The UCI has today announced the new regulations that will come into force for the 2020 race season. In the past couple of years, we've had rejigs to the start ordering, fields cut and ebike competitions added but there's nothing quite so drastic this year. Instead, there are a few tweaks here and there with XCC being the most affected discipline.
Let's take a look through each discipline and the changes to expect:
Downhill4.9.023 - Bikes are no longer allowed on the course during track walk.
4.9.027 - The junior men's finals field has expanded from 20 riders to 25. All other fields stay the same size - 60 men, 15 women, and any junior women that complete a seeding run.
4.9.031 - There are now no protected junior riders at the start of the World Cup season, down from 1 last year.
4.9.037 C - The points scale for Elite women has been changed. Women outside the top 10 will now score fewer points and women outside the top 15 (who didn't qualify) will score no points. The full scale can be seen in the picture below, the new points are in red.
Enduro4.5.003 - Rear suspension can now be changed during an enduro event. It used to be labeled along with wheels, forks, and frames and checked at the finish but it now no longer will be. Replacing the rest of them will still result in a 5-minute penalty but now only if the swap is approved by a race official.
4.5.004 - Full face helmets with detachable chins can now be used if an organiser stipulates that full-face helmets must be worn in a race.
XCO4.9.003 - Riders must now have a minimum of 60 UCI points to compete in an Elite World Cup, up from 20. It rises from 40 to 80 in Men Under 23 and stays at 20 points in Women Under 23. This will likely shrink the field sizes as it has done in downhill in previous years.
4.9.015 If a rider registers for the Short Track but does not compete, they will be barred from taking the start line in the XCO race, unless signed off by the chief medical officer.
The full list of new race regulations can be found
here.
Thru that lens I really like the idea of forcing use of only one fork and shock. It adds to the challenge of the racing puzzle.
If it was up to me, I would say that per season, teams get 1 frame, and then additional 2x of every component (with the exception of disposables like chains, brake pads, tires), all locked up in a crate and tracked by UCI at the end of every event. Then, per event, teams get x amount of time per crew member to do maintenance or repairs on the bike, which can be used up front, during the event, or after events, with the possibility of one unlimited time maintenance session halfway through the season where teams can evaluate wear and tear and make appropriate strategy decisions.
This would not only take a large chunk of funding out of the equation for being able to afford to participate, but also make the events more about equipment and strategy, which will then translate to much more consumer value in watching these events.
As is there's only so much that can be done in the one 10-15 minute pit stop they usually get, and that often just means checking bolts, pressures, and trying to fix any damaged parts as best as they can since full replacement risks missing the next time check. I think you'd be surprised at how little maintenance goes on in the pits during a race day, which itself is a testament to the reliability of most components these days.
micro managing access to spare parts and maintenance time sounds like a great way for too many rules to get in the way of exciting racing.
As I understand it, part of the EWS involvement with the UCI is to develop a common rulebook for enduro. So this rule 'change' is really just aligning the wording of the UCI rule with current EWS rules which provide no restriction on replacing parts so long as it is done a) with parts carried by the rider or another competitor, or b) is done at the designated time in the official tech zone. The exception being the frame, fork, and wheels which can only be replaced after notifying an official and receiving a time penalty. So in practice this change to the wording does not change the rules currently governing EWS racing at all, but rather bring the two into alignment.
You have to remember that we are talking about enduro bikes. Mid travel trail bikes are sold in higher number than pure enduro rigs, and are fine enough for most people to do everything from xc to park, and those bikes perform quite well in those places and are quite reliable.
But when I choose to buy an enduro bike, I want that thing to be built to last on top of regular reliability. Endurance is literally the main theme of enduro. And it doesn't give me confidence when teams are showing up to these races with brand new bikes with fresh fork internals, new bearings, and new wheels. And even worse, the riders are allowed to swap suspension components mid way. This means that the components are going to be built lighter instead of burlier, since reliability over long term won't be that much of a concern.
The racing will definitely be exciting, as strategy is going to matter especially due to the end of the season. And I really don't give a shit about limiting manufacturing testing or development during racing, they make enough money off of overpriced bikes and components as they invent new pointless standards every 2 years - they can afford to test and develop in the offseason or between races. My changes will bring actual facts and data to the table when deciding which components are worth the money and which are not, which is worth more to the consumer than any sort of drawbacks in racing excitement or team limitations.
If there was a field of M2F transgender people that took all the top spots in women's races, I would agree with you, but for now, given the global social climate, it's better just to let them race in the gender category that they feel natural in.
I love how you pretty much ignored everything in my post lol.
Do you really think that men and women that come in second in MTB races are devastated? Or is it more likely that they still get paid a hefty salary by their sponsors, still get recognition, and still get to do what they love, even if they aren't even in the top 3?