With the UCI DH World Cup visiting the new Polish venue of Bielsko-Biala this coming weekend, Henry takes a look back at some of the newer race venues of the past few years.
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00:00 – What makes a great venue?
02:50 – Les Gets, France
05:05 – Lousa, Portugal
07:06 – Pal Arinsal, Andorra
09:54 – Loudenvielle, France
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What Happened to Meribel DH ?
Why polish one is not shown?
Where Friday Fails?
How about going to a real US mountain .
Old Andorra track is the definition of DH
Because no one wants to host a WC now due to the costs involved. Blame the UCI and Discovery, DH has descended into a farce.
This fuckin guy sounds like a deflating tyre that never runs out of air
I could listen to Henry talk mountains bikes all day. Dry britsh humor 👍
Best World Cup content out there right now! (Other than EdBull Media House of course 😉)
What about:
– Champery
– Hafjell
– Rotorua?
Except they use the same tracks over and over #fortwilliam is a great but it's just become boring bobsliegh run as to leogang
You can’t tell me there is not a better track and location in the US than the current stop in W. Va!
I hear Snowshoe was pretty much disliked all around, I'd like to hear more about that one. And that track they used in 2018, Croatia I think, that had an urban finish. Odd.
Champery
This could be summed up some venues can make a small profit from what we the uci ask for………. If the sport was a big as mtb media makes it out as we would have too many venues too choose from….
pietermaritzburg South Africa
@pinkbike What is the title of the Ben Cathro video mentioned? When was it released?
What a great video! Thanks for the insides!
I live in Tremblant QC it's a way better place for a venue than mt st Anne, probably an unpopular opinion but it would be way better suited, there's a great issue with the owners tho 😂
What i want to see, and what the rest of the world outside of Europe wants to see, is more investment in a WORLD Cup, outside of a EUROPE Cup, with more races, in both northern continents, & in both hemispheres.. No wonder the UCI struggles to suck enough profit for shareholders out of downhill to give it the attention it deserves, there's only 7 races & the world champs for a whole season.. It would be so easy to organise another 6 races, alternating in different parts of the southern hemisphere with nearby tracks in the same way that Europe does now.. Cut Europe's 6 races down to 4, add 3 in North America. MSA, bring back SnowShoe, add one more in either west coast US, or BC.. Pop over to NZ & Aus for 3 races to make it financially viable, & then over to South America, or alternate between Australaisia & South America every year, with 4 races in North America instead, 2 in US, 2 in Canada..
But do SOMETHING other than the EUROPE Cup that it is now, with 2 in France are you kidding me? .. Could you imagine the riding & the hype if there was a World Cup in Queenstown NZ? It's litterally screaming to be a venue. It has one of the best MTB scenes in the world, it has the trail building, it has the infrastructure, it has its own international airport just minutes from the town, which is less than an hour away from multiple potential venues, which all have high speed chairlifts. even Skyline Bikepark could hold it & thats smack bang in the middle of town.. And the scenery is obviously breathtaking as everyone knows.. Even Christchurch could hold it in Christchurch Adventure Park if it manages to not have another fire lol. All the infrastructure is there, & ya could run a Loudenville style track.. then obviously theres the numerous locations in South America.. There's so many more imaginative things that could be being done with a little bit of organisation, that would keep it fresh, & also bring in more riders from different parts of the world, that cant always make it to Europe to ride in the EUROPE Cup..
Along with making it easier to be watched, without having to in many places, pay $150 to $200 USD for doubled up subscriptions, just to watch 7 races, making it not just easier to be watched, but also making it into a WORLD Cup, would keep it alive. Curently i feel that the amazing racers we have coming up now, are the peak, as they are all a product of what came before WBD. Making it nearly impossible for many fans globally to even watch the racing, will mean less kids inspired to become racers. Making all of it but one race take place in Europe, just makes it just that much less inspriring for upcoming youngsters.. You watch, if viewing isnt made more accessable, & it isnt made more WORLDLY, viewing will drop off a cliff, as will revenue, as will racers. ADDING more geographical locations, & making it easier to watch, will not just stop the innevitable cliff drop, it will keep the current peak growing, so its in fact a sustainable growth curve. And that will be good for all parties, even the greedy UCI..
There are many great tracks, but their suitability is very dependent on medivac access, something the video doesn't seem to fully stress the importance of regarding a World Cup track.
There's like a half dozen great bike parks in BC (other than Whistler) that would make a great venue for a World Cup. Getting a few more races in North America would be great.
Maydena would absolutely nail a WC
It should be called “north america and europe cup”. Not a single round in the southern hemisphere
I understand the "difficulty" in building a great wprld cup track but this andnso many other problems could be solved if they wouod just listen to the riders
Mt Washington Alpine resort on Vancouver Island would be a great spot for hosting a World Cup event (they used to host a big pro race every year in the early 2000's) Monster Mile used to be considered one of the toughest tracks to race. They could build so much more up there if they were motivated
We just want a race on 1199
I don't know how I've stuck around watching and following MTB world cup for 12 years, but yet here I am.
What an awesome video and dive into these tracks. Would love to see more of these!
Some of these tracks have become vacation destinations for me. Some don't understand why I find these places so awesome but we as fans know exactly why.
Id love to see a the eu champs track in Graz ridden again. May just be too little space for the pits there though
Try Chile, New Zealand, Sth Africa , put the world back in world cup.
Les Gets ready to rumble
FUCI. the fact that 90% of high-end bikes are sold in the United States yet there are no races here makes zero GD sense
If UCI had their way all the races would be in completely uninhabited areas of the globe…that way no one could come, and no one would be interested. If the uci's goal is to kill the sport it's working. Maybe they should hold a World Cup in say… the middle of the Sahara Desert
Nice one, Henry. Thanks.
I don’t know anything but I love watching Val di sole. More steep tech is the way, straight, open, high speed courses are so boring
Interesting, but no mention of the perspective from a spectator's point of view. Its often not easy travelling long distance to these venues and finding accommodation.