UCI Announces 6-Round World Cup Calendar for 2021

 Agreed. Nothing makes an exciting race like the best in the world taking it easy to protect their overall UCI standings.

 I might be alone in this but for me it takes a real world champion to be able to win both worlds and the overall, like Loic did last year, without A getting hurt and B with the mental game required to succeed at both.

 Agree. Zero sense, other than making UCI travel points line up with execs wishes. World Champs should be after the season.

 I am soooo ready for the 2026 season!

 "makes zero sense"
Applies to many things these days, my friend

 Something that makes zero sense to me is why people say zero sense instead of no sense.

 IMHO World Cup and World Championships are separate. One is who is the most consistent over an entire season and the other is who can put it all together for the special one day. Also, having the World Championships before the last World Cups gives the knew World Champions the ability to show off the jersey at the highest level without having to wait until the following season.

 Zero sense?

Ermmm...It makes sense to the groups of people responsible for the schedule; the UCI, the resorts and communities asking to host, at least from where they are all looking at it.....

It would be nice for the champs to be at the end, and that does happen, just not all the time.

Oh, no sorry, I forgot, this is PB and the net. Everyone must give the world the benefit of their knee-jerk reaction.
Including me.
You may continue on with your life now.

 I think the Olympic Reschdule wrenched up the gears on that one. However, you're right it's silly as they did it last year holding an event after worlds. Kind of absurd.

 Alpine Skiing World Championships for one are somewhat mid-season. Nobody is complaining there.

 @bikeeagle: not comparable. It's been this way for skiing because you need the champ to be at the moment you're the most sure there will be snow.
For mtb there is no specific logical reason to put it in the middle, just before the end of after the regular season

 I bet if Trump is still Prez that Snowshoe won't happen.

 @jaydawg69: I have a hard time believing we're going to be out of this shitshow in 12 months even if baby Jesus himself was elected president

 @sjma: if all the Trump supporters inject themselves with bleach, it will be a good start.

 @jaydawg69: typical, one directional rules and regs on name calling / violence in the comment section. Say something like this against any other group and the user account would be deactivated, amiright @mikekazimer @jamessmurthwaite @mikelevy ?

 @kev-bike: no name calling or violence at all.... it what your President said that can cure the Covid 19.

 @caliripper12345: that's your president and people who vote for him.

 @tsheep: exactly... but it's fine for your prez though?

 wow politics makes people retarded. You guys root for your team and hope the other side "inject themselves with bleach". And look how many up votes...some community we have here.

 @StanMarsh: I don’t think you understand the context of it

 @jaydawg69: it's funny how these guys don't realize you are simply repeating what the fat orangutan said on national television. I guess the people he killed or put in the hospital because of this were all fake news.

 @mollow: thanks for that, but no trump supporter hears the bullshit he says

 @StanMarsh: what makes people retarded is following blindly someone and refusing the existence of any possible argument against this leader they blindly follow.

There is no problem with "the other side" having different politic opinions. The problem was showed just above. Let me describe it for you:

The leader said sentence A. The followers have no problem with it.
Someone repeats sentence A in a way that followers realize how stupid was this sentence A. The followers now hate this person, but completely disregard the fact their leader said that sentence in the first place.

 @zede:
Oh dear, you appear to have drunk too much CNN. Find the quote "inject yourself with bleach" by cheeto man.

You will have great difficulty, because it doesn't in fact exist. There are any number of articles that will distill a longer statement down to this line in what is frankly a warping of the english language, but "inject yourself with bleach", or any variant theroff, was never said.

But now you are claiming cheeto man followers are "retarded" (your word, not mine) for blindly following cheeto man for saying something that they never actually said.

So congrats, you have been played like a fiddle by a media complex hostile to both cheeto man and your own well being, you have been conditioned to hate the "other team" as "retards" (again, your word not mine), and remain oblivious to the actual facts of the matter. Charming.

 @jaydawg69: You should find that actual quote. Like, in a transcript. I will wait.

 @tsheep: “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful.”

bafoon

 @tsheep: not only you lack basic reading comprehension skills, but you are also completely missing the point, and you don't even have your facts straight.
The US political system is a joke, I don't support any of the side because it makes 0 sense.
Most Americans are a joke as well, failing to see that it is the foundations of their country that is the cause of this pathetic situation, and they will never ever realize it because they are brainwashed since birth in thinking their are the center of the world, the only and last free individuals of earth.

Guess what, you are not the center of the world, nobody outside of US watches CNN and Foxnews, and everyone knows that even Chinese are more free than Americans.

The use of "retarded" was solely linked to the comment I was answering, that was using the exact same word.

So congrats, you tried to play the smart guy card, but you failed. You tried to play the fake news card, but you failed again. You tried to play the "mirror, what you said applies to you" card but you failed yet again.
Stay in your "alternative facts" world because opening your eyes would hurt you too much

 @zede: well said

 @zede:
Oh dear, couldn't actually back up your claims? Better start spouting every invective that comes to mind, surely that will work.

Spend more time riding, less time hating.

 @tsheep: oh my god you're stupid
YOU LOST THIS ARGUMENT but nothing seems to be getting into your thick scull

 @Bikerdude137:
It's spelled 'skull'.

 @tsheep: yeah i know that, it's called a typo, you still lost the argument

 Might have something to do with the gondola?

 Or because of the poor medical support during previous world champs (Brook McDonald can testify...)?

 There has been a lot of critism due to the poor evacuation procedure after Brook Macdonald´s crash.

Maybe there is a link?

 No MSA. I didn't know that was possible.

 @breizhval: I don't know, the venue was still booked for this year before covid

 @lord-01: pretty weak arguments. They planned this years schedule way before the crash happened. So it would make sense that after the crash they decided it will be the last race there until they can prove they have a proper Evac plan.

As for the gondola, it would totally be feasible to have the racers take each an individual gondola. Which they already do anyway.

 @mollow: yea what bs. Sad this will be the first actual season without st anne and that's unfortunate

 @atrokz: it’s a rude track. Hopefully it gets added at a later date.

 @mollow: The Gondola is not functionnal since last ski season after a couple major failure. It is not fixed yet...

 @mathieutrudelle18: oh, didn't know that. But they could use the 4 seaters next to it and shuttle the last 200m up the start

 @mathieutrudelle18: I was thinking it was a money thing but this plus money issue probably seals the deal. I would assume they took a financial hit from Covid. Did they get all the funds back from securing this years race? Now add the cost of what sounds like a major gondola repair, seems like they made the smart financial decision.

 Perhaps expecting Canada will maintain is quarantine rules for people traveling into the country until 2021 as well as more strict event rules sticking around longer here then elsewhere.

 MSA is a big ski business. Don’t think they will let their main lift down until summer 2021.

 @mollow: liftblog.com/2020/02/21/gondola-riders-injured-in-incident-at-mont-sainte-anne

 How can they call it a World Champ when all but 1 race is in Europe?

 @bostondonmtb: wild stuff! Thanks for the link

 @breizhval: Amen to that.

 No MSA is definitely a bummer! I wouldn't go as far to say that the poor Evac procedures are the main reason, but it probably didn't help. But as others have said, MSA was scheduled this year, so I do believe UCI and MSA got things sorted out.

That aside, several things can easily explain why there is no MSA this year:

1. The Gondola which has been broken since last winter has yet to be fixed, with little to no information as to when it will be fixed. Yes, you can use the 4 seater and shuttle the rest of the way up, but that still adds costs and logistics to manage.
2. COVID: Don't forget that Canada's borders are still closed to some countries, while others have restrictions. Anybody coming in to Canada has to respect a 14 day quarantine once they enter the country, with no sign in sight of when this will change. For any raceteam/venue/manufacturer that is quite the logistical nightmare.

There's still nearly a 2 month gap between round 4 and Worlds/round 5, and MSA has been held at the beginning of august in the last few years. Maybe the UCI is keeping all options on the table waiting to see if the situation changes.

 @alexridesbikes-13: no, that gap is for rhe xc racers. They need to peak for the Olympics

 @Dicko22: Just like the World Series of baseball...... as long as you are from America lol.

 @Brasher: hey there is a Canadian team lol

 yep. with as wound up as everyone is, we are 18-24 months out of it being a memory and being able to move internationally freely.

 Donald says everything is gonna be all right

 @mobil1syn: I figured next year would be impacted. But I thought by next fall we could turn the corner. This article has me thinking your time frame is more realistic: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/23/houston-coronavirus-mutations/?arc404=true

I hate saying this, but my money is now on no olympics.

 @onemind123: until governors like Cuomo move elderly out of the hospital s and into nursing homes. Whoops

 True dat!

 I don't think they have ever missed hosting a race since the start of the World Cups

 ‘ it’s going to be difficult, but if I work hard all winter, I think I can be as dominant as in 2020’

 @dubod22: nice!!

 I've seen it written (quite a few years ago now, though) that the potential losses from hosting a world cup event for a resort, especially if they're doing it for the first time, are far, far greater than the potential gains. The result is a few established venues with expertise doing it again and again.

 The folks in Champery still talk about how bad the town was trashed after the last Dh race. Rich Swiss and Dh racers might not be the right mix.

 You're going to have to wait for Glasgow 2023. Don't know where they will race but they could do the DH, Friday night on Sauchiehall Street. That redefines rough!

 @Superburner: I think that one's decided and it's quite a drive.

 @Superburner: I bet they'll race at Fort William

 @ORTOGONAL555: @andrejdekleva: Think you guys are right, although I they could do the XC at Cathkin Braes which is close to the city. Thats where the XC was for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Three years to worry about it I guess.

 @afterschoolsports Champery will probably be back in 2025. It's official since yesterday, the Valais region is gonna host world champs for all mtb disciplines, and they Say downhill will happen in Région dents du midi, which is the région of the swiss part of les portes du soleil, where is champery

 @Yann3057: FK yes! I am now officially stoked.

 @peytodog: Verbier seems to cope

 Yes, there have been rounds (or world champs) in all of those places.

 @btjenki: When/where in Asia?

 @kcy4130: I'm pretty sure there was a World Cup in Arai, Japan in 2001.

 @trevorpeckham: Sweet. Sprung 5 footage of it:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcFC_dGGTGc#:~:text=Sprung%205%20ventured%20over%20to,to%20get%20a%20good%20spot.

 @kcy4130: Sprung 5 was great. As was World Cup slalom...bring it back!

 Africa: Yes. South Africa (I think in several venues, as well as the Cape Epic).
Australia: Yes. Cairns is one of the best XCO & Downhill tracks.
Asia: Not sure. Maybe Japan, but yeah, no Asian tracks, other than the upcoming Olympics. However, there are marathon races for example in Turkey.

 They also had World Champs in Rotorua, NZ in 2006. There was great section of it in Earthed 3 or 4

 Cairns hosted many world cups over the years.

 @MarcusMTB: The opening race for the 2018 XCO season was in Stellenbosch South Africa.

I'd really like to see this one back on the schedule. I thought it was a really cool track.

 Thanks PivotMach!!! See ya here!!

 Competition has rarely been fair. There is so much that influences the performance of athletes. Not just race equipment and salaries. Are athletes in a position to dedicate to their sport full time (or need a job on the side) and if so, from what level onwards? Nutrition, training methods and equipment (including equipment to measure musle recovery etc), logistics... Even with something basic like running or swimming, there is still a huge difference in opportunities in different countries. How severe covid is at that point is only a small portion of that.

Personally I hate the Olympics so I wouldn't mind to see it canceled altogether. The concept seemed nice. So many top athletes at a single event, giving it their all. But as it has bercome, it is just a huge show driven by nationalism over the backs of athletes. The downright physical and mental abuse of Eastern European (underage) female athletes (who still aren't getting the recognition they deserve and for which never has any justice been done) being one of the deepest lows. And it skews the support different sports are getting from the government. If a sport has got Olympic status, there is so much more money going that way at the expense of other sports. And obviously it has an unfair influence on what hobby kids are going to pick up, growing up. So ideally I'd rather see the whole "countries" thing ditched from the event. They aren't quite following the original "don't be at war during the event" rule anyway so there is nothing good about the flag waving part of it either way. Sure, ditching the nationalism from the event may reduce the amount of money being invested in the event, but on the other hand it may actually lead to a more fair distribution of funds. It may make it a smaller event, which isn't bad either. Less reason to bulldoze favellas, build on conflicted land, unfairly exploit construction workers during the build... And then maybe if it becomes smaller, there may be more opportunites for more countries to have their turn at organizing the event for a change too.

 Not until the cut a track in down to Creekside

 www.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-the-stevie-smith-1199-dh-track.html

 You got the last race of the season for MotoGP though. Was tempted to combine it with a surf trip to Lagos. But since they're only allowing about 10,000 spectators it seems an unlikely prospect. I actually cycled past the racetrack on an MTB day on my last surf trip to Lagos.

 As long as you do the Baseball World Series too...

 @korev: No argument here! Shit, just ditch the whole sport

 This European doesn't disagree!

 @korev: Well, it used to be every other year. I'd say it gave more credibility to the sport. It's hardly progress this way.

 That would so sick. I support.

 @youknowitsus:

and Mount Snow