TopperharleyPT1

Who do you mean in Moto and MTB? Can't really think of many in moto that aren't still competitive, maybe a handful in MTB...

The dude is playing a video game. This is nuts, how you ride in a dream.

@stevemokan: You missed the point, the 'enduro bikes' are getting phased out. Watch it happen and them be replaced with trail and park.

E-Bikes have taken over enduro sales, by a substantial amount. You only have to look at brands current portfolios to see they are not selling longer travel enduro bikes now. The ranges are split between a trail bike and a park bike, ie look at what Spesh have done with the Stumpy and the Status. So if enduro wants to continue to be relevant, moving toward a series over multiple days, out in the hills, point to point, away from ski resorts, that suits a trail bike over a long travel enduro does make sense. Think of the events like a mini Trans Provence over 3 days, with a rolling circus of pits much like WRC. Forget live TV and highlight packages, it will never be possible. Use mediums such as Youtube and have teams create the content, support that with budget (ie an accommodation , event and travel package that caters for the riders and their support staff). E-Bike sales will be just fine without racing. If Enduro returned to EWS, non-multinational ownership, forgot the UCI, held multi day events away from the most popular, well known locations and thought outside the box for marketing and content, it can come back but it'll never be as it was in the glory days of EWS.

Folks love to bag on Morzine behind keyboards, they all know a better spot that they have to tell everyone about, like they are the arbiters of where good riding is. Popular destinations always get it, Morzine, Whistler, Finale etc, happens everywhere in every sport or any tourist spot or even bar or restaurant scene. Fact is these places are popular because they are amazing. There is nowhere like Morzine in peak summer. Nowhere with so many different resorts linked by one pass, with so much diverse and amazing riding in between them all. Awesome atmosphere from a diverse tourist crowd of all ages, genders and abilities and all being able to find a weeks worth of riding, supported by shops, cafes, bars and so on. Yeah it's got some negatives but so does everywhere, for most people it's an amazing place to ride, in the bike park or out. The braking bumps are only really bad on a handful of the busiest trails, the crews do amazing work. The lift queues were horrendous 3 years ago but now your very unlucky to line up for more than 20 minutes more than once in a day, usually it's 5 - 10 minutes, time it next time, the lifts are fast and efficient. The pass is so cheap for what you're getting too. Don't be a hater.

@TheR: it was the best run of its type, but arguably the only run of its type.

Brendan’s run is so different to everyone else’s, it’s hard to judge in the same competition. I’d rather watch runs like Brendan’s, and it sounds like the public do as well. Unique line, technical, raw. When they decided on that run, they have to have see that everyone else’s is so much more geared to trickable features, that have always scored well. Everyone is right to be bit down on it but they and we all had to see it coming. The competition needs to change if Brendan and riders like him are ever going to win. Do the judges decide the shape of Rampage, Red Bull, the public or the riders? By the way the comp has been judged the last however many years Brendan’s run deserved a lower score than maybe 5 or 6 of the others. Not what we want but it’s true. Maybe the judges need new criteria from Red Bull (would they get the massive single clips like they get from TVS and Brandon though?) or the judging format should be changed to rider votes, crowd votes or public votes. For me Rampage is the whole week, prefer the build up to the comp. So why not add a filmer to every dig crew and have the public, crowd on site and riders judge.

It's good, better. I would have gone with a league system, three divisions, 1, 2 & 3 where riders can get promoted and relegated at the end of the season, or maybe more regularly. Third division is juniors and wild cards. Broadcast them all over a weekend. 30 riders per league and a qualifying system at each race to get into the third `division` Juniors can then climb the ranks. Same system for women, but would be less riders. Would need a method of protecting top riders if injured. That way viewers get invested in guys coming in 40 something place, they're on TV, and have something to fight for. It's football but that's a way you get exposure and money working down the ranks. This new UCI system is a bit better than the old, but still most people aren't going to see lower ranked riders.