#53 - Chris Ball - Shaping the future of Enduro and Downhill Mountain Bike racing.
En Roue Libre Podcast đŸšČ19 aoĂ»t 2024x
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38:14

#53 - Chris Ball - Shaping the future of Enduro and Downhill Mountain Bike racing.

FR: L'épisode est disponible en version française sous-titrée sur Youtube.

Chris Ball is VP of Cycling Events at WBD Sports which ensures the promotion, TV production and broadcast of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.

Chris is no stranger to Mountain Bike competition and its evolution.

Since 2011, He has worked with Fred Glo and Enrico Guala on the developpement of the Enduro World Series which are now known as the Enduro World Cup, or EDR.

Since 2022, he is at the front to lead the future of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series with WBD Sports.

I had the chance to sit with Chris during the World Cup in Les Gets in July and ask him all the questions that i wanted to ask him, and probably some of yours.


In this episode, expect to hear about:

  • The future of enduro racing and the difficult compromise between keeping the sport core and bringing coverage on it.

  • What to expect from the first Enduro World Championships in Val di Fassa.

  • His thoughts about Snowbike world Championships, Urban downhill and about a potential world championship in this discipline too.

  • How he sees the future format of downhill racing, and its effects on the riders and teams, from grassroots to elite

  • His thoughts on the protesting of slopestyle riders about prize money and how dowhnill and Eduro racers could benefit from it.


And much more.


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The timeline

01:55 How to keep Enduro alive

02:50 Visibility of the sport

11:19 The complex compromise between being core and being visible

13:02 EDR World Champs

16:32 Format of the Enduro World Championships

19:04 Urban Downhill World champs comming?

21:24 His vision on Urban Downhill racing

22:30 Changes in the regulation of downhill?

25:42 Secondary circuit?

28:15 Secondary downhill series comming?

30:49 Slopestyle protest and Prize Money in DH

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My name is Antoine Taillefer and I am a huge fan of mountain biking.
i used to race Downhill and Megavalanche races while being a journalist for bike magazines.

I am now a content creator and consultant in the bike industry 

and On En Roue Libre Podcast, i had guests like Cedric Gracia, Loic Bruni, his mechanic Jack Roure, Olivier Bossard, Yoann Barelli, all in french.


Today, you are hearing my very first english speaking episode, and I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation, even if my french accent and the way i put my sentenses may be a bit itchy to your ears.


Expect to see more of these podcasts in the future as the world of mountainbiking if full of living legends.
I can’t wait to discuss with them and to share their stories with you.


So to all of you who are listening to this, i want to say a big Thank you!

I wish you a good time listening to this podcast.

And don’t forget to subscribe if you like it.


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🎧 Where to listen to other episodes 🚀

â–ș Youtube: https://bit.ly/3o4Jfcc

â–ș Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3V0LR95

â–ș Apple Podcast : https://apple.co/3Nfo5C4

â–ș Deezer: https://bit.ly/3uKvi6F


——

🌐 my social media

â–ș Site web : enrouelibrepodcast.fr

â–ș LinkedIn : http://linkedin.com/in/taillo

â–ș Instagram : https://instagram.com/enrouelibrepodcast


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