After almost a two-month break since the last World Cup, elite downhill racing returns to the Pyrenees Mountains of Andorra for World Champs this week. Rejoice! Tag along with Jason Schroeder, Tanner Stephens, and John Hall as they refresh your memory of who’s been fast this year, what happened during the long summer break, and discuss who will be in contention for the elusive rainbow stripes. 

0:00 - The crew catches up
3:30 - Monster Energy Downhill - Snow Summit / US National DH scene
8:30 - The growth of national series in the coming years
11:19 - Why no Aaron Gwin on the US Worlds team? + Aaron’s return to racing
18:09 - Richie Rude the DH racer
19:20 - Do racers share more info with each other at World Champs amongst fellow countrymen?
21:24 - How country federations play a part in World Champs
27:16 - 2024 season thus far…
37:40 - Races that happened during the summer break
50:24 - Fantasy info for World Champs
54:36 - Andorra track notes
1:02:35 - Fantasy Picks - Junior Women 
1:04:55 - Fantasy Picks - Junior Men
1:09:45 - Fantasy Picks - Elite Women
1:12:55 - Fantasy Picks - Elite Women

There's a new national-level downhill mountain bike race series in the U.S. — Clay Harper has ushered in the Monster Energy Pro Downhill and is in its inaugural year, landing in Big Bear this weekend. Clay, our guest on The Inside Line this week, is no stranger to downhill finding his love for the sport back in 1996 with the likes of Kyle Ebbett, Lars Tribus, Todd Bosch, Ken Avery, Aaron Chase and more. The farm-raised New Jersey native is also responsible for creating one of America's most legendary bike parks by building the first trails at Mountain Creek. He was behind the founding of the U.S. Open of Mountain Biking and continues to run the event today. Let's not forget he even puts on the X Games Real MTB contest. If it involves downhill in the USA, there aren't many things Clayton hasn't done and his push to grow the sport in our country through the Pro Downhill Series is a testament to his dedication to the community. Enjoy this interview with an instrumental figure in #USDH...it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Learn more about Clay, the Pro Downhill Series and the U.S. Open

• @clayharper1
• @prodownhillseries
• @usopenmtb

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA  for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast!

While visiting Mountain Creek Bike Park in New Jersey, for a Vital Enduro Fork Test Session project, I caught up with local legend, George Ryan. I met George in person about 20 years ago, but knew of him before that because of his online persona in old-timey forums and his presence in videos like the Chain Reaction series. Over the years we'd see each other at events or on photo shoots, so it was a massive pleasure to sit down with him and hear his full story. To my surprise, he's a big-time MTB keepsake collector and he showed up with old jerseys, DVDs, magazines and even a Shaun Palmer baseball card. We discuss his journey into mountain biking, turning pro and eventually becoming the main man in charge of trails at Mountain Creek. Enjoy the episode and hit up Vital MTB to soak up some of his old relics he has stashed away. I've put some of my photos from 2005 decline work down below too. Thanks so much, Muffin!

(If you want to see epic late 90s early 2000s downhill race TV broadcasts that he recorded as a kid, hassle him on Instagram so he'll get them uploaded : )

If Val di Sole delivered an exciting and memorable race, then Les Gets bumped things up a notch. Our guy stack-attack Dak was having a perfect weekend until the weather had a different plan, and some miscalculated race prep led to an underwhelming finish. It was still a solid weekend for the world's fastest podcast co-host, but the limelight was stolen (again) by Amaury Pierron, who executed a legendary race run on home soil (again).  

With our crew spread out across the world this week, it was just Dakotah and I who linked up to chat about the weekend. We chatted about what happened with his visor and goggle setup in the rain, how Amaury did what he did, where Dak went wrong with his race prep, why mud races are the best, escaping the finish corral, and where overalls sit going into the last two rounds of the season. Enjoy!

An all-time day of World Cup Downhill racing in Les Gets, France, ends with post-race interviews from winners and podium finishers by Jack Rice.

Interviews
0:00 - Amaury Pierron
1:59 - Eleonora Farina
3:28 - Mille Johnset
6:47 - Andreas Kolb
9:12 - Greg Minnaar
16:21 - Tahnee Seagrave
18:01 - Remi Thirion
21:01 - Myriam Nicole

What could have been! After a long stint in the hot seat with a time that bested the season's biggest names, the last man down the hill squashed our tall bar savior's dreams of winning his first World Cup. We were filled with mixed emotions as reality set in that we'd have to wait a little longer to see Dak take that elusive first win, but what a treat to watch Amaury Pierron piece together a historic run that cemented his return to the top of the sport.

We chatted a lot about the wet, slippery conditions that made Val di Sole particularly difficult this year. Dak weighed in on where Amaury made up so much time and how he adapted his bike for the steep, technical track. We speculated on why time gaps are always so big down the Black Snake, and how much Dak made in bonuses from his 2nd place finish. We also cruised the results sheet from each class, dissecting who had standout riders and where overalls stand going into the fifth round of the year in Les Gets. Enjoy!

0:00 - Intro
4:31 - What was going through Dak's mind sitting in the hot seat?
7:08 - How Did Amaury go almost 5 seconds faster than everyone?   
10:48 - How conditions affected finals
13:48 - Why are time gaps always so big at Val di Sole?
17:48 - Was this the gnarliest Val di Sole track to date?
2:09 - How Dak picked lines on a track with ever-changing conditions
28:45 - People were getting sketchy this weekend
29:59 - Commencal chainstays
29:36 - Dak's bike changes for the VDS track and what he gained from watching Amaury's run
37:28 - Dak almost pulling a Sam Hill in the last corner
40:45 - Tire pressure, inserts, and wheel chit-chat
48:09 - New e*thirteen hub?
53:34 - What's in the box on Dak's down tube
54:18 - Peak extender for race run mud
55:15 - Dak's earnings on the weekend $$$
57:28 - Do you use more rear or front brakes? Dak weighs in.
1:09:21 - Ronan Dunne sounds just like Rat Boy
1:09:48 - Bernard Kerr: out with an injury 
1:12:38 - Maxxis Make or Brake Section
1:15:00 - Why do they add so much dirt to the track each year?
1:16:20 - Junior Women race recap & overall standings
1:20:22 - Junior Men race recap & overall standings
1:26:36 - Elite Women race recap & overall standings
1:34:40 - Elite Men race recap & overall standings
2:02:03 - Burgtec Labour of Love Award
2:05:51 - Les Gets thoughts!
2:07:50 - Should Vital do a MTB Moto race?
2:09:50 - Dak makes more money from an amateur moto race than a UCI World Cup

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Passionate interviews from the Val di Sole World Cup Downhill today as Amaury Pierron and Tahnee Seagrave return to the top of the podium!

Interviews
0:32 - Tahnee Seagrave
1:26 - Amaury Pierron
6:21 - Dakotah Norton
8:24 - Marine Cabirou
8:58 - Cory Rimmer (Dak's trackside coach)
11:54 - Finn Iles
14:16 - Myriam Nicole
16:15 - Troy Brosnan
18:44 - Luca Shaw
21:55 - Loic Bruni

After years of success, RockShox has updated its trail and gravity suspension lineup with some new internals for model year '25. The latest Charger 3.1 damper is now found across all fork models, while rear shocks gain an XL air can option and a high-flow main piston for Super Deluxe models. They have also re-introduced the Vivid Coil shock with some technology derived from the Vivid Air released last year. 

We sat down with Chris Mandell from SRAM and RockShox to help make sense of all  the technical. We discussed the motivation behind the changes made, how they were achieved, and how they make an impact out on the trail.

Learn more about everything discussed in this video - https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/rockshox-announces-charger-3-1-damper-vivid-coil-and-updates-super-deluxe
Play Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy

A track on the circuit that always provides dramatic, legendary race runs, this year at Leogang was fairly uneventful. A business as usual World Cup, you could say. Rain throughout the week provided some of the most changing and challenging conditions hit the #notabikepark track, with the lower woods being the deciding factor on race day. There was exciting racing across each category, highlighted by a dominating victory in both women’s fields, an upset in the Junior men’s race, and another elite men’s podium filled with new and returning names.

With a tight turnaround heading into Val di Sole this weekend, reigning in our co-host extraordinaire Dakotah Norton took longer than usual. Apparently, getting to the next race, interviews, physio appointments, and dinner all come before our podcast. Up against a tighter time crunch than usual, Tanner and I recorded the post-race show Tuesday, while Dakotah and I chatted after track walk on Wednesday to hear about his mediocre weekend in Austria and gain insight into what could be the gnarliest Val di Sole track we’ve seen in years. 

0:00 - Intro
2:08 - Dak Update and Leogang recap
33:15 - Val di Sole track walk notes and thoughts
51:04 - Debate over braking more with your rear or front brake
58:09  - Discussing the live coverage from the weekend
1:00:56 - Commentators this season 
1:03:18 - 15 World Cups next year?
1:05:15 - Privateers at World Cups in 2025
1:09:23 - Is interest in World Cup downhill less than it was during the Red Bull days?
1:11:12 - Another chat about electronic suspension
1:20:07 - Will we see electronic suspension systems in VDS?
1:22:09 - Loic’s cockpit buttons
1:23:17 - Why pressing a lockout mid-run isn’t that difficult
1:26:42 - Podium payout complaints 
1:32:34 - Maxxis Make or Brake Track Analysis
1:38:50 - Junior Women - race recap
1:43:05 - Val di Sole predictions
1:46:21 - Junior Men - race recap
1:59:36 - Val di Sole predictions
2:04:36 - Elite Women - race recap
2:14:37 - Val di Sole predictions
2:18:18 - Elite Men - race recap
2:32:50 - Val di Sole predictions
2:35:41 - Burgtec Labour of Love

Play Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy
More mountain bike news and reviews - https://www.vitalmtb.com

See what the top riders of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup DH in Leogang, Austria, have to say about their race weekends. A familiar track was made tricky with varying conditions thanks to overnight rains. Interviews by Jack Rice.
Interviews
0:00 - Loic Bruni
4:52 - Anna Newkirk
7:49 - Neko Mulally
10:52 - Vali Holl
11:54 - Max Alran
13:28 - Erice van Leuven
14:41 - Ellie Hulsebosch
16:18 - Finn Iles
18:37 - Myriam Nicole
21:50 - Lachie Stevens-Mcnab
23:14 - Oisin O'Callaghan
24:25 - Lisa Baumann
25:33 - Benoit Coulanges
29:11 - Marine Cabirou
30:32 - Lucas Dedora
32:49 - Andreas Kolb