@@RichardWagenknecht Great idea. What does the UCI even bring to the table? A for profit company would do a much better job in every way; marketing, advertising, PR, money, and so much more. Governing bodies--especially those that have been around since 1900--are mired in beaerocracy, power hungry people, and extensive timelines to get anything done.
I think you have hit the nail on the head with that. I’m a non-mountain biker and I love watching all the Red Bull events as well as events like Darkfest. They should have a Redbull hardline in each country and to make it a tour. I’m assuming there’s a reason this hasn’t happened? But I really think people are missing a trick with us, but then what do I know?
@@danielanthony1054 i honestly think the reality for most privateers is that they will never win a race. They r there to actually get to the next level and get sponsors. So until they get to that stage, racing is pure passion. I doubt there is any money in it for them. They probs can earn more via youtube and instagram.
Yup. Once it was gone from redbull. But tbh all of cycling is like this. If you can access Eurosport (geo restricted) then its a mad scramble to find a broadcaster you use a vpn with.
Nooooo shhhiiiitttytt. It's mountain biking. Dirtbag mountain biking. How much do Olympic gold medal Rowing teams make. Smarten the f up. He is talking about not having outside sponsors as he is sitting in front of a redbull helmet. Shawn palmer and missy did effing work to make money and they succeeded and now everyone after them just expect that with bringing nothing to the table. Entitled generations. Gotta love it! How bout motocross. Top 3 or top 5 make a good paycheck. And look at the money moto brings in. It farrier surpasses mtb. Look at what deegans bring to the sport and what he makes in a year. You can even compare it to people like Ken block or Travis Pastrana. It does not matter what sport you look at, none of the athletes are bringing in top money unless they are special, no matter how much the sport brings in for money. Smarten up people!
@@tjpighin he literally said he makes good money from sponsors, such as redbull.. the whole argument is about prize money from the UCI being a joke. Listen up
@TheKryus having an entire mens field in the finals in crankworks protest and take a knee is a shame and a dark time for mountain biking. From what I hear and see, racers are starting to go down that road now too. That was a huuugggee middle finger to the fans and supporters of the sport. Stop being winy little brats and do your job. I'm not arguing that organizations like UCI and felt moyorsports are not corrupt and money hungry, but this is our corrupt society. Every industry including govt is waaayyyyy top heavy and corrupt. Cycling is no different
I can see $25k for 1st, $20k for 2nd, $15k for 3rd, plus expenses. 4th and 5th - $5k each. It's insane they don't have prize sponsors. Come on! Red Bull. Monster Energy. Any of the largest MTB manufacturers, Gatorade, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Fox, and soooo many more. DH should also be an Olympic sport. What does the UCI even bring to the table? It's insane how much the racers are disregarded.
The bonus is actually, BONE US. Mountain biking is my main hobby/sport. To understand how talented these athletes are is mind blowing. I hope these professional athletes, male and female make the money they deserve.
The sport felt bigger at UCI Worlds in Vail in 1994. Then the TV contracts went away. Current management is sinking it further. Such a shame with such brave, talented riders in such an amazing sport. 😢
It's your sponsors, they are gaming the system. They make hundreds of millions of dollars in sales based on your performance in these events. They know its in there best interest to sponsor riders instead of events. Even disc golfers make more than you. It's ridiculous but those riders with sponsors certainly aren't going to call them out on it are they? Just remember your one bad crash away from no sponsor you guys need to get organized and start making sponsors really pony up to grow the sport. You have maybe 12 years to make all your money in this sport It's not gonna happen with the way they are currently running the show.
Olympic XC, Snow-Cross and Snowboarding became viable only after video coverage was possible. Prior to the condensed, arena style outdoor courses there was near nonexistent professional video coverage. This was true for outdoor MX. Arena Super-Cross venues turned MX into an indoor sit down, numbered seat and high volume ticket sales opportunity. The riders no longer had three 40 min motos or open terrain to deal with and the spectators didn't need to hike the course. Video coverage was easy to set up just like for hockey and other arena sport. Other factors are the demographics of the participants and spectators. Tennis was traditionally for the wealthy, as was golf. Televised golf claimed the highest prices for ad spots of luxury brands like Rolex and Lexus. Not one Toyota ad. The viewers were typically older and had 'comfortable' money to spend and to support the venues. DH and Enduro is still buried in the forest on steep slopes where the comfortable money people won't venture. I believe that anything MTB should remain in the terrain where it was born. The video coverage must be improved, extended into markets beyond UA-cam, though it does a good job for niche markets. With 'most' MTB participants beginning at about 14yrs and aging out at about 52yrs, this puts a large financial load on the parents of families. Included in this is a 80/20 split on gender. Parents want to ride too and still cover all the other family expenses. This leaves the advertisers to draw revenue from product sales from this socioeconomic market. It appears to me that very few non-MTB product brands have associated themselves with our sport. Diversify the sources of support to improve the rewards earned by our riders. Finding more lifestyle related support could lead to the successes like Red Bull's extreme sports promotion demonstrates. It may need to be a multi-branded partnership that's needed. We must gain support form the product manufactures of the things we all buy that are not specifically MTB gear and equipment. These retailers and brands need our patronage and long term loyalty. If they see us and know of us, shouldn't they support us? Several thousand written requests would help them notice us. Look back at the very early (1903) history of the Tour de France. Scaling to current values, we are hardly doing better after 30 years than they were. They diversified the sources of support eventually were broadcast on live TV.
The issue is there is not enough fan base for sponsors to get involved. The sport needs to generate enough money overall to pay the athletes. I love MTB and admire the best athletes, but also understand the popularity isn’t there to generate more prize money.
If you compare the viewership to a DH world cup and three weeks of the tour de France the prize money makes sense. The Tour is one of the most watched sporting events in the world.
@@garrettgibson8835 true but, there is a $553,500 difference in prize money. shouldn't the world cup winner get at least a third of the tour? is $150,000 more realistic? 3,500 isnt even worth competing and the risk that comes with it.
I did a lot of amateur mtb marathons this year, and I have to admit, that racing is ridiculously expensive. An older race ready bike cost you min. 3000€. In the last 5 years everything got really expensive. Starting fee, gasoline, hotels, restaurants. I usually sleep in the car/tent, and don't visit expensive restaurants. But if you have a family with children, racing just isn't affordable anymore. And after a muddy race you have to take your whole bike apart. If you can't do that at home, you have to pay 200-300€ for a pro mechanic. Just for a single race. :o
What ! This should be at least 25K to 50K. There is close to 10 million MTB rider in the world with an increase of 4.3 percent in 2023. The risk and singularity of skills needed is way up than tennis. Mountain Bike Market Size was valued at USD 9.2 billion in 2023. The mountain bike industry is projected to grow from USD 11.2 Billion in 2024 to USD 22.3 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% during the forecast period (2024 - 2032). The global tennis industry is valued at approximately $6.19 billion. The tennis equipment market is projected to reach $7.59 billion by 2025. By the way the FFT lost close to 250 000 members last year. Tennis is declining. The season to date has enjoyed a cumulative reach of 83.6 million across all the UCI Mountain Bike World Series social media accounts, thanks to a growing audience that now extends to over 755,000 fans across these channels. How many viewers watch tennis? The 4 Grand Slam tournaments alone record an average of 400 million viewers annually. Other contests attract thousands to millions of viewers. Annual tennis viewers can amount to approximately 1 billion.
Rider Union. Part of the responsibilities of the union would be to get more money for the riders. Which means reaching out to gain more sponsorship. The initial jump is a little risky and would need a good number of top 50 riders to come together. I know a lot of riders, like BK, have been talking about it for years but are, rightly so, focusing on racing (which is their job) instead of organizing. It's an uphill battle at the start but hopefully someone with means will champion the cause.
Yes, the RIDERS should go get the larger international sponsors, if riders just sit back and wait to see who sponsors the sport then they’ll just get in-sport sponsors. A union is not some magical organization, it’s still comprised of riders
@@huckfin1598 Yes that's right. The Union would be composed of riders and other people who do this kind of thing professionally so the riders can focus on racing.
There is no solidarity for that. The slightest wiff of 'ooh, they might cut me from the team if I make waves' is preventing any sort of bravery from the riders using their one asset to make a positive change for themselves. Fear prevents progress.
@@jokermtb An unfortunate truth. That's what we heroize those with the courage to do so. Literally every freedom and right that we have today was won in this fashion. I remember BK saying that that fear could be mitigated if top riders stepped up.
@@aaavellone Yeah - I kinda feel like BK got thrown under the bus a little bit. BK was all-in onnit (he does have a little bit of a shield around him), but predictably, the top shelf riders all slinked quietly away from making a fuss. It only serves to showcase how precarious the survival of this sport always is, no matter how fat and fed it seems sometimes during the ups n' downs. It could be worse!
Its gotta be really tough for the privateers. I feel like there is not enough exposure in the media for people around the world to see these races for it to grow. I love watching DH but have to wait to see just the highlights on youtube, which sucks!
I don't think price money is a problem as long as sponsor money is there. Remember that there are just a handfull of people that would benefit from prize money. A livable wage that allows you to go into races without worryinf if you can pay your bills after the weekend is much more important.
THE PAY HAS TO INCREASE! It is a must, professional curling is 59,000.00 Canadian to 170,000.00 Canadian... these aren't even dangerous risky athlete's and they get overpaid because of the saturation of sponsers outside the sport. I would love to see a mtb athlete take in 50k or even 100k it has to happen, so not right it ain't already.
😂 its actually a joke Imagine riders started to show up on 2000 dollar bikes to the race 😂 Welp... thats what i could afford from second place prize... not gonna break a 10k+ bike and myself for 3.5k dollars...
It's about viewership. If the sport doesn't draw a HUGE crowd, then they won't pay the athletes. I know you're from Europe, but I'll use the WNBA for example. The women players get 1/10th of what the men NBA players do. The attendance for women is generally 1/10th of what NBA's attendance per game is. If MTB world cup could figure out how to draw an enormous crowd that brought in hundreds of thousands/millions of euros/dollars, then the competitors could demand more of a purse
Downhill mtb is a great product that the UCI does nothing with, it could be hugely popular and more mainstream with the right marketing and backing. Sadly here in Australia we have one of the greatest ever in Sam Hill and most Aussies have never heard of him which is a real shame
The problem is exposure.... in the big picture, advertising dollars have weight when millions of eyes are on an event. DH rocks but how many people in the world watch it?
It’s also just not relatable. Ski, tennis, and road biking is stuff people of all ages do leisurely so the audience is huge. DH is almost like BMX age demographic wise, where the riders are all pretty young and wild. And beyond that age cohort, not many participate in DH specifically as a recreational sport. It doesn’t exactly attract the country club crowd that supports ski, XC, road biking, and tennis.
compating it to skiing, tennis etc ain't apples and apples. Specialized Gravity pays Finn a sizeable salary, I assume. prize money comes on top as a bonus. whereas in skiing asfaik you make prize money only + whatever personal sponsors and endorsements you have. yes, MTB prize money is not quiete big enough. but if you want to talk skiing money you also need to accept the concequences. like not making a dime when injured.
When Red Bull ran the show, they had outside of the sport sponsors like Mercedes for a few years. But somebody pocketed that money as it did not go into prize payouts... 😏 RB still has outside sponsors for their own events now and they pay a little to much better than at world cups. I think the promoter of a race series should pony up 2/3 of an appropriate price money pool plus 1/3 from the venue host. But I dont see any changes if riders wont start using their leverage or competing series start eating away the cake by being more attractive to teams. Since WBD seems to plan on alienating a lot of teams with riders who arent seated in the peanut gallery, it might happen sooner than we think...
Yeah that's madness. Also, how much do the people that work for the organisation earn? Your prize money is probably 1 month wage of the commentators 🙈 if you all went in strike about it they'd have to address it. It's sad to think that you have to do something so drastic for people to listen
People saying the sport is too small. Does anyone have the numbers? Would love to know the difference since red bull stopped the coverage. I don’t know but I see mtb youtubers with some pretty big audiences. If they actually exposed the sport it would help instead of keeping it behind a paywall. Who wants to sponsor an event that only the most die hard fans will see!? They need to take some inspiration from f1 and WWE. Pinkbike and Cathro the only ones bringing the drama and behind the scenes analysis to build hype before the event.
Get the sport on ESPN, or at least ESPN2 and it'll start to draw more viewers, and thus more sponsors and prize money. I don't even know how to watch these races, though admittedly, while I'm an avid mountain biker, I don't have much interest in racing. But a sponsor needs to know they're going to get a good ROI from sponsoring the event, they aren't going to pay $1 million for their logo to show to a few thousand spectators.
The sport isnt nearly as big as even skiing. And Skiing is SMALL! Want big money? The sport needs to increase 10x then. Just look at lift ticket sales to skiing. Then compare that to ticket sales and TV revenue to something like Football. MTB will never be that. But that’s what makes it good because if it got huge trails would be toast.
Prize money for a win in DH isn’t comparable to an organized sport like Basketball as mentioned by Finn. DH racing is hindered by the fans ability to watch/observe the race AT the venue. Likewise… the tv rights are privatized and controlled by an app and the need to pay to watch is absurd.
(It's not coming) Back when the big car companies, food brands, etc. were pumping tons of $ into the sport in the early 1990's, we saw purses like Finn is wishing for.....Thing is, that's already happened and I really don't know how the industry folks are going to recreate that sponsor $-boom from way back then.....
While 3 500 is outrageous you can't compare mtb against football which is the most popular sport in the world. In sport world what you earn should depend on how much money you bring in to the organization. Seems like ppl can't get the grip on that notion.
These guy are not paid nearly enough for risking injury or long term injury. I know larger numbers of the population watching the sport will fund it but still its not good the way it stands. Look at how Canondale has treated Tinker Juarez now hes older.
I worked in a ski shop and the average ski enthusiast is cheap. You’re selling entry level boots and skis all day long. An entry level ski, boot and poles is gonna cost less than an entry level hard tail MTB. $1000CAD. Racer families definitely have a bit of cash, parents buying their 10 year olds 4 pairs of skis and travelling to all the different races lol. And I’m in Ontario. I’d imagine it’s better in BC or Colorado, etc
@@NorthernSkiAndCycle yeah, but Billionaires ski… companies put their money where the business at. No billionaire rides mtb. Apparently Road and some XC rider makes more than DH riders. (More rich people ride Road and XC)
The UCI has strategically set up all their disciplines to have prize purses grossly under standards. Tour de France and road racing is a joke too. UCI have pushed the industry teams to fund and build the prize money bonuses. FIS has done a way better job in base level standards. The local organizers of each FIS is responsible for prize money as part of commitment to host - and should be the same for MTB World Cup.
It's the same in AMA SX and MX. The prize money from the AMA is embarrassing. I guarantee that someone in the event organisers team is making more than the #1 rider. It's a joke
This is ridiculously low prize money!! I thought it was about 10k for a win which I would consider way too low as well for what you racers put on the line!! Really didn't know it was that bad!!
WFT???? My amateur bike costs more than that all-in? Are they fucking kidding me? What did a "director" of competition get? Probably that 50k you are talking about
See this so the problem with the sport. These rider expect OTHERS to bring in the sponsors, they think they just need to show up and ride their bike. Acting like the women soccer and basketball player. If you want the larger international sponsors GO GET THEM and bring them to the sport. Bike brands are not going to do it, the rider will have to. Otherwise you’re going to just have to settle with just bike brands sponsoring the sport and keeping it just a bike brand sport
Get someone to pay you a dime every time you say the word "like". hahaha !! I would have thought prize money would be on par with other styles of racing.
Riders need to boycott the UCI. Plain and simple. No way they should be getting less than $10,000 for a W in 2024 and it should probably be closer to 20k imo. Anyone saying it’s about viewership, UCI is to blame for that, mountain biking is more popular than ever and millions more would watch if it was more accessible. The UCI is just a money grubbing, corrupt organization
Mtb is not profitable. The pnky reason the resorts have bikes is multi revenue stream. Golf and chair lift senic rides. Bikes just fit a chairlift that's already running.
It's shocking to hear this. Specially when footballers get millions for kicking ball of air around. When they fall over cry like a p---y ! Then there's pro mtb athletes getting paid peanuts for more risk etc. mtb athletes should be on footballers wage and vice versa.
Its not really shocking. Football is a very accessible sport. And you to would fall over for nothing, if it could potentially make ur team win, making you get a 100k bonus check! There is literally hundreds of millions who play football. Downhill is a niche sport. You need a decent wallet to afford a bike, a vehicle for transport, a place to do it (I personally have to drive 3 hours for lift based downhill), lift tickets etc... MTB in general is simply not as accessible, and therefore wont be appealing enough for sponsors.
It's not really shocking at all. The sport is smaller than skiing like Finn said. In no way will mtb ever be paid like footballers. The money is just simply not there
you get paid a lot for sponsorship but for how long? You will get old and potentially injured and no more sponsorship. Hopefully you are smart enough to invest
No one watches a sport that only rich kids can play and this decides whether or not it's worth anything. The reason that MTBing has not grown is because the vendors who should be propping it up are pricing people out and lining their pockets at the expense of the sport. MTBing is a mess, sorry.
As mich as evetone is chiming in with the complaints here... the money flows donwards here. Clearly there isn't enough spectators/viewers/supporters so peoplearen't paying the money. Why would they be paying 16x 3.5k if the revenue that the sport is briing in isn't generating the funds to be able to pay that? I'm not saying it isnt talented or exciting but find creative ways to bring new inrerest in the sprort and the money will follow, The guy in this video at the start appears to just be bitching becaue he does gnarly shit but doesn't get paid enough for it. I mean, you chose this path, and if you ultimately think it isnt for you on the money terms you can find other things. You stiull get paid, yopu have fame, fans, and a reputation and you get to ride a bike for a livng. Just becaue you're good at soemthing doesn't mean you get equal treatment across the broad. If you wanted to be a multimilionare, maybe picking MTB ridding wasn't the best choice.
All this with Redbull on his helmet. Professional racing isn’t about prize money. The money comes from the sponsors and advertising. Also viewership. Don’t get on the bus with the women’s soccer team and WNBA. You want to make more then sell tickets. You could have a personality that draws viewers and do thing that make people want to tune in! or you can cry on podcast.
Oh boohoo. Some of us bust our asses working our whole lives and never make thousands upon thousands of dollars. MTB is a hobby and this payouts are commensurate to that. Simple. Join another sport if all ya want is the money. Rather elementary. Meh, I was done with UCI anyway. This just seals the deal.
Prize money seems appropriate to be honest. Riders refuse to work together on issues, the sport itself is pretty dead and lame, what do you expect to get? If you want prize money you have to create it yourselves, it’s a niche sport that I love, but it doesn’t have the commercial value that deluded people think it does. It’s an insane spectacle but it’s misrepresented and blaming everyone else is just lazy. Grow up and out sport will grow with you. If you genuinely don’t like the way things are then you would force real change. ✌️
i agree. watching timed DH runs does not have the entertainment value of something like supercross or F1. an event like rampage is massively more marketable than just another world cup round. Unless there is some way for the riders to market themselves outside of their 3min race runs, there simply is not enough money brought into the sport. And even with something like a drive to survive show being made about the sport, this sport simply doesnt have the rivalries and other drama to bring random viewers in. i love the sport, but not everything has the potential to bring in million dollar prize pouches.
F*ck the World Cup and let Red Bull start a pro downhill league. Then the money will come.
@@RichardWagenknecht Great idea. What does the UCI even bring to the table? A for profit company would do a much better job in every way; marketing, advertising, PR, money, and so much more. Governing bodies--especially those that have been around since 1900--are mired in beaerocracy, power hungry people, and extensive timelines to get anything done.
I think you have hit the nail on the head with that. I’m a non-mountain biker and I love watching all the Red Bull events as well as events like Darkfest. They should have a Redbull hardline in each country and to make it a tour. I’m assuming there’s a reason this hasn’t happened? But I really think people are missing a trick with us, but then what do I know?
Imagine as a privateer you travel to a world cup, and your prize money just about covers your ticket
That's only if you win though, right.
@@downrodeo yep, but at least there's more motivation to do your best and win
@@danielanthony1054 i honestly think the reality for most privateers is that they will never win a race. They r there to actually get to the next level and get sponsors. So until they get to that stage, racing is pure passion. I doubt there is any money in it for them. They probs can earn more via youtube and instagram.
@@danielanthony1054I don't think any of them do that for money though..
@@frantz4318 nobody does but it's a bonus you know, you risk your physical health for entertainment of others, might as well get a good prize money
Bro this is insane 3,500 is criminal
i think theres just not enough interested in it thats why there is no price money......but yeah 3,5k is a joke from the uci
@@Proranissadly the truth, mtb is still small commercial dollar wise vs road cycling, ski racing, tennis, etc.
The world cup circuit needs to separate from UCI. As a fan I struggle to even find a way to watch these races, whoever is in charge is a total idiot.
Yup. Once it was gone from redbull.
But tbh all of cycling is like this. If you can access Eurosport (geo restricted) then its a mad scramble to find a broadcaster you use a vpn with.
This money cant even get you a new bike
Hopefully the business I give Specialized, new 2023 Stumpy Pro, 5 pair of pants, 3 pair of shoes that some of my money goes to the Specialized riders.
Nooooo shhhiiiitttytt. It's mountain biking. Dirtbag mountain biking. How much do Olympic gold medal Rowing teams make. Smarten the f up. He is talking about not having outside sponsors as he is sitting in front of a redbull helmet. Shawn palmer and missy did effing work to make money and they succeeded and now everyone after them just expect that with bringing nothing to the table. Entitled generations. Gotta love it! How bout motocross. Top 3 or top 5 make a good paycheck. And look at the money moto brings in. It farrier surpasses mtb. Look at what deegans bring to the sport and what he makes in a year. You can even compare it to people like Ken block or Travis Pastrana. It does not matter what sport you look at, none of the athletes are bringing in top money unless they are special, no matter how much the sport brings in for money. Smarten up people!
@@tjpighin he literally said he makes good money from sponsors, such as redbull.. the whole argument is about prize money from the UCI being a joke. Listen up
@@TheKryus I was replying to this comment and people being entitled. "This money can't even get...."
@TheKryus having an entire mens field in the finals in crankworks protest and take a knee is a shame and a dark time for mountain biking. From what I hear and see, racers are starting to go down that road now too. That was a huuugggee middle finger to the fans and supporters of the sport. Stop being winy little brats and do your job. I'm not arguing that organizations like UCI and felt moyorsports are not corrupt and money hungry, but this is our corrupt society. Every industry including govt is waaayyyyy top heavy and corrupt. Cycling is no different
I can see $25k for 1st, $20k for 2nd, $15k for 3rd, plus expenses. 4th and 5th - $5k each.
It's insane they don't have prize sponsors. Come on! Red Bull. Monster Energy. Any of the largest MTB manufacturers, Gatorade, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Fox, and soooo many more. DH should also be an Olympic sport.
What does the UCI even bring to the table? It's insane how much the racers are disregarded.
The bonus is actually, BONE US. Mountain biking is my main hobby/sport. To understand how talented these athletes are is mind blowing. I hope these professional athletes, male and female make the money they deserve.
The sport felt bigger at UCI Worlds in Vail in 1994. Then the TV contracts went away. Current management is sinking it further. Such a shame with such brave, talented riders in such an amazing sport. 😢
I started watching DH the last couple years and it's awesome. Riders deserve a lot more so hopefully they figure it out.
Riders are giving it all and risking life changing crashes and deserve much more prize money. Hopefully the sport will figure it out.
It's your sponsors, they are gaming the system. They make hundreds of millions of dollars in sales based on your performance in these events. They know its in there best interest to sponsor riders instead of events. Even disc golfers make more than you. It's ridiculous but those riders with sponsors certainly aren't going to call them out on it are they? Just remember your one bad crash away from no sponsor you guys need to get organized and start making sponsors really pony up to grow the sport. You have maybe 12 years to make all your money in this sport It's not gonna happen with the way they are currently running the show.
Olympic XC, Snow-Cross and Snowboarding became viable only after video coverage was possible. Prior to the condensed, arena style outdoor courses there was near nonexistent professional video coverage. This was true for outdoor MX. Arena Super-Cross venues turned MX into an indoor sit down, numbered seat and high volume ticket sales opportunity. The riders no longer had three 40 min motos or open terrain to deal with and the spectators didn't need to hike the course. Video coverage was easy to set up just like for hockey and other arena sport.
Other factors are the demographics of the participants and spectators. Tennis was traditionally for the wealthy, as was golf. Televised golf claimed the highest prices for ad spots of luxury brands like Rolex and Lexus. Not one Toyota ad. The viewers were typically older and had 'comfortable' money to spend and to support the venues.
DH and Enduro is still buried in the forest on steep slopes where the comfortable money people won't venture.
I believe that anything MTB should remain in the terrain where it was born. The video coverage must be improved, extended into markets beyond UA-cam, though it does a good job for niche markets.
With 'most' MTB participants beginning at about 14yrs and aging out at about 52yrs, this puts a large financial load on the parents of families. Included in this is a 80/20 split on gender. Parents want to ride too and still cover all the other family expenses. This leaves the advertisers to draw revenue from product sales from this socioeconomic market. It appears to me that very few non-MTB product brands have associated themselves with our sport. Diversify the sources of support to improve the rewards earned by our riders. Finding more lifestyle related support could lead to the successes like Red Bull's extreme sports promotion demonstrates. It may need to be a multi-branded partnership that's needed.
We must gain support form the product manufactures of the things we all buy that are not specifically MTB gear and equipment. These retailers and brands need our patronage and long term loyalty. If they see us and know of us, shouldn't they support us?
Several thousand written requests would help them notice us.
Look back at the very early (1903) history of the Tour de France. Scaling to current values, we are hardly doing better after 30 years than they were. They diversified the sources of support eventually were broadcast on live TV.
The issue is there is not enough fan base for sponsors to get involved. The sport needs to generate enough money overall to pay the athletes. I love MTB and admire the best athletes, but also understand the popularity isn’t there to generate more prize money.
came here to say exactly this. more viewership equals more advertising money equals more spreading the wealth
He is right. The Tour de France prize for 1st place is $557,000 dollars. $3,500 dollars is a disgrace.
If you compare the viewership to a DH world cup and three weeks of the tour de France the prize money makes sense. The Tour is one of the most watched sporting events in the world.
@@garrettgibson8835 true but, there is a $553,500 difference in prize money. shouldn't the world cup winner get at least a third of the tour? is $150,000 more realistic? 3,500 isnt even worth competing and the risk that comes with it.
I did a lot of amateur mtb marathons this year, and I have to admit, that racing is ridiculously expensive. An older race ready bike cost you min. 3000€. In the last 5 years everything got really expensive. Starting fee, gasoline, hotels, restaurants. I usually sleep in the car/tent, and don't visit expensive restaurants. But if you have a family with children, racing just isn't affordable anymore. And after a muddy race you have to take your whole bike apart. If you can't do that at home, you have to pay 200-300€ for a pro mechanic. Just for a single race. :o
What ! This should be at least 25K to 50K. There is close to 10 million MTB rider in the world with an increase of 4.3 percent in 2023. The risk and singularity of skills needed is way up than tennis. Mountain Bike Market Size was valued at USD 9.2 billion in 2023. The mountain bike industry is projected to grow from USD 11.2 Billion in 2024 to USD 22.3 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% during the forecast period (2024 - 2032). The global tennis industry is valued at approximately $6.19 billion. The tennis equipment market is projected to reach $7.59 billion by 2025. By the way the FFT lost close to 250 000 members last year. Tennis is declining. The season to date has enjoyed a cumulative reach of 83.6 million across all the UCI Mountain Bike World Series social media accounts, thanks to a growing audience that now extends to over 755,000 fans across these channels. How many viewers watch tennis? The 4 Grand Slam tournaments alone record an average of 400 million viewers annually. Other contests attract thousands to millions of viewers. Annual tennis viewers can amount to approximately 1 billion.
Rider Union. Part of the responsibilities of the union would be to get more money for the riders. Which means reaching out to gain more sponsorship. The initial jump is a little risky and would need a good number of top 50 riders to come together. I know a lot of riders, like BK, have been talking about it for years but are, rightly so, focusing on racing (which is their job) instead of organizing. It's an uphill battle at the start but hopefully someone with means will champion the cause.
Yes, the RIDERS should go get the larger international sponsors, if riders just sit back and wait to see who sponsors the sport then they’ll just get in-sport sponsors. A union is not some magical organization, it’s still comprised of riders
@@huckfin1598 Yes that's right. The Union would be composed of riders and other people who do this kind of thing professionally so the riders can focus on racing.
There is no solidarity for that. The slightest wiff of 'ooh, they might cut me from the team if I make waves' is preventing any sort of bravery from the riders using their one asset to make a positive change for themselves. Fear prevents progress.
@@jokermtb An unfortunate truth. That's what we heroize those with the courage to do so. Literally every freedom and right that we have today was won in this fashion. I remember BK saying that that fear could be mitigated if top riders stepped up.
@@aaavellone Yeah - I kinda feel like BK got thrown under the bus a little bit. BK was all-in onnit (he does have a little bit of a shield around him), but predictably, the top shelf riders all slinked quietly away from making a fuss. It only serves to showcase how precarious the survival of this sport always is, no matter how fat and fed it seems sometimes during the ups n' downs. It could be worse!
Slalom world cups are $3000 euros I believe. Now boats are cheaper than bikes. Also a smaller sport. But there’s no money in “extreme sports”
Try 50,000 - 60,000 euros for ski World Cup win. Even for the women
Its gotta be really tough for the privateers. I feel like there is not enough exposure in the media for people around the world to see these races for it to grow. I love watching DH but have to wait to see just the highlights on youtube, which sucks!
I don't think price money is a problem as long as sponsor money is there. Remember that there are just a handfull of people that would benefit from prize money. A livable wage that allows you to go into races without worryinf if you can pay your bills after the weekend is much more important.
Coverage is a huge problem. And access to what coverage there is. People are interested.
THE PAY HAS TO INCREASE! It is a must, professional curling is 59,000.00 Canadian to 170,000.00 Canadian... these aren't even dangerous risky athlete's and they get overpaid because of the saturation of sponsers outside the sport. I would love to see a mtb athlete take in 50k or even 100k it has to happen, so not right it ain't already.
literally risking your life for peanuts
I’m shocked to know that UCI pay so little for a cup champion
😂 its actually a joke
Imagine riders started to show up on 2000 dollar bikes to the race 😂
Welp... thats what i could afford from second place prize... not gonna break a 10k+ bike and myself for 3.5k dollars...
It's about viewership. If the sport doesn't draw a HUGE crowd, then they won't pay the athletes. I know you're from Europe, but I'll use the WNBA for example. The women players get 1/10th of what the men NBA players do. The attendance for women is generally 1/10th of what NBA's attendance per game is.
If MTB world cup could figure out how to draw an enormous crowd that brought in hundreds of thousands/millions of euros/dollars, then the competitors could demand more of a purse
The world champs in 2022 had 35M global viewers, Wimbledon had 53M… so not that bad actually.
The wnba is actually even worse. They wouldn't even survive without funding from the NBA
Downhill mtb is a great product that the UCI does nothing with, it could be hugely popular and more mainstream with the right marketing and backing. Sadly here in Australia we have one of the greatest ever in Sam Hill and most Aussies have never heard of him which is a real shame
Look at the prizes from early esports versus now. I know biking wont scale that much, but still
The problem is exposure.... in the big picture, advertising dollars have weight when millions of eyes are on an event. DH rocks but how many people in the world watch it?
DH is very small sport. Look at the gravity sports audience - cant compare with ski, tennis or road cycling!
It’s also just not relatable. Ski, tennis, and road biking is stuff people of all ages do leisurely so the audience is huge. DH is almost like BMX age demographic wise, where the riders are all pretty young and wild. And beyond that age cohort, not many participate in DH specifically as a recreational sport. It doesn’t exactly attract the country club crowd that supports ski, XC, road biking, and tennis.
compating it to skiing, tennis etc ain't apples and apples. Specialized Gravity pays Finn a sizeable salary, I assume. prize money comes on top as a bonus. whereas in skiing asfaik you make prize money only + whatever personal sponsors and endorsements you have.
yes, MTB prize money is not quiete big enough. but if you want to talk skiing money you also need to accept the concequences. like not making a dime when injured.
This is different to hear, when all you see is race teams folding and bike factory’s closing down due to lack of sales. Just my .02 cents
When Red Bull ran the show, they had outside of the sport sponsors like Mercedes for a few years. But somebody pocketed that money as it did not go into prize payouts... 😏
RB still has outside sponsors for their own events now and they pay a little to much better than at world cups.
I think the promoter of a race series should pony up 2/3 of an appropriate price money pool plus 1/3 from the venue host. But I dont see any changes if riders wont start using their leverage or competing series start eating away the cake by being more attractive to teams. Since WBD seems to plan on alienating a lot of teams with riders who arent seated in the peanut gallery, it might happen sooner than we think...
How does it compare to XC MTB?
That's why sponsors matter
Yeah that's madness. Also, how much do the people that work for the organisation earn? Your prize money is probably 1 month wage of the commentators 🙈 if you all went in strike about it they'd have to address it. It's sad to think that you have to do something so drastic for people to listen
i think cyclocross world cup to win the overall is over $50000 and more in europe.
People saying the sport is too small. Does anyone have the numbers? Would love to know the difference since red bull stopped the coverage. I don’t know but I see mtb youtubers with some pretty big audiences. If they actually exposed the sport it would help instead of keeping it behind a paywall. Who wants to sponsor an event that only the most die hard fans will see!? They need to take some inspiration from f1 and WWE. Pinkbike and Cathro the only ones bringing the drama and behind the scenes analysis to build hype before the event.
Get the sport on ESPN, or at least ESPN2 and it'll start to draw more viewers, and thus more sponsors and prize money. I don't even know how to watch these races, though admittedly, while I'm an avid mountain biker, I don't have much interest in racing. But a sponsor needs to know they're going to get a good ROI from sponsoring the event, they aren't going to pay $1 million for their logo to show to a few thousand spectators.
there must be a difference in sponsorship earnings from biking to skiing though. Is it possible that bikers get more?
The sport isnt nearly as big as even skiing. And Skiing is SMALL! Want big money? The sport needs to increase 10x then. Just look at lift ticket sales to skiing. Then compare that to ticket sales and TV revenue to something like Football. MTB will never be that. But that’s what makes it good because if it got huge trails would be toast.
Prize money for a win in DH isn’t comparable to an organized sport like Basketball as mentioned by Finn. DH racing is hindered by the fans ability to watch/observe the race AT the venue. Likewise… the tv rights are privatized and controlled by an app and the need to pay to watch is absurd.
(It's not coming) Back when the big car companies, food brands, etc. were pumping tons of $ into the sport in the early 1990's, we saw purses like Finn is wishing for.....Thing is, that's already happened and I really don't know how the industry folks are going to recreate that sponsor $-boom from way back then.....
Yes $3500 is low, but not really a comparison skiing. More like x games snowboarding.
While 3 500 is outrageous you can't compare mtb against football which is the most popular sport in the world. In sport world what you earn should depend on how much money you bring in to the organization. Seems like ppl can't get the grip on that notion.
Do they have anything similar in bmx? How much a word cup winner would make?
These guy are not paid nearly enough for risking injury or long term injury. I know larger numbers of the population watching the sport will fund it but still its not good the way it stands. Look at how Canondale has treated Tinker Juarez now hes older.
putting 20k in prize money would help the athletes send it a bit harder too
If more people would care about Racing they would Make more. It is fair. You Make more you warn more.
Wow, local moto enduro hare scramble pays out that and this is on the world stage.
You guys need to some more help.
You know that there is zero price money in MXGP
All these things should be normalized by viewership. I don't think that Downhill mountain bike is a very big sport
Move to australia, with the exchange rate, thats almost $1mil.
More Ski audiences are super rich compared to mtb. Sponsors want that.
Debatable😅
I worked in a ski shop and the average ski enthusiast is cheap. You’re selling entry level boots and skis all day long. An entry level ski, boot and poles is gonna cost less than an entry level hard tail MTB. $1000CAD.
Racer families definitely have a bit of cash, parents buying their 10 year olds 4 pairs of skis and travelling to all the different races lol. And I’m in Ontario. I’d imagine it’s better in BC or Colorado, etc
@@NorthernSkiAndCycle yeah, but Billionaires ski… companies put their money where the business at. No billionaire rides mtb. Apparently Road and some XC rider makes more than DH riders. (More rich people ride Road and XC)
@@jackbauer562😂😂 i know when someone aint either in the buisness nor the sports,
@@kevinleclerc1749 yeah Mr Genius. 👏
You should be on danger money+
The UCI has strategically set up all their disciplines to have prize purses grossly under standards. Tour de France and road racing is a joke too. UCI have pushed the industry teams to fund and build the prize money bonuses. FIS has done a way better job in base level standards. The local organizers of each FIS is responsible for prize money as part of commitment to host - and should be the same for MTB World Cup.
I think the price money is the reason why these athletes stop early to go make videos.
man, in that case you gotta milk all those titles , accolades , sponsorships , social media
Red bull needs EWS back so we can watch races.
It's the same in AMA SX and MX. The prize money from the AMA is embarrassing.
I guarantee that someone in the event organisers team is making more than the #1 rider. It's a joke
Shocking prize money 100K easy!
Corn holed or pickleball get more airtime than all the mtn bike racing disciplines combined. UCI global marking is a joke for everything but the road.
pfff, i ride up ''and'' down hills most days for fuck all
when it's your job it's not the same, you need to survive and plan for future especially with the risk and short time span.
Why does bro look like 3gp Verstappen
This is ridiculously low prize money!! I thought it was about 10k for a win which I would consider way too low as well for what you racers put on the line!! Really didn't know it was that bad!!
Where did all the bike boom $$ go? Clearly not to the riders, mechanics or shop workers.
funny how there bikes are like 10k and the prize for first place cant even buy half there bike
WFT???? My amateur bike costs more than that all-in? Are they fucking kidding me? What did a "director" of competition get? Probably that 50k you are talking about
See this so the problem with the sport. These rider expect OTHERS to bring in the sponsors, they think they just need to show up and ride their bike. Acting like the women soccer and basketball player. If you want the larger international sponsors GO GET THEM and bring them to the sport. Bike brands are not going to do it, the rider will have to. Otherwise you’re going to just have to settle with just bike brands sponsoring the sport and keeping it just a bike brand sport
Get someone to pay you a dime every time you say the word "like". hahaha !! I would have thought prize money would be on par with other styles of racing.
bro wym bikes cost 10k, the money is there
Riders need to boycott the UCI. Plain and simple. No way they should be getting less than $10,000 for a W in 2024 and it should probably be closer to 20k imo. Anyone saying it’s about viewership, UCI is to blame for that, mountain biking is more popular than ever and millions more would watch if it was more accessible. The UCI is just a money grubbing, corrupt organization
jajajaj Ahora intentalo practicar en Latinoamerica, es un deporte solo para ricos
Mtb is not profitable. The pnky reason the resorts have bikes is multi revenue stream. Golf and chair lift senic rides. Bikes just fit a chairlift that's already running.
so sad to hear this
Come to think of it, it seems rediculus that people get paid at all to do sports 😛
There is no money. Jokes on you
Coverage of the events is going backwards
If you went and broke down the cost to have lift staff, maintenance staff, and the cost of turning the lift, yeah.. 3500k seems pretty decent.
Risk your life for 3500 euros, nah. But for pride alone, maybe.
It all starts with- who's watching, and how many?
35M viewers of world champs in 2022 for eg.
@@STEFANGARLICKI they really dont know wtf they talking about lol
@@kevinleclerc1749 These are official stats of total global viewership, look it up
get Elon into MTB.....
It's shocking to hear this. Specially when footballers get millions for kicking ball of air around.
When they fall over cry like a p---y !
Then there's pro mtb athletes getting paid peanuts for more risk etc.
mtb athletes should be on footballers wage and vice versa.
Its not really shocking. Football is a very accessible sport. And you to would fall over for nothing, if it could potentially make ur team win, making you get a 100k bonus check! There is literally hundreds of millions who play football. Downhill is a niche sport. You need a decent wallet to afford a bike, a vehicle for transport, a place to do it (I personally have to drive 3 hours for lift based downhill), lift tickets etc... MTB in general is simply not as accessible, and therefore wont be appealing enough for sponsors.
It's not really shocking at all. The sport is smaller than skiing like Finn said. In no way will mtb ever be paid like footballers. The money is just simply not there
Risk your life in a career to win 3500 Euro, f-that.
you get paid a lot for sponsorship but for how long? You will get old and potentially injured and no more sponsorship. Hopefully you are smart enough to invest
Also, the UCI is a terrible organisation that only really cares about men's road cycling.
No one watches a sport that only rich kids can play and this decides whether or not it's worth anything. The reason that MTBing has not grown is because the vendors who should be propping it up are pricing people out and lining their pockets at the expense of the sport. MTBing is a mess, sorry.
F1?
As mich as evetone is chiming in with the complaints here... the money flows donwards here. Clearly there isn't enough spectators/viewers/supporters so peoplearen't paying the money. Why would they be paying 16x 3.5k if the revenue that the sport is briing in isn't generating the funds to be able to pay that? I'm not saying it isnt talented or exciting but find creative ways to bring new inrerest in the sprort and the money will follow,
The guy in this video at the start appears to just be bitching becaue he does gnarly shit but doesn't get paid enough for it. I mean, you chose this path, and if you ultimately think it isnt for you on the money terms you can find other things. You stiull get paid, yopu have fame, fans, and a reputation and you get to ride a bike for a livng. Just becaue you're good at soemthing doesn't mean you get equal treatment across the broad. If you wanted to be a multimilionare, maybe picking MTB ridding wasn't the best choice.
All this with Redbull on his helmet. Professional racing isn’t about prize money. The money comes from the sponsors and advertising. Also viewership. Don’t get on the bus with the women’s soccer team and WNBA. You want to make more then sell tickets. You could have a personality that draws viewers and do thing that make people want to tune in! or you can cry on podcast.
Oh boohoo. Some of us bust our asses working our whole lives and never make thousands upon thousands of dollars. MTB is a hobby and this payouts are commensurate to that. Simple. Join another sport if all ya want is the money. Rather elementary. Meh, I was done with UCI anyway. This just seals the deal.
Call of duty pro winners are rich and they sit on their ass and play cod
Pretty comical when riders whine about the purse…when they do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT! Either sack up and do something or STFU!
In the next 10 years, inflation would also be so high! 100k price money will be like 1k today😢
Prize money seems appropriate to be honest.
Riders refuse to work together on issues, the sport itself is pretty dead and lame, what do you expect to get?
If you want prize money you have to create it yourselves, it’s a niche sport that I love, but it doesn’t have the commercial value that deluded people think it does.
It’s an insane spectacle but it’s misrepresented and blaming everyone else is just lazy.
Grow up and out sport will grow with you.
If you genuinely don’t like the way things are then you would force real change. ✌️
Exactly, riders think they just need to show up and ride. If that’s your approach then you’re just going to have bike brands as sponsors.
i agree. watching timed DH runs does not have the entertainment value of something like supercross or F1. an event like rampage is massively more marketable than just another world cup round. Unless there is some way for the riders to market themselves outside of their 3min race runs, there simply is not enough money brought into the sport. And even with something like a drive to survive show being made about the sport, this sport simply doesnt have the rivalries and other drama to bring random viewers in. i love the sport, but not everything has the potential to bring in million dollar prize pouches.