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2010 USA Mountain Biking
2010 USA Mountain Biking

Ty Kady From US Cup | Part 3

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Uploaded by Colt McElwaine | December 23, 2009

This week, we check in with Ty Kady from the US Cup Event Management Company. We talk USA Cycling, UCI, and the future of domestic mountain biking in the states. There will be a new video each day, Monday 21 - Friday 25. In this episode, we discuss the fees associated with a UCI race and more.

Speakers: Ty Kady
Categories: Interview
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Comments9 comments

 Marty Coplea 2 years ago

Great points! USA Cycling does do a lot and I know it is made up of many great people that work hard and do have good intentions at heart.

We have been involved in the local and national scene (MTB, Road and now CX) for 6 years now. We know several of the Jr's and their families that have chassed the qualifying criteria and made the Worlds team. Making the USA Worlds team and racing for your country at the World MTB Championships is the highest level a Jr MTB'er racer can aspire to.

To see that year after year that the cost of sending our top riders to Worlds is more and more being put back on the riders. Is this because there is no $ or because USA Cycling deems other things more important? I do not know, but is very disheartening.

From USA CYCLING ATHLETE NOMINATION INFORMATION
UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
September 1-6, 2009
Canberra, Australia
https://www.usacycling.org/forms/selection/09MTBWorldChampsSelection.pdf

"*Note: A maximum of two (2) Junior Men athletes and one (1) Junior Women athlete in both XC and Downhill will be fully funded upon arrival to Canberra, Australia. These riders will be responsible for all travel to and from Canberra, Australia but will not be required to pay the Team Service Fee. These riders must meet the criteria for automatic selection and will be chosen in the prioritized order outlined in the Junior Downhill automatic selection portion of this document.
Team Service Fee- All team riders who are selected to the team but not funded that wish to use the USAC provided services will be required to pay a Team Service Fee of $1,800.00. This fee will cover lodging, food, ground transport in Canberra, Australia, race support and competition clothing for between 6 and 8 days depending on competition date. Any team riders not wishing to use the USAC provided services will be responsible for all costs and support of their trip including a fee for competition clothing."

mpapet mpapet 2 years ago

I don't agree that you need prize money to get the pros to turn up. The NORBA/ NMBS series had $0 in prize money for a bunch of years and 40-60 of the top pros still showed up to every race just because USA Cycling called it the "National Series" and used it to select the worlds team, etc.
I think at the time it happened for a couple of reasons.

1. The speed wasn't that high. Don't get me wrong, the pros crushed mere mortals. It's just those pros wouldn't be competitive in modern fields.
2. You had pros who were getting paid somewhere else and raced (fast) on the weekends on bikes that weren't $5000+ before wheels.
I'm pretty sure that time has passed. I'd love to be wrong about it, but I'm pretty sure it's history.

mpapet mpapet 2 years ago

It's pretty easy to take a shot at USA Cycling. They handle a whole lot of domestic and UCI politics, rules, racing officials, insurance. This is pretty important and racers typically discount this stuff.

There are alternative federations: http://www.ambikerace.com/ http://www.obra.com

That said, Marty is 100% right and Ty's bigger goal of having enough off-road racing so a domestic pro can get a payout in the top-20 are both ways the federation should be focusing.

How is a promoter going to be able to pay 20-deep? Larger beginner/sport categories would work. That's NOT going to happen when a racing bike is $3000-$5000. USA Cycling could help here too. High weight minimums on beginner/sport bikes to keep the cost of entering the sport down and to put some context on what Beginner/Sport racing should be marketed as, a fun hard weekend event roughly equivalent to the way most 10k's running events operate in the U.S. Crazy idea, but since we're throwing around opinions, I thought I'd put it out there.

SERCS 2 years ago

I think the MTB people at USAC have good intentions but they are handcuffed by the Road, Track, and now BMX. Even Cyclocross to some extent. Steve Johnson just dosn't give a about mountain biking. It doesn't make sense that trying to send 3 people to one race every four years should be the deciding factor in decisions made that effect the other 50 thousand of us.

Matt G 2 years ago

I completely agree with Marty WHAT IS USA CYCLING DOING WITH OUR MONEY! WHY ARE THEY HELPING OUR RIDERS TO GET TO EVENTS SUCH AS WORLDS! I am a current license holder and what am I getting for it? I think that someone needs to overtake USA Cycling and start working to better the sport not get Todd Wells and JHK to the Olympics.

Marty Coplea 2 years ago

Again, great info, insight and great questions.

It is sad that our Jr's, U23's and Pros that make the Worlds team do not get more support from USA Cycling or the industry. The racers spend a ton of time and $$ traveling the country all season to do the events per USA Cycling qualifying guidelines. Then if they lucky enough to make the Worlds Team, the rider (or the riders family) has to pay for travel, entry, lodging, ect to go to the Worlds Championships to represent our country. Something is REALLY wrong with that scenario and it is no wonder that MTB’ing in the USA is struggling.

See USA Cycling's World Team info at: https://www.usacycling.org/forms/selection/09MTBWorldChampsSelection.pdf

jeremiah Bishop 2 years ago

They have you by the balls...If you think they do... There are a lot of great races and we as racers decide what they are.

Sometimes you have to break eggs to make omelets. Ty and Scott have done every thing possible to promote the sport of mountain biking within the current rusty model.
The new Triple Crown is an exciting new idea. It could also be just what the industry wants too (if they require you stick with 1 bike) Racers racing what they sell! Tough light all mountain bikes like the RZ 120! Awesome.
In the mean time the UCI and USAC are for a change listening very carefully. Perhaps some of the red tape will come down and the UCI could implement the incentive program like the very successful one they used to grow pro cyclocross?
About time.
Jeremiah Bishop
MonaVie Cannondale.

Diane Perry 2 years ago

exactly. until everyone just collectively decides to say f#ck it and go to the best races, USAC will keep running the show their way. If the riders don't show up, they'll have no choice but to evolve. We as the athletes should control them not the other way around.

I think things have been moving in that direction the past couple years. look at races like Downieville, Ledville, Iceman... the best races are not part of the proxct. The proxct isn't even one f the biggest series! WORS crushes it in terms of numbers. WISCONSIN'S state series gets 3 times the riders as the proxct. Something's wrong with that. The amature riders have figured out the national series sucks and sopped going. just a matter of time until the pros do the same.

JB 2 years ago

I don't agree that you need prize money to get the pros to turn up. The NORBA/ NMBS series had $0 in prize money for a bunch of years and 40-60 of the top pros still showed up to every race just because USA Cycling called it the "National Series" and used it to select the worlds team, etc.

The 4th-12th place guys all want to make it to worlds so they can legitimize themselves as "Elite" and try and go after that big contract so they'll all go to USA Cycling's series. Then the 13th-30th place guys will follow them there because it's their chance to race "the best" and prove themselves against good competition. Juniors and U23s are the same story... they'll go wherever USAC tells them. They've got us b the balls!