GOLDEN RAINBOW: Last week’s Snow Bike World Championships (official acronym: SNO) in Châtel, France, saw new champions crowned in Super-G and Dual Slalom, with Pierre Thévenard and Morgane Such winning the super-g and Thévenard and Lisa Baumann winning the slalom. There’s been some (well, lots of) criticism of the event online, but riders all said it was good fun (if you weren’t currently getting a 6mm-metal-spiked tyre to the leg). The UCI is based nearby and plenty of VIPs from the UCI, the Olympic Committee and regional politics attended.
The optimist’s summary of this melding of big cheeses is that a new cycling discipline in the Winter Olympics – the UCI’s goal (there’s no space for new sports in the Summer Games) – would inject fresh budget into the cycling industry. Also, a big event in Châtel could raise the profile of the bike-mad town, leading to even more investment.
Talking of backhanders, ex-NBA basketballer Tony Parker wants to buy Les Gets but the town seems entangled in financial irregularities and favouritism. This is a bit of a tangent now, but that reminds us of this recent fraud story involving the 2022 Enduro World Series venue of Burke, USA. (Maybe Parker should buy this ready-made bike park for sale in Germany for just €198,000.) Is there a link or do we just love tangents? Whatever the case, desperate times can lead to desperate measures, and both the snow and bike industries are in dire straits.
FREERACING: DarkFest’s jumps are so big they seem impossible. And yet, watching the videos of people floating over them last week, often upside down in a flip or inverted whip, made it look almost easy. There were big consequences, though – send healing vibes and a few quid for Dan Paley’s medical costs here. Will jumps keep growing or are we at the limit? Red Bull Hardline Australia on 23-24 Feb might take riders near maximum send; David McMillan had a brutal crash testing a 100ft jump but says the event’s going to be ace. Last injury story: Andreas Kolb recently broke his arm in NZ. The opening 2024 DH World Cup is Fort William on 3-5 May (the first time in Ft Bill’s history the event isn’t being run by Rare Management) so he should be healed up by then. Does the series have a grippy new sponsor?
PRODUCT: Renthal just launched their Revo-F flat pedals. Are you anyone if you don’t have an Ochain? Mob, Syndicate, Frameworks, Atherton, the list keeps growing.
CORRECTION: We recently reported that the first-ever Enduro World Championships could be in Italy in June. The official rumour is, in fact, that the event will be in Italy in September. Thank you to Mr. John Knight for the update.
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