Pinkbike's State of the Sport Full Release

What is your gender?

What is your age?

Which continent are you from?

What is your primary cycling discipline?

What position did you finish in the overall rankings of your primary discipline last year?

How many followers do you have on your main social media account?

Why do you use social media?

I have to make content to maintain my income

I enjoy making content for social media

Social media reach is more important to me than traditional media coverage (e.g video on Pinkbike homepage or Photo Epic appearance)

I have had to create more content because of the effects of COVID-19 on the mountain bike industry

I have considered leaving competition to create content full time

Social media has a negative impact on my mental health

My home country gave me an advantage compared to others

My national governing body supports its athletes well

It is affordable, without industry support, to compete abroad

It’s easier for Europeans to compete at an elite level

To race in my chosen discipline, there were opportunities to get the necessary points in my home country

Despite opportunities to get points in my home country, I felt I had to go to another country to get the necessary points

Is mountain biking your sole income or do you have to have another job to support yourself?

What were your total earnings from mountain biking last year?

How much of your income from mountain biking comes from a guaranteed salary?

How much of your income from mountain biking comes from prize money?

How much of your income from mountain biking comes from other bonuses?

How much of your equipment is provided to you free of charge?

How much of your travel costs are paid for by your team or sponsors?

How much of your accommodation costs are paid for by your team or sponsors?

I rely on good race or event results for my livelihood

I am paid fairly for what I do

Which do your sponsors value most?

Enough is done to ensure rider safety at races or events

I have felt pressure to come back early from an injury

I am worried about the long term effects of concussions

Enough is done to educate riders about the harms of concussions

I would be adequately financially supported in a case of a serious injury

I take out private insurance of some kind in case of injury or loss of earnings

There are enough measures in place at events to make me feel safe enough to push my limits

All venues have adequate accident response

I felt safe racing or competing during the COVID-19 pandemic

How much do you feel you have been taken advantage of in contract negotiations?

During contract negotiations, I had a good idea of my own value compared to my peers

Speaking English significantly benefits a rider financially

eMTBs have a place in the competitive mountain biking scene.

I have witnessed or experienced sexism or sexist language at an event

I have witnessed or experienced racism or racist language at an event

I have witnessed or experienced homophobia or homophobic language at an event

I have witnessed or experienced transphobia or transphobic language at an event

I have experienced sexism in the sport of mountain biking

There is a gender pay gap in mountain biking

I would support legislation to diversify the professional field. Ie. an elite UCI trade team must have at least 2 of the following: a male, a female and a junior

The course should be the same, irrespective of gender

I’m happy with the current rules around the junior/U21/U23 to elite transition

Such a defined transition between junior/U21/U23 and elite makes racing harder for younger riders

There’s appropriate financial aid for juniors/U21 riders/U23 riders

What proportion of your total expense comes from sponsors?

How many men should qualify for Elite World Cup finals?

How many women should qualify for Elite World Cup finals?

If my national series was more prestigious or better funded, I would rather attend that

The current protected rider system ensures fairer racing

I like the current weekend practice schedule

I think bikes should be more regulated

Skinsuits should be allowed at World Cup level

There should be double headers in coming seasons

The current UCI points allocation system is fair

A venue shouldn’t hold a race on the same, largely unchanged track, year after year

Performance enhancing drugs are a problem in downhill racing

“Mechanical doping”, using a hidden electric motor, is a problem in downhill racing

The racing is, in general, fair and honest

Enough practice time is allocated at enduro events

Enduro racing should be totally blind

Shuttling should be allowed in training for enduro events

The races, in general, should involve more shuttling and chairlifts

I am concerned that riders who live nearer to a race venue get more track time and, as a consequence, get an advantage

The choice of a full or open face helmet should be down to rider discretion

Penalties are fair and consistently applied

I think bikes should be more regulated

The current points system is fair

Performance enhancing drugs are a problem in enduro racing

“Mechanical doping”, using a hidden electric motor, is a problem in enduro racing

The racing is, in general, fair and honest

What is your preferred style of racing?

I enjoy racing all the different race distances

I like the current weekend practice & race schedule

I wish the XCO and XCC courses were more technical

I wish the XCO races were longer

The uncertainty around the Tokyo Olympic Games has had a negative impact upon my training

The uncertainty around the Tokyo Olympic Games has affected me financially

I support the Tokyo Olympic Games being held in 2021

I think bikes should be more regulated

“Mechanical doping”, using a hidden electric motor, is a problem in XC racing

Performance enhancing drugs are a problem in XC racing

The racing is, in general, fair and honest

What is your preferred style of event?

In general, the courses at FMB events are well designed

At an FMB event, there is typically enough time allocated for practice

In general, judges score riders fairly at slopestyle and freeride events.

The choice of a full or open face helmet should be down to rider discretion

I have felt pressure to drop in at an event despite not being comfortable with the conditions

Rampage should include labour intensive, man-made features

Performance enhancing drugs are a problem in slopestyle and freeride

Competitive events are, in general, fair and honest

I would love to see the sport become more accessible to people with lower income. That being said, is this even possible considering the cost of owning and maintaining a bike?

In freeride, invites for events are too subjective. It's hard for new riders to get into events, and riders who have good relationships with organizers are grandfathered in. It's biased and we want to see accountability and transparency rather than just letting your buddies ride.

Selection criteria for World Champs should be obvious and based on results, rather than a panel.

I'd like to see less focus on social media value (aka how many followers does athlete "A" have). I think social media is a great tool, it can expose new and upcoming riders and share someone's story. However, I feel many companies utilize it in a cheap and easy way which leads to less authenticity from people and fewer opportunities for less social media-driven riders and talent.

I would definitely like to see more support both on coaching and economically from my national team. Today it’s close to zero. They say “there is no budget”.

We should have better insurance for athletes. They do offer insurance, but it’s not good at all.

Make it easier for athletes to race oversees instead of making them jump through hoops just to be able to ride bikes. Athletes have enough on their plates without governing bodies trying to stop them.

Federations should divide funds in a more fair manner, there is a huge gap between Olympic vs non-Olympic disciplines. With COVID, they made an effort which was the first time they actually gave money out since I started DH.

My national governing body needs to recognise enduro as one of the main competitive cycling disciplines and contribute towards EWS Trophy of Nations with jerseys & entries? They should also have 1 registered National series instead of multiple national series.

In reference to my national governing body, as an athlete I would love to have access to free nationalized healthcare. I rely on my parents' healthcare currently. Additionally, in my country, there are land access issues for cycling that can make it more difficult to have space and trails for more people to ride and access the sport. I would love to have more access to land for recreation but understand it is a complicated issue.

In general, I would love for the big media platforms to do a better job helping women promote women riding/racing. It's gotten a lot better over just the years I have been racing, but it's hard being a female to get support to make it to the races and we are working hard on getting better racers and better riders in general. I think we have done a good job at doing that and you see more and more women being able to be full-time riders but, having some more backing from media platforms and the industry I think would help us raise the level even higher! I would love to go to a race and get respected for what we do by also the industry and other male racers.

Better junior development for downhill to help young riders get to the point where they feel capable of competing at the World Cup level (before they front the money to travel to Europe), especially for girls. Any amount of funding/ support for privateer athletes who have qualified to race World Cups (achieved the necessary UCI points). Support/ coverage of downhill athletes and races (focused on Olympic sports). More opportunities in the US to earn UCI points and more high-level races to serve as a stepping stone to international racing. Right now, it’s a huge leap to go from US downhill racing to World Cup.

The bike industry is going in the media direction and away from racing and competition. I feel that this is the wrong approach. I think you need both but racing and competition should be the primary. There are hundreds of people that can look good and ride as fast as Loic Bruni for 5 seconds but can’t get in the top 60 at a World Cup or EWS. The big media platforms have all the power and exposure on these platforms is valued way too high right now. This is making it very hard for the riders to get paid. When I go on a video shoot, the videographer always gets paid but I never do because the exposure is supposed to be worth it. Fans want to ride on the same stuff as their favourite rider, not what somebody ripping a trail for a minute is using. All companies are making good products these days so a good rider can make anything work for a video. That is not the case in competition. Racing and competition is where you see what product is actually working the best. Also, the bike industry is growing rapidly but riders aren’t getting paid more. The fact that nobody knows what each other are making is really hurting the riders and keeping a lot of money in company's pockets right now. People should know athletes' salaries. That’s one of the easiest things that could help athletes right now.

I'd like to see more support and opportunity for youth, development, and privateers in the US. More USA Cycling and UCI sanctioned events could be a starting point for this, in addition to development trips to Europe and other highly competitive events. A more effective funnel from development programs, local events, and high school leagues into the national and international racing scene. Making this pathway into the World Cup racing scene more feasible will help grow the sport in a number of different ways! Treat riders less like medal pursuing robots. Wider pool for younger riders, more focus on long term development and investment into future rather than who's winning here and now.

USAC is decently good with development when it comes to juniors, but once you’ve aged out there is little support. It seems like nobody trying to break into the World Cup/international racing scene has any idea what’s going on - it’s difficult to figure out what you’re actually supposed to do to get overseas. Also, the qualification processes for certain events, like Worlds, have been unclear in the past. There needs to be a clearer pathway for success after racing as a junior, or for people who didn’t have the opportunity to race as a junior.

I would love to see more money go into the downhill in NZ, we put our lives on the line for a simple medal not even money to pay our gas to and from events and when you come from a very poor background it's a struggle and added unneeded stress when all I want to do is race at the best of my ability.