I could go on for days about all of this but let’s now look at the sport as a whole. In 2010 there was cross country, downhill and four cross in the world cup circuit. This has now changed and four cross has split from the world cup scene and has shrunk a lot. There is now an enduro world series which is growing year by year. They have changed the rules so now riders can run mixed wheel sizes which is going to be big in the gravity scene. There are now Velosolutions pump tracks all over the world and there is a world championship for pump track. In terms of racing, the sport has become a lot more professional with teams investing a lot in big trucks, data acquisition equipment, track analysis and anything else to make the riders go faster. This has meant the field has tightened up and the time gaps are so tiny which makes for exciting racing. The tracks have gotten faster for downhill and more technical for cross country which means there are no more half measures. Everyone in the field is training hard these days, it’s too competitive not to. For me, I like some of the changes but all in all I think all sports evolve and it’s just about keeping up with the times and embracing change. No point fighting it. I am super excited to go racing again this year even though I am not sure when that will be exactly due to the Covid-19 virus. I hope soon! Until next time …
STEFAN GARLICKI is a 2X downhill national champion and a World Cup DH racer. Make sure you give him a follow on Twitter: @StefanGarlicki and Instagram: @stefangarlicki
Loegang, Austria UCI World Cup 2018. Photo by Moonhead Media.
