Zutroy
11-20-2006, 04:10 PM
By Eddie Arnet
Motocross has everything mountain biking wants: Mainstream TV exposure. Lots of money. Many video games. Athletes who are household names.
Motocross has a 12 race elite national series. There are no throw outs. At the end of the year the rider with the most points wins the American Motorcyclist Association National Motocross Championship title. Simple, to the point, and effective.
United States of America Cycling, a sanctioning body we never asked for, has just announced a new Mountain Bike National Calendar. They did it with little input from race promoters, no input from you and me, and nothing but a United States Cycling Federation National Racing Calender to borrow from.
So far this year we've had 24 national champions--Men's and Women's National Mountain Bike Series Cross-Country, Downhill, Mountaincross, Short Track, Super D and Marathon Champions; Men's and Women's U.S. National XC, DH, MX, ST, SD and MA Champions.
It's easy for an "outsider" to understand motocross. Ricky Carmichael is the one and only 2006 AMA National Motocross Champion. Ryan Villopoto is the sole 2006 AMA National Motocross Lites Champion. Does motocross prosper because of its simplicity?
It would also be easy for an outsider to understand mountain bike racing if only USA Cycling left it alone. Now they have introduced a new "national" calender with more convoluted rules, more series winners, and more champions.
Three-and-a-half years ago USA Cycling helped run the Norba National Championship Series...right into the ground. Elite mountain bike racing in America would have died right then and there had not Tom Spiegel and Pat Follett of Team Big Bear and Jeff Frost of Blue Wolf Productions stepped in and saved it.
Now that the NMBS is up and running again, USA Cycling wants to tap back into it. They say that "the NMBS...will continue to operate under independent ownership and organization...and fit within the framework of the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calender." Although they have nothing to do with running it, they are more than willing to allow NMBS events to fit into their new national series. That way USAC can count the same points that are used to determine the NMBS champions to decide their own Mountain Bike National Calendar Champions. How confusing is this?
In the end we just want to see as many people racing mountain bikes in as many events as possible. USA Cycling, if you are going to spring a new series on us, do it with better planning and more class. Rumors have already begun that this is a covert attempt on USAC's part to wrangle back control of the NMBS. Especially after someone else put their neck on the line to save it.
Instead of asking promoters to put up money to become part of yet another national series, USA Cycling needs to spend more time on ways to put more money into the existing national series. While they're at it, they need to give us back Norba. Stop having roadies run our sport. Give us back Norba News and the regional rankings aimed at grassroots racers. Start putting the name "Norba" back into your press releases concerning mountain bike events.
Give us back mountain biking so we can run it more like motocross. Then we can get the TV exposure, money, and notoriety that mountain biking deserves.
Motocross has everything mountain biking wants: Mainstream TV exposure. Lots of money. Many video games. Athletes who are household names.
Motocross has a 12 race elite national series. There are no throw outs. At the end of the year the rider with the most points wins the American Motorcyclist Association National Motocross Championship title. Simple, to the point, and effective.
United States of America Cycling, a sanctioning body we never asked for, has just announced a new Mountain Bike National Calendar. They did it with little input from race promoters, no input from you and me, and nothing but a United States Cycling Federation National Racing Calender to borrow from.
So far this year we've had 24 national champions--Men's and Women's National Mountain Bike Series Cross-Country, Downhill, Mountaincross, Short Track, Super D and Marathon Champions; Men's and Women's U.S. National XC, DH, MX, ST, SD and MA Champions.
It's easy for an "outsider" to understand motocross. Ricky Carmichael is the one and only 2006 AMA National Motocross Champion. Ryan Villopoto is the sole 2006 AMA National Motocross Lites Champion. Does motocross prosper because of its simplicity?
It would also be easy for an outsider to understand mountain bike racing if only USA Cycling left it alone. Now they have introduced a new "national" calender with more convoluted rules, more series winners, and more champions.
Three-and-a-half years ago USA Cycling helped run the Norba National Championship Series...right into the ground. Elite mountain bike racing in America would have died right then and there had not Tom Spiegel and Pat Follett of Team Big Bear and Jeff Frost of Blue Wolf Productions stepped in and saved it.
Now that the NMBS is up and running again, USA Cycling wants to tap back into it. They say that "the NMBS...will continue to operate under independent ownership and organization...and fit within the framework of the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calender." Although they have nothing to do with running it, they are more than willing to allow NMBS events to fit into their new national series. That way USAC can count the same points that are used to determine the NMBS champions to decide their own Mountain Bike National Calendar Champions. How confusing is this?
In the end we just want to see as many people racing mountain bikes in as many events as possible. USA Cycling, if you are going to spring a new series on us, do it with better planning and more class. Rumors have already begun that this is a covert attempt on USAC's part to wrangle back control of the NMBS. Especially after someone else put their neck on the line to save it.
Instead of asking promoters to put up money to become part of yet another national series, USA Cycling needs to spend more time on ways to put more money into the existing national series. While they're at it, they need to give us back Norba. Stop having roadies run our sport. Give us back Norba News and the regional rankings aimed at grassroots racers. Start putting the name "Norba" back into your press releases concerning mountain bike events.
Give us back mountain biking so we can run it more like motocross. Then we can get the TV exposure, money, and notoriety that mountain biking deserves.