Overall, this episode of the Insider MTB podcast delves into various aspects of the mountain biking world, focusing on the US Cup, the challenges and future of XC racing, the importance of personalities and social aspects in the sport, as well as discussions on various racing paths taken by athletes, financial realities of being an Olympic athlete, and the impact of spectator experience on the industry. The hosts and guests provide insightful commentary on the current state of the sport and potential directions for future growth and development.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Technical Difficulties
01:44 Introducing the US Cup Special
03:01 Discussion on Cross Country Racing
06:01 Personal Updates and Race Plans
07:00 Interview with Ty Kady, Race Director of the US Cup
13:13 Challenges and Future of the US Cup
22:01 The Importance of Coverage and Budget Constraints
25:27 The Need for a Unified Calendar and Collaboration
27:52 Challenges with Scheduling Races
28:28 Difficulties with USA Cycling and UCI
30:02 The Challenges of Being a Promoter
32:31 Lack of Coordination in Race Scheduling
33:49 The Need for Collaboration between Governing Bodies
35:12 The Importance of Local Races
36:37 Christopher Blevins’ Background and Racing Career
45:36 Transitioning from Marathon Stage Races to XC Racing
47:38 The Benefits of the Specialized Epic Evo
50:08 The Influence of Durango on Mountain Biking
54:29 The Mountain Biking Community in Durango
58:38 Creating a More Inclusive XC Racing Scene
01:03:33 Stage Races and the Social Aspect of Racing
01:09:03 The Lack of XC Courses in the US
01:11:51 The Importance of Prize Purses in Attracting Pros
01:13:55 The Potential of Bike Parks and Mountain Resorts
01:15:34 Creating an Experience for Everyone
01:15:45 Comparison of Racing Paths
01:20:02 Drop-off in Racing Participation
01:23:23 Future Racing Plans
01:26:09 Showing Personality Beyond Racing
01:30:28 Projects and Passions Outside of Racing
01:34:02 Possibility of Future Interviews
01:34:15 Importance of Personalities in the Sport
01:35:10 Introduction of Haley Batten
01:35:50 Experience with the Step-Up Feature
01:37:01 Season Plans and Race Schedule
01:48:36 Working on Bike Handling Skills
01:51:45 Approach to Training and Skill Development
01:53:24 Season Overview and Future Races
01:54:27 Post-Olympics Plans
01:54:39 Pan American Championships
01:55:11 Living and Racing in Europe
01:57:28 Creating a Documentary Series
01:59:22 The Power of Storytelling
02:02:42 Balancing Racing and Personal Branding
02:05:38 The Impact of Social Media on Performance
02:08:09 Motivation and Inspiration
02:10:32 The Financial Realities of Olympic Athletes
02:12:52 The Cape Epic Experience
02:18:09 Reflection on the Podcast Guests
02:19:05 Impressions of the Athletes’ Passion
02:19:19 Discussion on Athletes’ Abilities
02:20:17 Evolution of XC Racing
02:21:09 Humorous Exchange about Riding Skills
02:21:23 Appreciation for Athletes’ Passion
02:22:04 Crankworx Event and Athlete Demands
02:23:18 Women’s Slopestyle at Crankworx
02:23:31 Athlete Demands and Organizers’ Perspectives
02:25:53 Considerations for Race Organizers
02:26:12 Importance of Spectator Experience
02:27:07 Marketing and Sponsorship Considerations
02:29:20 Supporting Athletes’ Demands
02:30:04 Contradictions in Sponsorship Perspectives
02:32:12 Discussion on Crankworx Events
02:33:16 Impact of Athletes’ Decision on Crankworx
02:34:02 Injury Updates on Jackson Goldstone and Asa
02:36:05 Reflection on the Podcast and Guests
02:37:26 Wrap-up and Closing Remarks
What is over all right I’m ready all right we’re all ready we’re going to get this all right myts [Â __Â ] you are one of us your passion is the world of mountain biking from Enduro to gravel races and everything in between this is Insider MTV the podcast that takes you behind
The handlebars into the dirt and behind the of the mountain biking world and now your host Austin white no pressure no pressure all right you guys wait was that wait was that [Â __Â ] up on everybody else’s side M passion world of mountain biking we’re a
Mess all right okay F let’s do a live podcast and see Happ do live podcast we got this all right everyone Welcome to The Insider MTB podcast as I’m totally messing up over here James he’s got a beer in his hand and Spencer wrath Camp knows what he’s doing every minute of
The day so yep and uh this is episode six we’re trying something a little bit new we are Live on YouTube uh why we do this one we we record them live anyway so why not just uh let it flow on YouTube this time for us um along with
That we’re doing this one as a US cup special this is kind of the big kickoff for all us athletes uh to get their XC points um to go over to uh Europe and race so yeah we got a bunch of the top ones coming on we
Have the race promoter from the weekend um and yeah um kind of getting Jamesy into a little bit of XC racing since uh it’s not his Forte uh Spencer a old XC racer born or I’m definitely excited um I also feel like you need to put me on
That thing where um like put me on the thing where it records it later you know what I mean yeah I know what you mean J [Â __Â ] I love it okay James yeah know I’m excited about the cross country that’s the last thing I heard was something about cross
Country and I was like yeah no I’m excited to learn more I just uh filled out a review at work and my new corporate job and everything and uh I said that I need to learn more about cross country and cross country racing so why not do it here with everybody
Else no pressure I really don’t like how orange this light is either Jam come straight from the bar here continue ready to go already a beer in 805 ready to send it give us us his best performance uh as Spencer’s like the total opposite training for sea otter
Ready to go Tip Top athlete over here just got done with a bike ride literally just took my shammy off and we’re sitting down here two two different worlds but that’s why we’re here right I love it I love it that’s why we that’s
Why we got it was a tearia it wasn’t a b it’s different Spencer you were supposed to go to the uh the US Cup right correct I was planning on racing and then some stuff kind of uh occurred with some work situations and I got to make that money
Right now man unfortunately bikes don’t pay the bills entirely so um but what was the reason for you going to do the US cup in the first place whoa whoa whoa dude we’re letting out all my secrets no I’m just uh trying to return to my roots
A little bit when I when I first got into mountain biking I got in to it thanks to cross country and thanks to uh the high school mountain bike league and that was what I knew for the first my first like four or five years of racing
Bikes so I’m uh yeah trying to race a little more cross country a little more Road a little more cyclocross a little more everything and Enduro um this year and then uh I’m sure you guys saw there there’s a new specialized bike that came out um that is pretty capable like can
It’s a XC platform bike that can that can uh descend um and be pretty capable so we’re gonna go try to see if we can just kill ourselves and bury my own self into the ground by racing everything you possibly can at seot or on one bike so
Well hey I got a question on that one like I was at dinner with a buddy and we’re talking about the Epic is it now just the Epic 8 or is it epic 8 Evo uh so there’s epic 8 they’re just calling calling it epic 8 um for the eighth
Iteration of it um in its current form and uh the same exact uh frame is used on the Epic Evo as well so there’s no real differentiating factors on the frame except for a little bit of a linkage thing um I believe I could be wrong there it’s always been
That way though a little bit right kind of kind of and kind of not um now it’s like literally identical they got rid of the brain they got rid of some stuff they put inframe storage it’s like literally the same exact thing now um which is super sick so I’m just calling
It epic Evo I’m not calling it epic 8 Evo or epic evo 8 I’m just calling it epic Evo but and you’re going to go race downhill Enduro Cross Country and slalom slalom oh that’ll be good on one bike and I’m not going out there trying to
Win by any means but maybe maybe I got I gotta I don’t know we’ll see we’ll see I’m TR that attitude you sure is [Â __Â ] aren’t going to win no pressure no pressure trying to get as fit as I can and ready for it but yeah I was supposed
To go race with uh have fun with your fairy books we got Jamesy on the best you know like you have to slot out time with this guy he has got a full-time job now he’s entertaining guests and he’s at different places all the time just lugging this podcast stuff around for us
I yeah I mean well all joking aside yeah I find myself in my um my roommate’s house so I’m kind of stoked on that and then just trying to F find a place to set up the microphone hold on roommates house expl if it’s your roommate but it’s your
House yeah well it’s not my house it’s her place but live so it’s like I’m looking for my future ex-wife it’s kind of like let’s just thr a couple other things any uh yeah so getting set up and uh yeah not much more to it than that
When’s our first guest coming in all right Ty’s here actually we let him in right now yeah let’s do it all right all right all right cool all right look at this he’s got the bike set up in the background Ty just hopping in uh oh what’s going
On I didn’t I didn’t know I didn’t know you let me into the combo man just wasn’t ready oh dude there’s no heads up around here yet complete [Â __Â ] show I was I was texting I’m in the room this is we are fully professional here okay at
Insider MTB I the highest level of standards for podcast and live streams obviously yeah obviously um all right you guys our first guest up tonight is Ty Katie of the US cup uh I mean I’ve been giving you the name as director of it but maybe what’s the best title for you
Tai I don’t even know these days man just yeah I guess race director race director okay all right janitor janitor the guy who puts up the post and then takes down the post everything everything everything uhoh I don’t know oh he’s probably got an internet connection like mine yeah
Look at that internet what’s going on with all the we got to get him some better internet over there are you on a budget I’m guessing you just got to cut back am everything I’m doing on is on a budget these days all right Ty so talk
To us IND yeah about you nailed it James 100% um all right cool Ty so let’s dig into a little bit about the US cup a few of us were trying to wonder it’s you’re the owner of the series now um but it’s been going since is it 2012 what’ you
Say Jamesy you had uh 20 9 is what I looked up yeah no no we started in 2009 when the Old National mountain bike series went under so we kind of try to take that over with the show a so I guess 2009’s kind of when we took over
But really in 2019 showair says we’re out we’re kind of we’ve done enough for the sport why don’t you take take it over and then um yeah I took it over and then covid hit perfect time to buy a Ser perfect timing you know they get shut down I
People a bunch of money and I’m like all right yeah good call so yeah that’s kind of kind of my story and then we kind of survived that and then then revamped it you know and then kind of trying to push this thing over the over the goal line
Yeah and so basically you know maybe explain it a little bit to some of the people around here this is probably the highest us race that these writers can go to to collect their points to go over to Europe and how how important some of
That type of stuff is that we have these races in the us for XC Racers yeah I mean I mean basically what I’m yeah sorry there’s so much Echo going on in here man I’m sorry it’s bad it’s Amateur hour in here we we are I mean I mean sadly I
Hate to admit it we’re we’re uh we’re two of the junior xco series were the only ORS category or HC in North America so I’ve got a C1 in veil with the junior XO and the importance of that is it order gives 25 points for those young
Kids to like try to get some points to head over to Europe or get a better start line on um at Nationals and then the ORS categories is just below like a World Cup basically a country’s us Nationals I think it offers like maybe 90 points or something so a lot of stuff
Up for grabs for those top Riders so yeah man we’re we’re kind of the big deal here in the states it’s pretty cool I have so what’s up Ty it’s been a while um it’s been a minute Spencer how are you man I’m I’m doing great man it’s is
Uh come in Full Circle here a little bit but like uh I got into mountain biking and my first race that wasn’t a high school race that I ever went to was a was a US Cup race and I raced it as a as
A cat 2 dude at at Benelli Park and that kind of put me on this whole track of of cycling and and it’s been been kind of crazy and I met Tai and I’ve known tai since since those days so probably I think 2011 is when I started riding
Bikes and and and race throughout uh with the showare guys a little bit and with with Tai and stuff and uh got to know him super well and followed the series followed it around and then it’s kind of changed as I kind of went away
From racing it and and it’s cool to see I mean Co was kind of uh almost was trying to be the nail in the coffin per se but it’s kind of I’ve noticed it more again and people seem to be more hyped up to go to these races and and what
What does it consist of now because most of the races were all in California I think back in the day or back it was it was yeah that’s that’s funny cuz I still remember I think you came down um when you were chasing that cross country kind
Of dream we rode some Chino Hills didn’t we yep y exactly yeah um yeah so so back in the day it was belli and Fontana were kind of the main venues right and that was all sponsored by show a and stuff um after after the covid thing I’d been
Consulting with the Walton group out in uh fville to design a course and I basically called him and said hey look California shut down um I’ve took some sponsorship money and some have let me have it but they’re like hey you got to do a rerun
In 2021 some wanted their money back I’m like what what if we move this thing to to Arkansas I’m not I’m not attached here and they’re like bring it on out and that’s that’s what we did because I mean I’m I’m basically trying to just honor my commitments right I don’t want
To I don’t want to renig on anything I’ve done and that was just a weird situation I don’t think anyone could have predicted that um I what people don’t know is you pay the you C up front you pay the park fees up front you pay
You don’t get that back you don’t you don’t get a gimme so um but I’m I’m All About honoring my commitments and so that’s how that whole thing we’d already designed a course out there in fville and it’s like well let’s let’s go take
The US cup and so I got a couple years under my belt my belt to get stabilized and then I started thinking about okay can I get people to help me because everyone’s like come back to California it’s like how you know it’s cost a lot
Of money and I lost my ass on that one yeah um but you know some people rallied around me you know Julie at vich farms and be the Tre bear team got a hold of me John at orange seal you know some people rallied around me and was like
Okay let’s do this thing and kind of started small and now we’re kind of building and putting two together and it’s even talks about maybe even making it three in 2025 so that’s super cool yeah it seems like the the Bentonville or fville one seems to be pretty well
Attended and stuff and it gets people out there and around um and and they tie it in or you guys tie it in with the little bike Festival as well right yeah no I think the Bentonville bike Festival is going to be like maybe like a may may
May or something but they got so much going on out there it’s unbelievable yeah for sure oh that’s super cool so I like just out of because I don’t know my ass from my elbow about much of anything to be honest but with regards to these races how many participants can you kind
Of between California and then Arkansas what are are you expecting as races out there you’re probably going to get anywhere between 500 to 800 Unique Individuals right and then you’re gonna probably get at a given race in fville I think we got like, 1500 start race starts which means you got a Wednesday
Xco you got a Friday uh short track you got another cross country you got amateur I mean it’s pretty goodly [Â __Â ] but yeah but it you know I was actually having dinner with the people that ran norba the old team Big Bear were having a few beers Sunday celebrating no rain
We got it off 1,500 Unique Individuals back in the day 1500 like unique people plus short Trek like so they’re just hand over fist I I maybe like if I get five to six 700 you know unique people that’s a big deal these days so it’s a third it’s a third
Of the Glory Days man and then how how how can we get that back because I know why do you think it’s that way I mean yeah it’s definitely uh an uphill battle per se but but over the hump um I’m sure if you’re if if you guys are familiar
With it but it’s a local Tuesday night race series here in Orange County and the first one gets like 800 people out and it’s it’s like parking lot racing like I love those guys and I love everything they’ve done and it’s great and a great opportunity but it’s to be
On a real course to be I I heard everyone was praising the the course this week so good job on that and stuff and I’m I’m yeah I we got to figure out how to get 1,500 people at the at the biggest North American am races every
Time yeah the over the hump Spencer ride is like the wide part of the funnel AB you could have cut off shorts flat pedals and a Walmart bike y right and then the clowns like me that are still into racing and then the sharper end absolutely I think the US cup I think
The US cup scares people because it’s us Pro cup it’s UCI so they’re like man bevens is there Riley’s there Haley’s there Kate’s there like that’s not for like they feel like it’s Anaheim Stadium yeah they like no we got a whole amateur element like come on in we got a whole
Amateur day and I just think it kind of scares people away the courses a little tougher you know what I mean like over the humps like we’ve raced it it’s it’s fun it’s like a dirt crit it’s an hour you pay your 40 bucks and you’re done we
Ask a little bit more because I think we’re giving a little bit more and we’re all offering you know points for the usack kids that are trying to get that start position in uh Nationals we’re offering UCI points we’ve got a guaranteed payout like we’re we’re just
Kind of like a I don’t want to say a step up but we are right and so I think I think we only cater to kind of the elite hardcore you know what I mean and it’s uh that’s where we lose out a little bit because I don’t know that
Everyone comes in like right we’re not GNA get Austin out there he’s over it he’s like hey hey got a good EB veteran class but that guy that guy also that guy also isn’t going to be in an over the hump race let me tell you yeah that
Is very [Â __Â ] true so I don’t know yeah that’s that’s something I mean there’s there’s if there’s a will man there’s a way and and what can we do to make this more appealing to people people who are maybe not in that smaller portion of the funnel well I want to see
That guy in jean shorts and on a Walmart bike at a at a US cup because at the end of the day I was writing some some filling out some answers or questions for this guy um for for some magazine the other day and he was asking about
What bike should people ride when they’re getting into the sport and and what I kept kind of coming back to was at the end of the day the right tool is the one that you can that you can ride the one that you can get on so I mean I
Started my first US Cup race we talked about this in the in another podcast my first US Cup race was on a $900 canale into some $900 big expenditure and I understand but at the same time like you can buy I’m sure the bike that that you’re raceing tie is a like $10,000
Bike or somewhere around that um so at the end of the day those jean shorts people can be can be out here ripping too and enjoying themselves and having just as much fun as the Cris levans is is or so on and so forth but we got to
Figure out I mean this is more rhetorical I think than anything but how to get those people on we appreciate that Spencer now Ty we’re kind of asking you a little bit like what do you think is a better direction for the sport I mean since we were they were getting that
Many at norba what what could drive more towards uh now you know and stuff like that you seem to be on the the the ground front man I I feel like it’s it it yeah know I I feel like it’s almost like someone asking us to recreate
Woodstock right I think it’s a moment in time I think there’s a cultural political thing I mean like we don’t have the Legends like Tomac I was just talking to Haley this weekend it’s like dude she’s gnarly she’s sending doubles like she’s doing she’s doing what the dudes are doing and it’s super
Impressive and no one even knows and I get it I even talked to her she’s like well I like lowkey and we like that lifestyle but it’s like it it no one no one knows about the sport and then unless you’re in it it’s hard to appreciate because you compare it to
What Supercross Formula 1 it’s like I’ll be honest it’s like watching paint dry unless you’re into it you’re like oh like what am I watching here right people come by 15 minutes later come by but but if you if you’re someone like me that appreciates it like I look at Haley
Kate sevilia Gwyn I’m like man they have really elevated the women have really elevated the sport men have too um and I don’t I don’t think the general I don’t think the general population appreciates that you know what I mean we need a triple back flip we need people on fire
You know MMA like you know what I mean by that like it’s yeah thetion span so sport so short with people that I don’t know that it it translates well uh to spectating I think it yeah I think it would take something like it’s kind of like having a personality of like Shawn
Palmer but in today’s stage where you’ve got like V cameras on your phone and everything like that where people can really but then that takes away a little bit of the beauty of back in those days where it was just like a lot of the adventures were never documented they
Were talked about at the bar but they were never documented but I think that that’s something back then and then I don’t know why this is the case but I saw a little sniping it was uh somebody talking to Lopes about one of his bikes
And it still had the number plate on and it was from like 96 98 and I think one of the on it was like Mercedes and then the other one and it’s just gone from me but it was a big bloody like like a Bud Light or something right yeah and it was
Those days of like having that much money into it and I guess times are different now with regards to social media and all that kind of thing and uh but it it like the personalities we have we have great personalities but it also comes with that fact that everything’s
Documented now as well and I I think that this is only a really small I’m talking about with regards to like making the whole cycling industry fun to watch and stuff because that’s what they do with the Formula One yeah there’s the drama there’s the speed and stuff but
They like on track but they build it Off Track as well with these documentaries and that kind of stuff right and the following of that and I think that in the mountain bike industry we just don’t quite have the budgets to be able to put together some of those like kind of
Documentaries that really bury into these people and then also kind of we’ve got to all be a little bit not that we need to be on better Behavior but it’s also like oh our sponsors can see this or our clients can see this if we have
Too many beers at the bar and maybe the pants are around the ankles and we’re dancing on a table right you know like that kind of stuff is and and kind of rightly saw to some extent frowned upon nowadays or whatnot but um anyway that’s
My kind of take on it like that’s what I remember about the day what I feel like the days that you’re talking about where there was that the Big Bear the Nora days like Gren dig money all that kind of stuff Mercedes Benz all that you know
And I know Mercedes is still on like in Europe and everything but yeah we just don’t see it in the US what 100% like I was talking to the people that ran Norva uh this weekend and they’re talking about naked crits coming out at 9ine at night Snowshoe people coming out with
Their cars and you’re talking like Mara St I mean you’re talking the elites of the time just we’d never do that nowadays right and people throwing down you had goovie you had Palmer you had Carter you you had all those personalities and I think with the Olympics things get a little more torqu
Down where it’s a little more like professional you know what I mean but but the average fan wants to get in on something that’s relatable you know what I mean and so it’s kind of a balance yeah do we get more professional go to the Olympics or do we like kind of also
Have a social aspect and I think that social aspects disappeared yeah the big thing that’s kind of left left the sport yeah for sure and I would kind of almost combat what James was saying like if you look at at the UFC for instance that’s like one of the biggest
Sports I think at least in the United States and it’s all full of uh entertainers basically all personalities just talking [Â __Â ] doing the pants on the ankles kind of type you know just BS and and it’s selling the sport and selling the fights and it’s driving all sorts of
Sorts of attraction towards them I’m not saying that we need to see it much of that but I don’t know I think the more don’t get me wrong like I’m not saying that I’m anti that I do like that is the side of mountain biking that I fondly
Remember and I I still relate to to some extent I think what I’m saying is that it’s more the I think with the MMA crowd the there’s a different kind of for sure for sure expectation of the athletes is that is is that a fair way of saying that
Like I feel like the MMA is definitely got a lot of following it’s got a lot of uh money getting put into it which is rad for any kind of sport and the kind of following that the MMA has it’s insane um I just feel like in the
Mountain bike world are we a little bit more um a little bit more sensitive is like are we a little bit more is I’m asking the question I’m like we are though we are though we we we’re we’re different breed than I I I’m not saying
But all of us it seems like we are a little bit of a different breed than what an MMA crowd is or Super Cross crowd is or a monster truck crowd is um and I kind of like that I mean I came from some of those crowds and I’ll tell
You like they aren’t also the smartest of people they might have a great TV coverage package but like um I mean Ty we we’ve tried to work to get have TV at the races right you’ve spent your own hard earned money I’ve spent my money to
Try to help it um I think don’t get me started dude I I had the where’s the live stream I just reply to people you complain you complain that we charged you $4.99 for three days like you can’t you can’t win it’s like they everyone’s used to Red Bull coverage for free and
It’s like we’re not working with Red Bull budget we want to bring you coverage but we have to help cover this cost at this point until this gets enough momentum and so we’re kind of at that moment again you know guys we’re like we’re trying to get the critical
Mass where it starts picking up grabbing spawn we can increase budget we can increase production but like right now I feel like I’m just trying to push this thing past the goal line just to like provide for Chris and the Kates and the Haley’s and the sevas that are like need
Those points and and stuff and then I’m also this new generation’s got me stoked right like the level has gone up like when I watch that 17 to 18 or U23 races like the kids are shredding like it’s 10 years ago I could beat any Junior on the
Planet because there’s only eight of them they’re like ripping nowadays they’re like I don’t even want anything to do with them they’re so good and that’s that’s great that’s what we want right and so yeah we’re just kind of in a pivotal time and you know Austin and I
Were talking offline like you know the governing body needs to get their act together I mean they they did a national in the same weekend as ours and like when I talk to them and we’re supposed to have more conversations in my mind and Spencer you’ll get this and that’s
Like having Anaheim one Saturday night round two on Sunday in Atlanta well dude Vince freeze Alex Ray and Chisum they’re going to Atlanta they don’t want nothing to do with jet and Tomac and Cooper so you just divide the whole Sport and you got guys cherry picking and you don’t
Have the best of the best and that’s what they did to this national series they created so when I heard about it I’m like all right screw that I’m gonna create my four out round series two of them are mind which are you know going to be Veil which happened then we’re
Going to fville then I partnered with a guy in Wisconsin and then we’re going to finish in Missoula it’s perfect it’s like March April May June the kids can get there get their points get out of school and go to Nationals and I’m just literally trying to create a proof of
Concept like hey we need to create a calendar that has a flow where everyone can get to that’s within a budget instead of this this stepping like I don’t know what it is with this sport but they just step all over each other it’s it’s that’s another problem we’re
Just stepping all over each other and the pie to begin with of cyclists cross country is Niche anyways in here I mean there’s not a lot and so when you start just cutting each other up it’s your turnout’s horrible and that’s how right now I make my money right is on Entry
Fees I don’t have those big sponsorship dollars right now and it seems so basic like we could solve this problem by like USA cyclin or UCI whoever few phone calls a few phone calls like hey man don’t schedule on the same weekend these are extremely important uh you know
Events that these writers need Levens and Haley I’ve sent them bullet points right because I don’t want to complain so instead of that I go here’s my Solutions I mean I’ve copied like the Loretta lind’s Regional feeders areas which you do right Austin right y yeah they they look at that and they’re
Just like deer and headlights why would we do that it’s like because it’s a working model I don’t know you know what I mean so well hopefully they’re watching this podcast right now I’m sure USA cycling is logged on and they are ready to make changes right now
To get so I’m not calling out but I’ve been through four CEOs about five or six National there’s a high turnover there and I get it but um it’s not rocket science man it totally isn’t there’s working models out there like how do we make this better and grow this thing
Back to where it was you know and so I’m definitely willing to raise my hand but I’m also at a I’m getting to a point too where it’s like okay I can’t sit there biting my fingernails like is it going to rain are we going to cancel am I
Going to be out of month money cuz that’s not a cool position to try to make a living either so it’s crazy I mean you are you’ve been supporting the sport uh for a long time right but you’re also having to make a living at a certain point like people have a weird
Uh you know like feeling on promoters and like maybe they’re greedy or something what it is but it’s like I’m also to be fully in you have this is kind of part of the living but like it’s a weird area to be in as a a former
Promoter myself like I I understand and what you’ve gone through it’s like it’s crazy like it’s like you know you you’re Blood Sweat and Tears you were still out there today pulling the stakes doing stuff and then you’re just getting ready to drive to Arkansas with the whole crew
And do it all over again for I’m out of here on Friday yeah know when you called me I’m like dude I’m still pulling trash Stakes because I got a skeleton crew like I’m telling you I had way more fun at my training camp with the estess and
Yamaha guys down in Daytona before flat track like riding Moto you know in the summer I was riding turn track up at Nikki Hayden’s old property in Owensboro like I’d much rather be doing that but like I feel like hey I I can do this too
Right and you know if I can make a little bit of living and wear a couple different hats I love mountain biking but yeah at some point like man maybe I just go hang out and be a trainer again you know and keep those guys off the tim
Tams and the candy and no we need you though we need you to keep having the veil races the Arkansas races and more races these I mean this is what’s helping support these guys to live their dreams out right I hate to say it and
We’re we’re using you Ty we we need you so I don’t we got to get some stuff figured out with UCI and and then USA cycling so we can stop landing on top of each other and get these guys to the Olympics you know because if it’s not
You who is it it’s the next guy that that feels like oh shoot I need to pick up the the slack and I’m sure that person would potentially be out there but why go looking especially when our governing body can just I don’t lend a little helping hand and and understand
The work that that and I’m sure they do to an extent the work that you’re doing and stuff but we got to hang on to this this XC XC World in particular is there not sorry to talk over you spener but that’s kind of my thing um but like is
There do you see Ty do you actually see the governing bodies working together to make this happen is that on the table or is this just uh one of those things where you’re just pushing a Rock up a mountain yeah I feel like it’s a rock
Like a mountain right now and and I gave you an example they ask us to file with with our governing body in July so we have no idea of what World Cups and things are like they won’t tell you what that looks like so you’re
Throwing a dart at a at a calendar and you go well I’ve only got so many dates in SoCal and then I need to go here and there and then they’ll like you said they announced their national series three weeks before mine and it’s they
Threw a UCI C1 on on top of me yeah over in Tennessee so it’s like and they’re and they’re like oh this is our national series I’m like how could this be a national series you’re like you’re like what you gonna have two leaders who let’s so you got Chris and Haley win
Round one and then you got someone coming out of Tennessee on the same day yeah yeah like those are series Le like to me that makes no sense no it doesn’t yeah I don’t understand that you know and then like again but I don’t come from a cycling background so for them
It’s a points grab oh yeah but there’s a lot of points over there it’s like okay points in a in a I guess a a calendar of events where you can get points I’m all about that but they’re they keep talking like they want to bring back norba they
Want to bring back a tour well you gotta you gotta have everyone at the tour you gotta have everyone be able to get to each round there’s 52 weekends out of the Year too right yeah that that’s right and so um and then as soon as and
This is weird because it’s an Olympic year and so some of those some of those Racers even during fville we threw an HC they’re going down to Brazil a week early for a test event and then it’s the two backtack uh in uh Brazil as the
World Cups and for them I get it it’s like top five they get they get an invite to Paris and and you know what they they invest a lot in that so so Olympic years are a little better but this happens all the time stepping on
Each other not a good travel flow teams can’t get to it and so um yeah I just I don’t understand it quite yet like how it how it’s that difficult when I you know again Austin and Spencer we probably come from that Moto background right you start at Anaheim kind of hit
Some yeah West Coast and then you Texas then you’re working your way and then you’re up into India like you know General travel flow right and which even that’s gone hey why are these last true true all right Ty so um we’re gonna have Chris coming here in a second but I want
You to give us a little info about fville and then maybe we have you on afterwards and maybe we dig in deeper into this subject a little bit too you know yeah I’d love to man um so fville is coming up April 3rd through the 7th
So um you know where can people sign up if they want to race if they’re in that area as well yep no head on over to the US cup mtb.com you know you can find everything there first race kicks off is a UCI one on Wednesday uh and then we
Have a short track Friday uh Saturdays in ORS category so that’s that only HC in North America and then we finish with the complete day that’s everyone from a cat three which I call beginner to a cat one which I’d call Expert and man we Clos the weekend off there man perfect
Well thanks for coming on Tai and thanks for helping me get some of these athletes on tonight and uh no man take care of them yeah let’s uh let’s loop back around after Arkansas and have a little talk hey have a good one man catch you guys thank you buddy all right
Bye all right you guys our next guest is here we got bevens he’s in the waiting room it’s told a few minutes but uh yeah let’s uh let’s bring him on in wait wait wait wait no he’s I already second I already clicked it you know sorry come
On get it together hey what’s up Christopher uh oh now he just takes his earphones out uh oh maybe he can’t hear us can you hear me there we go there we go we only the only the left one’s working uh and I’m deaf in my left ear
So I have to put the left in my right ear no way oh is that true is wow yeah wow okay that’s uh some great info right there Jamesy over wait wait I’m like sorry I’m dealing with a light situation but you said that you’re
Deaf and you’re left are you yeah um oh I broke my head when I was BMXing when I was 10 it went through my inner ear so oh wow wow okay God this light is terrible all right sorry let’s get an introduction here this is Christopher blevens tonight on the show with us
James’s having technical difficulties we just had Tai on um Christopher blevens the winner of the US cup at Veil Ranch this over the weekend uh an Olympian uh the great hope for XC racing in the US this is one of our uh greatest athletes coming out right now
Christopher floor is yours um thank you for coming on this is Spencer wrath camp and we got Jamesy over here he’s having a little technical difficulties as as congratulations on your win this weekend appreciate it yeah um talk to us about it I mean it was the rain was on the
Line there for a little bit it was all over the place uh yeah can you run us through it a little bit Yeah well great to see you guys um likewise and uh yeah Austin it was what five years ago now when you were at the
US cup and yeah it’s been a while right I was talking about the flowers and in ve Lake great yeah totally and you had that whole strategy on how to win I mean that was the day I learned how much strategy goes into winning an XC race
Yeah for sure um this one was a little different wait what happened with the flowers yeah yeah sorry I was gonna come in on that one also oh yeah Al so this was this probably couple weeks later so like it was it was proper spring Bloom and for some reason the little interview
He had after I was really determined I think to like get the name of the flowers right because I said the wrong name like four times I think he cleared it up for me told me what flowers they were can’t remember what they were too now those weird flowers we have yeah any
Of them this year I don’t know I thought you were going into some weird race tactic where you’re like oh talking about the flowers while you’re racing or something like well he might have been using that tactic he used a good tactic though yeah never break wind no nothing
Like that um but yeah it was it was kind of a group Sprint that year in 2019 um and the following year was covid when the world kind of everything shut down and we were in Vil Lake um in the US recycling canceled all Races the night
Before so we woke up to that news yeah um so yeah it’s been crazy it’s been four years already but uh it was good to be back there and I don’t get to really race in the US all that often these days um I’m got home and had to deal with
Some house stuff and just packed up immediately and I’m realizing that the next time I’m like in the US after this next trip I may not be home until September or something um I won’t race in the US until September but anyways so it’s it was just good to be there yeah
And the course was sweet like you said it rained a bit which I’ve never had a race where the conditions changed every lap like one lap it was perfect just hero dirt and then it was slick and then it was like right at that buffer where
It would dry up enough to be hero dirt and then the cycle would happen again so that was kind of a a fun wrinkle to it but that that place is interesting huh I raced there I used to race there a ton and then I raced uh xen and duro there
Like a couple weeks ago and same same deal it used to no matter what back in the day no matter how much it rained it would be like epic and then I raced a couple weeks ago and it was raining pretty much the whole race and I went
Through the same the same process it was like insane the first lap and then the second lap it kept raining got super slippery and then stopped and was like slowly drying out and and yeah there never used to be that like slop so I wonder if they if just the all the time
Of packing everything down or what’s changed but but super interesting yeah it’s cool there um I didn’t get to ride much of the Trails beyond the course but yeah it’s cool that they have enough to run a proper Enduro and everything yeah they’ve done a good job Eric Carter and
Uh Steven Walton have taken over that place and and it’s it’s pretty cool uh facility as as a whole really I mean it’s a KOA a campground of America and and they had to invest uh certain amount of money back into it in order to keep
It around and keep it alive and they did parts of it in the uh in the the facilities meaning like all the little buildings and bathrooms and all that stuff and then also uh a couple million dollars I think went into building this bike park and they’re still working it
Working it in and it’s not the most elevation not the craziest but they’re making it work and they’re putting a downhill race there as well um in a couple months and in Duro and then uh one of the bigger us uh mountain bike races XC mountain bike races yeah and
I’m curious uh first of all Eric Carter obviously BMX right yep he did a good job on that step up but uh I raced with him I mean as a what 10year old when he was that Pro and everything for for years um so it’s cool to hear his name
When Ty told me that he built that he built that course but yeah I’m curious if we’re gonna race in B Lake in 2028 for the Olympics really yeah I mean you know La it’s either there or Benelli Park I didn’t think of that where else would they go exactly B yeah banelli’s
Benelli’s a little more La that’s what I will say that that has going for it but yeah where do they all park though for Benelli I’ve been there and it’s hard to park you know La as a whole the Olympics I mean I’m sure Christopher you know
More than I do but uh they’re building they’re they’re spending so much money infrastructure right now they’re changing all of LAX to try to try to make it so people can get in and out of there better and I know I know that they’re they’re uh taking it seriously
And it’s it’s coming so we’ll see we’ll see what changes yeah could be exciting yeah will be exciting so speaking of Olympics it’s the Olympics year this is this is your again I don’t know everything but this is your first year in a while I I believe not racing Cape epic and now
You’re racing here in the US to get some points obviously it’s pretty important to get some points but also starting off with an XC a proper XC race instead of marathon stage race what’s uh obviously Olympics are the plan what’s what’s going on yeah yeah well you I think you
Guessed it uh Cape epic was just you know it takes so much out of you physically and mentally and uh I don’t regret doing it the last couple years but I do think that you know it takes a toll the effort itself is the hardest
Thing you can do in the sport but then there’s the mental wind up there’s you know going all the way over to South Africa and then coming home and then and then starting your season and trying to get that snap back that you need for XE
Uh was just a challenge for me the last couple years so yeah I mean the safe route was was not doing gab epic and trying to just do the perfect prep possible for the spring World Cups and then hopefully the otherpics so yeah we um got the Brazil round
In leave in just a couple weeks so it’s all just around the corner so last year you did Cape epic um do you think that that’s what affect because the two years before that Snowshoe was that was your race you know and then I feel like in
2023 a little bit of a rougher year for you do you think that it had to do with more of not doing these spring races as much I mean you kind of did Arkansas twice in a row but yeah yeah I mean you know there’s so many factors and what
I’ve learned is when you’ve got the 40 best in the world all you know doing everything they can like it really is such a small difference that in that you know bunch of little differences that add up there not many sports that are that clean cut just like pure race the
40 best every World Cup it’s like in road racing you can kind of hide and like get lucky getting the right group or whatever but you can’t hide on a on a World Cup course so yeah you know I think we did a lot of things right last year but um I just
Kind of spent the whole year chasing my tail in a way trying to like get some form and figure it out and um sometimes it just doesn’t come together in the way you think it will uh and you you know you’re like all right this is the weekend and then that this
Is the weekend this is the weekend and you know I kind of spent the whole year feeling like I could take a leap to get in the top 10 again or land on a Podium but it’s a freaking hard Sport and um yeah it was motivating to come
Out of it without the results that I was hoping for and realize that yeah you know I gotta chip on my shoulder a little bit just just something to prove to myself to to try to get it right and there’s no guarantees by any means
But um I think I’ve had a good good winter good early spring so far and a new bike yeah for sure the new bike too are are you running that thing like 120 120 front rear yep cool right on yeah that’s sweet I I have the Epic Evo um
And I’m gonna do some XC racing on it also just a little bit local stuff and I was just curious if you guys are running the same the one full 120 setup and if it feels just like your 100 Mil bike from years past or or what
Yeah well I mean you know the names are really Blended and like the distinctions are small but they matter a lot like this epic 8 12020 it’s kind of the replace the Epic Evo from last year that we were racing on Y and then it also is like the
Evolution of you know the platform pedal suspension brain with the flight attendant which is this whole thing but like you know I would be I think a lot of people who are EP EP Evo Riders like who like more travel who never would have ridden an old epic because it was
Just tooy in the Epic Evo is more playful and you know fun this new epic 8 is really like there’s so much to it you’re not missing out on anything um like the extra 10 mil to have a 130 120 setup on the EVO is is rad but like the
Way that this this Evo or sorry epic 8 pedals massively improved that yeah that’s where it does really you don’t compromise anything that you would get with a 100 Mil travel bike um but then like it’s got these bottom out bumpers and it’s just really good suspension so I’ve tested it quite you
Know quite a lot and uh around here I’m in Santa Cruz and you know you don’t have super super choppy like rocks everywhere you just kind of have big hits and fast corners and I don’t think I could go that much faster on a trail bike like
The new Evo the new epic 8 is just yeah it’s great so yeah I mean I think it’s the best cross country bike ever made I haven’t ridden anything but have specialize for 15 years but like sales pit right here yeah yeah and I like I’m trying to not
Sound no but for real crazy though you know 15 that’s awesome yeah yeah you know you know specialized well I should have said not I overstated that maybe like what is it what am i 26 so really 11 12 years what were you on before that uh BMX bikes you know
Little bike wow um yeah I like my parents got me specialized when I was 12 or 13 my when I was 10 my dad was friends with a local frame Builder and he built a custom M bike that was like super sick for me wow um but then as soon as I
Could ride a 29er I got I got a specialize hard tail straight on 29er yeah well this is like I don’t know I was probably 13 or so yeah was pretty tall yeah and then so what got you what got you into racing because we just had
TI on before and we were talking about how the turnout to races aren’t as big as they were so what was it that took you from riding BMX you got this great mountain bike from your dad’s mate and then the specialized 29er when did you start racing mountain bikes in that
Whole PR time yeah well I started with BMX when I was five and was super serious like National BMX Racers so I like you know I’d go to all the national races and be traveling um like twice a month to some national and then growing up in Durango just the
Thing you do is Mal bike you know so started with during goo in there in elementary school and then I think by I went to a national championships in Vermont when I was 10 my dad took me there and like for by the time I was 15
I was like 10 years into my bike racing career you know which so I really uh was lucky and I think kind of unique to like just have been racing my whole life that’s not the only way to do it but and I slowly just gravitated more and more to
Maling like uh your area do you know who John Tomac is yeah yeah of course it’s kind of wild I was having a conversation with him about 10 years ago and we were talking about do you know yeah what a [Â __Â ] question he lives down the
Street from him I don’t know you know I might be kind of like barking right now but genuinely dude anybody that’s bik you can live in that town and never meet toac okay very true that’s very true I feel like you would still know who he
Was you don’t know he just rides by on the trail probably never says a word anyway sorry Austin please continue look I was like 10 years ago talking to John and I didn’t know as much about cycling at the time and I was like hey man who’s
Who’s this you know who’s going to be our next like USA guy we haven’t really seen a USA guy and he said your name and I was like who is that kind of and uh you know fast forward 10 years now right and it’s kind of wild to see where
You’ve transcended to and seen that type of stuff but maybe rewinding a little bit like did you ever ride with John how did how did he meet you or did he know like is there any type of relation there you know there there’s actually not um besides like that’s that’s cool that’s a
Cool story um because I can’t remember a time talking to John um you know like I’ve had so many encounters with Ned over and Wells but I should say like John lives in um in Cortez so so he’s a little bit outside during go I do
Know Eli I knew Eli well um wellish you know from the BMX track and his cousin Jordan rot was like my coach growing up um so Eli and I would BMX a bit and he’d come out and this was before he was Eli Tac so I’m sure when I was younger I met
John and talked to him but I think it’s pretty cool that he he’s got his Ranch and still rides but is like you know he’s just got his whole thing going on but he’s left such a legacy and you know was in many ways the one of the founding fathers of uh Mount
Viiking and just the Durango you know lineage so to speak and it’s like it’s been really cool to kind of like be compared to him in a way um because of like the multi-discipline stuff and nobody can really be compared to John you know but um yeah so there’s no relationship but
Uh in some ways I I feel like I know him and everyone in Durango has kind of got that you know yeah path to follow so speak is there something in the water there because I feel like you guys are popping off some really great Riders from that
Area yeah yeah I mean it’s crazy like I don’t I don’t know why it’s the way it is to some degree you know I I understand that it’s culture it’s like you can see where a bike can take you 360 Degrees all the way around you you
Know you’ve got an Olympian who’s your neighbor you’ve got like someone who’s coaching who you could step in for when you’re you know that age you’ve got like people who love the bike and follow it to like film careers or whatever it may be so Durango just culture around M
Biking and obviously it’s produce some pretty good road Racers too both seriously seriously it’s why I’m Blown Away by it well I mean that was the whole thing like I when I left home in 2001 to come to America like Durango was the place I wanted to go
Because that’s where all the racing was that was like World Cup days and everything like that so I think Durango’s always had that thing and um I do like I is it that it’s kind of coming back around or is it always kind of been there and stayed there and
Then maybe just again like I always go back to social media and the internet and all that kind of stuff but are we just getting focus points on other places because they’re so readily available whereas like back in the 2000s early 2000s it was like we’d see it over
In Britain in mountain bike in UK or mountain bike action or magazines you know has do you feel and I know that you’re younger and like obviously you were born late 90s but from your knowledge of Durango and everything is it always still been that kind of mountain like paradise that has been
Like the epicenter of your Mountain Bike World yeah um well I think that on the male side on the on the men’s side there’s been an Olympian from Durango like for maybe every every single Mal Olympics at least since 2004 maybe I don’t know if Travis Brown went
In 2000 he’s he lives in Durango um but Todd Wells Howard and myself and you know we’ve got the top two potentials this year from Durango so in the ladies side you know there’s obviously a lot of Legends too um so yeah I mean it’s just
Been consistent and for me it all has to do with Durango Divo in the youth program yeah yeah and uh the BMX track you know where I got my start it’s just those individuals Chini and Sarah teser who you know there are a lot of articles about them now because some random French
Spain you know publication who read about sep seps growing up like you know interview Chachi you know for after his fa to win but like those big things can just be propelled forward by like these few individuals you know one person starting BMX track or a youth rting
Program you know it just grows and I don’t think we can like underestimate the impact of that like Tai having one person really at this point Who’s continuously showing up you know to host races UCI races in the US like yeah I don’t know what we do without without
Him and kind of these this US cups Series so just says a lot about how one person and could lead to another person which could lead to like a whole culture yep yeah I mean what do you think about you know I don’t know if you were happen
To be on a little bit ago but listening to that whole situation yeah so was he um he said I heard you say I didn’t hear him but that the that the ridership at races has dropped off a bit yeah we were talking about norba entries back in the day were
About, 1500 right and then now we’re you know 5 to 800 type of situation yeah man I mean I could talk for hours about the like perplexity of I don’t know the youth development something like 85 Junior men and 50 Junior woman at the US cup but then there’s this fall off
There’s this like just Gap where there’s no way to pursue it professionally in the US without getting lucky or like being really talented to have brand support and everything and there’s tons of people and organizations you know us recycling has done a lot of great things
Others have to like try to build that bridge that Gap but people in the US it seems like these days mountain biking is just a recreational activity right there’s not there’s nothing wrong with that but I think the mount the us has more mountain bikers than Europe for
Sure like we sell more bikes it’s important to the industry but the Gap to like understanding racing and participating it in it or following your you know your pro Racers is just a lot bigger than I think it is in Europe um and like obviously gravel’s growing a
Lot road is dying off in the US um and I’m just so loyal to mountain biking and bias I just want to see like the vision of what mountain bike racing can be in the US like be what it can be you know so how
How do you think we can make that make it less daunting for a Noto typical racer to come out to a cross country race and try to race I mean for an example if you look at golf golf is is a fairly competitive sport that you can play recreationally and compete Rec
Recreationally I mean you have like strict tea times where people are paying lots of money to go just play a course with their buddies maybe racing I guess lining up would be a little different and it would that would maybe compare a little more directly to a bike park but
But I think that there’s a lot of people maybe that are closer to our ages that like you were saying you got the massive groups of kids the fields of kids are great and then there’s not really much in between the middle-aged person and the pro
Racer and I think that people like you and and whoever else play a a role in in one inspiring but also trying to get people back on to I mean myself all of us everyone everyone in the industry to some matter plays some role in in getting people to participate in more
Ways than just buying the bike um I don’t know do you have any thoughts or Solutions or or potential I mean I think that there are a lot of creative approaches that like can be taken to hosting Mal bik races or bringing people out you know making them more
Welcoming it’s not like M biking is a across country is you know some people don’t think of that as an activity that they you know want to even entertain doing um but it’s worked nikah in its own way Nik obviously doesn’t extend past High School um what’s appealing about the gravel
Races is it’s this challenge that people wouldn’t do by themselves you know they wouldn’t ride this 100 mile crazy course say it’s Leadville or Unbound um without like a reason for it a belt buckle at the Finish Line like you know it’s like running AER Marathon people people take
A lot of Pride as they should in like finishing something like that cross country doing doing laps around some Park in East LA like doesn’t have that same I think satisfaction for people of like doing this crazy challenge yeah but it is much more spectator friendly and
It’s such a cool discipline because it’s you know it’s this like in between distance of super intense but short enough where or long enough where you have to be an incredible endurance athlete for it you know um I would love to see like ways to bridge you know super challenging UCI
Courses that are inspiring for people to like you know the Nik a kid to look at and like get up to or the weekend warrior who’s working a desk job to like be able to appreciate the sport at that level but then like be able to pair that
With a mass participation race that’s maybe long maybe a marathon or maybe just a mare course that which just obviously happens to some degree um that’s like there for those amateurs one one format that I’m really interested in this is just a fun thing to think about is like the grind Duro
You know rally car rally style this just racing Durango I haven’t been to just started last year Durango Derby and it’s XY segments throughout like a 50 mile I don’t know what it was maybe longer ride where they like go through all the trail um you know trails in Durango
Different and they stop at different places and you can meet up and ride with your friends in the next segment like in Enduro style but then there’s like a mass mass start race from there I think that’s a cool format yeah there there’s another one up in uh Whistler called the
Back 40 yeah Back 40 yeah exactly I’m I think I’m going to go do that one this year seems I mean how is that different from the what’s the Canadian one uh trans BC BC bike race oh BC bike race sorry about that it kind of simar and there’s
Trans BC Ando but um no so yes and no this is more like BC bike race is like a marathon stage race and correct me if I’m wrong Chris it’s it’s multiple days of racing cross country with or without a partner and then these this the uh
Durango Derby and then the Whistler Back 40 that I just brought up like those are are you have one big greater loop with multiple stages and within it are multiple races as well so you can do a segment like an Enduro hit the bottom of a stage whatever hit the bottom of a
Clim or top of a climb that you just raced up then look back for your buddy say oh I smoked you whatever then ride to the next one and start over again you know and then it’s it’s much more social race okay um the whole way like
Obviously with a race like that I’m sure the logistics and everything so we were talking about it some of these current races that ties are the two races ties putting on five to 800 unique participants like what can you imagine at one of those stage races like as far as far as participation
Level I don’t know um I want to hear what you guys think but like I I think this is like how to combine you know the accessibility of XC racing you know where you’re like with a group or you’re you’re at a location and you start and finish at the
Same place and it’s less logistically challenging like combine that with the mass participation like let’s go out and do an epic ride you know and like actually cover terrain and do that with friends I mean that’s where like the true I want to say the true Spirit of
Enduro is because I don’t know what that no I think but I think you’re right like it sounded a little bit like an Enduro race more ex like an X Enduro way but but I think like going back to where I think you were going with it with uh
Something that I talk to everybody that’ll ever listen to me about is that we ride bikes well we all started to ride bikes to ride bikes with our friends we had fun doing it right so that is still a big part of it for and there are people that go out there and
Race and stuff so along those lines and I’m sure that this is one of the dumbest questions in this like somebody’s going to be listening to this podcast and be like getting really excited about all this XC information at this high level you that’s that’s what I was gonna say
You know what I think Christopher has to go now um I’m sorry well but my thing is something that I I I think is great at races and you guys as cross country people tell me but like the camaraderie at the pits the uh people camping out or
Whatever kind of situation not maybe so much the uh parking lot parties but like that whole vibe and I think that if there is a sponsor Village or whatever that like really brings more people in brings it for a family place when the your weekend Warriors come out to race like is that
Something that would you think could ever attract more people and I know that’s probably a pretty dumb question but I’m just curious on that like that’s a big thing about the big man uro I was always very like dude it’s all about the pit party it’s all about people coming
Out and having a good time and not getting wasted I’m just saying like it had games for kids there was times that families could hang out when their significant other are their M or dad are racing right is that a big thing in Cross Country yeah um no it’s a great
Question I mean it’s a great topic too because like you know you’re not in a stadium watching a soccer or basketball game where like you know you’ve got popcorn and and beer being passed around and it’s just this controllable envir environment but I think like cycling to make it spectator friendly and just
Family friendly fun friendly like having kind of a festival feel around it is is it something that I haven’t seen at a large scale like have been figured out quite yet and I think Discovery with the Mountain Bike World Cups now like I’ve heard that that’s part of their goal to
Just make it more of a festival there’s music there’s the mass participation race there’s all this stuff which I don’t know you know they’ve got a lot of challenges and ways to go to get there but it’d be great to be able to go to a mountain bike race and
Like have reasons to get on your bike yourself but then have it to be this whole experience Beyond standing in a forest and watching people go by and then going home you know I mean kind of what crank works is like a little bit I feel like a
Whistler for sure you you know I mean SE OT a is obviously like a trade show to a degree but you go there and you’ve got all this stuff going on and I think teams sponsors you know our setups at the World Cups um are quite fancy they’re
Becoming bigger and bigger every year and it’s not really for the Riders it’s more for the fans to be able to see the bikes on display and get this whole like feeling of the sport um so yeah I mean I think more of that um is needed for mountain biking and it
Obviously takes money to like grow to Big stages like that and you know industry support um but yeah I mean there’s a lot of there’s a lot of ideas in this way do you I got a question then on so the World Cups the courses and the way all
Those are you know short track and everything like that kind of like their idea to get that better TV coverage that more racing and stuff do you feel like maybe us lacks so much of like the amateur level of that does that kind of make sense if I’m trying to say that
Like where does a guy go in the US to really ride something like that like fville seems to be the only one fail’s trying and doing pretty well at as well but like where else do you go for that type of stuff like in Europe they’re scattered everywhere I feel like
Compared to unlike here yeah um I mean it doesn’t take that much like I would say I like riding in the US way more than I like going to Europe I mean really they have I’m not talking about courses I’m talking about like you know yeah um there’s some there’s there’s
Some good trail builders in Europe but a lot of it is like hiking trails you know stuff like that the race courses are really I think just like the demand is there people want to race you know you know that you’re going to get some Swiss 10-year-olds to show up and like then
Then you build the course and I think if there was more demand outside of Nik and kind of in that amateur range um in for the pros or I would say with the pros that like you kind of need the supply first and then the pros come yeah but on
The lower level it’s like build people who want to buy Grace and then a network of promoters people like Ty who can we can build courses and you know you don’t want to make a course that’s a World Cup level one and tear people off or have
People get hurt but there’s tons of places where it could happen and before things have kind of trailed off like when I was 13 Going to races like there were plenty of locations um and then on the pro side like we need a good I know you probably talked about
The plans for the US cup in the future but like a really legit series that can that can bring Pros back to Mal biking who Maybe to gravel yeah or whatever it may be um and hopefully like industry support sponsor support there’s a price purse and good UCI points but you know
And I think like building a following around it to get people excited um you need that and then I think the pros will come yeah so just to be like super surface level about it do you think that the pros are going to chase well I guess maybe I already
Answered this question my my head but with regards to like if they’re going to chase the prize purse or is it going to be the Accolade of winning against their peers on like a gnarly course like it does is it as simple as just price purses what’s going to dictate getting
The most Pros in one place at one time yeah well you know in Cross Country it’s like the end goal is obviously the World Cup and making it on a World Cup team which those are all in Europe like we have treken special that are American teams and
There’s four or five Riders amongst those teams and then the rest are someone like Kate or civilia are on European teams so like there’s no way to really be a pure domestic racer XC racer and like make money like if you’re just doing XC it’s just not possible right now
Um it used to be five years ago when the Epic rid were happening you could you could make money off of prize money as a a marathon racer Mal racer but now it’s all uh you know lifetime gravel and some M biking but I think it’s a little bit
Of both if you have World level courses in the US and like good competition it’s exciting for everyone especially for Racers but you need to have some path to having there be a reason having there be a path for right people to do it professionally oh yeah absolutely and
You got to be able to pay the the athlete needs to be able to pay for their travel there if they don’t have the sponsorship do dollars to do so winning that prize purse obviously helps with that yeah yeah it’s only money guys It’s Only Money yeah and and unfortunately
For cross country mountain biking I think the gravel scene did a good job of capitalizing on that and it brought a lot of people that you may have been racing against in the past to to gravel that are chasing see a little bit of both of what you were just looking after
James won the the prize purse was was there and then also there’s there’s marketing budget surrounding lifetime that that makes turns it into much more of an Accolade that it than it was uh six years ago or whatever and now there’s this split between cross country mountain bike racers that went to race
Gravel and then also Pro Tour Ries that that came over to race and Chase Chase the same thing it’s it’s it’s interesting and and and I mean yeah there’s people that have made took taken great advantage of it and made great careers for themselves and yeah I mean I
Think for all of us we want to bring it back to to mountain biking because that’s that’s where our hearts fall I think so um yeah it’s it’s an uphill battle but so we got to figure out how to get the spectators there so sponsors want to come there because the
Spectators already there and then everybody wins right or or participation back to back to what Christopher said like I think I think realistically the the Accolade of a normal cyclist that isn’t a racer to go finish Unbound is much greater than it would be to go finish a veil Lake uh Pro
MTB whatever it’s called us Cup race um you can go spend whatever however much is to go race Leadville and Chase that big belt buckle and that’s worth it because now you bring the whole family out there and have a little vacation whatever and then do this crazy thing
And and have that type two fun of hey man I got a big belt buckle which I think I got one right here but but anyways like like you’re you’re you’re chasing that whereas XC it’s a little little more difficult but it’s not impossible I think there’s opportunity back to what you’re saying
And I’m starting to ramble here but back to what you’re saying about making it an experience for everybody there’s a lot of opportunity in the US around bike parks or or mountain resorts already to have that have infrastructure to have the playgrounds for the kids or whatever
Like all these activities and the bars and the restaurants and and everything and I feel like snow shoot mind you it’s five out four and a half hours from any anything it there’s good opportunity there um to to bring more than just the racer in which they are not on the
Schedule for next year or this year correct yeah that’s a good and then back back to what I think James was asking um why so and I think I know the answer to this but why did you choose to come and race at Veil Lake and why why is that so
Important to you yeah well I mean I really mean it when I say like just racing in the US is such a it’s kind of a luxury for me now because I’m you know in Europe or Brazil this year uh so often but um so like yeah being able to drive down to
A race in California is awesome of course it’s sick like it really is fun to do something that’s that fast and flowy and then obviously points UCI points and uh both for myself in the grand you know typical year but then this year it’s for Olympic points
Um and I mean I really will be there’s some years where maybe this is one of those years where I’ll only race in the US like one or two times um and that does bum me out quite a bit so um I hope I can just keep coming to the spring
Races and maybe even summer races if we have those One Day More and More over the next few years so I got a question I mean you and Keegan are friends and tight but okay Keegan took the the route of the lifetime and the gravel racing I
Guess you could say and then you took the XC racing life like MoneyWise like can you don’t have to put a number on this but like would you have made more money being that way or is the to to talk to kids that are you know inspiring to be you
Know wanting to be a blevens which which is uh tell us you know what do you think yeah well it’s interesting I mean the range is so massive for for both World Cup and Privateer gravel and that whole landscape is really like just taking shape now um and there’s there’s a lot
Of opportunity to make more money there but there’s a lot of people who are basically working like double jobs because they have to take care of their own Logistics they have to be their own marketing machines you know and that that’s that’s time is money and
Yeah you know I’m kind of in a compare it to like I’m working for a and I’ve got a 40 hour work week you know and they’ll book My Flights I’ll show up I have amazing support from the team um and I don’t obviously you know
I’m in the sport I have a job because the bike industry people people buy bikes and we help sell bikes and just get people motivated and so to ride bikes and that’s like that’s huge that’s hugely important whether you’re T PO pokar for UAE or or you know
The new gravel Privateer um but I think there’s more there’s certainly more of that in gravel so I will say though Keegan is making good money because Keegan’s winning and that’s that’s good to see like um Keegan’s a great representative of the sport like through and through
But he’s also just an insane athlete and people appreciate that he can go smash a the Leadville course record and you know brand brand appreciate that and it brings fans to the sport um so I think that the risk may be higher because you have to book your own you have should
Deal with everything I probably could make more money in gravel maybe but I don’t know and I haven’t really uh yeah thought about it too much because I’m going for the Olympics and I’m you know really stoked and really lucky quite honestly to be able to have great support at the
World Cup level because I’m the only American guy right now who’s able to get that support yeah um who in the Elite field there’s some u23s certainly but you know so part of it is just like hard work you know bit of talent but also just I’m really
Fortunate to be able to do this and not have to like sacrifice it in order to put food on the table and yeah totally yeah no for sure you got one Jamesy I see you like yeah no my cogs are turning on the situation and I think a lot of
This comes down to obviously you are one in 8 billion or what have you but there is like and you you’ve talked a couple times you’ve gone back to the development and having that when you were growing up and stuff and then that that’s where like I’m trying to remember
Like and I I I was terrible terrible at riding uh racing bikes but like the cross country stuff and I feel like back in back then again this is late 90s and this is in England but it was a huge turnout all the families were there and
I remember so many bloody kids doing it and we look at Nik and then we’re like well what like it what is it that goes from so many people riding bikes at Nik to they get to college or whatever and then before you know it hey cowboy and
Then before they know it they just go off into like they they don’t race anymore so what is that drop off you know that’s my roommate yeah she’s a kindergarten teacher and this little cowboy um uh well I think like a number of factors one is like how many kids you
Know play basketball in high school and then don’t when they’re in college right or maybe yeah really really good point something I never thought of that yeah yeah um you know my perspective like I I I want to see the Nik kids or the UCI level Junior who are taking it seriously
As a sport like I want them to bring a bike to college not just like be burned out on it and then have that be an outlet for the rest of their lives you know like be a lifelong cyclist and grow with it and there thousand ways to ride
A bike you know which is what cool what’s cool about it there’s like one way to play basketball you know one goal to play basketball which is score basket but on the bike you can do whatever so I think that’s really important like that’s not all about racing is what I’m
Saying but I think that there just not many uh sustainable paths for racing M biking or or road or whatever it may be because there’s no indust there’s not much industry around it and uh the racing has just gravitated so much to Europe that you got to find ways to get
Over there and be competitive over there which is really hard and you gotta have a lot of support at a young age like I did to be able to to make it in Europe um but I don’t believe that that’s how it has to be like I think we can kind of
Take the sport back have more races in the US and that we’ll have as you know talented Riders at a deep deep level Deep Field if we uh if we kind of invest in the sport in the US so like that being said your summer is it a plan to
Come back and just do like the USA cycling national championships or or even any of that or like what would it take you to come back for the summer yeah I mean it would it would take not making the Olympics if I don’t make the Olympics I’ll be a Nationals but
Nationals unfortunately like two weeks before or a week before the Olympics yeah so I’ll be at late classic World Cup that’s that’s it well that makes that makes sense we won’t be seeing you at the at the USA Nationals then that’s cool though I mean
Go ahead no no no no go keep finishing I mean I I had a little bit of a question I mean uh you know you had that let kind of rewind a little bit you had that battle with kind of Keegan between you and Keegan in the team that one year um
What was that kind of like because you were kind of the Young Buck and Keegan was a little bit of like the oh he’s not old but a little bit of the veteran of that class you know yeah well I definitely I mean I so wish we could
Could have had two spots for that year and we tried um but yeah I mean it’s hard when when there’s only one spot and I really appreciate how Keegan and I were able to just give it our best and it was clearcut and simple and I had
Better results at the first rounds of the World Cup and you know I was the guy Chosen and yeah I mean being the sole lonely American mountain bikers at the Olympics hopefully something that won’t happen this year hopefully we’ll qualify two spots and we’re close yeah um and
The woman obviously you’re crushing it and in the top three you know of the nation country-wise you’re just going to have to work a little bit harder guys come on Step It Up We’re trying um but yeah I mean I think Keegan was a excellent World Cup racer but not a top
10 and now he’s found something that like he’s in undeniably like one of the best in the world at he’s just he’s just works so hard and is such a good you know 100 mile racer and high altitude racer and everything that’s in that realm and
Yeah I mean I don’t think you know it’s that uh he wasn’t suited for World Cup racing but I think uh he is definitely suited for for what he’s doing now yeah grind 200 miles out just yeah sure yeah turning off turning off is what I like
To call it man he can just bear himself yeah no it’s it’s interesting um so we have about five more minutes left with you um one we’ love to have you back on for some more deep Dives and some stuff I don’t know your availability maybe
When you’re in Europe or maybe in the middle of the the season I I don’t know if you have some time for that um is that possible yeah man it’s good to chat I mean these are all fun things to think about and just talk about and I do want
To see more conversations about you know I don’t like really just repeating the same story about myself to people just you know telling the Christopher bin story but I do love talking about how to grow the sport and get more kids on bikes you know and make it exciting so
If it’s about that stuff no we love that yeah that’s it’s it’s it’s super interesting and yeah I I I would like to have you back on also if you would want to because I I got I got a lot of questions and and one thing that that I
Really firmly firmly firmly believe in and we talked a little bit about it with Tai before you got on was the the personality and the individuals that are that are involved in the sport that help make the sport more relatable and help help uh the sport kind of grow and reach
More audiences and and maybe just in in a couple minutes or whatever we could kind of look at look at who you are that makes you more than just a bike racer I know you have a bunch of different things that going on and and other passions and I think that um personally
I would like to see them see your other stuff more than than I think what’s even shown on the Instagram or the interweb um because yeah it’s cool and and to be totally honest like like for me I follow people online and I don’t really follow the sport of cycling
That much I love it I love riding my bike but I want to I want to know about who Christopher blevens is other than the cyclist because I can relate to the musician side or whatever you know like you got got stuff going on so yeah what
What makes you tick if you weren’t a bike racer what would you be doing yeah man oh man that’s a hard question um but I feel you and I think uh I’m really interested in you know the human side of it all like benath bikes and beneath the
Cut and paste you know Instagram captions and stuff like that that that is just so cookie cutter because there’s so much underneath or just deep to like all of the experiences we have on the bike you know and racing I think brings out so much vulnerability
And so many emotions um kind of you get the whole the whole spectrum of emotions in this Sport and like that’s really what I do it for and what I want to share and just bring more attention to is just like what cool stories are there you know what like little details are
There that provide kind of a shared you know a window into someone’s someone’s life that we can all share um so I don’t know I mean my life these days is pretty simple like I am kind of just just a bike racer I graduated from college studied business and sociology
Sispo like I was doing a lot when I was in my college days like I was just kind of more scattered in a way uh not not necessarily in a bad way but um was just trying to do a lot and like be you know a normal college kid as
Much as I could be being a bike racer and was Raising more disciplines and I think like now I’m just doing one thing which is racing my bike and chilling a bit more and surfing and some other fun stuff for sure Beyond it but like I don’t I feel like I’ve learned that
Being balanced is more understanding the perspective the full perspective around it and knowing that there’s more than just this bike racing thing to this world and uh exploring it in in whatever way I can but uh being fine with just doing one thing you know at once
So the other things I yeah am interested in to do just to touch on it uh yeah yeah spoken word poetry and music like I uh I haven’t made much music recently but like when I get into writing a song or writing a poem like I get really into
It and I care like I kind of bring that like athlete intensity into it and it’s really just been an outlet to express myself since high school you know and hopefully I’ll be able to make somewhat of a project this year um somewhat of an album or something but so that’s kind of
Like the the purest like just yeah creative side but then I’m really trying to bring bring that into the bike a little bit more so which you have like I’m yeah yeah you know and it doesn’t mean necessarily I’m gonna wrap while I’m on race or something like I did in
Sooi where I like WRA the Red Bull recap you know yeah I remember that I remember that yeah but like some storytelling that kind of is creative like I’ve got a video project this year that yeah has got some kind of creative elements to it um and then I’m working on this platform
We’re calling still spoke which has been around a little bit we’re kind of bringing it back and hopefully it’ll be what we talked about Spencer what you on which is just like people beneath you know the bike racers we see and a place stories to share to be
Shared so yeah yeah absolutely dude so I’m right right there I what where my mind went and kind of where I was trying to trying to steer you towards is like projects like the long Traverse um I was fortunate I I bet you don’t even know
This but I I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend with Dylan ainger uh a couple weeks before he went through there and I helped clear The Descent Part of the Santa Cruz Trail and work on that and I had heard about the project and heard about everything and then
Watched it and um when it came out and uh for those of you guys who don’t know it is it is uh what what do you call that is spoken word poetry spoken something a little bit of it yeah yeah exactly throughout most of it and
Telling a story on on the culture that that is through the region basically between San Louis bispo and Santa Barbara here and the the whole Corridor and and everything that’s going on watch it it’s super cool but so like things like that that gets me more fired up
Than watching a shreddit of whatever some sick Rider like don’t get me wrong that’s cool but that tells so much more of a story and shows so much more vulnerability and and I think a lot of people appreciate that maybe it doesn’t get the million views or whatever but it
Also gets the 20,000 or I don’t know however many people watched it um 47,000 people watched it and I’m sure that those 47,000 people that saw it matter so much more and T took that into so much more depth than a million people on whatever someone else’s video so I don’t
Know I’m fired up I’m I’m glad to hear that you’re working on stuff like that I mean this is a big year for you regardless but I would love to see more of that stuff from from you oh I appreciate it man and it’s like you know
I was just a small part about it it was like the bike the trail the route like showed yeah you know much more of a people story environment story so thank you for clearing the trail by the way and also like your projects are sick like your creative takes to some some
Like creative approaches you’re riding and storytelling and super cinematic stuff like that’s just such a fun exactly terrain to like explore and like it’s pretty sick that the bike you can do that you know like again not to talk about basketball as a comparison but you can’t really do a basketball shredd it
That’s like talk about you know yeah no 100% that that’s what makes me me tick and and uh I think a lot of people appreciate that so yeah let’s let’s get let’s get to it yeah we’ll chat more sweet man thank you for coming on Christopher um was rad time and we’d
Love to have you on a little bit deeper dive into the uh poetry situation and uh yeah thank you for everything bud and hopefully we’ll see you soon maybe at a World Cup maybe at us cup we’ll see what’s up maybe at the Olympics at the Olympics yeah seriously
Well it’s coming to La so man that’s in four more years ebik class for me so I mean honestly there may be an eik you know the way the sports going I like the way you’re thinking right now yeah m going talking that way that’s right athlete this body’s ready for it I’m
Training all right man thank you so much for coming on I’ll stop it Jamesy you love me all right guys all thank you so much cheers cheers have fun talking to you all right all right got did you tell him to hold on so that he can like
Upload or whatever well his upload got cancelled and then it just we’re using the screen one from that like we did in the last it’s a long story all right look it we got our next guest here thanks Jamesy number one supporter here on the podcast all right you guys
Our next guest is here I’m going to bring her on in all right all right let’s see go there we go I was looking for my lead yeah oh yeah I know that was a blooded d drop wasn’t it there we go what’s going on haly right you’re here with the hey guys
How’s it going yeah well we’re deep in it you know yeah we’re trying to figure this out still we’re trying to find Spencer’s Leadville buckle up somewhere on his wall since he’s just flexing on us that was part of the conversation all right you guys our next
Guest up right tonight is Haley baton uh us cup points leader winner of both uh this weekend kind of rounded out her teammate blevens beating him uh yeah so the floor is yours Let’s uh let’s talk a little bit about it from the weekend uh back-to-back winner and you did that
Last year I believe as well right yeah I did can you guys hear me okay just checking no oh brilliant yeah fantastic okay cool awesome um yeah know it was great it’s always um good to race in the in the US you know race environment us Tyler Katie always does
Such a good job and um yeah it’s just nice to hear people cheer your name and be on home soil a little bit and yeah just Good Vibes we race in Europe all the time so it’s nice to to be back and have that environment it’s always fun so
I think last year I met you and afterwards we were doing because I did the the streaming and um you were saying you were instantly moving was it to France or Paris or somewhere in Europe I believe oh yeah yeah that’s true yeah my boyfriend and I actually got a um like a
Long-term Airbnb in in honesty France last year so we were there for six months actually just to be fully based in Europe and um it was amazing it was like so cool that area was incredible the riding was so good and just like a couple of World Cups we could just drive
There and that never happens you know we’re often just like flying back and forth from Europe all the time um so that definitely made such a big difference for performance and uh yeah it was really cool definitely an amazing life experience too so so are you still
There or you back here in the US now or yeah yeah no we just did that for six months of the season and then I came back and um I split my time between British Columbia just like just north of Vancouver and Squamish and then my family lives in Santa Cruz California so
I hop in and out of here uh between my My Time Racing but this year I’ll base in in Jona um Spain during the season so I’ll be there for most of the the the European World Cup um part of the year but we do have quite a few other World
Cups um outside of Europe this year some are in the US Canada and then early season is in Brazil so um I won’t be there all year but yeah it’ll be awesome I knew I miss my calling as an XC racer I could live over there for six months
And then come back um yeah yeah it’s not so yeah that step up I want to talk about that you were like the only woman to hit that last year was it the same thing this year yeah that’s funny no it was actually the other way around this year
It was pretty cool last yeah yeah so last year I yeah I was the only girl that hit it and I hit it every lap maybe except for the first lap with traffic um and it was pretty cool because it took like a lot of guts for me to ride it and
It’s actually not it’s a wellmade jump actually the risk isn’t that High and um it’s just it looks really big because you come into it blind and then you kind of hop up and all the guys were sending and I was like oh man well we have to do
The same um so this year actually a couple of the other girls wrote it but I actually didn’t ride it this year at all like I probably rode into it multiple times and just like didn’t I wasn’t clicking for it and then I just let it
Go and moved on um but it’s funny when you bring that up because that’s probably the only thing I’m super upset about for the weekend like short track two minutes not doing the step up yeah yeah I know you’re really poking the right button here no but seriously
Like hey sorry gosh all right you know what Spencer you you know what you guys asked n sorry sorry no that was good but it was sick because this year like a few of the other girls like fully sent it and hit it and way more women rode it
This year than last year for sure so I think just every year I think um there was a lot of I think pressure for tide like whether or not he should have put that jump in and um just because it’s a big feature on a on a pretty pretty
Chill course um but I think that just to see the level rise every single year I knew okay well if I hit it this year you know maybe next year a few more will and the year after that you know even the junior women will and I think that’s
Just the start of um what we want to happen in women’s cycling and I’m excited to see that in the years to come for sure was it stacked up like last I remember last year was like Practice Day people were lined up to try to do that
Thing and cameras were out everyone was waiting for the crashes yeah really that’s true it was like the party of the whole race like everybody’s just doing whips like just laugh thing it it was like the most fun part and I’d say it was the same this
Year too it just it was so fun yeah you could put up a lawn chair and crack a beer Jamesy and it was fire like people no drop or CST hitting it spandex almost D I’ve seen a couple photos from this year’s one for sure but everybody was
Looking really good uh but well apart from yourself Haley I apologize however sorry glad you wow well let me ask you this though do you think that having features like that like the more that I’ve been kind of paying attention to uh cross country over the years the
Courses are getting guler and guler especially at the World Cup level do you think that having features like that where Spectators can come out is going to potentially grow the sport like I’m just trying to think of how we get more people to these races on like more of an
Amateur level right um people that carry on we just talking with Christopher about it like after Nik you obviously see see such a drop off on racers is it something that can we how how do we get more people to these cross country races as competitors and as Spectators and do
You see that putting features like that in the cross country course and getting these Gnar Rock Gardens and stuff like that do you see that as a good direction for the sport to go in or is that just uh kind of making things more glamorous for
TV yeah I mean I think that’s a great question I think both ways like if you have a rider going from Nik and all of a sudden you’re throwing them into a World Cup event there’s huge Rock Gardens and huge jumps I mean that’s a big step for
Sure and it’s it can be dangerous I think sometimes you know you see junior junior Riders at those those World Cups and they’re they’re often the ones getting hurt you know because they’re they’re like oh it’s the A- line I have to ride it and you know they’re getting
Injured on like big gap jumps or Rock Gardens or something like that because they almost don’t know the limit and they feel like because they’re there they have to ride the A- line um so I think for sure one I think it’s I do agree that it’s the way we want the
Sport to go I think as mountain bikers that makes us excited to race I think it levels the sport from you you can’t just be a fitness Rider you can’t be maybe not all the Ries could show up you know and and absolutely ride away from the
Field um I think that’s part of the skill set we want to have as mountain bikers and I think you also want to have the complete package as the best racer in the world is that they can ride amazing umly challenging features and also ride them really well where when
They’re maxed out their heart rate you know they choose the right line they don’t flat they choose the right equipment um it adds a whole level um of like different elements and factors to to racing which I think is what we want in mountain biking but I think you know
In World Cups and on those course having all the options of like a line and B line um where you know maybe it’s a bit slower to take the Bine but you can you know look at the feature and you know have it in your mind and then go spend
All winter long doing it you know before you get to race day and I think that’s for me as an athlete what’s most important is like you start to learn the courses you see the features maybe you’re watching other races and you start to learn what you need to practice
What how you need to become a better Rider and I think then you show up prepared and when you’re you know prepared and you show up and you’re like okay this doesn’t scare me I’ve done this before that’s the best way to be because you don’t want to spend you know
The whole day before the race just like fully stressed out spending like all your energy just trying to complete a feature it’s like I’ve done this before I can do it well and I can do it absolutely Max on heart rate and I think that’s the key and then you know if you
Show up one year and you haven’t done it before maybe you take the beine and next year you show up can um so it’s like a whole development process and I think going back to Nik too like in USA cycling it’s preparing these kids at a
Young age for those type of you know race demands and I think you know every year USA cycling has national championships at different locations for two years at a time so this year and last year is at Pennsylvania which is super you know slick and Rudy and
Totally different from kid like I grew up in Utah you show up and you’re like oh my gosh like this that chunk was gnarly in the woods this year or last year yeah yeah that was serious so I think that’s important just like as a country preparing you know all
These riders for all sorts of features but realizing you have to ease into it and build into it for sure yeah you know you know it’s good to see first off hi Haley I’m Spencer I don’t think we’ve met before but you you guys are teammates how have you not met team
Specialized right here I don’t think I don’t think we met but anyways I grew up in Southern California racing uh well didn’t grow up racing but I raced and it’s very much the opposite so I’m like very excited to see the progression and start to be introduced in in North
American courses because we were like in racing cross country at even at Veil Lake it was perfect example I I raced there a number of times at the US Cup races uh when it was I don’t know 10 10 years ago nine years ago now um and it
Was just a freeway and the Roadie wins 99% of the time and if you can if you can be because the descents didn’t matter and that was that was my biggest struggle I could descend faster than anyone else on the in the XC races and then I would just be tongue in the
Spokes trying to keep up with the climbers the Roes on there and even in high school league we were like kind of slightly reprimanded if we were jumping and they wanted to encourage people to keep both Wheels on the ground the whole time and and I think I think not just
From descending in a cross country race but but the ability to to try and fail and learn um in technical aspects can just help your bike riding skills as a whole whether it’s in a parking lot or it’s on a trail so I don’t know I’m
Super happy to see that this stuff is going on um and then I just have a question on that is that something is that something you’re working on like are you constantly working on on down descending and downhill technique and bike handling skills yeah for sure I think that’s um
Super important and I think every year I I try and get better and better at practicing that kind of stuff because I think as a cross country Rider too it’s it’s a different world than like um downhill or like Induro even where it’s like that is the goal of like how choose
Line Choice like riding different preatures and doing it really well from like a skill skill learning sport I guess um so I think I always thought like oh if I just ride like gnarly terrain all the time I’ll get better and I think that’s definitely true like if
You just do the thing you’ll get better um but now I’m I’m learning a little bit more how to you like Focus practice and break it down a little bit more into like okay I’m G to practice cornering I’m G to practice jumping and spending like very Focus time like really trying
To learn the skill set and making it like part of my subconscious so that when I’m racing it’s like instinct yeah um so that’s definitely something like I put into my training plan it’s more like balancing like okay I have to train and have to work on skills and all these
Things and just finding a routine that works well but I think it’s really important I think you’re right with these Nik kids too it’s like play and just like riding and doing things that challenge you it’s so important um even just for like riding on the road like if
You’re a good bike Handler like you know it still helps to ride well yeah um so yeah I think it’s really important for sure did you well when oh no Austin give me a second hold on are you did you do Nika or no or how did you yeah where did you
Come from on that level yeah I um no I started racing I grew up in Park City Utah and I started racing like my dad was doing local races and I was probably like nine you know I did like the little Loop in the grass and then slowly just
Got hooked and and started racing like I think um my first races out of state were like seata or something like that and then National Championship so that’s kind of how I got into it but when I was a freshman in high school um my mom actually helped like get the Nik leag
Going a couple years before I was old enough enough um so that was really just getting kickstarted Utah um yeah around that when I was before I was even in high school and then when I was freshman I actually I knew the lady that ran the Nika program and she you’re not allowed
To race varsity as a freshman but she got me in and so I I won like every Varsity race and that was actually the last year I raced unfortunately oh no way but like yeah I can’t I just like I would always support the Nika program
Though and I still go and visit and stuff but um yeah a lot of my friends did it and it was it was always a super fun vibe for sure wow all right Jamesy it’s all yours take it away I’ve been holding on to this and I hope that I can
Get it all out um ADHD and everything but so when you go when you talking about like with your training and stuff and that you’re going to like really focus on cornering for a a concentrated period of time or a rock garden or like a feature or jumping or what have you do
You how do you work on that do you have like somebody coaching you on those particular things is that like where where do you learn how to Corner better is that just practice over practice or do you have somebody coaching you like what what’s your approach to
That yeah I mean um I think growing up I just always WR with the guys and that helped me a lot and my boyfriend helps me a lot still like we ride together a lot and he helps me like really break things down um but yeah I also have been
Working with a skills coach starting last season I I got a concussion actually partway through the year and that was like a big like kind of realization for me I think I always thought that um I think a lot of girls in cycling actually think this too in
Mountain biking it’s like oh just send it like the guys just have the you know the the they’re not scared so you just have to like do the thing but I think actually like a lot of these like really talented writers like you have to you
Don’t just like do back flips and like all these crazy whips and things everybody’s doing I don’t know all the terminology but it’s like step by step by step it’s like nobody wants to get hurt doing those gnarly gnarly tricks and they don’t want to just crash and
Break themselves either so it’s like really working up to that and I think that’s like really what I’m working on now is I think I just as a young writer I just send it you know do this crazy thing and my for one wasn’t really good
And every would be like oh my gosh you rode that crazy feature but now it’s more actually you can get really hurt doing that and um I just I think I want to be a good writer and like a well like really skilled and that I do things well
And so after that concussion I really started like working with this guy for skills and he’s given me this approach of yeah just really focus um just yeah more mindset skills and uh yeah it’s been awesome super helpful yeah really yeah just in the details I guess more
Yeah yeah because when you’re when you are working on these and and becoming more comfortable and more uh everything comes more second nature you’re able to recover for for bits and pieces of of a and I think that that goes a long way I was working with another XC Rider a
Couple weeks ago and we were working on descending solely so he can allow himself a little bit of time to breathe and and granted you’re going down much more technical things than he was going than he’s going down on his cross country racing but just the every little
Every little bit of breathing pays big dividends when you’re when you’re maxed out for an hour and a half or however long races are nowadays yeah that’s a really good point too actually that’s true yeah huh well that’s that’s super interesting and that’s super cool to hear I’ve never really thought about
That and uh it’s cool to hear that you are and next year you got to hit that step up again I will I never hit it I watched everyone hit it okay just to be fair well we can move on from this so what what does you I don’t know my ass from
My elbow with all this kind of stuff Haley I’m trying to learn but um so what does you I know that you like mentioned a couple races and stuff and that this is one of the few this year that you’re going to be racing in the US but what
Does your season look like and um yeah like yeah give me a rundown of what your season looks like yeah yeah for sure yeah so this was kind of my I I started my season just with this race I thought it’d be good one to get things going we
Race all the way until October this year so I’ve raced earlier in the past like in February I would go to Spain and do a couple races but this year I just like really focused on training and um race this first US cup and then I go to
Brazil actually April 3 and there’s a like a C1 race there just which is like a points race UCI um on the same course as the World’s Cups the following weekend or one of the World’s Cups so I’ll be in Brazil for about two and a half weeks and start the season there
And um those World’s Cups are included our Olympic like criteria for our Olympic spots or at least we have two women’s spots but selecting which Riders will take those spots and then after that I’ll go to um Utah and actually Pan American championships is in my home
Hometown or nearby at least in Soldier Hollow which is really cool because I grew up racing like when I was 9 years old like in this amazing yeah just Zone and and I actually did a lot of Nordic skiing racing there um it’s where they held like the cross country and biathlon
Olympics and when it was in Salt Lake yeah and so it’s a really cool venue but it’ll be there in after after Brazil so I’ll go there for a few weeks and then after that I head to Europe to sorry I’m going to interrupt you because I’m really good at interrupting surely one
Of your sponsors is going to be smart enough to do like a little homecoming edit about that race right come on Austin go pitch that idea BG are you on right now let’s let’s get this happening yeah that sounds like a good one but then sorry so then you go to uh Europe
And you’re based out of Spain for are you g to be over there six months is that correct oh yeah until about September this year um yeah we have the Olympics obviously in July and then World Championships end of August and then from there we have a a World’s Cup
In Lake Placid this year in the US and then Mount s an in um in Canada then we also have marathon world championships actually in Snowshoe West Virginia so I haven’t for me my season right now like ends after the Olympics my Visions like until then all my goals everything I
Think about planning wise so after that I’ll see how I feel but there’s a lot of cool opportunities after the Olympics as well for great racing no absolutely when’s When’s PanAm um let’s see the dates on it are like mid end of May or miday oh okay
Okay so that’s okay yeah cool H well that’ll be super fun then come home yeah totally so with um so many of you guys and I know and again I don’t know anything but um we keep talking about so many athletes are going over to Europe and staying and and this goes across
Like maybe I’m wrong on this but like the EDR so Enduro stuff like I think that all the races are over there this this season and so as a result people like the US guys are like well how can I go like live over there but still with visas and
All that kind of stuff what do you think and this is a very um broad question but what could BR what could the US bring with regards to uh races that would get more of you guys to come over and race over here so is it like the priz purses
Is it the courses like is it the point system like what what what could you see and again this is very broad question and I get that and we could talk for hours about it but like as a 30,000 foot view what do you see as like some of the
Things we could be doing in the US to encourage more people to want to race in the US yeah I mean that’s a huge question and I’ve actually about this yeah but I think we’re really trying to figure that out because obviously um like the lifetime
Grand Prix has really taken off so I think that’s brought a lot of excitement around domestic racing in the US but I I think for cross country it’s definitely like fading off a little bit and a lot of that has taken off in Europe and that’s really where all of our races are
Um so you’re spot on there but I think a lot of it has to do with just aligning races with our World Cup schedule especially for the elite Riders if we want the elite Riders to come over and continue to make those those races exciting bring the sponsors you know
Bring the the show I think um which is hard you know because there’s a lot of races in Europe um but just aligning it with that schedule I think helps a lot and then I think from you know getting young athletes there and and just making it competitive and and bringing people
There to race and amateurs as well I think um a lot of it has to do with I think getting a lot of those Nika kids somehow like to all these races and I think a lot of them are showing up but I think with the numbers we have in Nika
It’s surprising how few are at you know a lot of the you know CrossCountry UCI races or anything like that which for me is really the next step of how you get to World’s Cup racing or start to race at a higher level so I mean I think
There’s a lot of factors to it but I think it’s making a really nice pathway for these young athletes and the numbers that we have into like this like a series or something that’s you know aligns with you know getting Elite Riders there as well the Brand’s excited
About it and there’s a lot of factors for sure but I hope it’s on the way and I think a lot of people are brainstorming to try and make it happen for sure and then do you like and I still need to bloody watch it which is
Terrible to say about the lifetime SE Series where they did all the interviews with all the writers and stuff and I am truly interested in that do you see that as something like what’s your personal opinion on that with regards to would you want to see that more on a cross
Country like I I go back to that Formula One driven right so that kind of format like in the cross country world is there some there’s not something like that right now right you mean like a documentary or like a documentary series glamorizes the writers brings a little
Bit of drama in sprinkles a little bit of reality TV on it you know yeah I mean I think they had a series called fast life for a while that Red Bull did um but that’s kind of I think they have a new version I can’t
I’m so I can’t remember yeah what the what the title is called so they kind of did something but I think you’re right like building the characters in our sport which there’s actually a lot of cool people that race across country and have great stories and are just like
Funny or super interesting so I think there’s a lot of stories that could be told um but I think it’s really like up to the UCI which I just am not sure if they’ll do something like that like just such a large cycling governing body um
Yeah but I think you’re right like our sport would benefit so much from something like that just I think just to get people to understand what even is mountain biking it’s such this Niche crazy sport but I think also we’ve seen a lot of growth in the sport from the
Brand and from just biking in general and these excite the excitement and other disciplines and amateurs taking part so I think we’re on to something where it could just like take off um and I think you’re something like that would be amazing and would help help a lot
Just to just to get people following along and know who they want to follow and why and how they relate to them or something like that for sure yeah I think that that’s the whole thing it’s the storytelling aspect and that might kind of open up people’s opportunities
To then learn a little bit like wonder how many Americans learned about the offside rule in football or soccer because of that reom TV show because those two celebrities bought that football team in England I know that this isn’t close to what we’re talking about but how many people learn more
About foot or soccer because they’re watching this TV show with all these characters and we’re telling the storyline and that maybe can open the door a little bit more with like something like XC racing like understanding who the fast kids are understanding like what even bloody XC
Racing is and glamorizing it a wee bit so that more people again I’m just an ideas dude that’s all I get paid for and you’re right I think I think you’re right too and I mean going back to like talking about growing us sport which I
Think is what you meant it’s like if the if like a US circuit really jumped on to something like that it could fully help that entire like getting everybody involved in racing and stuff and that could be something that you know would help even just the international series
As well so I think that be really cool for sure I mean look at look at drive to survive for Formula 1 that has entirely single-handedly brought back Formula One in an extremely popular way in into the United States and now we have two two
Races we haven’t had a well we had one one US race a while ago and now maybe we might even have three Austin Miami and Vegas and it’s it’s incredible how popular it’s like everybody’s watching that series they don’t even know anything about car up true and and maybe not everyone
Needs to know about XC mountain bike racing but if we can develop a story and and follow you and Chris and whoever else that are chasing their Olympic hopes whatever that be and and have it in a super dramatic way I’m sure people will be invested and and and yeah that
Sounds super interesting so let oh dude this this would have been the Year this would have been the year to do it because we could have built all the drama up towards the yeah who’s going to get there yeah but that’s four years away dude social media
Is going to change so much by then it’s going to be a whole different pitch deck at that point anyway that’s true do so speaking of that it’s not too late the season hasn’t started yet exactly James get on it get on it Austin the it’s always
Me I’m just trying to get them to have live streams at these U those just domestic races you know [Â __Â ] yeah that was pretty awesome at the Veil leges yeah that was really cool maybe one day we’ll have it back so speaking of personality and everything around that
Are you doing much like in terms of marketing yourself and and driving that or are you kind of just there’s there’s two different ways to do this I feel like there’s people that just focus on racing and that’s that’s it and they’re doing every bit of their power to be the
Best racer that they are that they can be and then there’s also people that that try obviously try to race and perform as well as possible but then they also um um try to be more of a Instagram or whatever inter internet personality and stuff and let people
Into their lives and build themselves fan bases are you where where do you sit in that in that boat yeah gosh I think I’m still trying to find my way with that a little bit for sure I’m definitely 100% a racer like that’s what I want to do like I
Would rather be out riding for hours than be on my phone you know or think about taking a video like or photo while I’m out riding like for me it’s just like all about being in the moment riding hard like racing as fast as I can no distractions just performance
Performance performance and um I think it’s been like it’s taken just like realizing oh people want to hear your story you know people want to see what you’re doing and um you can work with really cool Brands and you know be involved with other people in the sport and build communic community
Through It um but I think it’s for me just like finding out how I enjoy doing it you know because it takes time on the back end it’s not just like the fun posts and like commenting and chatting with people it’s like okay now I’m gonna
Stop take out my phone take a video do something that people want to see you know and um that doesn’t come super naturally to me so it’s just working on it and learning what’s fun and enjoyable but for sure I think it’s a part of our
Sport now um and it’s it’s important for you know a number of ways you know from Partnerships to just like growing growing your name in the sport and opportunities but yeah it’s hard it’s it’s it’s also super cool and I think it’s for me finding yeah what parts of
It I enjoy and how I want to invest my time yeah in doing that for sure but I think you’re right like it is cool because I think it’s also opened a whole realm of cycling for people that literally can tell just tell stories through riding their bike or through
Social media through podcast whatever that might be and I think it’s great for our Sport and I think for you know you know for example cyclists that have podcasts that have other more performance athletes on their podcast I think that that can help you know I think it helps um them tell their
Stories and that kind of thing so yeah here we have it you’re looking at three people trying to have a high performance athlete to tell their stories I’m and we’re trying to high performance ourselves trying to make this work yeah exactly I would have done the step prise
The Creative Vision you know and not everybody has that yeah hi you guys started a podcast yeah another white male starting a podcast oh my gosh keep holding your mic for the rest of the podcast we’ll get you a stand maybe in a few years when we get a I’ve got the
Stand I just don’t have the right table we’re doing this at the house right now um well yeah so kind of going back to where was I gonna ask with regards to that social media do you think that if you were to concentrate a wee bit more
On like building yourself as a brand on the social media front mentally do you think that that’ll take you away from training to be the fastest possible racer that you could be um I I I do make jokes that I do think that social media is a performance
Dehan um because I think that like if you if you think about like a really okay I’ll just use me for example I do I spend a lot of time meditating like focus on focus and aware and like all these things and I think what social media trains is it’s like fullon a
Distraction like you just want to look again look again your phone in general so it’s like being able to train like that self-control and like to be in the moment like we have to race for an hour and a half and you want to be like so in
The moment of like how am I breathing how does my body feel like what are the tactics like you’re fully present for an hour and a half and I’m constantly trying to train that just like through meditation or through whatever that practice might be and I I do think that
Like if you’re training those neural Pathways or whatever to to instantly need a distraction or to like move away from the the task at hand um I think social media does lend to that a little bit and I think it also um can be a distraction from like what you’re doing
As an athlete for your performance because there’s a lot of like what other people are doing small Snapchat like you know just a quick view and you don’t see the whole picture and it’s really easy oh they’re doing this oh they’re doing this race oh should I be doing that
Should I be doing this and I think it’s really important especially for young athletes and straa is also a great example of this because it’s also like a social media platform in a way where you see you know Elite athletes doing big rides lots of training but you don’t get
The whole picture of like what their easy rides look like or you know all you know how they’ve planned it out or built up year after year to even get to that five hour ride um and I see a lot of young athletes falling to that a little
Bit where I think you know overtraining or overdoing it at a young age can definitely um definitely happen so yeah I do think that that there are times where it can be a distraction from performance and I think it’s just being aware of what those might be and then
Controlling it and then just managing it as best as you can because like I said I do think it’s part of our sport I think it’s important for growing our sport for sharing a story or anything like that um and forgetting young girls or whatever that might be involved in our sport um
But I do think there’s a line for sure and I think it’s just being aware of what makes you tick and perform at a at a high level and how you need to manage that was there someone that that race that motivated you to ride or like what
Was kind of like your motivator to get to this level or like look up to yeah um oh that’s a great question I think like my family we all like mountain biking was just part of my life from a young age like you know we’d go
Camping with all our friends in Moab and go rip around with all all my peers and friends and um it just kind of became something where we had an incredible like local race series in Utah and it’s like we were racing I think like every Wednesday night and every weekend you
Know it’s like you would just show up with your friends and go racing and um and so it just became something that I think I I loved and I think when you’re good at something and you’re thriving and you’re having a good time and you’re always progressing and learning new
Things it’s kind of Addicting um and then from there I think I remember I went to Sun Valley Idaho for my first national championships or my second maybe and I won like a little Jersey in 1314 and that year they actually had the let’s see it must have been London
Olympic games like 2012 I think and and at Nationals they like announced the whole Olympic team that I’d made made the team that year so it was um Todd Wells Leah Davidson Georgia GS and then Sam Schultz and they like brought them to the stage and they’re like this is
Our Olympic team um for TW London 2012 and I was like oh my God this is an Olympic sport and I was always the kid like Olympics was on I wanted to watch like I thought it was the coolest thing ever so then I was like whoa and so I’m
Pretty sure I was like 13 when I was like I want to do this and I want to be an Olympian and so it’s kind of been just like I think once you have that Vision it’s literally been people are like how are you motivated like all this
Stuff it’s like well I knew what I wanted at a pretty young age and it’s just been like slowly progressing year after year and um it’s just been so fun like it’s the best sport ever too I get to travel to these amazing places I get
To ride outside all day long um so it’s really just been something I’ve absolutely loved and yeah wow because I I know that Utah has the biggest Nika league as well so that’s why I kind of asked a little bit of that Nika thing um kind of wild that there’s yeah I didn’t
Know that there was this many races going on there like during the weekdays and everything like that and um it’s quite interesting like for me I see the Olympics as this weird like it’s insane like you can go to it you’re so badass and this and that but like the athletes
Don’t get paid anything for it but you’re representing it’s a weird area right like I don’t I don’t know how to explain that what what is that feeling like to you like maybe when you did find out that there wasn’t as much money to go to the Olympics or whatever it is
Right like but you want to go it’s your goal right like where does that put you yeah yeah um I think I mean in our sport it’s definitely unique because i’ say I mean I think for definitely as an American athlete and I think maybe not our sport as much compared to like
Swimming or you know all these like big and field events but for sure if you’re like an Olympic champion I think it changes yeah what H or if you’re an Olympic medalist I think it definitely changes like your life a little bit for sure and especially as an American for
Sure it’s like Team USA if you win gold like that’s like that’s a big deal in the US you know um so I think it definitely can change things for sure but I think that I definitely wouldn’t be in this sport if it was all for the
Money you know it’s it’s still cross country none of us would be S here that was a dumb question Austin I don’t believe in any dumb question it kind of hurts money that like I mean I feel like it’s a such a prestigious High thing
That does it is like you how many people would you say that there is that have it that have could say that they’ve won the Olympics but yet like you also have to live and buy a house and buy food for yourself right so it’s like where do you
Put your priority list of what do you do for that right that’s what I’m kind of saying yeah you know kind of but as she as she just said she’s she races bicycles it’s not exactly not exactly I get it I get it I get it I’m just I’m
Just saying it’s I wish that there was more money for the ones that win the Olympic has there ever been a mountain biker on the weedos box what what’s it called the weedies box or the the what is that so I don’t know there’s definitely has
A Ry for sure I knew offered it before I won’t tell their story for them but they were offered a spot but one of their sponsors denied it actually cereal brand or like how does that work oh it’s got to be a parent company it was a conflict for sure yeah
My God interesting yeah can you say what the sponsor was that didn’t that didn’t like it no I think that would give a lot away rff barff oh okay well when when we lose you here in about five minutes we’re going to try to tap into who this really is so
Thanks for that info um great cool um yeah so that’s all I got oh come on all right so we have you for about I know you have a hard stop here going with us we have you about for like five more minutes and stuff like that um
Kind of I wanted to tap in you know I noticed that like it’s kind of similar question that we had with or bevens was maybe not question but it was like with blevens was telling us that he is gearing up and not doing like a cape epic and things like that is because
He’s going for the Olympics nextt is that a similar thing for you is that why we didn’t see you because I know that you won it it was 2022 I believe um yeah and so that’s why we didn’t see you there this year yeah yeah yeah the cape epic is
Legit it looks really cool from the outside and it is really cool as a racer like I would go back for sure but it is it’s insane I don’t know if you guys are on like training Peaks or anything do you know like TSS scores or anything
Like that yeah maybe yeah so for me it was like every single day was over 300 TSS and one day was almost 400 TSS and that’s for eight days so it was like it was legit and you’re mountain biking you know it’s technical terrain like it can
Be super hot or you know Chris race the year where it was like pouring rain they were like riding through Rivers so it takes a toll on the body yeah and that’s what happened to me in 2022 actually like I um had a really hard time like
Returning back to World Cup Race speed it took me a long time to get back there and luckily like it it slowly built up like throughout the season but the first like I went we raced actually in Brazil right after the cape epic and we had the short Trek races before the cross
Country it was like the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life because I’ve been racing three plus hours yeah for eight days and it was so hard and I think like the fitness Boost from it is for sure a thing like Nino does it every
Year um Sophia the teammate that I raced with at the cepic she’s racing lifetime now and she absolutely uses it like a key part of her training for the season so I that definitely happened like I had my best one of my best results like some
Of my best results that year um but I think it’s just how you manage it and it’s also such an unknown like you don’t know how long the stages will be how hot it will be um so it’s a very uncontrolled training camp and I think
You can replicate a lot of that in training without you know having to go to South Africa and like race through the mountains like for hours on end so um it is epic and I I suggest like anybody that can do it should definitely go and try it out because it’s an
Incredible event to partake in for sure um but it is no joke so train well and prepare survive it’s hard yeah yeah know I’ve heard of a some top athletes that have gone to it and then just basically had to drop out because you are wrecked by those last couple days it’s just
Brutal yep yeah yeah and you get sick too there’s so much going on yeah it’s it’s it’s the full adventure for sure it is epic gape epic there we go nice I love it anyone else want to fire one off before we lose her I mean I feel like I
Got I got a lot of questions I know can can we have you back on like later in the season there we go absolutely it’s so fun chatting you guys ask good questions actually you threw me some curve balls that was awesome but also the note should I think I got two oh
Those are good question bons and Austin only got one oh that’s a good question so I’m just man just hey brought I brought up the step up we will always remember that forever yeah yeah yeah so maybe next year I’ll be throwing whips or something so then it’ll be even
Better one of your coaching segments yeah yeah seriously well Haley thank you so much for giving us your time that was amazing yeah absolutely it was great to chat with you all and hopefully we chat again yeah yeah I know I would love to have you on later in the season for sure
Yeah let’s get in some deeper Dives for sure I Like It Cool time don’t close your window browser after you leave we cannot lose this recording Yes sounds good but Haley’s allowed to hit leave like the red button right yes yes but you just can’t then close your browser
Yeah don’t close your window yes yes all right yes Save the content thank you so much Haley J congratulations have a good one you ch ch man we held it together we did I mean kind of those are two badasses right what you mean kind of [Â __Â ] but those
Are two bad J you switched rooms in the middle of this podcast lost your mic stand and drinking multiple beers yes I’m still on my only one beer I gu it’s school night amazed I’m amazed I I just switched from one side of the room to
The other the light was better I was going to fidget with that the whole time it was best I know it was uh distracting and I apologize but it was best it was pulling the bandaid off just like for a minute I thought the cookies were kicking in or
Something oh always wow always wow yeah yeah that was great man that was crazy I feel like all of these guys that we’ve talked to just for all of our podcasts we could talk to for so much longer and that’s that’s pretty cool man we have so many cool opportunities to talk to
Genuinely rad humans that have so much going on and so much going for themselves and it’s pretty fun man it’s pretty entertaining and pretty I think inspiring for me as a writer as a creative whatever like it’s cool listening to people’s stories and why they do what they do and and just be
Involved in how in seeing how passionate they truly are about about these things and I I feel like if that was anything that I got from this is is obviously Tai is great too but Haley and and Christoper are like so so passionate about what they’re doing and and and I
Think that that’s pretty apparent I really feel like I suck on a bike now knowing that Levens can beat me with one ear you I mean come on just yeah that’s that’s a weird one Austin sorry I am blown away though that he he could only
Hear out of one ear um ashy viik was deaf and she could probably still beat you on a dirt bike Crawford catrick andon on the best that hurts that hurt no no I think that that was yeah it’s pretty mind balling and I I think that
With like the level that they work at and stuff and the way that they training is that that’s what’s really interesting to me and what causes them the distractions like talking with Haley with regards to like hey if you need to build your brand on the social media
Level and all that kind Etc then is that going to be distracting you know and how does that because I feel like it would bloody hell like when I’m in the like when I was shooting fulltime it was just like once I was in the photography
Season or whatever for me I didn’t want to be distracted by social media I didn’t want to open it up and look at where’s XYZ photographer or who’s doing what or what project somebody else has like I didn’t want that distraction I just wanted to focus on these are my
Clients my job you know that’s why they kic that’s why they kicked you off for a while yeah that was it I was just so intense yeah that was it was but uh yeah I mean it is also crazy too to see how much the XC racer has changed right like
You were saying with the road a ro could kind of come over and dominating that now they need Enduro downhill like skills right like Jamesy was touching on that pretty good like she’s literally taking part of her days to train for you know riding that type of stuff instead
Of just pounding miles yeah and it’s even more impressive when people like Tom pidcock and and Matthew Vanderpool come over and our full and psych cross guys and yeah win it’s I mean they’re at they’re all all of them I mean they have to be so well-rounded and they’re
Pinnacle athletes man it’s incredible yeah yeah that was super fun I love that the one comment when you guys were saying about the ri jeans and the you know or Tai was saying about that for like the the one weekend races and I was like that’s [Â __Â ] Jamesy right there
You I’ve seen you with ripped jeans and just [Â __Â ] murdering professional Enduro Racers up the hill you were just like I there were full length jeans though it wasn’t like there were jean shorts and the crutch was blown out much like the majority of my pants I’ve got
Thunder thighs and when I jump on a bike they’re just like yeah any who um no I can’t remember I was going with us I was just defending myself on my thunder thighs um but yeah can we go into some current events cuz I want to talk about
Some of that stuff oh gosh should we talk about crank works or just a little bit yeah jamy what do you know about it anything I don’t know anything more than you guys just crazy though didn’t right first off PR wild first off we got to
Give the flowers to the people that they that deserve them the chicks that’s badass dude I’m so happy and so like it’s pretty absolutely insane that uh and just we explain it a little bit right progression of women’s uh slope style is here it’s it’s real this crank
Works is uh it’s the first fimb or whatever it’s called gold level event um I think it was was it Diamond level Diamond I don’t know whatever the highest one is sure I don’t know anyways I think it was a diamond but I could crank Works has women’s slope style and
They were sending it and it was pretty sick and I think that that was about the best thing that happened to crank Works um because some bad things kind of didn’t also or bad things went down the guys decided hey as they’re already there we’re not we’re not going to drop
Our runs because we need more money we need this to be more organized we need weather guarantees we need food or whatever accommodations um paid for and they put their foot down and they didn’t ride and then the women stepped up and exactly honestly if if if anything came out of
That I think that the coolest part of of all of that is that it put all of the light I mean kind of kind of took a little bit away the the guys stepping away but yeah I think it was cool to give the women their stage and allow
Them to show off what they got going on yeah no I don’t think it’s a case of them like uh like stepping up like they weren’t going to already even if the dudes were I think it was super sick it was really EAS they could have easily
Said hey I don’t want to do it as well right yeah and I think that there there’s there’s a fair amount of stuff like behind the curtain that we don’t know all the details on with regards to those conversations and how long the conversations have been going on with
The between the athletes and organizers and stuff like that and I do think that it was sick to still have um yeah it was it was a awesome event and watching the women ride the course and everything just uh going back to Caroline’s super Superman the Superman seat grab I
Believe it was yeah uh yeah that was [Â __Â ] dope to see has and then obviously uh Robin like just like everything and all all the Riders and even the stuff that we were seeing from the dudes before um they decided to step back um I think that it’s always a
Really fun event and it’s going to be interesting to see how crank Works Cano works with this and talks with the athletes the male athletes for the next one and um because I don’t know like again we don’t know all the details but I I just can’t yeah there’s a lot
There’s a lot of things that I think that the athletes are asking for that are very reasonable and I know the when it comes down to the organizers it’s definitely a big stage it’s a big opportunity it’s a big opportunity for a lot of the sponsors you got to remember
Some of the sponsors like SRAM for example they’ve got their logo all over that Bloody place and then they’ve got athletes AAL um yeah and so Eric I think is still on tram and so and rock shock so it’s like well how does a company like that handle that like okay well
This was going to be a huge amount of airtime however is the airtime just like we have to drop at this time because this is when it goes live and this is when we can get the most amount of dollars and this this and this or do you
Work around the weather schedule the wind coming in that kind of stuff and say okay let’s run it earlier or whatever or later in the day whatever it may be and then work with all right it’s not going to be live when we said it was
Going to be live it’s going to be live a different time and people can record it because we live in this day and age I know I know that like I’m going off on the tangent and everything but true but I mean what about it’s the spectators
That are driving up and seeing it too yeah there’s a lot of juggling going on there yeah absolutely and and and that definitely sucks for sure I mean could you imagine driving for 4 hours away and you show up and they’re like oh the weather was good at 8: a.m. so they just
Decided to drop at 8: a.m. and you’re like yeah what thing said 6 pm. the whole time like I just got I was a couple hours early yeah no and there’s definitely a lot like and it does go back to like going back to the conversations about XC it’s like I feel
Like a big thing to get more people racing XC is more having The Spectator friendly the introducing people to the sport and then also having things at the race for spectators to do that’s outside of just standing on the course and watching you know and absolutely Spectators definitely drive a lot of
This industry um people want to go out and watch their favorite Riders race or compete in slop style um competitions and those are the people that are buying the bikes and are buying the stuff so it is a juggling act for sure but uh I feel like me personally and again I’ll always
Say I don’t know my ass for my elbow but I feel like the Riders definitely had some really good points and I’m sure the the organizers also had some really good counterpoints as well um I just I know being go ahead sorry why would you like
I guess the question is is why would you get on that plane if they didn’t have that figured out I mean like well tell them though like Hey we’re going to get this figured out when you get here well no because these conversations have be going on for
Multiple years so it is a case of them like the athletes still go into these things and maybe just maybe again I don’t know anything about this but maybe it just got to a point where they were like okay this is the last step this is
How we can really show crank works we mean business about these um these things that we need these additional things that we need as athletes to go out there yeah but then do you just give your sponsor that just paid Seven Grand to get you down there just give them the
Old bird or what what’s going on yeah that’s what I’m trying to say like but from a sponsor’s point of view I feel like it’s kind of yeah there are going to it’s it’s a tough one don’t get me wrong but I feel like it’s more of a
Case of like the way okay so let’s just take and I know that we shouldn’t go by anything on this but like pink bite comments it’s a gauge right and the amount of athletes yeah there’s definitely the people and I couldn’t I couldn’t be asked going through all of
Them but the highlights that I kind of picked out were there was a lot of like okay yeah this is support there was a lot of a uh people that seemed like athletes that were in the comments as far far as like not AST turfing but like
As far as like athletes from outside uh outside this 16 or group of 15 or 16 uh that stepped back but um they they’re in the comments like yeah this is a part of it like you and Spencer you’re an athlete you know like how it comes down
To the dollars how you can get to races yeah but I feel like I’m kind of rambling on this but what the point I’m trying to get to is that I feel like this is a good opportunity for a sponsor to say I stand behind my athlete in this
Scenario they do perform at this level and I I think from a marketing point of view that is kind of the best Avenue for a sponsor to kind of go and you’re right yeah the athlete does have it in the contract to appear at XYZ competitions
Each year they need to do XYZ content or whatever their contract may say but I do think that this is one of those kind of out of the out of the box kind of situations where a sponsor can be supportive of the athletes and say yeah this this kind of [Â __Â ] sucks right
Now but you guys stood up for your contradictory to like what you just said like this like sh Shram is being mad at crank works because well no no no I say that no no no I’m saying I was saying no I don’t I think that SRAM is in this
Tough position because they’re one of the title sponsors of crank works and then they also have a thetes like stram to my knowledge has not given any kind of indication on where they are with anything with regards to this so I’m just using them as an example because
Their logos everywhere but and they also have the top athletes or some of the top athletes in everyone’s in a weird [Â __Â ] place on that it’s a weird place but I I feel like for the well go back to the Rampage when all the guys at
Rampage were like we’re not going to do this unless we get our I I don’t ever want to call them demand but unless we get our what we’re asking for from the like appearance fees travel fees money to pay their Builders to be out there
For two weeks do you have to pay uh at crank Works in slope style what is the entry fee do you actually have to pay that or like because I feel like there’s only them right I don’t know what the entry fee is but yeah they they do have
An entry oh they do really yeah okay wow how much is it to win cuz they bump said like 30,000 right no bumped it up to 30 grand I think 30 for for the series yeah yeah is that maybe maybe it’s 15 and a or yeah maybe
It’s I think it’s 10 to win five second two third or something like that and split split evenly across men women yeah yeah it’s so for people that are kind of we’ve kind of rambled on there for a second we kind of missed it uh this weekend uh crank Works which is
A large series probably the largest for slope style you would say right and and pump track and all the other ones kind of in a circle um the men in the slope style decided not to do their session which I would say slop style personally
For me I don’t really care as much about slop style but uh people it’s the largest it’s the biggest biggest event of crank works for sure the biggest event of crank works and the Riders which the men’s side decided not to go in race because they were feeling unappreciated basically right like
Obviously taking advantage of I mean and I will say some of that that not some that whole entire course every year at each one of those is [Â __Â ] insane and when you crash you [Â __Â ] crash you know what what do they say there’s no circus without the clowns yep and the
Clowns group together on this one right yeah there there’s a Riders Union basically anyways yeah yeah just super interesting I wanted to hear your guys’s thoughts on that I think it’s a little I mean I don’t know this is a little bit off record but from my understanding
Like those European ones crank works spent a [Â __Â ] ton of money there’s a reason why they didn’t go back to Le after doing some of those to get these events started over there and I don’t know if they’re quite turning the profit that uh Whistler does um and that might
Be in Return of why the payout isn’t as big at those rounds or however it works out I don’t fully know the logistics of it but yeah it goes back to the topic kind of with ties be totally honest the race promoter getting kind of the short
End of the stick I don’t I mean sure obviously those guys are all making a living and stuff but I don’t think it’s as big as Brandon s salary or something you know like honestly I bet you yeah of those guys Jam James James I’m just using it as an example it’s not
I understand half of those they’re not making them a living yeah for sure understand that but at the yeah I don’t know I’m just trying to see both sides of the the coin here yeah we’re just merely talking about it yeah yeah but I I i’ I’m I’m not on either either side
Of the fence per se you look really perplexed James oh no no no I’ve got because I’m not like I don’t have like all my monitors he’s going to read some of he’s the exact reading the pink bite comments no it wasn’t that I was trying
To see if I could figure out I think I figured out that if you get overall like all the stops so king and queen of crank works you get $20,000 Al together for all four stu oh like that’s that’s like the series the series per round that’s why I was looking at
The thing that I watched on YouTube showed that they said they kicked it up another $10,000 this year I don’t know exactly where that went was that per round the whole overall yeah don’t know I think per round but but in order to win King of crank works you you have to
Do more than just or queen of crank works you have to do more than SL sty yeah you have to do dual slom dual speed style so that 10 wasn’t just towards a slope style I I think I think that 10 you’re talking about is just for slope style they were
Trying to trying meet some of the needs that they were asking I don’t know I know those guys I know the crank Works guys and in their little press release thing or press whatever you know what I’m talking about the little video they released press conference Darren did not
Look happy in that seat that that was not a fun conversation to yeah your your headliner like it’s like hey your headliner is not going to go you know little W just got [Â __Â ] out Little Wayne’s out and you’re like well then I want my [Â __Â ] money back you
Know oh my God his little DK so not it was a little dirt but all right let’s do it I I have no idea yeah definitely awkward weird situation that went down there um yeah I don’t know it’s just it’s it’s something it’s another thing for us to talk about it’s another thing
For the press to talk about and stuff and oh yeah I think that there’s going to like Spencer saying there’s both sides to the story and everything like that and we definitely don’t have much of the information and we’re just talking I think it’s fun to speculate
With it but no i’ I I hope that I hope that it it gets worked out because um like you guys know when you go to Whistler crank works and Whistler yeah the the crowd that’s there for a slope style is Second To None like there’s not that many people on the
Downhill course there’s not that many people who put pump track or dual slom which bums me out like I love all those events but slop style is the one that brings a lot of people out there there’s not that many people at a Supercross race it’s incredible traffic they say it’s like 80
It’s like a honestly the only way I could compare it to anything in Motocross is like going to Motocross the Nations yeah straight up that’s the only similarity I would say that it has yeah it’s pretty unreal like and I it’s yeah and I have I literally go and watch it
From like the pizza shop on the TV when I’m there I’m at the event but I go to like the pizza shop and watch it with it’s a cheaper beer I get food and I can sit there and watch every single piece of it right you know it’s the same way I
Watch Supercross too okay from my couch getting cheaper beer and Pizza you’re speaking James’s language right now yeah that’s right what are you talking about I’ve been riding my bike every day recently private bikes The Way Forward was talking about beer Shameless plug right there know I’ll definitely drink
Some beer too one one other thing the final thing I have is poor Jackson gold stone he just announced he’s out for un indefinitely until he can get back on the bike went through ACL MCL reconstruction you see who else just did their knee in too this weekend at Tennessee
National really fast kid on Frameworks uh I thought ASA was a hip thing was it a hip thing I thought he did his knee and maybe maybe he also I I feel like I read something about a HIIT but I do remember reading something about another
One of the super duper fast kids like I love that people are going to be tuning into this podcast to get all the information on mountain bike you got three hosts that are like oh dude no I don’t think that that was right maybe that was right I’m not sure um let me
See I don’t fractured his lilac ISAC Crest on his right hip yesterday pretty straightforward injury no need for surgery 8 to 12 week recovery time we’re told at UT Medical did you see oh yeah that was from did you see the story of him eating glazed donuts and Skittles
And burritos I mean fortnite afterwards I mean no I didn’t see that but hell yeah I’m looking at it right now dude he’s like a 15-year-old kid he can D he’s just living and I think that that’s what that statement that you were reading said it was like he’s got a lot
Of years ahead of him so eat all the Skittles you can yeah no big fan of that kid for sure super nice lad um yeah I mean we’re kind of losing some uh some top little downhill Legends right here Legends sorry not Legends sorry he’s he’s new he’s got plenty of time and
Then who was the lad there was somebody else like I know what you’re talking about that did another knee surgery really yeah and it it oh man I feel bad that I can’t even remember that so I’m one of my oh you just gave me [Â __Â ] yeah
That’s why I no I was giving all of us [Â __Â ] I was talking about all of us being bad at this all of us now okay no I did I said three hosts that don’t know their asses from their elbows I’m amazed you’re just holding this mic we’re at 2
Hours and 38 minutes like how’s I got way too distracted by messing with it um g no either way all right if you don’t have it in the next 5 Seconds we’re remov no I definitely don’t I’m on vital mtb.com all right all right you guys um
Anything else we should dig into that we missed on this one I feel like uh these are pretty much the Hot Topics we had some of the fastest racers the fastest racers in the United States nxc bikes on we talked XC racing Jamesy moved multiple locations during this and I’m
Just spreading my wings spreading your wings we’ll figure out your light on that mic one day hell of a pod boys let’s no that was good like I’m blown away that we had like that level of guests all of our guests like I know I shouted them but all of our guests that
We’ve had and we we live streamed it for our first one that’s your host oh I’m sure that we have one if one person’s watching it’s because it’s one of our computers we have four anyways let’s wrap this up yeah all right you guys thank you everyone for tuning in Jamesy
For being our co-host s Spencer wrath Camp being our co-host uh you can get this on all of your podcast platforms watch us on YouTube as well and we will be uploading onto Spotify so you can watch it as a video or a podcast on there thank you all for tuning in
Listening downloading subscribing and and follow us on Instagram Insider MTB thank you all and uh we’ll see you for some other ones yeah wind it down wind it down boys thank you all later bye-bye than