Semi-Finals Moved to Qualifying Day in DH World Cup Schedule Changes
Semi-finals will no longer occur in the hours before finals as the race weekend schedule gets shaken up for the upcoming World Cup race season.
Appearing on the UCI MTB World Series website alongside the launch of the tickets for the first round of the DH World Cup in Fort William, the new schedule reveals the shift in time for semi-finals and the return to junior racing in the morning before elite finals.
Under the new schedule, riders will have training on a Friday before elites start with qualifying on Saturday morning, followed by the junior's qualifying session. After the juniors have had their chance to qualify for finals, the elite racers will be back on track for a semi-final session. Sunday morning starts with a training session before the junior women kick off a big day of racing featuring all finals on the same day.
While this schedule was just for the Fort William round of the 2024 World Cup series, we contacted Warner Brothers Discovery as part of our reporting and were told this would be the format used across the 2024 season.
The new schedule marks a big change from the 2023 race weekend where all junior racing shifted a day before the elites with their finals taking place on a Saturday instead of Sunday in a downhill-only race weekend. The old schedule also meant junior racing often happened on a weekday in a multi-event weekend. The new schedule will ensure junior racing takes place alongside the elites during weekends.
It's great to see some positive changes made ahead of the season kicking off at the start of May in Fort William, and if you're planning on attending you can get your tickets here.
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Summary: Dangerous for riders, too much coverage to want to watch, makes finals confusing, makes finals less exciting.
As a watch-on-TV fan who barely has time for the top 30 men, it’s hard for me to understand how the semi’s had any impact on anyone’s enjoyment of the racing.
The odd thing was that the outrage about it on here didn't start until a few races into the season, but seems to have become a major issue since then for whatever reason
But the comments along the lines of “semi’s are bullshit. I don’t have all day to watch racing” are completely baffling to me.
Wierd, I always thought racing was for the racers.
1000 agreed
I'm sure there are plenty of half-assed fans like you out there who would happily see the sport gutted so badly only a handful of pro teams remain to offer spots to 40 odd riders, but as an actual fan of the sport I feel like I need to tell you to keep your mouth shut about it.
Or have you just not through the consequences of your own laziness and disregard for the sport? People complain that it's difficult for privateers and then support the decision to offer less places in finals, which leads to less room overall for professional athletes. You can't have both opportunity and exclusivity, so please just get over yourself and fast forward through the riders you don't find exciting enough.
As for privateers,that depends on what you mean by privateer. In my view privateers are 1 or a small groups of friends traveling around working to fund racing. PB Racing for example is not a privateer team, they are a professional team, just not a factory team. IMHO privateers as I define them have no place at the World Cups. Its supposed to be the best of the best, not anyone can turn up if they have won a few points somewhere in the last 12 months. Its supposed to be the pinacle of the sport. Privateers should be racing in continental series that are affordable to proove themselves and get a place on a professional team
You are either an internal wb/d employee or a fan bit of big names only, getting rid of a top 60 format prevents a lot of success stories from happening over the years, can you name them? Probably not...
What if a local finally gets their big chance on race weekend sneaking into the top 60 with a shit line and then dominating on the final race run?
You're essentially saying, I don't want grassroots riders getting their chance at sponsorship and living their dreams.
So I don't think you have thought about it tbh
I would like to see the impact of these changes help add to the value of these contents series that can deliver the best to the World Cup stage
(Adapted from a Jimmy Carr joke…so not my fault)
this might also imply that we'll have to drop the protected rider thing. They're already getting a second chance after all.
Either way, the whole thing will turn out to be so complex that no one will be confident to complain in the comment section whenever something was handled unfairly.
No doubt, if and when an option becomes available, it will be as poor value as GCN+.
It never ends…
Also sponsors want airtime! Racing has taken an investment beating enough. Sponsors have to be appeased of racing is to grow. Like it or loathe it sponsors and tv money pays for sports. Everyone seems to have all the ideas in the forum but i wonder why no one has got the job at eso/discovery to make it happen yet …..probably because they dont truly work in practice
The current fans want x but the future fans may want y. Eso will know what people are watching and where the growth is. They also have 8 more seasons till their deal is up so effectively 2/3 more to get it right so expect more changes before the format is right
Keep the 5 person podium
Keep 30 in finals
Don’t worry about trying to show every inch of the course
Research the riders you are commentating on and chat with them so that your commentating is interesting
DO NOT GO TO THE TEAM MANAGERS OR OTHER RIDERS DURING A RACE RUN!!! We are watching, and paying, to see the racing
The racing is the most exciting and interesting thing so save all the interviews and cute stuff for a pre or post race show
Other than that just can't find any other reason why to have them... and even a smaller starterfield isn't a real argument.
I think the paid viewer ship was well under 6 figures of views
And yes, stupid!
Until he shows up, see if I remember... last year there were two levels of protection: little p meant you were into semis, big P meant you were into finals...I think it was 20 and 5, based on the previous year's final standings? I got hung up on how they announced it after riders had finished the previous season, fully Mickey Mouse and unfair moves...they changed it at least once before the first race, too, so who knows what they'll do next year. But that's how I remember it.
Vali, Nina , Marine, Loic, Jackson and Loris are protected straight into the final for every race since they finished top 3. Top 5 women and Top 10 men are protected for the final of the first race of the season but after Fort Bill it changes to whoever is top 5/10 of the current season.
I find it counterintuitive to increase the consistency required to reach finals (adding a semifinals cut to the qualification cut) while strengthening protection for those same most consistent riders. They increased racing by 50%, that should be enough to reward them.
Enduro racers: “…”
Dh one mistake and you’re off the podium. Totally different things.