Can anyone confirm what the cost is for a uci race license and also the entry cost for the individual events
It look as though from this website
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/g...bjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=NDc2MTg&LangId=1
That it is 65 euros for a race license
Not sure on world cup events, are they a class 1 or a class HC
In any case if its a Class 1- 840 euros
Class HC 1040 euros
Can anyone confirm, as it seems really expensive
I'm not sure where you got these figures, even matching it up to the registration fees document you've linked - which is not entry fees (except for the bit on the first page) - the "registration fees" in the context of this document are what you pay as an event organiser to have an event listed on the International UCI calendar. The license costs you pay to Cycling Australia for an international license are in large part of that component inclusive of insurance. There are cheaper options that would reduce this if you already have insurance, but in reality your travel and accommodation is going to dwarf the costs of your racing license(s) and event entry fees.
As already said by others, there's significant cost in developing a career to progress in mountain biking, and the simple fact is that there's money available in road that you can be earning to pay the bills, whereas you need to be at the very pointy end before anyone's going to offer you a decent wage in mountain biking.
The issue about technical trails really isn't a problem. While the UCI have been making events more technical in recent years, our riders are losing time to the leaders and other riders around them on strength and fitness, not on technical descents. This is not a new problem. The simple reason Cycling Australia (and to a degree the Australian Sports Commission) like track so much is that, like swimming and athletics, it is a controllable environment, and easy to replicate conditions. Road isn't so much like this, mountain biking is a long way from this, and that alone makes development programs difficult - not to mention the grassroots, talent identification, pathway and elite development and high performance programs that need all work together to present a pathway from grassroots and recreational cycling right the way through to olympic medal production.