XC World Cup Round 2, Albstadt – Video Recap

 Really? With all the talent, fitness, and dedication to training these athletes have, THAT is all you take from this?

 @thatshowiroll: Nope. ZC (snoore country) is destroying mountain biking and roadies are running the agenda. Pretty simple really. Not sure where PB got the licence to cover sleepy MTB crap, but it's disturbing for lots of reasons. Of course, just sayin' ha ha ha!

 @Murbahman: Haha. Very edgy. So amuse. Such wit.

 Not sure why you made it your mission to hate on every XC-oriented post that comes out of Pinkbike, but its super obnoxious. XC was the first type of MTB competition and is a totally valid form of mountain biking that takes a ton of skill, especially at this level. These guys are incredibly fit, dedicated, and technically talented, and the racing is exciting to watch for many people. Secondly, none of these guys give one shit about "running" whatever agenda you're talking about. Just like you and me, they love bike racing and just want to compete. And lastly, it goes without saying, most (if not all) of these racers are far more talented (both technically and athletically) than you or I will ever be, so stop acting like you are somehow superior.

End point, if you hate XC so much, stop clicking on these posts. A lot of us enjoy it, and would like to see it continue.

 @waywardtraveller: lol - I thought so. ZC soooo sleep worthy

 @twentysixes: lol - sorry, fake news about XC being exciting, relevant, first, technical, skill based, blah, blah, blah. Bunch of guys going around in circles - dust roadies zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 @Murbahman: so, a challenge for you. I am on the fence when it comes to XC, and the thought of those climbs gives me a heart attack, however, I am interested to hear why you think that XC...

"..is destroying mountain biking"?

Please explain? I'm interested to hear how you came to that...

 @orientdave: Confected "trails" and loop circuits appearing everywhere for the Lycra crowd - including at "elite" level - just look at what they served up at Rio. So, instead of people being invited to consider mountain biking as a fun leisure pursuit, they see Kale eating swill cheating on Strava, whizzing around tennis court smooth circuits. Apparently they call that "MTB". They, the ZC crowd, like to dominate local clubs, send trail fairies out to dumb down perfectly fun trails because the "drops" are too big, not smooth enough for flow - they say - create the possibility for better, faster, racing - they say. ZC (XC) racing is simply not fun: for nearly everyone. It's simply not orientated to anything like fun. It has morphed into a dust-roadies' delight. Ask a local government organisation to help fund a "trail" and they start with a "risk assessment" formulated under guidelines created by, you guessed it, dust roadies. So, you end up with a pi$$ weak attempt at building a trail. ZC is destroying MTB -just look at the dysfunction in Australia with the MTBA (that's our local MTB Body) being told what to do and hog tied by the UCI and Cycling Australia (Roadies again). Take the spades away from the dust-roadies, let trails look and ride like, well, trails. The proliferation of "trail" bikes in the market speaks volumes - pity the dust roadies have control of the trail bank.

 @Murbahman: An excellent analysis: especially about the risk assessment. I just watched Remi's "Not by accident" edit about how he prepares for a new line.. now there is some real life risk assessment!

 @Murbahman: I disagree that it is the XC crowd dumbing down the trails. All XC racers I know love technical courses. XC racers make discomfort and pain their riding buddies, because that's what XC riding is all about.

The real culprits for the dumbing down of trails are the people that are new to MTB that don't race, and aren't prepared to put in the effort to learn how to ride properly yet still want that feeling of flow and ripping trails. THEY are the ones that can't turn a corner unless it has a berm in it and want the rocks taken out.

And who is more likely to buy a 'trail' bike? An XC racer, or someone new to MTB?

 @iamamodel: Noted, but you only have to look at the Commonwealth Games "race circuit" they have spent $3.5m on at Nerang in South East QLD to challenge your submission on behalf of Kale eaters. Perhaps even try to rationalise the Rio attempt - zzzz. ZC is a dumbing down - dust roadies unite. Footnote: ZC bikes are great for commuting on, riding along a bike path, going to the dairy, racing around tennis courts, or even training on - hell, some of them are very nice looking dust roadie machines. But, all that seems a bit dismissive to some who like that aspect of the sport. ZC trail fairies unite and ready your spades to make the MTB world a better place by smoothing out that one section of trail that kills your Strava time!

 @Murbahman: I get your frustration with the dumbing down of trail systems and the country club vibe that some people bring to it. I share in those frustrations. At the same time, I do not think it is fair to demonize an entire sector of mountain biking due to some shitty people. Those people are considered "XC" riders by default, when really they are just beginner mountain bikers.

At its core, XC is just people who will ride up to the top in order to go back down the hill. And the top XC racers (the ones in this post by Pinkbike) are just as interested as having technical, fun mountain bike trails to ride as we are. The fact that they are sometimes given shit courses (like Rio, definitely), is not because they are asking for it. It is because mountain biking is an afterthought by the Olympic committee, something that hopefully will change in the future.

I'm sorry that you have encountered so many problems in your trail system. But don't direct that anger at people who are passionate about the same sport that you are.

 @twentysixes: True enough. Just a pity the youngters don't get to learn to play and ride their bike on trails that aren't a confected array of "things" usually chucked together by the dust roadies at your local club who happen to be the one's dictating the terms of participation in our sport, the way trails are built, the way some events are held and the manner in which submissions are made to governments when funds are sought. Bikes are fun, ride em'.

 @Murbahman: 100% agree with that statement

 The rio and (future) commonwealth games course were built that way to allow "fans" to get a wide view of the course. There are certainly courses out there at World Cup level that have allowed the same thing without dumbing down the level of the course, but 2 particularly courses are nowhere near enough evidence to call Nino or any xc racer a "dirt roadie"

 @rrsport: Nonsense. The derogatory term is "dust roadie" anyway.
A wide view of the course - lol - what for? There's not enough space on here to name all the lame courses available for ZC

 @Murbahman: I've never heard 'dust roadies', only 'dirt roadies'.

 @iamamodel: Limited lexicon in NZ probably has a bit to do with that