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He also pretty says all the top guys are on peds.
Gives clarity surrounding the dungey/geico saga.
To name a few.
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Interesting podcast because Mike is a legit businessman but the host of that podcast is really hard to listen to.
The nationals is run by the same people who own the biggest media source in the sport. If you think mathes isn't a puppet for the sponsors of the series you are ignorant or naïve. It would be like ESPN owning the NBA. Imagine Stephen A Smith not being able to say what he really feels.
Half of the people running teams are ex riders or mechanics who barely have a high school education, it's wonder how any of these teams can survive financially.
You have someone like Rutledge who comes in to tries to broaden the audience you guys bitch and complain because he's not core enough. (hate to break it to you but more people know and care about rutledge wood than Daniel Blair or DV)
We just ignore the rampant PED usage, anytime someone gets popped they are a victim.
The riders and teams are beholden to the circus company. No one gets to sell their own merch at the stadiums, yet feld gets to sell J. Hill hats and JGR team shirts from 3 years ago?
I love this sport, but Grondahl is spot on with most of what he said. I don't blame him for having a chip on his shoulder.
DC
Racer X
I generally chuckle at any reference that starts with, "In this sport..." I guess people don't realize that people use the same phrase in nearly any sport or industry.
Everyone seems awfully sure that, "All the top guys are on PEDs," but no one has ever shown me any evidence of it. Maybe I'll have to eat my words someday. I hope I don't. But it sure is easy to smear a group of people without evidence.
In case anyone missed it, they did do WADA drug tests on a number of riders after the third round in Arlington. Roczen, Webb, Anderson, and Ferrandis were among the riders I saw with WADA monitors afterwards.
Since I have zero insight into what any of the top guys are doing, my "belief" is that some guys are probably pushing the boundaries, but it seems unlikely that it's as widespread as many other sports. There are so many other variables (bike handling skills, mechanical performance, plain ole talent, mental acuity for handling the overload of information for 35+2, etc.) in MX that make pure cardio an important factor, but by no means the predominant thing. Not saying it's not super important, but so are half a dozen other pieces to the puzzle.
When I look at bicycle racing, running, MMA, etc. (especially in the lighter weight classes, where their pace is just unbelievable), my gut tells me that it's a much bigger problem.
Sports are successful with 2 things and 2 things only... Eye balls and TV rights redistributed to teams/clubs. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Dodgers, Lakers and so on would die without their TV rights money/packages.
To get eye balls you need to make the sport very accessible and free. That's the "invest in yourself" part. When you build an audience of followers and a viewership, you can then take it to channels, streaming devices and other platform to deal with TV rights. The more the followers the more the network can sell ads and can spend on TV rights.
Nowadays, we (the sport) either pay to be on TV or, like SX, the promoter keeps the TV rights money (if they still get any anymore. They were with FOX so I'm assuming they still are) and doesn't redistribute like other sports. That's the issue with having a promoter instead of a league. In that interview, they talk about not having capitalism in the sport and being an issue. Promotors are a capitalism model. They make money. They keep the profits. Leagues are more on a social model, they grow the sport the most they can, they get the most money they can for their products and they redistribute to clubs/teams etc...
Selling T-Shirts and hoodies won't grow the sport...
You don't have to reinvent the wheel. The business model of successful sports has been known by many. We just have to put it in place in our sport...
Pit Row
Sorry DV. I had to do it. I enjoy your insight.
We all know Buttrege is on PEDs (Pathetic enhancing drugs)
And Matthes does way more on his own with Pulp MX than he does as a contributor here at Racer X. And for what it's worth, it's getting harder and harder to find great contributors like Matthes or writers like Eric Johnson and Jason Weigandt and Brett Smith and David Pingree because most of the young talent out there writes in social media-sized bits now. There are not a lot of people coming up through the media ranks that have the understanding, the discipline and the work ethic of guys like Matthes. And here's one for you: If he didn't write for Racer X, which other magazine magazine that's still out there there would hire him to write about SX/MX? It's a small carousel nowadays, so Steve mostly does his own work, and "the top" has zero say there, so why even bother when he's critical of "the top" and the series sponsors, because chances are very good that he has a very good reason...
DC
Racer X
So you're saying Racing/Teams would be better off as a league format.. Now that's interesting. I never thought of that
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