why can't Americans race Downhill

[miffed]

When I say Americans I mean people from the America's. The top North American is it the 20's on the UCI standings whats up with that? Britain which is soo much smaller has 3 riders contending for the top 10 and thats similar to Australia and South Africa has a few top riders (ie they're in with a shout at the World Cup and World Champs) and there's a few good European riders (Garçia and Barrel being the top 2).

So why can't the Americans get up there? You have the environment, the bike companies, and the talent at racing (lopes carter as examples). Does anyone have any idea why you guys don't win anymore?

[Johnie P]

Well for one if you live in canada, if you are not independently wealthy you cant afford to race. Its so bad for DH here that even if you win the nationals you have to fully fund your trip to the worlds.Canada is not known for supporting its athletes,If its not an olympic sport you are not going to see a dime.It costs my girlfriend around $10,000 of her own money to race Canadacups a couple world cups and the worlds. Makes it hard to train when you are always broke. She should have got into curling.

[Uncle Duke]

plus racing is kind o lame.

who wins the free ride comps?

[ito]

plus racing is kind o lame.

who wins the free ride comps?

Cause opinionated judging is where it is at :rolleyes:

The US has had a pretty dismal record on the world stage, in XC and downhill. Alot of this can be attributed to the fact that, like Canadia, our country doesn't view mountain biking as a real sport and is unwilling to support a downhill team(we barely have an XC team for the olympics). There is very little money in it and NORBA is certainly not working on making it more enjoyable or profitable. I haven't been on the racing scene for very long, but from what I have seen and heard there is little support outside of the industry for international competition.

Europe, on the other hand, cycling is huge! They have racing development at an early age and it is a big deal to be a bicycle racer.

Australia and New Zealand? I'm not sure, they certainly don't have much support from their countries, but they seem fast as hell. I think the small numbers of riders coming from there means that there is a very good mentoring program. A small group of talented riders means that they are willing to train and race together, meaning the newers riders benefit and push themselves.

The Ito

[Uncle Duke]

america has no excuse ..whats yer population?

we are only 1/10th that.

[trout]

Recreational drug use = recreational riders.

[Oldfart]

I think the quality of North American riders has not gone down, but the quality of the rest of the world has gone up,,way up. But it is a huge impediment to NA development to have to travel across NA to get to races. In Europe cycling is seen as a legitimate job. Road cycling has long been a valid working class line of work. Only in the last 20 years has it become a high paying sport. Because of that, the European system has a much larger population to draw from for all cycling disciplines.

[Wayne P]

Ha! Racing is not lame, its what's driving bike technology - the bike that you're riding - and its the backbone of the sport. Competition is the root of every sport.

[Oldfart]

Ha! Racing is not lame, its what's driving bike technology - the bike that you're riding - and its the backbone of the sport. Competition is the root of every sport.

No doubt about that. One thing that makes racing tougher than freeriding, even the so called competitions, is the timing clock don't lie. After the race every one knows who won and who lost. Judged events often leave a bad taste in ones mouth. Just look at figure skating (shudder) or gymnastics.

Not to say that freeriding takes no skill. Because it certainly does just like the aforementioned sports, but there is something cold and harsh about a clock telling you exactly how bad you did for every one to see.

[Kerensa]

From Canadian Cyclist:

CCA Drops Downhill Funding

The Canadian Cycling Association announced at the end of last week that it has dropped funding for National Downhill champions to attend the World Championships (see the full text of the release below). In the past, the National Champion position has been fully funded (airfare and accommodation; the same as cross-country). Following the release are our thoughts on the matter.


May 19, 2005 (Ottawa, Ontario) Faced with the need to dedicate more resources to cycling disciplines on the Olympic program, the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) is reallocating its budget within the MTB disciplines in order to offer financial assistance to more athletes at the Elite Cross Country level to attend the MTB World Championships, beginning in 2005. This move will see funding shifted from the downhill program and allocated to the cross-country program. In past years, the National Downhill Champion in all categories received funding to participate at the MTB World Championships. By removing this funding, the CCA is bringing itself in line with the policy it has adopted in cyclo-cross (another non-Olympic discipline), where no funding is given to those riders who have been selected to participate at the cyclo-cross World Championships.

Canada is eligible to send up to a maximum of 23 athletes to the 2005 MTB World Championships in the Downhill discipline 6 Elite Men, 7 Elite Women, 7 Junior Men and 3 Junior Women. All positions will be self-funded. All athletes wishing to attend the 2005 MTB World Championships must participate at the 2005 National Championships, June 19th at Mont Ste. Anne, QC. Athletes will be selected to the 2005 MTB World Championships as per the selection criteria detailed in the 2005-06 World Championship Selection Criteria document available on the CCA website (www.canadian-cycling.com)

The CCA remains committed to supporting the development of Downhill athletes in other ways through continued inclusion in the national series, continued inclusion at the National Championships, coaching services and opportunities to participate in training camps.


We are of two minds about this. On the one hand, this decision brings Downhill in line with another non-Olympic discipline - Cyclo-cross. Sport Canada funding is directly tied to Olympic disciplines, so more funding to those disciplines potentially means better results in these areas, through more resources (which in turn means more money for cycling). On the other hand, Downhill is an integral part of the sport of mountain biking, which is already struggling with sponsorship at the elite level, and this will not help Canadian athletes make to the top level (similarly, cyclo-cross is undergoing a resurgence of interest, and Canadians are recording breakthrough performances).

Truthfully, what we would like to see is increased support for both Downhill and Cyclo-cross, but that requires money from somewhere. This is a chance for the Downhill (and Cyclo-cross) community to step forward and show that they are committed to their sport(s), and willing to help foster its growth.

Riders: are you willing to pay a $1 or $2 levy on your entry fees at Canada Cups and national championships to ensure that the national champion can afford to attend the world championships?

Canada Cup organizers: are you willing to collect that levy and submit it to the CCA?

Sponsors: are you willing to chip in towards the expense of sending your riders to the world championships when they are selected?

CCA: are you willing to consider a cost-sharing arrangement to ensure that Canada has the best representation at the world championships?

Rather than the usual grumbling and griping that follows such an announcement as this, let's use this as an opportunity to build a model that provides support to all parts of our sport.

[axisofevelknievel]

I personally think that the reason that Canada doesn't do very well in racing (in any sport) is that only a small percentage of the population here cares about the racing aspect. Whether it's biking, skiing, snowboarding, whatever, at this stage the average person doing that sport is more into the freeriding/freestyle aspects of the sport than they are into racing. Yes, there are people in this country that race in any of the sports I just mentioned, but the overall 'care factor' is not that high.

Look at skiing as another example - as a country we went from be interested in the Crazy Canucks to being interested in park contests and big mountain skiing. From the top down, we just don't have a racing culture. Unless things change massively (and I don't see much reason for them to change), we probably never will.

[Sharon]

Look at skiing as another example - as a country we went from be interested in the Crazy Canucks to being interested in park contests and big mountain skiing. From the top down, we just don't have a racing culture. Unless things change massively (and I don't see much reason for them to change), we probably never will.

we also don't have the depth as in other countries. a top ranked person in canada would be 2nd or 3rd tier in austria lets say.

When a star starts to rise there is so much pressure that burn out is a problem.

[T.Walker]

europeans have their racing and wine. and we have our freeride/freestyle domestic beers. that's just how she goes

[stubz]

cause everyone from north america is to cool to be good

[Danny K]

Recreational drug use = recreational riders.

yeah i dont race because all i do is get high and do tricks off dirt jumps

:dead:

[FlipFantasia]

I think that we'll start to see a new generation of really fast guys coming out....I think the park here in whistler is going to start to produce some real talent in the next few years....if the CCA would get smart and get a development program in place, we have junior racers who could very well be the next big things.....it's frustrating to see such a lack of resources for such a huge potential in dh racing.....

[Dude]

Flip,

Great point!

The problems are easily identifiable, biggest being lack of support. Europe has the development system down to a science...not just in cycling, but many sports. In Europe, it is more socially acceptable to support athletic programs, whereas in Canada we bitch and moan about our athletes being supported by the government. In cycling specifically, the sport is a fabric of society, and as someone pointed out, considered a legitimate trade in many ways.

In Aus & New Zealand, these countries support their athletes- both financially and with great programs. Look no further than Australian Olympic results.

Flip may be on to something...Whistler would be an ideal home base for a select group of juniors and pro DH to train. You do see some younger kids up there training now and again...I think they are Rocky Mountain affiliated. It'll be interesting if we do start seeing results ion the next few years.

[miffed]

The idea of having a base in Whistler is great. The canadian government (or whoever is in charge) could also use the facilities to other sports. I dunno if Whistlers at atlitude significantly but if it athletics and then in the winter the skiers could be based there when racing north america itd be great, there is no reason Canada cant be a top country just look at Sweeden

[corey@nsmb.com]

Garçia


GRACIA

He is french, not spanish.

[Dude]

De natta.

(or is that gracias?)

[NickS]

Theres a ton of talent, but like said no one outs forth the effort of serious training teams and other things needed to preform at the highest level. Im predicting a kid Luke strobel to be really big soon. I think now hes the jr world champ or was last year and straight outa washington.