Propain will be joining Norco on the growing list of companies not putting factory teams together for the 2023 season.
Following
Norco's announcement in October that it would be skipping next year's racing Propain has come forward to say it will be taking a break from having a factory team in 2023 although it sounds like there could be a return in the future.
The pausing of the team means Henry Kerr, Luke Meier-Smith and Remy Meier-Smith could be on the hunt for a new team although Propain has said "it is a matter of course to us that we care about our team members and keep them on track for 2023 with our connections to industry partners and co."
It is sad to see another high-profile team pulling out of next year's racing and we hope there won't be too much more of this news to come.
| It really hurts us to say but the Propain Factory Racing Team will take a break in 2023. This was definitely not an easy decision, and we want to explain why we need to do this.
Since 2016 we were part of the Downhill World Cup with our first professional team, “Propain Dirt Zelvy”. Always driven by the thrill we get from racing competitive, three years later in 2019 we had big plans for this team and took it more serious than ever before. We changed the team structure to run as “Propain Factory Racing” with the main goal to become a Top 10 Team at the World Cups.
Another three years later the whole world has changed again. We do not want to blame everything on the pandemic, but it was a significant part that changed not only our surroundings but also Propain itself. We are a growing owner-operated company from South Germany and just getting started to get our hands in the markets outside of Europe. In the last three years, times were hectic and stressful as we tried to conquer the increasing demand for bikes and the simultaneously increasing delivery times for all kinds of bike parts. At this time, our minds were not focused on a World Cup Downhill Team, but we kept going and 2022 turned out to be one of the most successful years for the team.
This made the decision definitely not easier but with better riders, this also means more responsibility, time and effort we have to invest. The competition for good riders is always high, and in the end we could not keep the existing team in its current set-up.
In 2023 the MTB World Cup is going to change with more stops across the globe in a shorter period. We made this strategic decision to take that time to build a strong team for 2024 and focus all our energy and power on our customers to ensure we build the best bikes for us and our friends. We will dedicate the upcoming year to recalibrate and pave the way for 2024 to come back fully reloaded.
We want to thank our athletes, the whole team with team manager Ben Reid, our sponsors and of course every fan for the last seven years of racing Downhill World Cups with Propain. It is a matter of course to us that we care about our team members and keep them on track for 2023 with our connections to industry partners and co.
This is not a goodbye, we will be back!— Propain |
| I can honestly say it’s been a pleasure running the World Cup Team for Propain for the past 7 seasons. Meeting the company owners Robert and David for the first time in 2016 and seeing their passion to build the best bikes for their friends it was immediately something I felt proud to be a part of.
Two extremely hard-working and down-to-earth mountain bike riders who run their business on fairness and loyalty and it's really no surprise that their company has grew into what it is today. It’s been an easy partnership as our goals to develop the best race bike for the team were very much aligned and anything the team needed it got.
Gearing up for the 2023 season this news initially came as a shock but having chased the World Cup circuit for the past 21 years of my life as a rider and manager I welcome this opportunity to focus on other projects and although not as a team manager I hope to stay involved with the brand as the guys at Propain truly have felt like family and there really is no other bike id rather ride. From the riders we have had over the years, staff and sponsors, thank you all very much for being part of it.”— Ben Reid, Team Manager |
I guess misinformation is king @bbc611:
I wonder what sales difference Norco and Propain will see? If any.
I wonder who bought a bike because they saw it in a DH or even XC race?
Would say less than 15% of males knew what I was even talking about. Women it was less than 1%.
Blinki rides for Norco, is a Kiwi and essentially nobody has heard of that guy in terms of consumers on the ground.
If pain is your friend
Does it mean that
bread est ton ami?
RANDY!!!!
This is rather everyone making preparations to abandon ship, should the worst case scenario really come true and WC DH racing turn into a dumpsterfire. Everyone would rather have the others be the guinea pigs for the experiment that will be the first season of DH under new management.
At this point, there's just too much uncertainty for these smaller-scale factory teams. Will the official UCI sanctioned WC DH series turn into a shitshow because of Warner Bros involvement? Will there be a monetization scheme in place? If so, how will that impact viewer numbers and ultimately the relevancy of the series? Will there even be people watching? Will RedBull organize their own series? Will THAT become the new de-facto DH race format? Will these hypothetical series be exclusive from each other? Too many questions unanswered. Very difficult to make commitments in such uncertain times.
The increase in cost to factory teams just for participating, plus the increased cost of more races with less time between races (and the logistical hurdles that involves), plus the late schedule announcement from Discovery made it more difficult to set budgets for the new year.
Add all that to Teams/Sponsors/Manufacturers hedging their bets to see if things fall apart under Discovery and you have teams sitting out this year.
The fact that Propain basically said they will be back in 2024, sounds like that's the case. If DH falls apart they save the expenses for the year, if things go great they are back in 2024.
He asked for 44 bikes and received 4. If Norco couldn't get the parts or was hamstrung on supply agreements (IE having to use Rockshox instead of Marzocchi), then it's hard to call it their mistake.
Robert Redford and Ben Kingsley said it in 1992
All about value/cash flow/pricing power.
Fantastic Movie. The scene at the end where they talk about manufacturing a recession...kind of ahead of its time
Then we get the elite racing we already know and love and a new pathway to the top with another interesting class to follow utilizing bikes that are more affordable for everyone.
This is probably more of that hidden survey stuff for brands but would be nice to see.
in the first paragraph alone??
Is there any ROI to having a team?
Thinking of my local shops and the brands they carry, neither race results or signed pro riders have a bearing on which bike or components I would consider purchasing. I'm looking for value from components and features.
You can bet BK making the LSD sells more bikes than their DH success does.
Its Exactly like Car racing now - What wins on Sunday doesnt sell on monday but what it does do it gives some brands that whole bragging rights Overal and the ability to advertise about "their race team"
Look at supercars in australia, The teams have very little to do with the actual Brand and operate on other sponsor income including drivers that PAY to drive a car.(2023 is slightly different due to Ford performance and Chev getting involved but not sure for how long)
What sells bikes is a combination competitive pricing and good race results (mostly in DH) from what I have seen, hence why Commencal are so popular.
Good Geo and value sell bikes more than anything but putting brands into peoples heads is the idea of Social media and the power that holds makes people look at them.
Commencal are popular because they used to be cheap, they often have them in stock. their success wont sell the META platform - some local guy at a bike park who races DH might be slightly influenced by their results but otherwise no.
you can bet a poll/survey would say they almost dont care about race results when looking at a brand, Remember probably only .05% of riders actually race - times have changed sorry racing isnt what it used to be.
I have a friend who does YT full-time, He never stresses about getting video out like many do because He has videos filmed in advance - he digs deep for 2 or 3 months of the year , Then just does editing as a effective full time role While getting to create other videos as they happen during the year for what hes doing.(i have a bit of an idea of his model as i also created his merch site with stocking and shipping systems)
YT is very much a "keep it simple" to not get burned out, "live action" style of videos like "cleetus McFarland" does is key, Simple straight cut editing - hes doing super well for himself, when editing late at nights etc starts to take over your screwed.
and here is the but.....
I really kind of think we, as an industry, need to feel what everyone in the real world is feeling.....A gigantic pull back caused by government policy and (in)action over the last 30 months. this isn't just an anomoly, motherf*ckers.....the entire economy is teetering on a death spiral, and eveyone here things its godamned shell oil making 3% profit on a gallon of gas that's the issue...
Pull your f*cking head out of your 15 gendered a*shole(or Man-pussy, whatever you need to call it to make your psychosis feel better), and see the issue for what it is. The government sold you out to the tune of 20 Trillion dollars, and now that $1 you had is worth about $.40. soon to be $.20. This is unsustainable and cannot be recovered without some serious economic moves that will actually hurt more in the short term for government and those that rely on them......too f*cking bad. yall been at that teet for too long.
the first rule of getting out of a hole? STOP DIGGING
May I borrow your shovel please? I have found a out which I believe has not yet bottomed out.