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Welcome to the brave new world of elite Downhill racing. New race formats, new schedules, new broadcasting rights and new commentators.
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By ben_haworth
Get the full story here:
https://singletrackmag.com/2023/06/mountain-bike-world-series-downhill-lenzerheide/
Secret source: "I only found out the other day that if you have BT Sport then you also now have access to Discovery+ and you can watch the racing there.
"You just have to go https://www.bt.com/sport/<wbr />discovery-plus and follow the steps.
"BT and EE are now one in the same, so some people with EE mobiles may have free access to BT without knowing it!"
Re: Protected Riders and how that all works - there's a good post on Intense's website about it...
I’m not seeing it on the sky Eurosport schedules, I assume sky don’t carry all the Eurosport content 😢
The points awarded for the various bits has changed from the table above, less for semis than that after the riders suggested it was unbalanced.
I’m not seeing it on the sky Eurosport schedules, I assume sky don’t carry all the Eurosport content 😢
If you have Sky Q / Glass you can add Discovery + for free
I did it yesterday. The app on Sky Q is slow and clunky, and currently half the schedule for this weekends DH is missing !
discovery+ on Sky Q, Glass and Stream | Sky Help | Sky.com
What is Rob Warner doing these days? I hope he finds some role with it all - he is the voice of DH
<h3>Who do we want to win?</h3>
Rachel Atherton and Jordan Williams. Obvs!
So is Rachel do a full season or just dipping in when she feels like it?
Ah gad! Will update the tables ASAP!
Unbelievably frustrating that it's not being broadcast on the proper Eurosport channels. About the only positive I could take from the demise of red bull was the expectation of watching it on TV with no dodgy app issues that plagued the red bull app a lot. Let's see how the discovery app handles it
Rachel is only doing a few, good short interview with her on Wyn's track walk
TBH I enjoy watching the XC and DH series racing enough to stump up the (discounted) £22 for an annual GCN+ pass a couple months ago. Canned a Patreon subscription (sorry Duzer) to pay for it.
The DHI World Cup still exists, it's part of the MTB World Series.....
Joined Discovery+ so I can tune in. At £7/month with ability to cancel after the short season ends it doesn't seem too bad value-wise. Also pleasantly suprised to see a fair bit of other content on there that I might actually watch - MX, climbing, 24hr Le Mans... Formula E (jk)
Is qualifying being shown live? I can't see it listed on youtube, GCN or Discovery but was under the impression it was going to be shown.
I discovered that although I don’t pay for BT Sport (and they’re always asking if I want to add it), I do have access to it through only paying them for broadband.
I was just able to add on Discovery+ for free, downloaded the D+ app and it’s all working fine.
Bargain!
Watching the Juniors in the background whilst 'working'. Ahem.
Cedric is great in the commentary box, Not too bad with Ric. Coverage seems good.
Junior men are caning it!
The future's looking bright!
Fair play to
Not to mention the fella that used the tree as brake. 50mph - 0mph in 0.1 of a second, and he got up and rode the rest. Can't help thinking that was a bad idea, he seemed to hit the tree with the middle of his back. ****.
Who would I like to win. Anyone not wearing a RB helmet. But that’s probably just my prejudice coming through
Not to mention the fella that used the tree as brake
Yeah, that's going to smart a bit
can anyone explain how to watch it via Prime? I have disco + sport but cant find any listings for this weekend!
Just watching the Junior Men - I cant see any difference positive or negative to the new hosts. Not sure I like the ascents on the commentary though
Can you watch replays on Discovery+ or GCN+?
Not to mention the fella that used the tree as brake...and he got up and rode the rest.
all for nowt too as I imagine he'll be DQ'ed as he came back on the wrong side of the tree.
Can you watch replays on Discovery+ or GCN+?
I don't know about Disco, but on GCN+ yes. You can also watch road racing for months on end if you so wish by the looks of things.
I suspect Eurosport 1 or 2 may show the Downhill normally, but this weekend they are covering Le Mans and Roland Garos tennis, which presumably will give them the larger viewing figures.
I will try btsport, although it didn't work when I last tried. Tbh, as much as love watching xc and downhill, all this faffing about with this and that channel, puts me off. Almost not worth it. A GCN+ trial only worked on a laptop that was then cast to a tele. Rubbish levels of faff. Redbull just worked.
Through Virgin TV I get Eurosport 1 & 2 channels, they showed the first XC round live but this weekend it's all a day delayed, maybe due to the high profile oil burning / bat sports as mentioned above, or maybe not as surely something else will clash with the next rounds.
Disappointed.
No idea. Lost interest tbh. I'll keep up to date via the vloggers.
Just let me know once Goldstone clinches the title.
Just pay the £6.99 a month for discovery+
Its a latte and slice of cake a month lol
A GCN+ trial only worked on a laptop that was then cast to a tele. Rubbish levels of faff. Redbull just worked
Rose tinted glasses? I remember getting the Black Screen Of RedBull many times, was frankly relieved when they had a consistent livestream on YouTube.
Don’t have a tv so am I correct in thinking I’ll need to sign up for either discovery+ or GCN to watch the downhill on my iMac/iPad?.
Just retried btsport. Failed again. Sod it, just get pissed instead. Watching bike races on the TV can do one.
Watched the Juniors race on GCN+, a pity they didnt hire the announcers for an extra hour to cover them!
Camera coverage was a bit weird at times and the age old timing messups from redbull are still there 😀
Nothing wrong with the GCN+ app on AppleTV/iPad though!
Just tracked down the quali results, thanks Misspent Summers!
Rachel Atherton back with P2 in quali, I really wasn't expecting that, that's amazing and now I'll end up paying to watch 😀
No one watching the women’s semis?
Subscribed to D+ and streaming to the TV via Chromecast. It’s occasionally freezing and pixelates…not sure if that’s the feed or my old Chromecast??
Edit - think it's my old Chromecast. Seems fine watching on the phone and tablet.
@xora I believe that the GCN+ app default is ambient sound. You need to change the language playback settings to get the commentary.
The GMBN YouTube feed is flawless
Edit: go Rachel!!!
Weird I did post to this earlier
using the sky app wasn’t working at 9:30, plus they changed the time to 9:35. Then just got a blue screen saver .
Got bored of waiting and now watching for free on YouTube GMBN even though I don’t have a subscription
Watching the semi final live right now on YT for free.
is it just me or are there more cameras than the Red Bull set up?
It’s now completely disappeared off the discovery app on sky and saying it starts at 11:45 today 🤷♂️
@ocrider aaargh I totally missed the very non obvious audio options thanks!
<p style="text-align: left;">Can't work out how to get commentary on discovery plus, any ideas?</p>
We've paid & subscribed for Eurosport through Amazon Prime - women's Finals currently running with no commentary.
Anyone managed to find proper coverage? Or is this poor showing all we can expect?
Just installed the app on the TV and can't see it, suppose I'll try again
Got bored trying to save a couple quid on some obscure route last night, so got the GCN+ app for a year for 40 quid - might make me watch more road stuff!
Footage pretty good, Gracia much better today than he was with the juniors last night, Ric has more energy today. It's not Warner but it's still good. App via Chromecast has been stable so far. Trickiest but was finding the payment option on the app haha
Women's race was good!
We’ve paid & subscribed for Eurosport through Amazon Prime – women’s Finals currently running with no commentary.
Same here,no commentary on the women's finals.
There's does seem to be some punditry going on ahead of the men's race,so mayhe we'll get some now
Edit : nope looks like the commentary has disappeared now the race is about to start, wtf! This is shite, is it because I'm subscribed via Amazon prime?
<p style="text-align: left;">A tip I've just seen on pb is YouTube lenzerheide and filter by live. Watching it now chromcasting to the tv.</p>
Edit. No idea why the forum has added extra bollox. CBA to fix my post.
£40 for the year doesn't se too much, better coverage more cameras and the commentary not too bad. its no Warner but not bad at all.
enjoying it on Apple TV smooth and no stuttering.
Watching through the Discovery + app on Sky Q. Missing Rob Warner’s commentary though. Doesn’t bother me with the XC as Bart is still there but DH doesn’t seem right without Warner.
The sound is distorted for me on gcn+, especially the background noise
More punctures than an acupuncturist training course today!
it does sound like Rick has watched loads of Robs recordings to sound very similar!!!!
Stuttering like hell for me on Firestick.
Both commentators are trying to be Warner at different times, they just need to find their own voices. They need a few more races to relax into it.
So glad the racing is finnaly back on! that was great!
Boom, that was a great race.
But I did have to use crappy YouTube stream for commentary and Eurosport for video with sound muted.
Cedric is so much better this time and I think will settle in quite well, Ric seems to be trying too hard at times "darker than the inside of a cow" I mean wtf.
Post ride interview with Rachel is entertainment in itself 🙂
Great racing but the new coverage is absolutely awful.
I didn't think it was terrible, but they do need to do better. The commentary barely seemed to register that Bruni was up 1/2 a second at the first split, nearly even at the 2nd, up again by half a second, then lost it again, instead they just seamed to have some pre written "waneresque" comments that they were desperate to throw in rather than just describing the race in their own style.
There have been quite a few races over the past few years where I thought the red bull coverage was more than lacking as well, so hopefully gcn/discovery can improve from their first outing and at least match what was done before.
But more importantly than that, what an incredible debut for Jordan Williams, 18 years old and smashed it on his first senior race.
Great racing but the new coverage is absolutely awful.
Really? In what way? I thought they had much more coverage, and loads more cameras. Ric'snot Rob (yet) but I thought he and Cedric did pretty good.
Aye I think that expecting them to be like Rob. & Red Bull is unrealistic and they've done it for how many years?
I thought it was pretty good for their first attempt but only caught the last hour of the men's final.
Haven't caught up yet as been out on the bike.
Sound issues aside, how was the format? Is it worth watching the heats or just go to the final runs?
I'd just go to the finals TBH, all the best riders, all the action.
Really? In what way? I thought they had much more coverage, and loads more cameras.
From my point of view though there were definitely more cameras they very rarely used them well. They seemed to like cutting between close ups so it was hard to pick out the riders lines, and for a lot of runs they mainly focused on the jumps rather than on the technical sections where the race is actually won and lost. The final seemed slightly better but the semi suffered from plenty of b-roll style shots rather actually showing what was happening.
But more importantly than that, what an incredible debut for Jordan Williams, 18 years old and smashed it on his first senior race.
This, big time! What a ride that lad had. Stunning.
They need to get right back to Freecsster style Warner - drunk. That’ll loosen em up
Just working through it but Kolb's semi run was incredible- .425 down at the first, a second up at the second, down again then almost closed the gap in the final section with no chain, and it's not like bruni was hanging around. But I only really saw one section where he really looked that fast. Not really a rider I've paid much attention to before tbh
I think Kolb is on record as being happy with the new format because he’s extremely consistent. He’s always up there.
will see that field reduced to 60 men and 50 women. These riders go on to the Semi-Final, which will then reduce the field to 30 men and 10 women, who will go on to the Final.
Great to see they have considered equity in the new format…. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
That aside - so delighted for Rachel and Jordan.
Bloody enjoyed that, format seems decent and means we get to see more of the finals race runs. Plus over the year it'll add extra elements as teams and riders gain points from any 3 of the sessions. Careful tactical plans will be needed to manage points Vs energy etc. And it'll be very interesting seeing how it pans out. First effort from the new hosts and surely it can only get better as the whole process beds in.
Racing was brilliant and so many riders now capable of winning, chuffed to see the young gun do so well. Bring on leogang!
I thought it went pretty well, given that I was doubtful if anything would be broadcast at all.
They really should have a rethink about protected riders though. Especially in the first round where, imo, everything should be reset and everyone who pitches up should be assumed to be equal.
I was listening to Tahnee Seagrave's interview and she was talking about the strain the two races put on you. The first thing she mentioned was the mental toll (it was only once she started calming down she noticed her legs were ****ed as well).
Being protected in both the qualis and the semis just seems like such a huge advantage that it really doesn't seem fair on the majority of the riders.
I thought the coverage was good, hope they can keep improving it. Some graphics and course info like red bull had would be nice.
Protected riders makes sense, it's based on previous performance so I don't think it's that unfair. Would be a shame not to see the best riders in the final because of a flat.
Nice one Rachel and Jordan...
Coverage was alright but why did they keep cutting back to Cedric during Bruni's 'let's look at the course' run. You missed half of the actual run looking at a bloke on his tablet.
The coverage was better than I thought it was going to be.
The woman doing the interviews was awful and the questions she asked were stupid.
The cutting out of people's runs to look at their manager was also frustrating as sooner or later something will happen when they cut away.
The chap they cut to in the warm up area was also pointless. It's not like they can interview anyone there and it's going to be exactly the same at every race.
I missed the split time comparison graphic where you can see where people were quicker. The virtual straight was also missed.
Both commentators were knowledgeable but lacked excitement and often seemed to ignore the split times.
All that said it was the first time out so hopefully things will improve as the season goes on.
Protected riders makes sense, it’s based on previous performance so I don’t think it’s that unfair. Would be a shame not to see the best riders in the final because of a flat.
Let's forget about the lower mental toll protected riders will experience (although I believe that could be a major factor for some riders).
I think you're failing to take into account the fact that both the semi-finals and the finals earn you overall points (unless I'm misreading something). It's no longer a question of the riders who should have qualified anyway despite a crash/mechanical/act of god/etc getting on the live feed. Now they are being artificially kept in the overall points competition purely because they are already in the overall points competition.
For example, Vali Holl should have left the race with no points from the finals because she shouldn't have made the finals. Anymore than a protected rider should be allowed to have another go if they have a mechanical or a crash in their race run.
Qualis was always about just sorting out who was good enough to be in the main race. It made more sense to have protected riders there because the idea was the riders who were already in the top 10 had already proved they were fast enough to be there.
Now the 'real' racing starts with the semi-final, given the points awarded. If you crash or have a mechanical you shouldn't be allowed to get more points in the final anymore than you should be allowed a do-over if you have a crash in a race run.
Now protected riders are able to take more risks, both in terms of riding style and in terms of bike set up, because the risks are simply not as great for them.
I just don't think the impact of this semi-final format was properly thought through and the risk is that you're creating a two tier system where the 'stars' are given an easier ride than riders who are already struggling just to establish themselves.
Great to see they have considered equity in the new format…. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
10 Elite male riders would be slim pickings...
I just can't stand anything GCN.. it's just so shit ☹️
I'll be watching everything midweek when Eurosport show it this year