Why the lack of Canadians at the WC DH level?

Kram Nail on head there, sounds like the aussie scene is the same as the Irish/UK scene, all about racing. freeriding is for kooks who like to huck to flat and ride skinnies that always get pulled down and get us in trouble.

different attitude.

Kram that might explain BC, but what about Ontario and Quebec.

Quebec has hosted two the of the most amazing long standing WC DH races at Bromont and Mont-Sainte-Anne.

Neither Ont or QC has the world class "freeride" or "epic" trails.

Someone mentioned political. Is there a political road block in the CCA keeping DH down in Canada?

Kram that might explain BC, but what about Ontario and Quebec.

Quebec has hosted two the of the most amazing long standing WC DH races at Bromont and Mont-Sainte-Anne.

Neither Ont or QC has the world class "freeride" or "epic" trails.

Someone mentioned political. Is there a political road block in the CCA keeping DH down in Canada?

The season is too short. Can't get WC fast training for 6 months a year. I don't know what it's like these days, but when I lived in Ontario and rode in Quebec a number of years ago the attitude was much like it is here.

I would say from a financial and sponsorship opportunity point of view, there is much more chance of benefiting from either in Canada than Oz. From what I've seen, there just is not the number of young pinners here that there are elsewhere and it's probably because so few riders here give 2 shits about racing. Plenty of rad riders though. The few people that do care about racing just don't have the goods on a world level, but in Canada they are winning the local races. If the most talented Canadian riders were to start joining them and changed their priority they would realize they aren't the best, just the most interested in racing. I think the bottom line is that Canada's best riders don't race. They either turn to slopestyle or just ride for fun.

why race when you can coast down the local bike park?

how about amateur funding?

xc being an Olympic sport seems to be much more supported. Ask the Canadian DH team how much it costs them to race for their country at the Worlds.

Kram Nail on head there, sounds like the aussie scene is the same as the Irish/UK scene, all about racing.
different attitude.

In the UK this comes from access issues. There's virtually no open access to DH tracks. Those that that do exist are usually gated uplift so the best(only) access to ride DH is by racing. Ergo, the UK had bred great racers. (I've been here 4 years now so things may have started to change)

Over here, access isn't a problem. The biggest problem is deciding which mountain to shuttle! Until I came to BC I thought shuttles were for airports or astronauts, not mountain bikers! There's so much good riding here why would you bother racing? (I do - it's in my British blood).

Look at Thomas V - he ambled up to a couple WC races last year and qualified comfortably but he makes a living as a "Big Mountain" rider - how many other countries have those? In fact look at all the (Canadian) Big Mountain riders and there's some fast guys right there.

…and my final thought for the day is the girls. Canada has tons of female WC talent: Claire, Micayla, Miranda, Danice, Rebecca to name but a few.

…and my final thought for the day is the girls. Canada has tons of female WC talent: Claire, Micayla, Miranda, Danice, Rebecca to name but a few.

Why only Claire at Maribor? I did see that Miranda was injured so scratch her off that list. If they are making a serious go at the WC should they not be at the first event?

Dave I do recall posts about it costing guys some money to race at UCI Worlds, got the info on that? But one needs not to race for Canada at the Worlds to race on the WC.

Not trying to stir the pot, just looking for interesting feedback/discussion while I fumble around and procrastinate on a work project that has me banging my head against the desk.

Well Put Mark…aka KRAM.

The difference though…the kids these days are hungry, they want in on the WC. Look at the Junior X Cat in Canada…watch a few of them at Worlds. You'll see a few more at the WC level in 3 years time. Development takes time and I"m certainly glad Cycling BC recognizes that. The ABA (I'm an Dirty Albertan…yes I know, yuck) does nothing to support DH Racing in terms of funding or even any camps, so I've had to taken upon myself to search out talent, and then try to help the young guys along via coaching / training etc.

Regarding the Financial side. You guys ever tried to throw a budget together to race a WC event. (Especially in Europe) Jebuz. 100K for a pRivateer for travel costs might get you there…but support at the race / parts etc. You ever wonder why teams are so small in DH? Funding people funding.

I swear if I ever win a million bucks…I'll personally fund a Cdn WC team…just to get the CDN boys back on the map and back on top.

We've got speedy dudes in Canada. Garstin / Tennant / Mitchell / Gauvin / Marshall / Marshall / Biluk / Lambert / Benoit…all very fast dudes…all have great sponsors etc…but do you think their sponsors fund them to cross the pond. Doubtfull…if you see any of these boys at the European WC's, they either funded it themselves / come from wealth or have a really awesome community that backs them.

That's my little rant…I'll leave it at that for now.

[QUOTE=Qn'r;2371167]100K for a pRivateer for travel costs might get you there…[/QUOTE]

I think $100K'd be good for at least 3 seasons!! Although $30K is still $30K more than most people have lying around!

Cypress needs to open to MTB'ers and have a mid-week race series, plus a BC cup or 2. Lots of local rippers could likely get their moms(or Dads) to take them there…

The racing in BC is soooo spread out that I'm sure inless your Dad(or Mom) is into racing, doing the whole series would be tuff to do. Plus it's only 5,6 or 7 races.Going to whistler for phat wed, is not an option for most kids either.

Whistler is likely the only "breading" ground for local talent and the pool is a small one. If it wasn't for Slope Style being the flavour of the moment, I'm sure Alex and Brendon could be real threats on the junior circuit. Once Slope Style riding start to die down(which i think it is) more kids will focus on racing.

Kamloops is doing it right, and it seems that is where a few of the fast kids are coming from in BC.

I have no idea what the race scene is like back east, but wouldn't be surprised if it's not much different.

Also, as Skip said, in some countries if you want to get lots of riding in, it's easier just to race.

Whistler is likely the only "breading" ground for local talent and the pool is a small one. …

Kamloops is doing it right, and it seems that is where a few of the fast kids are coming from in BC.

:orly:

I guess the Island must be doing something wrong then…

oh wait? Who's that I hear coming in 6th at Maribor? Oh ya - Stevie Smith from Cassidy…who will soon be joined by Simon Garstin from Courteany, Dean Tennant from Vic and Remi Gauvin…

Island Cup FTW!!!

I'm not convinced that the UK has such a strong racing history due to access issues. I lived in the Midlands for the first 34 years of my life and was mountain biking since 1987 (first DH race around 1990) and always found various DH or DH type trails without too much problem. Sure, some are closed off for shuttling but there is such a thing as pushing / riding uphill / sessioning sections etc. The 'mini-DH' scene is pretty big as well where the courses are like less than 2 minutes long with a 5 minute push back up.

I think it's more of a mentality difference. Generally speaking Brits can be pretty competitive / status driven and that carries over to sport. Mountain bikers in BC just don't seem to be that way inclined as far as I can see.

So yeah, I go with the stoned theory :-D

why race when you can coast down the local bike park?

I beleive this is a really big factor.

:orly:

I guess the Island must be doing something wrong then…

oh wait? Who's that I hear coming in 6th at Maribor? Oh ya - Stevie Smith from Cassidy…who will soon be joined by Simon Garstin from Courteany, Dean Tennant from Vic and Remi Gauvin…

Island Cup FTW!!!

sorry if i hit a nerve with you. definitely some fast people coming from the island. what i meant by my post was better training/racing taping into a larger pool of riders. any one city on the island is not going to be able to have as many riders as the lower mainland. get more people racing gives one a better chance of finding the next stevie smith.