john260164

UCI are late publishing their "Official Calendar" for 2027...usually out by end Aug?

@gregnangatang: hiya. thanks very much for that, much appreciated. I'm kinda over it but still heard nought from PB, hey ho. Eagerly awaiting next year's "official calendar" Take care, John

@gregnangatang: fair enough. It was a bit much wasn't it

Pinkbike didn't do a "Thing we Learned" after Les Gets so this had had to wait. Things I learned: Don't trust Pinkbike for spectator info about races - check the UCI and Event websites before booking anything:- Aug 26th 2025 Pinkbike post “Official 2026 UCI World Cup DH, XC, & Enduro Calendar Announced” “After a summer break, the European leg of the season concludes with back-to-back race weekends in Haute-Savoie (France) – one Cross-country and Downhill, the other the Enduro finale – before…..” The calendar shows 14-16 Aug as the dates for Cross-country and Downhill event, and 21-23 Aug for the Enduro event. Note the use of the word “Official” and no mention that the calendar could change. Jan 22nd 2026 Pinkbike post “WBD Sports Confirms Les Gets & Morillon to Host the 2026 Haute-Savoie World Cup Rounds” The calendar now shows 14-16 Aug as the Enduro event, and 21-23 Aug as the Cross-country and Downhill event. Neither the title of the article nor the article itself make any mention that the Enduro and Cross-country and Downhill event weekends had been switched. I also learned that Pinkbike don't answer requests for contact through their webform (what's the point then?) and even the their good guys don't respond to messages. If this changes and someone does get in touch, I'll explain more about what happened and what my suggestions are. Ever hopeful!

Off topic a bit but it is about the quality of Pinkbike's postings. On Aug 26th 2025, Pinkbike posted this: “Official 2026 UCI World Cup DH, XC, & Enduro Calendar Announced” “After a summer break, the European leg of the season concludes with back-to-back race weekends in Haute-Savoie (France) – one Cross-country and Downhill, the other the Enduro finale – before...…..” The calendar shows 14-16 Aug as the dates for Cross-country and Downhill event, and 21-23 Aug for the Enduro event. Note the use of the word “Official” and no mention that the calendar could change. On Jan 22nd 2026 Pinkbike posted this: “WBD Sports Confirms Les Gets & Morillon to Host the 2026 Haute-Savoie World Cup Rounds” The calendar now shows 14-16 Aug as the Enduro event, and 21-23 Aug as the Cross-country and Downhill event. Neither the title of the article nor the article itself make any mention that the Enduro and Cross-country and Downhill event weekends had been switched. I either missed the Jan 22nd article and it slipped down the order and out of sight, or didn’t read it because its title didn’t mention any change. Either way, in Mar 26 I booked several thousand pounds worth of travel and accommodation, wanting to watch the Downhill event and obviously unaware of the change. This is the way I always do it, so as to ensure I do get accommodation booked, as it will of course sell out quickly. It involved driving all the way from and back to Scotland (2400 miles), to not see the event. Naturally I feel very let down, disappointed and upset with UCI and particularly Pinkbike for the poor quality of their communications. Having travelled from Scotland to spectate at, and support least 8 overseas Downhill events in around 15 years, including the last two in Les Gets, as well as almost all the ones that have ever been at Fort William, I’ve never once had to double-check dates after the ones published in August the previous year. But I have believed for some time that the information made available to travelling spectators is very poor (unlike the information provided to the teams, obviously) and Pinkbike could do a much, much better job. Please, can you improve the quality of your posts so that travelling spectators are supported with good quality and accurate information. It’s not like a rearranged football fixture that would be all over the TV – DH is a minority sport and Pinkbike is relied upon as a primary source of information and updates. I tried to contact Pinkbike people, the guys I thought were the good guys, and even sent a webform, but got no reply. While I was in Les Gets, I spoke to Tourist Information who confirmed that the dates were indeed switched, and talking to other people in the town they said that scheduling the weekend of the 15th & 16th Aug for the Cross-country and Downhill event was madness, given its one of the busiest weekends in France due to their summer holidays. Finally, even the UCI can’t get their information right. The update in Jan 26 showed 21-23 Aug for the Cross-country and Downhill event. It is in fact 20-23 Aug according to the posters and leaflets available in Les Gets. I was going to post this on the usual "what did we learn" thread after Les Gets but this time there wasn't one. I'll post it again after VDS if Pinkbike do a "what did we learn". I'm probably the only person in the world who got caught out at Les Gets, but I thought it worth posting this just to warn folks to double check calendars. Next time I'll either check UCI's website direct or the web page the event itself puts out.

Pinkbike's headline was something like "historic double win" for the Les Gets race. I'd seen Harriet's win (well done to her) but hadn't watched the men's race. The headline made it pretty obvious who'd won. Glad to see the changes, anything that makes the whole presentation more professional is welcome, by me anyway

Great, but I worry someone is going to get hurt in the stampede one day. I hope not

When did the Les Gets round change weekends?

All Ugly, the lot

Not clipping trees is my main consideration, and cutting down to 760 seems to do the trick. Not sure I'd really notice much comfort difference on a 3hr ride