The Boss - EWS Round 5, Aspen-Snowmass USA

 Cmon pb, bike check on Matts bike please. Lets see how a privateer does it!

 agreed

 @powergavin: agreed

 I scrolled the page expecting to see a full page photo of Matt, I don't know him personally but heard the news via Facebook. Unbelievable that his stage win wasn't mentioned, if Rude would of won a stage while injured I bet they would of mentioned it.

 @WAKIdesigns: Well when you actually have to pay for something, it is by definition more expensive than a free issued bike

 @SteveDekker: Did the other 90+ riders hold back?

 @SteveDekker: absolutely no guarantee of that

 @WAKIdesigns: because the pros using the material that the brands have available, and brands like hope, Chris king, ohlins, or enve do not sponsor so many enduro top riders (that I see). Riders like we, buys the perfect combinations, it's more expensive

 I think each of us should have their best guess at unguessable and unverifiable and then be a dick about it. Personally I prefer to stick to the Team seeking appraisal for their sensible moral attitude manifested by recognizing deeds of an underdog racer. I upvoted that first comment and I felt so... how noble of me.

When you open your eyes you will find that altruism doesn't exist. We always act in a way that can contribute to our own interest. Standing by the edge of the abyss I say: We all die in the end so make this life count. Each day the light is fading more and more.

Where were we... AaaH! Pay respect to
that dude or you bunch of insensible a-holes! Ok ok... Yes baby, I forgot to take my meds... I am the child of the Stars, son of Rand and Neitzsche! Schveinhuuund!

 @WAKIdesigns: Well that escalated quickly.

 @slowrider73: would be great for Matt to get some credit for the stage win and an excellent result. He's a full privateer.
Pink bike should give the lesser known riders and bikes a good mention.

 @lab7digital: I have met Matt, and his father Howard, nice blokes both and exceptional riders... Matt is competing in the EWS as well as the DH WC, riding Mondrakers... Although some of the comments here take away slightly the achievement of winning a stage i still feel it was admirable and deserves support.. As a privateer without massive team backing, to attain a result even in the top 30, when surrounded by what we know as household names, is in itself massive. His ability is not in question, time will tell, and maybe a little recognition will help his future results with the possibility of better support (team?).....

 So say all of us. He's a well known rider in the UK. If Blenkinsop had won the stage he would have defiantly got a mention and a good photo. A privateer winning a stage is a big thing. Imagine if this had happend on the Tour de France. Hells bells head line news.

 Don't worry about it. As ever Vital MTB have it covered and have given Matt some well deserved coverage.
@SteveDekker maybe you should head over there too and whine to them that you've never heard of him

 @SteveDekker: think that's one poor attitude towards a up and coming rider. You guys should be giving him credit. As for the top lads holding back. Only three seconds between second and third place. Don't think any of these lads could afford to hold anything back. To beat Blenkinsop on a DH type track is a super effort from Matt. Let's see some photos of him and his bike.

  troll status = savage

 ........and yet again i am amazed at the amount of negativity and school boy/girl squabbling here on pb. Otherwise i love the amount of coverage we get. Lets stop complaining and start appreciating! Bottom line is that pb DO an awsome job of covering mtb. Sure its sponsor driven but thats 2016! Cmon!

 @Steve-skidvd: +1 I met them in Corral, all the best to both of them. Matt winning a stage at the EWS, wow chapeau, btw his father Howard is super fast for his age, exceptional riders indeed.

 agreed, pretty poor. he won six right, dude was flying!

 Absolutely....especially seeing as mentioned graves won 5 out of 6 stages,you'd think mention matt there.Matt is a pinner and a good guy,deserves at least a mention! It's such an achievement.

 He probably doesn't rep enough PB product sponsors

 @SteveDekker: to be fair mate, what little help he will get from sponsors will depend on coverage from articles like this, and 22nd with a stage win is better than a fair few of the guys pictured and even mentioned

 Don't feed the troll.

 @SteveDekker: Went to school, hence the reason i don't have special-ed grammar. If these guys don't race, Jared has nobody to beat, and these guys don't race without support, and they don't get support without a little exposure..... Do you get where im going with this? If the media doesn't throw the privateers a bone every now and then, the field will thin and the series will lose its legitimacy

 @SteveDekker: how can you say it is results driven if the rider in question won an ews stage by a good margin, and as a privateer without the suspension companies backing, the preseason testing sessions and all the other great fully sponsored perks, to even get within striking distance of the top 5 would have been a huge achievement, worthy of a mention by pinkbike if nothing else !!

 @davetrump: I just feel it a little strange that you say the top riders played it safe, that statement alone taking away from the achievement of the rider in question, we all know that all but graves will have been going full gas.

 @bluumax: A better explanation may be that none of the photographers got a good shot of Matt on Sunday.

 @davetrump: thanks for this explanation! Who could've guessed there wasn't a conspiracy afoot. Whew.

 @davetrump: So Keene gets coverage at every round despite shit results and its all good and impartial, but a couple of people mention that a privateer who traveled half way across the world and won a stage that, fair enough, the top 5 coasted, but the other riders most likely didn't, and we are butthurt fellow countrymen?
To be honest i couldn't care less that hes from the UK, it just speaks to how bias the media around a marketing driven sport is.
The quality of the photos is outstanding as usual.

 @bluumax: simply put we can't shoot and post everyone. Sorry your guy was one of them.

No industry marketing conspiracy

And Curtis has been around for over a decade, and one of the first American riders to promote enduro on the World Stage. He has earned all the coverage he had received over many years.

A stage win doesn't make you famous or a household name overnight. But it's a good start.

 @davetrump: he was 20th the first stage and also 20th the 5th stage and then won the last stage. not sure you were watching the same race......

 @bluumax: check vital...they have an image and a short interview in audio...coverage can't be universal.

@davetrump: I get it, can't have everyone but by his own admission, Blenki (I know, not a top EWS but a hell of a racer/rider) was really gunning for stage 6 as the most downhill of the bunch and took 2nd on the stage. This does feel a bit personal somehow - for Matt, that's how the world works so make friends!

 @bluumax: well said

 @davetrump: Nevertheless, as a journalist, this seems like a nice opportunity to highlight an interesting story.

 @davetrump: Interesting to draw a parallel here. In 2014, a relatively unknown Jesse Melamed placed 59th in the Whistler round of the EWS. In doing so he had a flaming run and won his first ever stage on two. Rightly so, credit was given where due Pinkbike's article following the race: www.pinkbike.com/news/the-longest-day-enduro-world-series-round-6-whistler.html

Your responsive to peoples' (frankly justified) surprise that Matt has no mention comes across as a little defensive, and untactful. The way I see it is that you could have taken one of two routes here: agree with Cunny (@RichardCunningham), or say something like "oops, well spotted, Matt had a stormer of a run. We'll keep our eyes pealed for him at the next round".

Finally (i'm sorry if this seems like rant, I'm really just interested and writing down my thoughts), I'm not buying the "they were all taking it easy argument" ...Sure Graves was, rightly so. Maybe Lau, maybe, but, the rest of them... Nah!

(Average position over first 5 stages - position in stage 6)
JC: 8.2 - 7
Maes: 6.6 - 8
Keene: 7.2 - 6
Absalon: 9.6 - 11
Oton: 14 - 12
Melamed: 9.8 - 4
Kelly: 16 - 10
Carlson: 17.5 - 21

These guys were not taking it easy! ;-)

 @davetrump: Not even a mention?

When I watched Wyn's feed it kinda looked like the guys who where jumping that last jump to flat and nearly crashing in the last couple orders were trying a little eh?

 @davetrump: you are coming across as a real a*shole here. Having raced EWS rounds before I feel secure in the knowledge that it is by no means easy get in the top 20 let alone to win a stage. It's a hell of an achievement and rather than offer rational explanations like others have, you have just belittled it and made it seem as though it is undeserving of pb coverage. Wise up. And I'm sure everyone's reaction would be the same if this fella was Canadian.

 @sicmoto: Give him a break. He's part of the impoverished media, eating pop tarts and sucking rider cock.

It's brutal out there.

 Why do people keep saying this is "my guy"? I don't know him, I know of him, and i agreed with a poster that winning an EWS stage was quite an accomplishment for a privateer, id think that if he was OZ, NZ, US, CA or anywhere else for that matter.
Im not a butthurt fan for wanting a massive media outlet to give impartial coverage instead of shooting their bros.

 @davetrump: you are really coming across as a massive dick. We arnt asking for huge coverage of Matt just maybe some recognition that stage 6 was won by him. Instead you just don't acknowledge any stage 6 winner. I'm sure it would have been very little trouble to put up a pic of a him with a small caption. I'd been saying exactly the same thing if a non Brit privateer had won a stage. Credit where credits due and all that.

 @davetrump: I didn't say that you did anything wrong, you have confused my comments with another perhaps? I was saying three things: 1, comments mentioning Matt are undeniably justified; 2, there are probably more tactful ways for you to have responded to previous comments (i.e., taking Cunny's get out of jail free card, rather than replying with on of the most provocative comments Pinkbike has ever seen); and 3, I don't buy, based on actual times/stage positions (objective, rather than subjective 'interviews') that these guys were really taking it easy.

Please note. At no point in my comment did I criticise you, at all. I employed tact you could say - something which you have once again failed to achieve.

Out.

 @davetrump: your comments are hilarious. A privateer won a stage at an EWS, how the hell is that not a story?

 @davetrump: First time caller, long time follower - have to agree with the others here. A privateer takes a stage win, that deserves some coverage. Especially considering it was considered a "riders" stage (its the old WC DH track after all!)

You had the photo, what is adding one more to the post? While I hear your rationale - to win even a stage at this level is amazing. Especially so when you are paying (in one way or another) to do it...

While comments alone may not indicate doing something "wrong" or "right" it does serve as some sort of data point...

Saying "sorry, we should have thrown one up" - or "maybe we'll highlight him soon" is a lot better than "his results don't cut it" - cause we both know that's not true.

 @davetrump: you could have handled this so much better. I can only judge you on the comments you have made. I never get involved with online comments usually but this has really bugged me.

 @davetrump: It was a kinda joke although the copy in the EWS features on here is a little OTT with rider adulation.

 @SteveDekker: cheers dude appreciate it ???????? maybe one day you'll race an EWS and realise it ain't all that easy to get a top 30 result.. Keyboard worrier

 @stuttardz: yeeeeee boy ! Give him the mondraker and see if he can beat all the factory riders when they "take it easy" in a world enduro series events ????????????????

 @SteveDekker: Justin Bieber fan fiction.... Good one Steve, good one

 @SteveDekker: think your the one who needs to grow up mate. Instead of being sat behind a computer screen, why not get out here yourself and put in all the hard work. I pay for a bike, I pay for all my travel and expenses, just like any ordinary privateer/rider. Getting coverage is a massive help in racing and not getting anything on a write up is shit.. Yes graves cruised S6 but everyone else who I spoke to at the finish line said they had a pretty good run.. That's why I'm here doing what I'm doing, moving up in the rankings after every race.

 Interestingly, vitalmtb managed to include a pic, an interview, and an interview with Blenki. Blenki said he was going full gas for the stage win, @davetrump.

 @davetrump: nevertheless, he managed to beat a very high profile WC rider on a WC stage.

 @davetrump: You're an amazing photographer and have produced some properly good coverage.
But all these excuses are beneath you, just admit you dropped the ball and move on... And stop blaming nationalism for it to.
Other sites managed to do it, so there is zero reason why you guys couldn't either.

 @davetrump: so why have a pic of Blenki then? By your logic he isn't worthy.

 @davetrump: this is nonsense. You know you're wrong, all these other people commenting know you are wrong, it appears as though you are too arrogant to admit it. One photo would have improved your coverage and made people happy, which is the whole point surely? Anyway, I grow weary of this. I hope you are a nicer person in reality than how you have portrayed yourself here.

 @SteveDekker: hah dude you honestly can't do anything but try get under people's skin. Think you need to take a step back and have a read of what your saying. Peace out

 @davetrump: You're the one missing the point Dave. Especially since this is not the first time you've gotten into a petty comment war over some perceived slight. I don't think I've ever commented on it before, but it's a pattern, and it seems really small. Show a little restraint, man, as the professional you're supposed to be the grownup in the room. Your justification comments in this case are insulting to Matt Stuttard, especially: "Again I am sorry we did not post a photo of the rider who got 22nd (his best over overall finish)" which is both disingenuous (you're not sorry at all, that is clear from the tone and the fact that you could easily remedy the problem by throwing up a pic and a quick caption about the guy if you really had one. Speaking of that, @RichardCunningham would it hurt anyone to just dictate that fix and put an end to all this nonsense?) and dismissive of the result as both not impressive and probably a flash in the pan with your passive aggressive "his best overall finish" comment. 22nd against the best in the world is rad. 3 top 20 stage finishes in 6 is rad. A stage win is super rad. Grow up. The guy in question travelled 1/3 of the way around the globe on his own, won a stage against some of the best riders in the world, and did so on a track and conditions nearly entirely different to his home region. That's impressive, and deserved mention, especially when the term "Photo Epic" is so commonly used to describe the coverage, which seems to imply pretty thorough coverage. I mean, there are 3 pics of Clemetz (legend, champion, pioneer, fantastic guy, one of my fave riders), and 4 if you count the group photo, and you're telling everyone you couldn't include 1 single shot of a guy who actually won a stage? One of 2 guys to do so this weekend? Meanwhile there are other photos of guys outside the top 20 both in this EWS stop and in the overall standing? And you expect nobody to mention or question that at all? You guys missed it. Or chose to miss it. Whatever. People are pointing it out, thats part of the deal, get over yourself. Especially if you're sticking with the second line of reasoning that you intentionally chose not to include a mention of the guy, because then the criticism is more than well deserved. Take your lumps and move on.

Also, as to your "facts" and "reasoning" for not including a guy won a stage with the worlds best riders (I know, I know, you seem to have "insider info" that negates that), but I thought the same same as @joel4 , and it turns out it is true! Many of the top riders, 6 of the top 10 overall finishers in fact, were in the top 10 for the last stage, and that doesn't seem like cruising. But I guess the win doesn't count because you have it on good authority that the top 5 guys walked down the trail. Even though one of the top DH guys, in Blenki, had absolutely nothing to lose and was surely gunning for that spot. Maybe he went easy because he wanted his countryman to win? No matter that before your reasoning was that he didn't crack the top 20 on any stage except the last, even though that's not true and in real life, at the race you covered, he did crack the top 20 in 2 stages with a 20th on both stages 2 and 5. Oh, and that pesky 1st for stage 6). And again, there were photos in the Elite Men section of other riders outside the top 20 in this race and well back of Stuttard in the overall standings. I don't know, maybe you have good reason why these actual facts don't count against your set of seemingly blurted, impulsive, and defensive "facts" (funnily enough, very Trump of you, by the way, way to rep your handle!) and by the progress of this thread and others in the past that you've been involved in (why didn't you just use the slow internet one to blame lack of pics or pic quality on, like that one EWS stop last year where you got similarly defensive, can't remember which, and not going to search for it, wasted enough time on this already) maybe we'll hear those reasons, too. Sorry for the snark, Dave, I'm sure you're not a terrible guy, and very probably a good guy or I'm sure PB wouldn't keep you around, but the way you've handled this thread, and others in the past you have filled with defensive snark, really force these reflections of your manner of interaction with others. You've earned it. Do with it what you will.

I'm an American by the way, lifelong so far as I remember, and don't know Matt Stuttard from Matt Delorme, but Dave may tell you that, because my wife is from Vancouver and her mother is a Brit, I also count as Mr Stuttard's countryman by association. Whatever, you've been warned so take this next bit for what you will, because I really do think it's the important thing in all this:

Matt Stuttard, damn good show ol' chap, keep up the good work! Hope all the momentum, literal and figurative, caries over as you head north to Whistler! Unless of course Dave has it on good authority that you eat puppies for breakfast, and absorb their should like the Highander to gain your newfound speed... that I cannot abide Cheers all, go ride some bikes!

 @catfish9797: thanks dude, really appreciate your time and kind words ???????? im not letting it get under my skin, im here for one thing and that's to race my bike and better my position at each race. (Which I have done) thanks again. Amen to that ????????

 @joel4: I thought 'Cunny' was Richard Cunynghame - the presenter for the EWS videos/interviews. Richard Cunningham from Pinkbike is 'RC'. let's not confuse the two nicknames!

 I've also noticed @davetrump being what I shall describe (favourably) as very defensive in a couple of articles. In his defence I get that his job is undoubtedly a lot more difficult, tiring and stressful than most of us perceive, and that criticism from people that may not understand this may be hard to take. However, that said, this all feels like an argument that really never needed to take place and that his manner of defence has massively contributed to that. I find it a real shame we are even here talking about it. Can we all chill out a bit now ;-)

Congrats Matt on your win and I hope it sets you up well for the future...

 @SteveDekker: don't think you could be much more unprofessional . He has just come first at the ews getting a amazing result , whilst you just sat in front of the computers editing photos and writing about other people coming 10th etc and not going full gas

 @WAKIdesigns: Waki, exactly, it's the internet, not a battle field. And none of this stuff is personal. Sure, we all dig at each other, but we're not talking open, or even veiled, threats here. Just people calling out folks in their "community" for shooting past common courtesy when warranted. I'm a New Yorker (and a fellow Pole, my Mom's 100%!) and we all bust each others' balls (Oves?) when someone gets a little full of themselves, especially so when they double down and really dig in on an asinine position. I've been on the receiving end of it too! However, I'd be the first to buy Dave a beer, ride trails, and when he's through NY and discuss, maybe sometimes loudly, lol, racing and bikes. MTB has never been a chilled out sport, and why would it be, it's a reflection of us a humans, and we're not chilled out. This comes from a former racer, both BMX and DH, 20 years removed, who moved on to other things in life, so take it for what you will.

Also, I live a fairy tale life now, similar to Dave's in many regards, in that I get to do a job, 3 actually, that I love. Every. Single. Day. Yet the work I do in all cases, well, very very few people understand what actually goes into it, so it can be easy sometimes to bristle and fire off half cocked at any criticism. I've learned over the years though that every so often these criticisms are warranted and I'd be missing valuable opportunity for personal and sometimes professional growth to just wholesale dismiss all criticism for the reasons "You don't know me!" and "You don't know what I know". Because sometimes who we are and what we know blocks us from seeing something that is readily apparent to an objective observer. It's up to us to keep our ears open and then discard the crap and weed out the valuable tidbits though it may hurt our egos sometimes.

Again, as I said above, and mean it honestly, even with the teasing both before and after, I don't think Dave is a bad guy (or else aren't we all, really), but do think the drubbing he's taking here is self imposed, and pretty well deserved. I'm not saying we all meet those standards on every interaction of every day, I'm just saying maybe it's not a best practice to willfully, and repeatedly, strive to thwart them. That, and once it's absolutely clear we've obviously gone way astray, have some humility and throw up a mea culpa, that's all. I've had to, I'm sure we've all had to. Anyhow Waki, cheers man, thanks for all your entertaining input in the comments sections, nice to know there are other mischievous souls out there questioning, making others question, and generally lighting up, and when needed lighting on fire whatever corner of the world they inhabit at the time. I guess I feel a bit honored to have made it into your crosshairs!

 we've gotten to the point where we have to write essays on pinkbike in order get our point across

 @cuban-b: Hey, I'm a New Yawkuh, whadaya want me to sound like, a paradiddle?

 @cuban-b: I started my career here this way. The struggle is real.

 You guys must be paying more for your Pinkbike subscriptions than me. Photographer first and journalist second. Cut the guy a break.

 @SteveDekker: well two different riders one the six stages and one doesn't get a mention ? One doesn't have a factory team ? One finds his own races ? One has a job outside of biking ? One who wins a stage at an elite level at the highest standard of enduro racing And one doesn't get a mention ?

 @davetrump: your attitude is seriously making me question whether or not I want to continue my monetary support of Pinkbike.

 @stuttardz: If it's any consolation you are now on my radar to a greater extent after reading this little comment war than you would have been if I'd seen your name whilst scrolling through the photos. Best of luck in your future races

 @MTB-Colada: I'll stand by my decisons as well as those of the two others who work to make these write ups happen. Three people make this all happen and chose what is and isn't included. We do our best and we make the calls on site. We take all the ridicule for not including some riders, for spelling a world wrong, getting the metric height conversation slightly off, for not telling a story that one person might find interesting another not so much. The moment we publish we pretty much just stand by and wait for the ridicule. In this particular case we were told by a commenter that our work was BS, that certain people deserved certain things, that we lpay favorites or are serving marketing needs for certain brands. One person even thought it cute to say we perform sexual acts with riders to be accepted. All in all a lot of insults hurled our way.... And God forbid we state the simple facts as to why things are or are not included and those reason are met with more ridicule. You may not agree with the criteria we used here but it's done. The response back to this has just been more name calling, character slamming, and personal insults, all because you didn't like a post or the answer you received.

Where's your sportsmanship? No congrats for Jared or Cecile or Adrien? No mention of the quality of the event, the stages or the racing? No... The first and only thing you've said was that the guy who finished outside the top 20 wasn't included. He won a stage yes, maybe he should get in maybe not as there are reasons for both. We presented our reasons and as a team stand by it for better or worse and despite the personal insults.

 @lifeofloon: I don't know that I'll go that far, but this was a read in how not to respond to criticism or handle a brand.

Enthusiast press strikes again. Cliquey to a fault as always in MTB coverage. @joel4 had the best response in this thread.

@davetrump went through a lot of shovels digging this hole.

 @aaronjb I thought he did a good job a stating basic facts devoid of emotion. He was doomed as soon as he didn't give you sheep the answer you were after. I'll give him credit for being honest and owning the decision rathe than being manipulated the angry mob.

Seems like you lot have just projected your emotions back onto the editors and have chastised them for not providing exactly what you want, and then not dropping to their knees to apologize to you for it.

No photo of a guy on a website for getting 20 something in some race. Call the whhhaaaaaambulance that no one cares but a few keyboard heros.

Delorme & Trump(ore) for president

 @davetrump: you guys do a fantastic job. I'm super happy or Jared to win, mostly that it must have taken a huge load off his chest. Great for Cecile to go T-Mo on everyone else. Keep on kicking! I am sure many, maaany people here fully appreciate the work you guys are doing, sacrifices you guys are taking to deliver that material. No vaseline, no pity, just a simple

T H A N K Y O U

 @davetrump: Come on, we all love racing or we wouldn't be here. There is nothing wrong with criticism, if you'd reacted responsibly I know I certainly wouldn't have commented and I'm sure a lot of others wouldn't have either. Pinkbike is great, I'm on here everyday, I didn't know who Matt was until this afternoon, I just felt his result deserved recognition, and some of your points were valid but how you put them forth was petty and passive aggressive. You provoked negativity and are now criticising those who provided it.

 @WAKIdesigns: there's nothing I can reply to that emotionally charged rant. Hardly gonna make him a star, but he deserves mention. The point stands.

 @sicmoto: nobody ever deserved anything. You grab what you can, you fight how much you are willing and able to, and hope for the best. He's an adult, he can speak for himself

 @WAKIdesigns: I disagree that "nobody ever deserved anything" hard work and success deserves recognition. He can and has spoken for himself, but people are entitled to their opinion and the ability to express that opinion. Like I said, his lack of inclusion wasn't what bothered me most, it was the belittling of his result and passive aggressive nature of the replies. It was bs, and Dave got called out on it. The coverage is amazing, that doesn't mean we should all bury our heads in the sand when we disagree about something.

 @VTSkier09: zero back pedalling, making the exact same argument I did in my first comment.

 I think everyone needs to stop feeding the decker-trump troll-a-thon. As fun as it was to read it's getting old. And Dave, you shoulda put a pic of Matt in bud. I look forward to your next article covered in spite.

 Wow wow wow, hold up here fellas. I had a blistering 26th place run in stage 1-4, 27th in stage 5, and 25th in stage 6 for a 24th place finish in 21U, all the while rocking a hawaiian shirt and a clapped out, creaking bicycle. No mention of ya boy? Dave, Dave, Dave, what have you done?

hah but in all seriousness, sick race, and nice job by Matt on stage 6. Overall, the article was pretty sick too, so credit and good vibes all around from me.

 @MCMbiker: I, for one, am thankful for the free content provided by the sponsors of this site. It's what allows me to, in-turn, express my hatred for those same sponsors on the very medium for which they are paying. muahahaha. the ultimate irony is using the establishment to be anti-establishment.

 @stuttardz: Class response! You now have a huge fan base, BTW.

 @davetrump: I really love what you guys do and I'm so happy that you three talented guys are up to the task and deliver such exceptional quality. I think that issue here is that instead of saying "Well we can only cover so many guys and we didn't get a picture of Matt but congrats to him blah blah blah"- you totally downplayed his accomplishment while getting sort of getting passive-agressive and defending yourself. If you had chosen option A you wouldn't have to deal with those ridiculous responses haha. You need to to seriously step up your professionalism and you have to take accountability for simply not taking a picture at the right time or forgetting to write something in- Everyone understands that, and you would've come across a lot cooler. Don't get egotistical on us now.

 My god people on here complain way too much...

Do all of you haters understand what even goes into getting these images taken? Shooting all day, up earlier than the riders, interviews, intro shots, pit shots, up on the tracks before the riders, on the track until all the riders have gone by, oh what, they have to get themselves around too. Add to that finishing up with more interviews and shots that show the vibes of the race. Back to the media room to get editing, maybe some food to refuel after the massive day if they get time, more editing, sorting, editing, editing. Decide which to post between Dave, Matt and Matt. Write something creative about the day. Photo captions. Putting them all into the blog in an order that flows - it's harder than you may think. Finalise and send off to get double checked and published for you add for FREE just HOURS after it happens. Next up each of the photographers have certain teams they work for that they have to get photos to immediately.Hours upon hours of work crammed into the limited time between sundown and sunrise the next morning. Oh wait, they need sleep! Looks like they're not getting any with that work load. All of you please quit your complaining and be grateful for what you have. A lot of effort for what seems to be pointless right now with all of you haters. Such a disgrace.

I'm not at all saying that the rider shouldn't have been mentioned, but there is no reason he definitely had to be. Shit happens, these things are on a strict time limit so there's no point getting fired up if Dave or the others miss one moment of the day.

@davetrump: There's some out there who actually understand what it takes to cover a race and then 99.9% of pink bike's users have no idea. It seems like that 99.9% of users are all commenting here. I'm glad that I am that 0.1% who appreciates what you do! I hope to meet you in Cairns next year if you come this time

 @bridgermurray: so what your saying is that you want these guys to lie to you and say they forgot and didn't take a picture or some shit. Instead they told you the truth that they have pics but didn't run them and that the kid didn't give them as big a boner as you when they wrote a race report for beating jared on his victory lap. So they are honest and blunt with you and you don't like that. So you get mad and tell them but if they had "told the truth" it would have been better. Which truth is that? The one they actually told or the one you decided ahead of time for them? Your world or reality... pick one because ya can't have both. If ya don't like an answer maybe y'all should ask the questions in the first place.

How do you downplay 22nd place? No offense Matt, ya had a good run in there in the process, and ya probably have more fans now than if they ran a photo of you next to guys that won

 Do you guys play League or something? 99% salt. Jebus.

 @Clarkeh: Pinkbike comments: 1% fact, 99% opinion posed as fact, 100% salt.

 @bluumax: every single site is like that. there's more facts in comments than just 1%, the issue is that even the actual facts are often dipped in attitude. The thing that drives me nuts is the non-compromise purists demanding justice, something they obviously don't find in their everyday lives and cannot live up to themselves. Bunch of bored, disloyal hormone-slaves who don't know who they are and look for meaning in life, expecting the world to work by some archetypal values as if it was a Western movie or intro to some lame RPG from late 90's (aka Game of Thrones)

Our honor, out valor must prevail Hector, the treason of Asgar, the cowardness of Kalahar cannot continue, we shall have our revenge! Our brothers at Grimeton showed us howto fight and die with honor! Borock my friend! They will respect us, we shall leave a legacy!

Jarad is a great Warrior indeed, but the victory our fellow brother Matt is not much spoken about in Galaghad! His honor must be defended, for he deserves every bit of it! The fould Steward of Pinkbah Davos Trumpmoir has defiled Matts honor for the first and ladt time. Rise my fellow warriors! Take your keyboards! Tonight we fight! Let No key be unpressed! Davos shall fall, justice will be broughtback to this dominion! Mountain Biking shall be great agaaain! We will be spoken of as Matts companions! We are Heroes!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 ha , that was quite pleasing thread!
Fact is that the coverage is incopmlete if a stage winner is nowhere mentioned.
It is totaly unprofessional of @davetrump to defend himself the way he did (desrespectfull for one mans win).
Good photos are not the only ingredient in order to make a proper race report...just saying...

 @WAKIdesigns: You are like the Kanye of pinkbike.

 @bluumax:

 I think we are all losing it a bit here. In an attempt to put an end to this I shall try and summarise...

1) Matt had the stage of his life. He's a privateer, and everyone likes a good privateer story. He wasn't included in this article.
2) Dave Trumpour (hope I spelt that right bud) is an incredible photographer. The pictures on here speak for themselves. He had to work far harder than most of us realise to produce this and other articles. He's probably tired. He chose not to put a picture of Matt on here for the reasons given.
3) He was questioned why, and gave a response that wound a few up. I sit on the side that he was a bit dismissive of Matt's achievement and that that was a little unfair, but I get the other side of the argument.
4) The world went went mad...

Like my earlier post I think that this was very avoidable. I understand that Dave and Pinkbike don't want to bend to everyone's whim as, let's be honest, where would it ever end, but as others have suggested had this been conveyed in a more positive manner (I.e. We made the decisions we did as he's not a big name but this was a great result and we'll keep an eye out for him in the future) this would be no additional work and would have placated most of the commenters above. At the end of the day though we do all appreciate the hard work you guys put in and love the site. And I laughed when Waki got compared to Kanye...

Now we just need to get Protour back - he will distract everyone from all this and form a fully united Pinkbike audience against him with a single comment about the big S...

 @joel4: fair comment
I doubt there were many top pro's cruising that last stage......

We should find a photo and ask PB to add it in....they are good guys so sure they will

 What if he's a doper? Yea I said it!

 @WAKIdesigns: You're the greatest pink bike user ever!

 @WAKIdesigns: AND on an e-bike!

 @WAKIdesigns: or eats puppies for racing speed...

 someone saw him fat shaming spectators in Fort William

 @Travel66: I'm not sure sure that's really the point, and at this point it would have been added. In my (long winded) post above and many of the others people were just taking issue with exactly how @davetrump handled the situation. Whether they want to include the photos, or not, is their prerogative, and for whatever reason they didn't, which is fine. But don't defend the position by posting a bunch of ridiculous reasons that aren't true and are dismissive (Dave represented a set of facts as incontrovertible evidence that any dolt could see, except they weren't actually true, and then he started shifting the parameters so some of us busted his balls and called him on it. Cliff notes for anyone who doesn't want to slog through the whole thread: Dave said he was out of top 20 every stage except 6 he wasn't, Dave said all the top guys took it easy, Blenki says in an interview that he went all out, Dave says where was Blenki all weekend even though Blenki was in top 20 at 18 within Dave's loose criteria for importance which seemed to shift to top 5 later, meanwhile everyone who followed the race and the coverage knew that the last stage was the most WC DH stage and therefore favored Blenki more than the other more pedally stages, Dave insinuates that the result was an abberration and not likely to be repeated, Dave attempts to cool things off or suggest strength in numbers, unsure which, by repeatedly pointing out the other 2 contributors who likely want nothing to do with this gong show, @richardcunningham, as an experienced fellow might, throws Dave a diplomatic get out of jail free card and Dave calmly dips it in kerosene and lights it up. I think that about sums it up). In the end he ends up insulting the riders (Studdard and Blenki, specifically), and the readers' intelligence. We were also pointing out that this is becoming a bit of a pattern for Dave.

It didn't bother me that they chose not to include a photo of coverage, I was originally here to see how Richie Rude recovered for Day 2 and the points race and whether Jared was finally able kick his shite luck with mechanicals this year and wrap this thing up! What bothered me was the way Dave lit into the thread and started burning things down over a petty issue, while backing his position was poorly considered BS. To me it smacked of something personal, like the team covering the race didn't like how Matt Stuttard handled himself in the pits of interviews, maybe Dave being a fairly competitive former racer thought Matt riding really earn the highlights which happens sometimes when still competitive guys get to do the coverage, they become the kingmakers and their subjective criteria become law, or maybe it was just an oversight, and maybe all, some, or none of these are true. Point is I don't think most of us would have ever thought that far into it had Dave not blown up in the comments section. Dave handled the situation badly, it's clear, so we called him out on it. Based on precedent and his current track it seems likely this won't be the final time something like this happens, so we'll probably get to call him out in the future if we so desire. However I do agree with him on one important point: the racing is getting lost in all this (though we're all certainly more aware of one particular UK rider, haha)

In the end, Dave's work is rad (that birch tree berm shot is one of my favorite images of all time, when I first saw that sometime last year I just stared at it for 15 minutes straight taking in the colors, the framing, the perfectly chosen location, and the implied motion of the shot, truly fantastic), as is the work of the other guys contributing on every article here. The race was rad, and I was psyched Jared got his first win this season and proved that the bike or the encroachment of age wasn't what was holding him back, and that Richie Rude salvaged something from the weekend and is going to be ok for Whistler. That and the community here is rad and passionate and I really appreciate that everyone takes time from their busy lives to make their voices heard and celebrate and commiserate together.

 @WAKIdesigns: on a race run or during a track walk? During a trackwalk unacceptable, but on a race run large bodies of mass and their increased gravitational field could throw a rider off his line, so this creates a hazy moral playing field...

 tried to read while taking a dump, but got bored, some PBers have way too much spare time, start a business or something...if you already own one...become a privateer.

 @Narro2: I've got 3, and you're free not to read man, totally cool by me, no offense taken

 @Narro2: how do you know they don't take longer shits than you? Maybe that's where the time comes from. As for me, I couldn't keep up. Need to up my coffee intake.

 @powderturns: hahaha, good point, although is not healthy to stay too long

@catfish9797 you are taking things too seriously, that's all i can tell you

 @Narro2: thanks for the counsel, didn't feel like I was taking it very seriously at all. Just because you take some time to lay some thoughts down doesn't mean it is world politics, just a discussion. Like I said before, not offended if you ignore my words or don't agree.

 @catfish9797: no problem, anytime

 @catfish9797: wtf are you banging on about? I just agreed the dude deserved a pic and a mention. If you weren't aggro you might just realise that's all peeps are saying. So go light one up or have a beer or better still go ride a bike!

 @Travel66: I don't feel aggro at all, trust me. sorry it came off that way? Again, just saying for me it's not so much about them including the pic or not, really is their voice, for me it was just the disingenuous reasoning and the impulsive and poorly handled response by Dave to the criticism. Was I surprised there was no shot of him when I saw the results and saw a guy I didn't know about had won a stage? Sure. Did I think that photo should have been compulsory? Nah. Did I hate Dave's response to people being disappointed, and for fanning the flames more? Yes. Do I hate Dave? Nope. Do I love the coverage here at Pinkbike? Yes. And totally agree on getting out on the bike, suggested it at the end of my first post in the thread for all involved, and it's actually what I'm about to do now! Cheers brotha!

 @cuban-b: Hi, that is correct. I'm the presenter one and I haven't commented. There's far too much reading above to be done for me to comment now as well so I'll just stay out of it. Thanks for spelling my name correctly by the way, even I sometimes struggle!!

 Huge respect to your training and racing, Matt. I expect it won't get any easier for you, but you'll probably win more stages!

 Fair play lad. Well done.

 Something tells me you'll get a mention (and I'd bet a photo too) with another result like this.

 Spent on a great race result!

 could have been a Freudian slip. Think its meant to read Monkey ....But as the big S is his sponsor its probably money ....

 nino schurter has already raced an EWS a few years ago in finale i think

 I am waiting for Minaar, I think he has what it takes to take the overall the first season!

 Lol

 Clearly, Jared looks a lot like a young Bruce Springsteen.

 @headshot: singing american land

 Clearly they just meant the Boss for this one race.

 

 Was he still racing that Stumpy 29? Looks like it from the podium shot; fork looks like 140-150... I guess I'm surprised after the last round.
Awesome for him -- and typical of him -- to find the best way to ride it!

 www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/PIT-BITS-Enduro-World-Series-La-Thuile-Italy,10302/Metric-RockShox-Super-Deluxe-on-Graves-Specialized,108171/sspomer,2

adapter for metric shock and probably a touch more travel too. Stumpy 29 is 135mm travel stock, maybe it's at 145 w/ 150 fork? The angles are pretty similar to the enduro 29, so maybe he was looking for a longer chainstay to get closer to his Yeti? stumpys are 437. #chainstaygate

 found a shot of it from the La Thuile coverage. Trunnion mount.

 Yea Coop! Fastest woman from the states this weekend.

 Proof that people from the midwest can ride bikes too!

 Anne G. would have beat her had they not cancelled stage 6.

 Coop rocked it in the pro class, and Abby Hobbs took 3rd place in U21 women!

 Go home Waki, you're drunk.

 Or it could be that Graves wins every race he enters in the US

 Well, it looks like he was riding the stumpjumper and not the enduro...

 Have heard of guys taking epoxy on longer trips... I would.

 @powderturns: ooor just buy an alu rim that actually holds...

 @WAKIdesigns: do you think the failures on Carbon have been much higher than alu? I honestly don't know. Mine have held up fine, sample size of 1... Have heard guys smashing carbon, but generally saying they were the kind of hits that would have trashed and alu rim as well.

 I think they are referring to using the same rims for the whole weekend @chrismac70. I raced one EWS last year and they put 'security' stickers on frame, rims etc. So I'm guessing the epoxy riders can repair on the Saturday ready for Sunday.

 @hifiandmtb A few questions if you don't mind....it may help me and a few of us who are newer to 29er!

- Can you give us your view on the fork offset for 29ers please.....the 46 vs 51mm thing?
- Why a Stumpy instead of an Enduro? Is the stumpy frame already strong enough (so you don't need the Enduro) and its just a question of slapping a stiffer fork on as you go up in travel to 160 (Lyrik vs Pike) which in also helps reduce the head angle? Does the extra CS length help balance the bike better on a larger frame?
- Tyre pressures...I seem to be able to get away with a lot lower on front 22F vs 27R...Is there a reason that the pressure needs to be so high? (I am sure you are hitting the trail harder than me and running lower sag)

Cheers

 @hifiandmtb
EDIT - I didn't see the FB bit and thought you were JG Spec frontman on PB.

 Funny -- and I like it -- that I haven't seen a single mention of wheel size, including nothing about the "surprise" of Graves winning on a 29er (except maybe in comments, including my own!).

 @headshot: struggled...? Winning 5 of 6 stages isn't struggling. 29ers are legit, guessing you've never ridden a good one or you're in the #26forlife blinkers on camp

 The craziest lack of coverage regarding Graves is that he keeps getting hosed by Special Ed. Troy can get a brand new pink Demo when the mood strikes him, but if Graves wants to race on a 650b Enduro, they send him a 29er Stumpy. Because they're all out. The whole world is out of bikes for Graves to ride?

 @jm2e: All out? I read that too; sounds incredulous. There was one at Incycle Pasadena just a few weeks ago they could have nabbed back up. The Enduro 29er is also good though it’s just that they can’t afford to get flats and a 29er heavy casing would be way too heavy. So 650 it is. Unless you’re Graves and they send you a 29er? So weird.

 @jm2e: It's obvious that Spesh is still upset about Giant winning the wheel size war of interbike2013.

 @graeme187: No, Graeme, it was a joke. Wheel size matters not a jot - any of the top riders could do well or win on any wheel size. Okay, maybe not a plus size :-)

 avs-racing.com/index.php/en

 Something happened (probably a crash) and the top ~5 women were 4minutes slower than the rest of the field, so they cancelled the stage rather than making the top 5 do it again.

 Storm with lots of lightning ripped through just before they where to start closing the lifts. Wasn't enough time to finish both the mens and women. Unfortunately the women got bumped.

 Nature mansplained everything.

 Nope wasn't the weather or the lifts, a big crash on stage 6 at the big drop feature meant a lot of the top girls got blocked during their runs so they cancelled it, as seen on Vitalmtb.

 @Mugen: We intentionally left the reasons out and wanted the story to eventually come out on it's own if at all. It was not that simple. There was a delay because of weather so that already pushed the event back once, then a spectator got hit and injured crossing the track to make a second big delay, then one of the women crashed and was injured causing a third delay. This crash also caused a bunch of women to get red flagged and they would have to have a re run. Some said they didn't want to have a re run while others who may or may not have been able to fight for podium positions wanted to race. In the end it was the voice of those not want to race anymore that won out. There was a lot of she said this and she said that and drama behind the scenes after so the true facts are not fully known. And for that we decided not to fuel the fire and rumors. To be honest we just don't know what went down.

hope we don't get slammed by the mob for not including this in the report as well

 @davetrump:

Damned if you do, damned if you don't- Bart Simpson

But that is pretty much what happened from what I saw. Lightning did crash, old dude did get t-boned and girl did spectacular OTB in Hells Kitchen. It was good value for money.

 Watch out Dave, next they'll get fired up that you didn't include a photo of Richie's X-ray or CT scan. Cause apparently it's your job to go to the hospital with him and get those photos!

 Mate, if they mentioned every racer who did even remotely well this would end up as a long ass article. It's great to hear your friend did well but no one really wants to see photos of him except you, his family and his friends. I'm not hating but pros create a much better story and most photographers don't take many photos of (at this time) "nobody's". With that said I hope max does well in whistler and possibly does well enough to be worthy of coverage.

 @TBLeldarado: @TBLeldarado: My post wasn't meant to be a complaint about the coverage, but with the tone of the other comments on here, I see how it might come across that way. Cheers.

 @GSPChilliwack: yea everyone is just bitching so I guess I got a little over zealous, sorry. Anyways hope Max does well come whistgnar. Cheers!

 Does Max have his own social media account? I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in following a privateer's story.