In December last year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced fairly monumental changes to the format of UCI World Cup downhill racing. The introduction of a third points-paying race per round that will result in less elite riders in finals quickly stirred up a commotion. On today's episode, the crew sits down to discuss the details of these changes and the possible implications they will have when the season kicks off in June. Enjoy!These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible: MaxxisBurgtecIndustry Nine 0:00 Dakotah Norton's initial reaction as a World Cup racer4:51 Breakdown and discussion of new semi-final and finals format9:45 Impact of the new format on US DH racers11:38 Why did Warner Bros. Discovery implement these changes?16:27 Broadcasting top 30 vs. top 60 17:30 Points breakdown per round 19:07 How will more points per round affect racing? 26:55 The dynamic of doing three race runs in a weekend33:52 How to watch World Cups in 202336:05 Third-party media changes 39:55 New protected rider rules 50:09 The stresses of being a top 10 racer OR top 30-40 racer in semi-finals52:10 Rumors of track standardization53:40 Why not a B Final or last-chance qualifier? 55:05 How season-long storylines could change with less racers in finals 1:00:02 Will wildcard racers still be a thing?1:00:14 Updates to replacement rider rules 1:02:04 2023 Schedule breakdown 1:08:04 Are all these changes just TV broadcasters taking over our sport?

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related