Vital Mtb - Speaking Of Mountain Biking

Did you believe the hype? Coming into the 2024 World Cup season, Asa Vermette was an obvious favorite in the Junior Men's category. He'd been fast domestically for a few years, and with the support of Frameworks and guidance from Neko Mulally and Angel Suarez, he seemed poised to have a successful debut on the international stage. Then, at the first round in Fort William, Asa waxed everyone by 6 seconds. You tack on the fact that he won after sitting on the couch for weeks prior healing a broken hip, and the hype became simple facts. The next generation is always faster than the last, and Asa is leading the latest charge. Fast forward to now, and we've been lucky to watch Asa and Max Alran exchange blows all year. Each has three wins, and Mont Sainte Anne was teeing up to be an epic final round between the two. Unfortunately, Asa's crash in Loudenvielle left him more battered and bruised than initially suspected, putting an end to his first World Cup season. A bittersweet conclusion to an

This is a special episode of The Inside Line as we had Jack Rice at the 2024 U.S. Open of Mountain Biking in Killington, Vermont.See photos from the event - https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/why-ride-downhill-u-s-open-mountain-bikingThanks to FOX, Maxxis Tires and Jenson USA for supporting The Inside LineIt was the season ender to the Pro Downhill Series and with the final World Cup DH in Mont-Sainte-Anne next week, the field was stacked with Elite level pros from around the globe. Instead of the usual questions with only the top riders, we had commissioned Jack to search the pits and ask amateur riders a simple question - Why Downhill?While plenty of answers resonate with the excitement and action of what DH is, an overwhelming response praised the community as a reason for coming back to ride. It's the people that make our sport so great and it's our hope that the comradery of the #USDH community continues to grow.Interview contents0:00 - Intro1:09 - Meredith Burnette2:25 - Jamie Tate3:18 - Dusty

Would it even be a World Cup without a natural event playing a major role in the outcome? Loudenvielle, the sixth World Cup of the season, was the third race to be heavily affected by rain on race day. We saw ideal conditions for the Juniors and 98% of the Elite Women's field before Deja vu struck and the skies opened up for fastest qualifier, Tahnée Seagrave. And oh boy, did it get spicy as the rain continued to fall throughout the Elite Men's final. Gnarly conditions always foster spectacular displays of bike handling, and some racers put on a clinic this weekend. We also got to witness Vali and Bruni each wrap up another Elite title, a bunch of young Kiwis filling the podiums in the junior fields, and a ton of feel-good results, like Benoit taking the win after crashing here last year, Reece Wilson landing on the podium after so many setbacks, Aaron Gwin back racing after two years, and Myriam Nicole taking her first win after missing all of last season to a concussion. We chat about all of this,

The unpredictable Loudenvielle World Cup Downhill venue proved to keep everyone on their toes again in 2024. As conditions changed on an hourly basis, it was a crapshoot for some riders and a calcuated risk for others. Jack Rice gets some perspective from the racers in France.Contents0:00 - Disclaimer and Benoit Coulanges1:54 - Myriam Nicole4:01 - Loic Bruni6:47 - Reece Wilson9:12 - Phoebe Gale10:07 - Amaury Pierron11:36 - Andreas Kolb12:40 - Aaron Gwin17:41 - Dakotah Norton20:28 - Finn Iles28:39 - Luca Shaw31:53 - Ronan Dunne33:34 - Valentina Roa Sanchez35:17 - Wyn Masters

What could have been…our grassroots podcast almost came home with a World title in Andorra. We won't say we are disappointed in our co-host superstar Stack-Attack-Dak for throwing it away in the second to last turn, but dang, did that one sting. This week, Jason Schroeder chats with Dak about his week in Andorra, what happened in his race run, the tuned mass dampers strapped to his bike, and how he's dealing with the highs and lows of almost winning World Champs. Then, Tanner Stephens and John Hall jump on to discuss what stands out from Worlds, and who's looking poised to have a strong result this weekend in Loudenveille. Enjoy!Play Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy More mountain bike news and reviews - vitalmtb.com3:06 - Dak's wild week at Worlds4:56 - Race day game plan7:52 - Where it all went wrong (pull out could end at 12:15) (or 14:01)15:08 - Dealing with the heartbreak of crashing at Worlds23:29 - Bike setup for Andorra23:48 - Loudenveille setup and approach

Jack Rice checks in from Andorra and the 2024 UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Championships with interviews from the podium riders and Greg Minnaar, who continues to troll us about possible retirement.0:00 - Loris Vergier2:33 - Vali Holl3:15 - Greg Minnaar7:55 - Myriam Nicole9:09 - Finn Iles12:48 - Tahnee Seagrave13:41 - Benoit Coulanges

After almost a two-month break since the last World Cup, elite downhill racing returns to the Pyrenees Mountains of Andorra for World Champs this week. Rejoice! Tag along with Jason Schroeder, Tanner Stephens, and John Hall as they refresh your memory of who’s been fast this year, what happened during the long summer break, and discuss who will be in contention for the elusive rainbow stripes. 0:00 - The crew catches up3:30 - Monster Energy Downhill - Snow Summit / US National DH scene8:30 - The growth of national series in the coming years11:19 - Why no Aaron Gwin on the US Worlds team? + Aaron’s return to racing18:09 - Richie Rude the DH racer19:20 - Do racers share more info with each other at World Champs amongst fellow countrymen?21:24 - How country federations play a part in World Champs27:16 - 2024 season thus far…37:40 - Races that happened during the summer break50:24 - Fantasy info for World Champs54:36 - Andorra track notes1:02:35 - Fantasy Picks - Junior Women 1:04:55 - Fantasy Picks - Junior Men1

There's a new national-level downhill mountain bike race series in the U.S. — Clay Harper has ushered in the Monster Energy Pro Downhill and is in its inaugural year, landing in Big Bear this weekend. Clay, our guest on The Inside Line this week, is no stranger to downhill finding his love for the sport back in 1996 with the likes of Kyle Ebbett, Lars Tribus, Todd Bosch, Ken Avery, Aaron Chase and more. The farm-raised New Jersey native is also responsible for creating one of America's most legendary bike parks by building the first trails at Mountain Creek. He was behind the founding of the U.S. Open of Mountain Biking and continues to run the event today. Let's not forget he even puts on the X Games Real MTB contest. If it involves downhill in the USA, there aren't many things Clayton hasn't done and his push to grow the sport in our country through the Pro Downhill Series is a testament to his dedication to the community. Enjoy this interview with an instrumental figure in #USDH...

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA  for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! While visiting Mountain Creek Bike Park in New Jersey, for a Vital Enduro Fork Test Session project, I caught up with local legend, George Ryan. I met George in person about 20 years ago, but knew of him before that because of his online persona in old-timey forums and his presence in videos like the Chain Reaction series. Over the years we'd see each other at events or on photo shoots, so it was a massive pleasure to sit down with him and hear his full story. To my surprise, he's a big-time MTB keepsake collector and he showed up with old jerseys, DVDs, magazines and even a Shaun Palmer baseball card. We discuss his journey into mountain biking, turning pro and eventually becoming the main man in charge of trails at Mountain Creek. Enjoy the episode and hit up Vital MTB to soak up some of his old relics he has stashed away. I've put some of my photos from 2005 decline work down below too. Thanks so much, M

If Val di Sole delivered an exciting and memorable race, then Les Gets bumped things up a notch. Our guy stack-attack Dak was having a perfect weekend until the weather had a different plan, and some miscalculated race prep led to an underwhelming finish. It was still a solid weekend for the world's fastest podcast co-host, but the limelight was stolen (again) by Amaury Pierron, who executed a legendary race run on home soil (again).  With our crew spread out across the world this week, it was just Dakotah and I who linked up to chat about the weekend. We chatted about what happened with his visor and goggle setup in the rain, how Amaury did what he did, where Dak went wrong with his race prep, why mud races are the best, escaping the finish corral, and where overalls sit going into the last two rounds of the season. Enjoy!

An all-time day of World Cup Downhill racing in Les Gets, France, ends with post-race interviews from winners and podium finishers by Jack Rice.Interviews0:00 - Amaury Pierron1:59 - Eleonora Farina3:28 - Mille Johnset6:47 - Andreas Kolb9:12 - Greg Minnaar16:21 - Tahnee Seagrave18:01 - Remi Thirion21:01 - Myriam Nicole

What could have been! After a long stint in the hot seat with a time that bested the season's biggest names, the last man down the hill squashed our tall bar savior's dreams of winning his first World Cup. We were filled with mixed emotions as reality set in that we'd have to wait a little longer to see Dak take that elusive first win, but what a treat to watch Amaury Pierron piece together a historic run that cemented his return to the top of the sport.We chatted a lot about the wet, slippery conditions that made Val di Sole particularly difficult this year. Dak weighed in on where Amaury made up so much time and how he adapted his bike for the steep, technical track. We speculated on why time gaps are always so big down the Black Snake, and how much Dak made in bonuses from his 2nd place finish. We also cruised the results sheet from each class, dissecting who had standout riders and where overalls stand going into the fifth round of the year in Les Gets. Enjoy!0:00 - Intro4:31 - What was goi

Visit Jenson USA  - FREE BONUS CARD valued at up to $1000 with the purchase of eligible Santa Cruz bikes & frames!Passionate interviews from the Val di Sole World Cup Downhill today as Amaury Pierron and Tahnee Seagrave return to the top of the podium!Interviews0:32 - Tahnee Seagrave1:26 - Amaury Pierron6:21 - Dakotah Norton8:24 - Marine Cabirou8:58 - Cory Rimmer (Dak's trackside coach)11:54 - Finn Iles14:16 - Myriam Nicole16:15 - Troy Brosnan18:44 - Luca Shaw21:55 - Loic Bruni

After years of success, RockShox has updated its trail and gravity suspension lineup with some new internals for model year '25. The latest Charger 3.1 damper is now found across all fork models, while rear shocks gain an XL air can option and a high-flow main piston for Super Deluxe models. They have also re-introduced the Vivid Coil shock with some technology derived from the Vivid Air released last year. We sat down with Chris Mandell from SRAM and RockShox to help make sense of all  the technical. We discussed the motivation behind the changes made, how they were achieved, and how they make an impact out on the trail.Learn more about everything discussed in this video - https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/rockshox-announces-charger-3-1-damper-vivid-coil-and-updates-super-deluxePlay Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy

A track on the circuit that always provides dramatic, legendary race runs, this year at Leogang was fairly uneventful. A business as usual World Cup, you could say. Rain throughout the week provided some of the most changing and challenging conditions hit the #notabikepark track, with the lower woods being the deciding factor on race day. There was exciting racing across each category, highlighted by a dominating victory in both women’s fields, an upset in the Junior men’s race, and another elite men’s podium filled with new and returning names.With a tight turnaround heading into Val di Sole this weekend, reigning in our co-host extraordinaire Dakotah Norton took longer than usual. Apparently, getting to the next race, interviews, physio appointments, and dinner all come before our podcast. Up against a tighter time crunch than usual, Tanner and I recorded the post-race show Tuesday, while Dakotah and I chatted after track walk on Wednesday to hear about his mediocre weekend in Austria and gain insight into

See what the top riders of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup DH in Leogang, Austria, have to say about their race weekends. A familiar track was made tricky with varying conditions thanks to overnight rains. Interviews by Jack Rice.Interviews0:00 - Loic Bruni4:52 - Anna Newkirk7:49 - Neko Mulally10:52 - Vali Holl11:54 - Max Alran13:28 - Erice van Leuven14:41 - Ellie Hulsebosch16:18 - Finn Iles18:37 - Myriam Nicole21:50 - Lachie Stevens-Mcnab23:14 - Oisin O'Callaghan24:25 - Lisa Baumann25:33 - Benoit Coulanges29:11 - Marine Cabirou30:32 - Lucas Dedora32:49 - Andreas Kolb

Loic Bruni has five different electronic buttons on his prototype Specialized Demo downhill bike, and we're not even talking about shift levers. He, his mechanic Jack and Ohlins are all pretty tight-lipped about the functions they serve, but today we got a bit of information from the current World Cup DH leader himself.SuperBruni confirms the buttons are not Skittles, he seemingly teases that they're for playing music, and then says their function should be pretty easy to figure out. When asked if using them is confusing, he admits that keeping track of them is not easy and there are risks associated with hitting the wrong button at the wrong time. Regardless of their function or trickiness in pressing, Loic's in the lead right now, and that's really all that matters.

GoFundme to support Seton Tuning DH TeamPhil Seton, manager of Pole Factory Racing, shares the story of keeping his team alive after Pole Bikes went into administration a week before Fort William. All team budget was pulled and they were left with a decision to race or pack it up. Phil decided to use his personal money to get Onni Rainio and Dan Slack to Fort William and Poland. Onni had a personal best at Fort William and Dan Slack had his best-ever finish making finals and breaking the beam with a 28th in Poland. With the help of a GoFundMe, they're successfully attending Leogang this week and are halfway to earning enough money to race Les Gets. Jack Rice gets the scoop from Phil as race life rolls on!

What a start to the 2024 World Cup downhill season we've had! Fort William properly kicked things off with a gnarly track and insane racing, followed by a new venue in Poland that produced one of the best tracks and tightest races we've seen in years. Now, after a brief two-week pause, racing resumes this weekend in Leogang, Austria. A classic track that always delivers dramatic racing, there are exciting stories shaping up in each category that will be fun to watch play out over the weekend. Join Vital's own Jason Schroeder, ex-World Cup mechanic John Hall, and podcast co-host and contributing editor Tanner Stephens as they discuss who will contend for the win this weekend in each category, what makes the historic Leogang track so tricky, and highlight some potential dark horses who could mix things up come race day. 0:00 - Intro2:04 - Southwest Downhill Series this weekend 8:43 - Leogang venue & track analysis 13:33 - Is Leogang a bike park track? 17:48 - Why Leogang is so difficult in th

After a rocky (literally) start to the 2024 season in Fort William, a fresh track with a good mix of features and fluctuating speeds greeted racers for the second round in Poland. Speculation surrounding speed suits and electronic lockouts was replaced by the buzz of line choice and rut formation. In the end, it was a battle for thousandths of a second, and who could predict and adapt to the ever-evolving conditions best after some race day rain. The cream is definitely beginning to rise to the top in each category, but holy cow, there are a lot of names fighting for the podium! Our guy Stack-Attack set the pace most of the weekend, but a slippery flat corner put an end to his winning hopes. We break down Dak's headspace during and after the weekend, where the race was won or lost, thoughts on electronic shifting in downhill, the return of shorts in downhill, and chit-chat about how racing unfolded in each category. Enjoy!These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!Maxxis Tires -  https://w