To be fair, the new organiser (ESO Sports) and broadcaster (Warner Bros. Discovery) had a lot to sort out – running the premier mountain bike race series and beaming it out to the world is no small task. Especially when the bar had been set so high by the previous team, who had developed the running and coverage of the World Cups into a slick, compelling operation during a decade of growth. It’s probably best they left themselves some time to get things set up.

Aside from a few hiccups and despite the lack of communications between seasons, we think ESO and Discovery did a mighty fine job of round one of the downhill World Cup. There were several schedule changes during the week and some confusion as to media access, but all-in-all the event went smoothly, the action came thick and fast, and we enjoyed the added racing with the new semi-final for elites. Junior racing was broadcast live for the first time, meaning fans and brands around the world could get a better idea of the next generation’s speed, professionalism and promise.

Would we change anything? Well, we spent a lot of time wincing as riders hurtled into rocky, rough oblivion in practice: Lenzerheide’s course claimed so many victims we’ll only list the major names with major injuries here. Get well soon Amaury Pierron, Ben Cathro, Jenna Hastings, Wyn Masters, Jess Blewitt, Henry Kerr, Luke Meier-Smith and everyone else hurt. Maybe the venue needs a break (it isn’t on the calendar for 2024), perhaps downhill is just that nuts these days that a few new safety regulations need to be put in place (we haven’t asked ESO about this but know they care about rider safety and are likely already working on it). We aren’t blaming anyone – the new-style course markings with smaller poles and soft crash pads looked like an improvement from where we were standing – and maybe there isn’t anything that can be done to reduce injuries in such an inherently dangerous sport, but we just hope someone’s got their eye on the ball when it comes to safety.