweight sedentary American might find this part of it unappealing, but the point is, XC racing can be spectator friendly as long as the spectators are willing to move their legs a little bit.

Of course, from a riders enjoyment point of view, most racers will tell you that if they had to choose between going round and round on a 4 mile circuit and doing an epic point to point loop they'd choose the point to point which is a lot harder (but not at all impossible) to spectate from.

 

[Rip:30]

XC mtn bike races don't have to be unfriendly to spectators. A 3-4 mile course can loop back onto it self and have plenty of interesting sections to watch an places that are all close enough that you can easily walk from section to section to catch the progress of the race. Now this means you have to walk around a bit including uphills so the typical overweight sedentary American might find this part of it unappealing, but the point is, XC racing can be spectator friendly as long as the spectators are willing to move their legs a little bit.

Of course, from a riders enjoyment point of view, most racers will tell you that if they had to choose between going round and round on a 4 mile circuit and doing an epic point to point loop they'd choose the point to point which is a lot harder (but not at all impossible) to spectate from.

This has been tried in the US and is now mandatory for World Cup XC courses. Works at WC races in Europe, but still no one's watching XC races in the US--except family members of racers and racers of other categories who aren't in that particular race.

Big difference between spectator friendly and entertaining to said spectators.

--Jaded FormerXCPro

 

[Rip:30]

I don't think that is it. Triathlon sucks as a spectator sport, yet it is packed. Entry to the M-Dot races are in so much demand that people pay double for a community slot. Those are $1100.

Way on the fringe are 100 mile trail running events. The number of them have gone radically up, and the big ones have lotteries for entry.

I generalize that the types who populate the "age groups" of tris are exactly who those who left mtn biking when they discovered it's really hard to crank up and down hills on singletrack, as you've pointed out.

Some of it is also just good vs bad business strategies too though. Tri promoters have done a better job of branding and keeping their events exclusive by not putting on too many per year, unlike xc promoters who went the opposite route by putting on more and more races as part of stupid point series.

 

[Tapeworm]

...
Or flip it and put the top roadies in some mtn bike events... CRASH.

Crash it may be, but tell that to Judith Arndt, showed up in Oz for a mtb race and wiped the floor. It was her was her first mtb race.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/road-pro-arndt-wins-her-first-mountain-bike-race

 

[flyor64]

This has been tried in the US and is now mandatory for World Cup XC courses. Works at WC races in Europe, but still no one's watching XC races in the US--except family members of racers and racers of other categories who aren't in that particular race.

Big difference between spectator friendly and entertaining to said spectators.

--Jaded FormerXCPro

Isn't the Fontana race set up like the WC events and doing rather well? I had read somewhere that one of the other issues of getting "non family and friend" spectators out to the race(s) was by and large the remote locations, which was why Fontana was doing so much better, close to the city (pretty much in the city as I understand it). It would do alot to get those sedentary folks out to a race if it was smack-dab in the middle of downtown ...just look at Crashed Ice as an example

Of course this brings with it a whole slew of different/new challenges.

Btw, I have a very good friend from Loveland...quite proud to call himself a front-ranger They have a great ski-shop there...

 

[Rip:30]

Isn't the Fontana race set up like the WC events and doing rather well? I had read somewhere that one of the other issues of getting "non family and friend" spectators out to the race(s) was by and large the remote locations, which was why Fontana was doing so much better, close to the city (pretty much in the city as I understand it). It would do alot to get those sedentary folks out to a race if it was smack-dab in the middle of downtown ...just look at Crashed Ice as an example

Of course this brings with it a whole slew of different/new challenges.

Btw, I have a very good friend from Loveland...quite proud to call himself a front-ranger They have a great ski-shop there...

That is a good point, and is probably part of the reason behind the recent CX success.

I haven't done the Fontana race since 07, but it was the same lack of people (deafening silence) there as at the ski resort venues back then though. That old NMBS series in now owned and renamed by a new group headed by Scott Tedro... so I don't have first hand info on how it's working out under new mgmt...

The best attended mtn bike races in terms of spectators I have been to in the US (after 8 years of full time racing), were always in the cycling centric towns... Any event in town (Horse Gulch) in Durango (they had a World Cup, the Iron Horse, and NCS races there) were really the best turn outs I have seen.

 

[Rip:30]

Crash it may be, but tell that to Judith Arndt, showed up in Oz for a mtb race and wiped the floor. It was her was her first mtb race.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/road-pro-arndt-wins-her-first-mountain-bike-race

Ya but that's like Julien Absalon lapping the field in a local crit.

I seriously doubt Judith would be able to run away with victory in a Euro or World Cup or even serious national race. My point was in response to another poster who seemed to think the top XC mountain bikers in the world could only be average at road racing, which I don't think is true as evidenced by my examples of successful cross over athletes, but also that it's not an important comparison b/c mtn and road are just different types events that require different skills and fitness (or they should be if XC course designers do it right).

 

[BikeCentric]

Ya but that's like Julien Absalon lapping the field in a local crit.

I seriously doubt Judith would be able to run away with victory in a Euro or World Cup or even serious national race. My point was in response to another poster who seemed to think the top XC mountain bikers in the world could only be average at road racing, which I don't think is true as evidenced by my examples of successful cross over athletes, but also that it's not an important comparison b/c mtn and road are just different types events that require different skills and fitness (or they should be if XC course designers do it right).

Agree but I think Absalon could certainly win hilly mountain stages at the Giro, especially the ones on gravel roads!

Dario Cioni did just fine on the road as well for another example of a crossover.