The Complete Guide to the 2022 World Cup DH Teams

 for the moment...
I guess there will be more links related to "other" sites and fewer original pinkbike articles in the foreseeable future.

 @flowisforpussies: You beta not be right!

 How do we filter out the stupid paywall articles so they do not appear on our screens @pinkbike?

 @cky78: Agreed, one doesn't come to this website just to be directed to another. Those who have subscribed and paid probably know how to get there already. Otherwise, why not at least allow us to the comment section there?

 See you later PB.. Fun while it lasted.

 Disable Adblocker

 @ElDebarge: alternatively you can both pay for the product while still being the product.

 @Mike-Jay: Indeed, it does say that when you sign up you get ad-free access, but it doesn't say they'll collect less personal data.

 #KEEP PINKBIKE FREE

 @cky78: I was able to use Adblock to do this (block element)

 Yeah, this isnt a good look for PB. B- on their report so far.

 So I guess it has finally started. And we're going to see more and more of it I'm afraid
Wonder if a couple of weeks of complete boycott of PB would change antything? Or is it just time for transferring to "the other mtb site" or creating a new one?

 Yea - looks like they are going to drop one a day from now on!!!!! so far, uninteresting articles I wouldn't read anyway..

 @cky78: stylish plugin, then

#outside-header, .beta-item{
display: none;
}

 Let the countdown to my last days visiting pinkbike begin!

 I literally wrote a 1300 word article about this for my English class. I'll try to find a way to link it in a later comment

 @rhamej: And Just wait. They will try an monetize the Buy/Sell marketplace next. They will inevitably charge us to use that marketplace.. It's coming.

 @Three6ty: Wait until the race season kicks off and all the coverage is plus.... can see it coming a mile away.

 @Three6ty: Yep. 100% for sure without a doubt.

 @DBone95: Luckily we can at least watch the races on RedbullTV.

 @Three6ty: and for free no less

 For team info in almost real time, before these articles get written, you can always log onto the Vital forum!

 @cky78: Brave browser -> Brave -> Block Element -> div.news-style1.beta-item -> Create
Or a similar thing with ublock origin for other browsers.

Same thing for the header
#outside-header

 I´m betting the house on Cathro content being behind a paywall once the new season starts...

 Can we nominate Palmer’s peeves to be put behind a paywall?

 @Supergirl56: I wrote an essay about the e-bike battle for an english class years ago haha

 We should all get in our sprinter vans and convoy to the headquarters in Squamish for a free Pinkbink rally! We will block the trailheads, urinate in the parking lots and dig up all the berms. And we wont leave until all paywalls are lifted, water bottles fit in every bike frame and dropper posts never fail! Or not

 @Maxipedia: No rush. Back in the days I received Dirt Magazine every two months so during racing season, that implied every issue covered a few WC stops (DH and 4X). And I only watched the videos when the Earthed videos landed. I'm still alive so some slight delay doesn't kill you. However, I expect the race reports will remain on the public website and the more in depth stuff will be behind a paywall. Which is fine, I'm getting my in depth articles in Cranked and the Misspent Summers books. I also hope Eskapee will become more active again. From what I understand they have James McKnight and Mike Rose (Eskapee, Dirt Mag) helping them too now so the alternatives are there. I don't mind paying for journalism but then I'm expecting a bit more than what Beta seems to offer.

 @Mike-Jay: says the user of social media platforms??? Let’s not be hypocritical here. If you use any social media at all your data is already out there.

 @ElDebarge: Sure, I’m not disagreeing. But why should I pay to have the privilege of giving away my data?

 It may be a ctrl-c ctrl-v thing, but nodody would ever know

 Subscribe to outside+ to see all your favorite content 1 day earlier

 We may never know lol.

 People will click on the free articles more now.

 But what about the yoga pose library, meal plans, and unlimited access to all the riveting articles from Vegetarian Times?? That has to have a value to you.

 @pisgahgnar: if it came with access to bacon times, I'd be somewhat more interested.

 Sign me up as their psychologist…

 I could write their press releases. Short and to the point is so yesteryear.

 @vinay: Jokes aside if they actually raced Grim Donuts or DH Donuts, I would be throwing money at the Outside + membership button like it's toilet paper in March 2020.

 for sure...most important to know whether or not they will be racing the Grim Donut! c'on Pinkbike, let us know already!

 @calmWAKI: Nah, the whole grim thing is long overdue. It may have looked wild back when it started but after that it was just a lot of talk whilst other brands were actually doing. Alutech soon enough built their Armageddon bike (alutech-cycles.com/cms/tag/armageddon) just like other brands were taking longer bikes to the WC races too. By the time Pinkbike actually brings a Grim bike to the races it doesn't even stand out anymore. It's fine though. PB is all about talks, that's what it is for. They'll never be able to realize a product faster than companies who do that for a living. Plus of course, taking it to the WC series is a huge commitment as it implies they'll have to bring the product to the market within a year.

 @vinay: Pardon my ignorance (proud of any ignorance at this point) is there any rule that X bike must be in production to compete on WC circuit?

 Coming soon.

 @vinay: never heard about that rule before…does that mean that neko also as to bring is bike into production?
Also, what about all those bikes from the past…Voillouz bijes with bos suspension, the honda bikes and Isak Leivson’s prototypes?

 @calmWAKI: ahahhahaha I lije the way tou think calmWAKI… you’re not the real waki right? Ahhaha

 @PaulinhoCascavel, @calmWAKI:

UCI general rule 1.3.006 (see full text below) says that a product must be either a) commercially available or b) a prototype in final development stages with commercialization occurring within a year of the product's first use in UCI competition.

I think the grey area in the UCI rule is that a manufacturer could use a prototype if they have *plans* to bring a product to market within a year but isn't obligated (by contract or otherwise) to actually bring it to market. Like @vinay said, it's still a big commitment but seems like the only consequence of not bringing a product to market is that the manufacturer just can't use it in UCI competition after the prototype status expires.


§ 3 Commercialisation
1.3.006 Equipment shall be of a type that is sold for use by anyone practicing cycling as a sport. Any equipment in development phase and not yet available for sale (prototype) must be subject of an authorisation request to the UCI Equipment Unit before its use. Authorisation will be granted only for equipment which is in the final stage of development and for which commercialisation will take place no later than 12 months after the first use in competition. The manufacturer may request a single prolongation of the prototype status if justified by the relevant reasons.

When assessing a request for use of equipment which is not yet available for sale, the UCI Equipment Unit will pay particular attention to the safety of the equipment which will be submitted to it for authorisation.

The use of equipment designed especially for the attainment of a particular performance (record or other) shall not be authorised.

Upon expiry of the authorised period of use of a prototype (equipment not yet available for sale), any item of equipment must be commercially available in order to be used in cycling events. The requirement of commercial availability shall be understood as equipment having to be available through a publicly available order system (whether with manufacturer, distributor or retailer). Upon an order being placed, the order shall be confirmed within 30 days and the relevant equipment shall be made available for delivery within a further 90-day deadline. In addition, the retail price of the equipment shall be publicly advertised, shall not render the equipment de facto unavailable to the general public and shall not unreasonably exceed the market value for equipment of a similar standard.

Any equipment which is not commercially available and is not authorised (not authorised by UCI Equipment Unit or authorised period expired), may not be used in cycling events governed by the UCI Regulations. Any such unauthorised use of equipment may be sanctioned by disqualification of results obtained when using the equipment and/or a fine ranging from CHF 5’000 to 100’000.

 @kbeutin: "The requirement of commercial availability shall be understood as equipment having to be available through a publicly available order system (whether with manufacturer, distributor or retailer). Upon an order being placed, the order shall be confirmed within 30 days and the relevant equipment shall be made available for delivery within a further 90-day deadline."

Probably just as well there's a workaround for this bit.

 PinkBike Racing may just be waiting for confirmation from Pabst Blue Ribbon to co-sponsor the program and go full PBR name status.

 @PaulinhoCascavel: Yeah I think it is a more recent rule introduced well after the Honda bike. More than a few rules were introduced after the era of these bikes. Not soo sure about the loophole as @kbeutin mentioned. Does it indeed work like that? If so, does that imply that they may not be able to race the same bike the next season, but they can just come up with a different prototype? If there are no other consequences, it kind of defies the rule in that more than a few teams are constantly developing so they won't be racing last season's bike anyway. That said, it may actually be the how it is intended. That you either race the production bike or when you want to go through several iterations through several seasons, you can do that too. You just can't build the elusive mysterious superbike and then keep it just for yourself the next couple of seasons.

Either way, indeed if Pivot is willing to produce their version of the Grim bike then that will probably solve this.

 @calmWAKI: They could call the DH version Down Donut or Double D for shorter.

 @vinay: they could do a limited production of bikes, like UNO did with their downhill bike…even if it was like 25 bikes or so, than it would be problem solved, right?

 It we’ll be behind the paywall. That’s hope it’s being paid for

 @kbeutin:
How does Neko get round that rule then and arguably the Athertons for the last couple of years.

 @commental:

Does that mean if i order a dh bike more then the manufacturer has to get it to me within 90 days? No one will be racing this year if that’s the rule

 @CM999: No, just that at least someone receives it within that timespan. It would be impossible to realize if demand is extremely high, as it is now.

 @CM999: They obviously didn't envisage the current situation when they put that rule in place. I'd assume they just aren't enforcing it, as you say there'd be no races this year if they were.
I guess Neko has had to get authorisation from the UCI to run a prototype, the same for Isak Leivsson last year.

 @CM999: Athertons established their company in 2019 (www.pinkbike.com/news/athertons-launch-atherton-bikes-with-robot-bikes-founders-and-dragons-den-investor.html). I assume that their first UCI race was Maribor WCDH on 27 April 2019. Per the UCI rule 1.3.006, they would've been allowed to race those prototypes until 27 April 2020. At that time, they'd need to start selling the bike or apply for a one-time extension to the deadline.

I'm guessing that the UCI became very flexible at that point due to Covid and may have allowed for longer grace periods, multiple extension requests, and/or a general relaxation of the commercialization rule. As @commental pointed out, strict enforcement of the "30 day confirmation, 90 day delivery" part of that rule would've eliminated most/all of the World Cup manufacturers anyway.

The Athertons officially launched their consumer sales January 2022 (www.pinkbike.com/news/atherton-bikes-launch-direct-to-consumer-website-sales.html). So, for the 2022 DH season, the Athertons will be racing on a bike that is "of a type that is sold for use by anyone practicing cycling as a sport" and, therefore, allowed to continue racing on their bike.

For Neko, we can assume that the UCI has approved his prototype for use in competition since he's officially registered on a team for this season. Assuming he starts at Round #1 in Lourdes, Neko will have until 26 March 2023 (not counting any extensions) to start selling a frame similar to the one he'll race in 2022 or he won't be able to race on that frame until it is available to the public. That's my understanding of the rule as it's written, at least.

 @vinay: The recent example I have in my mind is Cannondale and the two-shock downhill bike (www.pinkbike.com/news/cannondale-dh-bike-maribor-world-cup-dh-2019.html); still not available for sale close to 3 years after its first race as a prototype and no overt consequence other than the team not racing (or not being allowed to race?) this year.

Maybe there's extra scrutiny on your application if you jump from one prototype to another in the next season, maybe a requirement that the second prototype has to be X% different than the first prototype, maybe a probationary period where you can't apply for a second prototype after not commercializing the first...it's not to say there aren't consequences within the UCI for racing a prototype and then not commercializing it, just that they aren't explicitly outlined in 1.3.006.

 @PaulinhoCascavel: you obviously don't follow WC then because it's a well known fact that they must bring it to production within a year. Nobody should have to do your research for you. Go read.

 @mhoshal: looool dude, I didn’t know it. Sorry for being so stupid. I’m going to suicicide myself now!
So long cruel world of Pinbike coment section!
I’ll be waiting for you all in hell!

Ahhahahahahahahahhahahahah

 Looks like Cathro just got a new V10, so maybe not the donut I was hoping for ahhaah

 @PaulinhoCascavel: you're a f*cking idiot!!!

 @mhoshal: you know where the door is whenever you don’t like something and want to call people fckng idiots

 @calmWAKI: joking around about suicide and I will call you an idiot. How about you mind your own f*cking business you hypocrite.

 @mhoshal: man...you pretty much asked me to mess with you.
I've actually follow WC DH since 2012, but never heard about that rule about a race bike having to come to production.
Thanks to everyone who enlightened me in this comment section. That's one of the reasons why a read the comments.
Turns out it's not as simple as race bike 2021-» production 2022 is the impression I got - thanks gang for the info, now I don't have to 'go read'.

But you had to come and be a dick about me being curious and I felt the need to 'try' to joke about it.
I'm sorry if you are sensible to the suicide thing...it's just a joke, geezz...but well, maybe I don't know enough about it and I shouldn't wait for somebody to do my research for me and go read or something....

And, for the record, being called a f*cking idiot doesn't even bother me, because coming from the like of you it's like getting a compliment. Thanks man!

 Who ?

 @yannml: Mike Wilker, that one guy...

 @yannml: White Walker

 Can't they just organize a duo-interview so that we could do a side to side comparison? It is pretty annoying already that parents give their kids identical names if they're destined to become mountainbike gods.

 Commencal 100, Commencal 21, Commencal MucOff, Commencal pepsi and sprite hahah

 Fixed, thanks

 @jamessmurthwaite: Hey James, how do we filter out the paywall "greed" articles from appearing on our screens? You guys did that for ebiking, please do so for your greed articles too?

I AM SO f*ckING SIIIICCCCCCKKKKKK OF THE GREED IN MOUNTAIN BIKING. IT'S ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

That is all.

 @jamessmurthwaite: Let me know because I won't be back until this outright greed is off my screen.

 @cky78: trying to make a living through journalism is pure greed? Unless you volunteer for Medicine Sans Frontiers, I suggest you tone the self-righteous BS down a notch

 @cky78: you don't have to rude.

 @cky78: You're asking a company to tender to your wants in a way that would prevent them making profit... So they have to pay somebody to ensure that they don't make money. And you think I'm the idiot. Ironic

 @jamessmurthwaite: You spelled British Colombia under the Norco team listing. Which British Colombia were you referring to? LOL

 @cky78: "Let me know because I won't be back until this outright greed is off my screen" - comes back three times in one day. How about you actually do one?

 I think they found vowels! Maybe someone at canyon got a new keyboard with all 26 letters this time

 I heard Specialized Factory Racing was seriously considering coming out as "eiaie ao ai" but at the last minute some suits at the board meeting scratched it.

 @swellhunter: sing along now:
"Old Mac Donald had a bike, eiaie ao ai"

 @Tambo: 26 for life

 www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/humor/clinton-deploys-vowels.html

 All your bikz belong to us

 43 riders (i think) in case anyone was wondering. pretty sick

 I believe BETA is what many of the previous staff from BIKE magazine created after BIKE was shut down by its parent company. I am guessing they called it Beta because it is essentially the second life of BIKE mag. BIKE was known for high quality photography and stories, typically at a level above pinkbike. It looks like a subscription to Beta, like BIKE mag, gets you a print version of the magazine. It also gets you access to the website articles. Outside now owns both pinkbike and Beta, so pinkbike appears to includes headlines from select Beta articles, which requires the subscription. For those who miss their BIKE mag subscription, a Beta magazine subscription is a decent idea I suppose.

 You mean the one race they decide who can enter

 No, the steaks are too high...

 @korev: Dude: that was raw! I mean...rare.

 @Mtn-Goat-13: They’re no flesh in the pan…

 @korev: Ah - well done. Well done...

 @Mtn-Goat-13: Well, they're no small fry

 Commencal 8 teams, Canyon 3 teams. Unfair battle for me.

 @Wermo: But Canyon seems to have vowels now. They give you more flow, I tell you. It's going to be tight!

 I assume Beta MTB refers to all the Betas who buy E-bikes. Just a hunch

 @Moe2344: I'm more an Alpha male. Couldn't we just cagefight this thing to a fair agreement?

 @vinay: Over compensating eh? It's ok, some women like being the big spoon

 MTB Beta?

 @Moe2344: Yeah, I'm kinda pissed off. Everyone is constantly talking about mister Omikron. What's wrong with good ol' Alpha?

 This is probably the most exciting thing to watch for in the coming season!

 Yes I think he is gonna have a tremoundous first year and give to Goldstone a run for his money

The kid is literally the ultimate version of the typical south french dh racers. Doing some shuttle since young age, training with Nico Vouilloz, Daprela, Bruni. Winning 5/5 of the french cups last year and beating all the junior at the french national champs as a U17!
This kid could be the next big thing if he continue his progression

 She's listed on the Gen-S team. More details here: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/izabela-yankova-riding-for-specialized-in-2022.html

 Nosotros estamos aprendiendo!

 His mass start POVs have got me thorugh some dull home workouts. Given his performance in those I always wondered why he wasn't on a pro-team of some sort (DH or enduro)

 @AyJayDoubleyou: ikr? They’ve got me through some really hard times over the last few years. He and max seem like nicely rounded riders but have such a nice humble demeanour. I’ve wondered what he would be able to do if he could dedicate all his time to training and riding. Podiums for sure.

 The downtime podcast interview with Neko Mullaly gave some insight into the costs in running a WC program.

 The lady who runs the syndicate said $1m on a podcast a while ago

 he's diving in to it headfirst...

 Yeah that one caught my attention too. Gee as well. I'm curious to see what those 3 Atherton's can do when they're all working together and focused on racing. Other team that's going to be fun to watch is Dorval AM Commencal.

 She races EWS not DH I'm pretty sure. This is all the teams registered with the UCI for DH

 @melonhead1145: ah. That makes sense.

 @melonhead1145: Yeah but Noga is EWS too. She has done a couple DH races so maybe thats the diff but she's definitely EWS factory if we are looking at it.

 Tobacco? What makes you say that? That would be pretty funny if they are

 @kyleluvsdh: Bat, British American Tobacco, has a brand called 555 along with Lucky Strike.

 @kyleluvsdh: oh you should know as Jacques Villeneuve drove a split Lucky Strike/ 555 livery on his BAR F1 car.

 @tgmdgn: Ahh okay makes sense, I knew it flew over my head lol.

 @tgmdgn: And I'm not sure who Jacques Villeneuve is, I'm not into F1 haha. Cheers