another rant by DOM.
Ok this debate will go on and on and on.
Some things which i Tink.
1 . I kind of Agree with Riles - Free riding as always been around .. the reason is it bigger then DH at the moment i beleive is that it's easier to capture for a audience whether it be TV or Movies. All the best DH tracks in the world are inside forests or rainforests or secluded area's where TV camera's must be setup all down the track .. this comes with a price and people dont want to do it. - 1 sport which is damm hard to film and costs an am and a leg is Rally driving .. but that is soo big that the cost doesnt matter.
2 . How many "pro" free riders can you think of ? I can think of heaps and heaps and heaps .. watch any superhero's movie or New world disorder and youll find 1000 guys all jumping the same gaps .. all doing the same tricks .. all hucking the same cliffs ... Name 15 people who can all ride a certain DH track faster then Nico ? .. my point is .. Downhilling is alot harder to get into .. requires an ennormous amount of skill to be "pro" compeitive .. far enough not everyone has to be a pro ... this whole debate isnt about us Meer Mortals .. we are allowed to ride whatever the hell we want .. we can jump off things .. we can follow tracks we can jump off our street curbs .. this whole debate is based on "PROFESSIONAL STATUS PEOPLE .. PEOPLE BEING PAID .. SPONSORS ETC "
I have shown DH racing to heaps of my family and they all thought it was exciting and viewable .. i showed them "free riding" and they also thought that was viewable .. the thing is .. Sponsors dont want to pay for DH to be televised .. it's too hard to capture .. Sponsors want their product shown on TV's ... to everyday people .. DHilling is too hard to capture. "free riding" on the other hand .. is easy to film .. you can setup courses in open area's of a mountain .. you can use alot of man made objects .. you only need a certain amount of camera's. - You can have large banners on ramps for sponsors .. basically sponsors will get more out of it. Thus is why Free riding is becoming more popular.
I beleive there is less "good" pro downhillers then freerdiers .. becuase i feel a Professional DHer .. has more skill .. if you want to argue about this .. go look at a bloody redbull ride results sheet .. the DHers can run with if not skool the "so called Pro Free riders"
Taking nothing away from the Free riders .. i would like to see both disciplines be as big as each other .. But basically .. Downhilling has been waiting inline for a long time for some recognition .. and "free riding" has just overtaken it .. this will piss alot of people off ... example .. Riles .. and myself infact because i enjoy DH more ..
I personally beleive everyone rides what they want to ride... I do .. downhillers will ride free ride ... Free riders will race Downhill.
Except .. Downhillers will win free ride comps .. but free riders couldnt win a Downhill race heheh .. sorry im biased
But I beleive i can stand on the hill and look at the topic.
It's basically Money based .. sponsorship based ... there is not easy solution .. Sponsors dont want to spend money on Downhill because it is known to not bring in a good return .. it may 1 day bring in a good return .. however nobody want to take this risk.
Remember this arguement is not about us .. it's about "pros" who are using this money .. being paid by sponsors .. being invested in.
We can ride whatever the hell we like .. the participation rate of Mountain Biking is booming .. people are riding having fun .. pushing limits .. but the sponsorship and money side of the sport is in turmoil ..
Freeriding - easy to sponsor
Downhilling - hard to sponsor .. known to give bad returns - nobody wants to try again.
basically how it works.
another things ... big money sponsors like Redbull ... Mountain dew ..
they dont give a fark about who are more skilled .. Dhers or Freeriders .. they dont give a fark whether DH dies .. and freeriding lives .. they dont give a fark who does what ..
all they give a fark about is return on an investment .. they want their product shown .. looked at .. idolised .. they want money back for money put in. and at the moment Freeriding is doing this and Downhill racing isnt.
People may favour 1 over the other .. both are enjoyable .. both are fun to watch .. I have a favourite .. but im happy to see both thrive .. i dont want to see the demise of DH racing .. but I dont have $1000000 dollars to invest in it's revival.
www.opinionheads.com go to the sea otter race report .. Joe Lawill .. who is a X pro Dher .. explains
and Also Rick Sutton from Gale Force .. who were a large sponsor for UCI and Norba races .. explains on
www.stiksandstones.com
Someone needs to take a risk on Dowhilling.