Mountain Bike Racing - Does Anyone Care About MTB World Cup?

There was a 4x and cross country world cup this weekend and no one is talking about it.:( I guess this proves no one cares about the MTB world cup, other then downhill. Maybe it needs more doping scandals like road racing. There hasn't been one in a year or so.

Hmmm... perhaps the organizers ought to get some new PR folks? Can't talk about what you don't hear about! Mountian biking has to have the WORST media types in the sports world.

I follow the XC, men and womens. There's no coverage, I just read about it on www.canadiancyclist.com

that's what I mean - one actually has to LOOK for coverage. I don't follow NASCAR, but, golly, the it's always all over the media. If it's bike related, and it ain't Lance, it's not going to show up in mainstream media.... which isn't necessarily the media's fault - it's at least 50% the biking world's fault for not having the PR/Media around!

that's what I mean - one actually has to LOOK for coverage. I don't follow NASCAR, but, golly, the it's always all over the media. If it's bike related, and it ain't Lance, it's not going to show up in mainstream media.... which isn't necessarily the media's fault - it's at least 50% the biking world's fault for not having the PR/Media around!
That's USA Cycling - - and the UCI too for that matter - - for you. USA Cycling is abysmal. First of all, if it's not on the pavement it's the red-headed stepchild as far as they're concerned. They give scant attention to mountain biking and are worse still with the gravity events.

UCI is goofy too. Just TRY to find any information on their web site about the Masters Worlds. Granted it's not the Elite (or regular World Cup), but you'd think if you went to their 'Championships' link, they'd have something about the Masters Worlds too. Not so. You have to dig through numerous layers to find anything. For the most part, as you say apclassic, sanctioning bodies are NOT PR people. They don't seem to know the meaning.

As far as USA things go, there's a double-whammy. First is race promoters who don't get word out to the community at large to help generate interest. With NORBA, that would be Frosty and the folks of Team Big Bear. They don't seem to think outside the relatively narrow conclave of the cycling community when it comes to publicity. And if you've ever been at a National, listen to the announcers. Now I appreciate XC racing as much as the next person - - since it's my 'secondary discipline' - - but from the pedestrian spectator's standpoint, unless you personally know a competitor, it's like watching paint dry.

Yet, if you listen to the two guys in the announcing booth work themselves into a froth over the 'action' on the race course, you'd think it was Daytona. Puuulease! Meanwhile, all the spectators are lining the sides of the DH and MTX courses and the announcers are virtually ignoring what's going on on the hillside behind them. Shame on them!

OK, now my NORBA rant is over. The other prong of the 'double-whammy' I mentioned is the American media. They ignored ALL cycling completely until (isn't that they way it always goes?) an American (Lance) started beating the Europeans at their own game. But for the most part - - and apclassic, you'll probably confirm this - - your average local, or even national, sports editor doesn't know the sport EXISTS if it doesn't involve some sort of round ball. You can send press releases, results, whatever and they ignore it.

As with most things in our country, we find out about only what the media folks are interested enough in to show us.

Locally, we have a "questionable publication" called the Hur Herald, which will basically print anything you send them (www.hurherald.com), and we in WV are fortunate enough to have www.iplayoutside.com for race coverage. Sometimes the Charleston papers will print results - if it's sent to them, and occassionally the Charleston TV will show up to shoot a 30 sec. spot for the news... but that's only because one of the producers knows a few MTBers! I send press releases to about 60 places, and feel pleased when cyclingnews and the daily peloton pick up the release for their MTB round-ups. Ah, such is life!

i like xc world cup.

it is never on tv, the only way i read about it is in magazines and i havent got a mtb mag in a while.

One year, when my kid was on the BonJovi/WV team, we got press releases printed all over the place - internationally, too - but that was just because the team name had bonJovi in it. Strange how that works. We obviously need some celeb MTBers to attract attention.

I don't care for it. WC downhill I like, xc isn't my thing and really, neither is 4x. The field in 4x is pretty consistent...its like watching basketball in the early 90's :)

Dminot - don't even get me started on NORBA! Although I will take my kid to some of thier races when they're not too far away, NORBA's whole sanction system pisses me off. For instance, in order to hold a state championship for NORBA, you have to use thier insurance, and make all the experts pay the $60 license fee... and, a NORBA state Championship, being restricted to NORBA members, often ends up awarding "state" titles to folks from some other state. Now, mind you, if you race in Jr 14 & under - which YOU don't, but my son does - you don't need a NORBA license, just a day license - to qualify for the Nationals... but, win a state championship in your class, and you DON'T win the state title because you don't have a NORBA license; you just win the race, and the kid who came i last becomes the out-of-state state champion! Make sense?

One year, when my older boy was racing Jr Expert in WV, I had to pay $60 for an Expert license, plus $40 something for the NORBA entry fee... and then he broke is chain & DNF'd. That was fun! So truely encourages MTBers to push themselves in their sport at NORBA events!

West Virginia holds it's own state championship, usually in conjunction with a WV series race. There are 2 sets of results - one fet for the actual race (WV membership not required), and one for the WV residents racing.

and, a NORBA state Championship, being restricted to NORBA members, often ends up awarding "state" titles to folks from some other state. . . and the kid who came i last becomes the out-of-state state champion! Make sense?
I hear you. It cuts the other way too, though. In fact, this whole thing went off in my head like a light bulb the day AFTER our State Championship race. Remember when I was asking about prizes and such? Well, in one of our pre-race meetings, Gino mentioned that the awards were covered because we got medals (free) three-deep from NORBA. That freed up all of the merchandise prizes to be given out as schwag in a random drawing (and to a couple of 'big air' contest winners). All well and good - - HOWEVER - - as I say, this occurred to me a day or so later: some of the people who got medals were from out of state. They probably shouldn't have gotten them. The SC medal should have gone to the next in-state NORBA racer on the result list. I suppose it's being picky, but it bothered me anyway. We could have set aside some nice merchandise prizes for those out-of-state podium finishers.


One year, when my older boy was racing Jr Expert in WV, I had to pay $60 for an Expert license, plus $40 something for the NORBA entry fee... and then he broke is chain & DNF'd. That was fun! So truely encourages MTBers to push themselves in their sport at NORBA events!I have a love/hate relationship with Nationals especially because of the cost. I love being a part of one; but it really bleeds the wallet. Fortunately, I've never traveled across the country only to have a mechanical DNF me or anything. Only Nats I've been to have been close (Idaho) - and I've podiumed.


West Virginia holds it's own state championship, usually in conjunction with a WV series race. There are 2 sets of results - one fet for the actual race (WV membership not required), and one for the WV residents racing.That's a nice way to do it if you're conducting them completely apart from NORBA - -especially since it sounds like you make it more affordable. What would suck would be a dual-membership thing like happened to me as a teen racing motorcycles. There was a Pac. NW organization called the NMA (or Northwest Motorcycle Association). They got AMA sanctioning, so you had to have a national AMA racing license (like NORBA); but to race in their races, you also had to pay a yearly NMA membership. And they got themselves named the only official sanctioning body of AMA races in the state. I really hated that . . . .

The WV Mountain Bike Association execs have (what I think is) a well founded "hate relationship with NORBA. Yeah, everybody LOVES it when they hold a national at Snowshoe, but aside from that? No use for them. Last time a WV race promoter held a NORBA race the NORBA reps didn't even show.

But, you see, the NORBA rules for state championship are, as far as I can figure, that the medals go to the NORBA-member with the best finish - NOT necessarily the NORBA member state resident. I mean, just look at the qualification rules for the National Championship - it encourages folks to go out of state to race another state's championship just to qualify. (My son qualified in South Carolina and Maryland this year, and will probably qualify again in NC - not that anybody's going to transport him to CA to race in a dust bowl!) WVMBA, though, operates its own sanctioning and point series, and is affiliated with IMBA - leaving NORBA out of the loop. The assocaition has the exact same insurance as NORBA, and provides it to race promoters cheaper than NORBA - I think it's $2.75 or $3.25/head this year.
The sanction fee covers race plates & tear tags, registration forms, use of chonographs, lots of free advice on course & admin stuff, the aforementioned insurance, and publicity on www.iplayoutside.com. - AND the race does NOT have to be in WV (for your future reference!)
BTW - I'm 2 for 2 so far in getting pre-race publicity published on www.dailypeloton.com for the Appalachian Classic race this year!! Make sure you send them your press releases & results next year!

I see I'm not the only one who thinks NORBA is screwy.....

Oh, I could rant MORE, but I'm tuckered out... spent the day trimming the face-slapping branches and ankle-tearing briers off the single track at the Calhoun County Park, while the kid raked debris from all these storms.

Hmmm... perhaps the organizers ought to get some new PR folks? Can't talk about what you don't hear about! Mountian biking has to have the WORST media types in the sports world.

Not as bad as Track Racing. I lived by a track for years and never knew it existed.
Believe it or not, Track Racing was the largest spectator sport in America in the early 20th century.:eek: