Photo Epic: Dust and Bones - Windham DH World Cup, Practice

 YEAH BOY!

 Yooool go the bulldogg

 Let's go Brook, fast and scetchy but still in control.

 Flip off the photographer.........real classy.

 I don't get it...all the guys on CRC are crackers...

 ^Is that a racial slur?

 I'm a premium cracker, or did you mean to say cracka

 Yeow!!! Fuck yeah

 And of course tomorrow, they'll say, "You can never......

 I thought minaar was better for the longer tracks

 Better is a relative term, on a track that doesn't suit him, Greg Minnaar is still Greg Minnaar.

 The humps, the bumps, the lovely biking lumps.

 isn´t there a bigger track in USA??

 there are MANY tracks that are bigger, steeper, and rougher, but for better or for worse it was Windham that secured a spot on the calendar. If the USA is to showcase a different mountain, there either needs to be interest from a different mountain and more space on the calendar (or it replaces an existing stop).

 How many times do we have to go over this? There are several top notch DH trails/parks in the US, but many just don't want to pay the exorbitant UCI sanctioning fee because in the end the park ends up in the red. Go back and read the previous year's article on Windham. The folks behind the race busted their a*ses to make it happen, and were hoping to at least break even. The problem isn't the US, it's the UCI.

 From Lori Togersen (2014 - Co Director of the Windham Race):

"Every year, the cost of the inscription fee goes up too. It’s basically a contract fee. With that, we are entitled to use the World Cup brand and all of the logos that are associated with it. Swiss Timing is the organization that handles World Cup event timing, which comes with the contract. We also get the television coverage with that fee. There is also no revenue for us from that production, as the UCI owns those rights and sells them off for their own revenue. There are so many additional costs. The whole UCI media crew comes over from around the world and we have to feed them while they are here, plus all of the officials. Included are meals, lodging, and travel within the United States. There’s a 120-page document that details everything, because there are standards that need to be followed. There are specific places for logos and sponsors on posters, and award ceremony formalities with flower arrangements, and champagnes, etc."

And from Nick Bove (2014- Co Director Windham Race):

"It wouldn’t be right to not paint the financial background from year to year, because that's so overwhelming. In 2010, we invested or lost; depending on how you want to look at it, $240,000. Our expenses were 240 thousand dollars more than our income. That was enormous for a community of this size to lose almost a quarter of a million dollars. The good thing there, was what we did early on was that we began to invest in infrastructure. Things like purchasing the finish-line arches and all sorts of things that we wouldn't have to rent in the future. In year two, we brought the losses down to $86,000 and in year three, it was only $36,000. So there was this pattern of decreasing loss from year to year. We really tried to break even this year. The numbers aren’t out yet, but it’s going to be super close. That has been our goal. That drives everything."

So after reading that, what park in their right mind would want to deal with those kinds of numbers? All DH fans should be thanking Windham for being passionate about racing and creating a stop on the circuit. Telling us to pull our finger out is laughable, considering it's European pockets we're lining.

 As @herfield1 says above, most US resorts have little patience for the extortion techniques of the UCI. We have the Rocky Mountains, the Cascades, the NW, even other places in the Smokey/Appalachian mountains at a WC level. However, the UCI just demands too much with an out of line arrogance. Very similar to FIFA , F1 and the International Olympic Committee. We WANT more and bigger WC races and have PLENTY of locations that will easily work and have in the past. That is a big reason we cheer the Enduro World Series who is very successful, in a short time and with a middle finger in the air to the UCI.

 I hate the UCI but not because they have such high requirements for hosting a race. That is what it takes to put on a professional series worthy of global media coverage. But yeah, I'd love to see UCI downhill come to larger and gnarlier mountains in the US.

 Guys, lets take the "country" label out of this conversation, we always argue and complain there is not much mix on the DH Tracks for hte WC, now, take @herfield1 comment, and move it to places where the budgets are even smaller...I bet you there are so many top notch tracks out there, but the cost to put up these event for the UCI regulations and costs put them races to a very few places...and sadly that is the truth...

 Also, geography: if Mt. St. Anne (which everyone loves) is on the calendar, you have to find a US race within driving distance. Having a stop in the Rockies or Cascades is just unfeasible. So that limits the options considerably.

 This also makes me wonder as to why there is no Windham on the schedule for next year then?

 So... would it be fair to say the UCI is basically a pimp? The tracks do all the work and UCI makes all the money.

 I know this might be a bit of an unpopular opinion but I really don't think it gets a whole lot better than the east coast for DH racing. Yes there are bigger mountains out west but from a purely technical standpoint I think the rock formations that we have here make for better rockgardens and overall courses. I've ridden all over the country and I think we've got the goods here. Just my two cents of course.

 Stop it with this argument. There's so much more that goes into hosting a race than the elevation of the hill and length of the track. I would venture a guess that so long as it meets the criteria of DH (as Windham clearly does), the actual track only consists of a very minor part of where a race is held. Anyone complaining about it has the option of getting involved and trying to bring a a UCI DH race anywhere else.

 @Drew-O has the missing piece of the puzzle here. Yeah, you could probably host an event out west, and the resorts there might even be big/popular enough to not lose a ton of money on it, but you're going to have to give up the race at MSA, because I doubt the teams will all be up for spending 2-3 (long) days on the road getting from Quebec to CO/CA. Sure there are parks in the East that have more vertical than Windham, but as @hetfield1 pointed out, the money just doesn't make sense to a lot of parks. Eastern ski resorts aren't generally the big-money operations you see out west, and many of them are pretty far from the nearest population centers.

 Angel Fire New Mexico has a pretty descent "WC" track, it is quite long, too bad Angel fire (the town) and Taos are really small towns, losing a quarter of a million dollars as Windham did once, it would destroy these towns.

 @Idhbaker..I agree with most of what you say. However, I live in Colorado and several resort managers say they have approached the UCI about hosting WC races. Several have in the past as well as WC level ski races that are Way larger is scope. The amount of $$ the UCI demands plus many other concessions is almost laughable. The resorts in Colorado make a ton of cash on actual skiing and don't need the UCI. Most have global, if not high national notoriety. Windham is a smaller ski resort on the US/Canadian scale of things. They have done a great job and deserve all the credit they get. But my guess is they don't make as much cash as the other major resorts. Other resorts could care less about the UCI.

Drew-O. The 'Driving distance' is BS. The WC bounces from Europe ,to South Africa, back to Europe, over to Australian, etc. It isn't really about venue, it's about $$$. Look at Pietermaritzburg, the course is in back of a strip mall in the middle of crop plantations. No lifts, no real hotels anywhere near the venue. Nothing against Minnaar, great rider and a true professional, but someone is South Africa is handing out tons of $$. Yes, it takes a lot of prep to put on a WC. But the UCI is really looking for $$ pay outs.

 @bkm303 @Drew-O I don't know if the logistics to having a WC out west would be as big of an issue as people might think. The close proximity of MSA to Windham is nice, and it might be a hassle for some teams but alot of these riders and teams attend crankworx in Whistler anyway. (which is always the following week). Many of the teams are heading out west anyway and making a stop in CO is not really very far out of the way if they are heading to Whistler anyway.

 I agree @Narro2. It would be awesome to see a WC in Angel Fire, but there's no way that place could afford to host an event like this.

IMO, Colorado has to be the best choice for hosting one of these events. Some of the ski resorts in Vail, Breckenridge, etc. bring in huge money year round that should be able to foot the bill to host one of these events. Not to mention that they have a big mountain biking community that would actually come out and make the event a huge success.

 The next US world cup race should probably be somewhere in California simply because many of the US manufacturers are based there and could easily show bigger support at the venue. But I doubt any resort would want to deal with the UCI these days.

 I think the argument is moot. The course doesn't bother me...I like the variety. Test the riders over different types/lengths of tracks. Some of the riders even like the track...imagine that. Besides...we don't get to watch the whole race anyway. Whether it's a 3.5 minute track or a 2.5 minute track, I'm only going to see about 45 seconds of each of the last 20 runs.

 wait, shouldn't that be staying up until 4:30 for beer & nachos?

 Whats the story with that? Heard they were fighting?

 Is it me or does Dale look like Ratboy after he's eaten a few too many pies?

 SAM DALE ALL MALE

 I DON'T KNOW. WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?

 LOUD NOISES!

 HAHA...classic movie

 Yes very good.

 Virtual riders...you know...the.Pinkbike crowd.

 Quintin Kurtz

 It's like poetry, mate.

 disregard.......................

 with the exchange rate as it is, you've probably just earned yourself a few hundred dollars.

 Open your own hotel?

 Psyching herself up in the Bong Lounge.

 Missy doesn't practice... she wins

 I know with the men they have to be above a certain overall ranking to participate in timed training. I would assume its the same for the women so Missy likely didn't qualify for it.

 Snoop Missile for the win!

 Pizza? I'm there!

 For sure. Still trying a bit hard but well done.

 The comments are funny. Because they are so correct. Also they are short. That is the way comments should be.

 While i dont disagree about the comments yesterday, it was just a bit.. overkill a couple years back there was a video from the athertons about coming to the US to race @ windham, and even though folks from the UK typically hate americans, they sure looked like they had fun shooting guns, lighting fireworks, and racing pitbikes...

 Could be a bit more Murican for me.