Loic Bruni & Finn Iles // Building A Riders Union
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ค. 2022
- On this episode of the podcast I sit down with two of the fastest riders in the world, Loic Bruni and Finn Iles.
Both are team mates at Specialized Gravity and both are currently battling for the top spot at the UCI Downhill World Cup with them both finishing on the podium at the most recent round in Andorra.
Recently though their attention has shifted to fighting a new battle, a battle each and every rider has to face when competing, the battle?
To have our voices heard on the world stage when it comes to a number of different issues such as, safe riding conditions, fair rule changes and better prize money.
All of these things we have little to no control over due mainly because of lack of communication and organization, two things Loic and Finn are trying their very best to make a thing of the past.
With rider meetings and group chats now becoming more common within the racing community due to Loic and Finn it seems like there is a real chance this can pick up the momentum it truly needs.
I hope this podcast gives you all a better idea on the reasons behind uniting all the riders to have a single voice and also the issues we would like to see addressed to grow the sport and make it the best it can be.
Enjoy! - กีฬา
That was really good Deano. Loic definitely underestimates how much content fans will consume. The race weekend insight is why Bernard's channel goes so good
I think your right, need to put it out and see how it’s all received.
Yeah, my usually line up is the personal rider vlogs, VitalMTB, Fox Dialed, then the PinkBike round up leading up to the redbull coverage.
@@DMs.withDEAN yep broadcast the timed practice and qualifiers!! Three 2hr board casts. Red bull put out so much content why couldn’t that be done. Will be interesting to see now red bull has lost the broadcast rights.
I love Finn. Such a wise-head on young shoulders. People should listen to him.
He played his cards way to early. Already talking strikes lmao. Too young
The riders need an advocate that has recognized authority with the UCI. The need for such an advocate is apparent, but even getting to that point may prove difficult. I admire that this is gaining traction, and hope it succeeds, as rider safety should be paramount, as without riders - there is no sport.
🙏🏽🙏🏽
I think the videos yourself and Bernard Kerr are so good. It’s good to see the behind the scenes stuff.
Great chat! As downhill and other mountain bike racing gets to the entertainment levels of F1 and other popular athletic sports, I hope the accessibility of the sport remains the same. Being able to listen to the best riders in the world just speak their mind is something other sports are struggling to build today. So hearing the actual racers work as they establish a voice within their sport is a unique insight. I know I feel damn lucky to hear these racers first hand express their actual feelings. Thanks Deano!
Glad I could bring you this, the fact I’m a current racer makes it a lot easier to open up about issues we both face.
Brilliant job Dean! Loic, Finn, and yourself are correct in stating that it is an all for one effort. All for one in that all of the riders need to be present and seen as a "Union", "Association", or whatever it might be called. You need to be represented in anything related to the sport. Currently that doesn't exist. All for one that "Organization" creates the rules for the sport and oversees how that works, so right now that is ESO/UCI. All for one is now the broadcaster Discovery. All three entities need to work together to make the sport better. The problem was the UCI had TOO much control over the situation and never thought about the riders who race their races. That includes money distribution, safety, and how the riders are the product. This was a great interview.
Couldn’t agree more, hopefully we can all start working together in the future.
Just want to say, Dean, I really like the way you work and control an interview. Let the guests tell their story.
Appreciate that 🙏🏽
With everything that Neko does, and continues to do for the US downhill scene I feel like he would be an awesome riders rep. He is the first person that I thought of in my head when I started hearing about you guys wanting one.
He’s said he’d love to but doesn’t want to do it while he’s still currently racing.
@@DMs.withDEAN between racing and working on his frames I could definitely see it being way too much workload so I can definitely understand that.
That's Onterrible for the foreigners lol!
Finn's Fast AF Canadian racing academy...
Thanks for doing this Dean, between you BK and Jono I feel like I'm there with y'all 😁
Right off the cuff you need a Ex Rider who has retired .. that is not directly associated with a Team and who is of course still interested in the development of the sport..luck. Whoever it is will need reward for their work Riders association fees should incorporate annual union fee to cover their costs. More importantly why are they not trying to protect the product and enhance it.. if you feel more comfortable and safe then the riding is that much more entertaining !! and the sport will only gain more popularity!!! DARE I say it .. but Rob Warner if he was sober would have great knowledge to share as a Union Representative. I love watching the whole story from track walk to finals !!!! I'd love to see the sport in the Olympics and I think that is the ultimate venue stadium for the sport.. everything that you talk about should be directed toward this ultimate Goal.
Cathro for rider rep he has lots of spare time!
Omg leave Cathro alone lmao that man is a zombie at this point he is busy enough as it is but if you ask he'd probably say yes anyway
haaa! that's kinda funny
this was awesome love hearing from you guys
Cheers 👌🏼
great interview! thanx!🤘
👊🏼❤️
As a Marschall for three years at crankworxs dh, I can say the briefing it's getting better. But every year are new people coming as Marschall, and also people that don't understand the sport (like old people). Yes they should give more to the Marschalls so they are motivated to come, like this year they bearly had enough for the race, and I can tell you that it's also tough for the ones thst stay in the sun all the time, they should give us at least a chair. But overall was much better this year then last year (at least at crankworx innsbruck)
Couldn’t agree more 👌🏼
Great honest insights from all three of you. Well done and hopefully you can make some of these changes happen. 👍
Cheers mate! Hopefully we can.
Impressive analysis by everyone on this podcast! I like to consider myself a well informed fan but you guys opened my my eyes to much more. As much as us fans are really involved, the insider point of view is based upon so much more than what we have access to. I loved Finn's and Loic's ideas for the progression of the format. The racing is great already but the "show" could be so much much more. Finn, I can see you vision now!
And also, this was a great representation of the sport. I appreciate your professionalism and respect paid to everyone involved. Even when something needs to be changed, it is great to see concerns presented in a respectful manner. The riders are standing up for representation and doing it in a completely positive way. This is a good sign for the future of DH!
So many parallels with F1 and especially F1 in the 70's.
with the micros for sure
And into the early 80's; The FISA/ FOCA war......the governing body v the teams.
Exactly. Couldn't remember everything at the time but is very similar. It's actually quite bonkers the riders don't have a voice!
Its amazing how this podcast sound better then the one from the pinkbike (the one after the race)
Baller on a budget 😂
Hope you guys can do something positive for the sport. I am just a bit worried about the idea of reducing the number of riders in the finals. That is very easy to say if you are a podium guy. The privateers already have it hard enough and a lot of pros these days don't qualify either. I think that's not the right direction, top 60 is hard enough. Maybe too hard if we are being honest, 80 would be great.
Rob and E have to stay , I agree rob is part of the sport , I’m French and I m switching right away the audio into English as bad as the French commentators are. He add some to it 100%.
super sick seeing the other side of the guys when theie not racing
Yeah boost!
@36.00min Logic calls how Remy Meir-Smith in the juniors clips the bags on the final drop and slams the road, very lucky he walked away ok!
It's also very surprising that the UCI would fail to realize what a resource their racers are regarding safety concerns - literally real-time knowledge of what actually constitutes a 'hazard' or something that really should be addressed. It's squandering professional user input, which is a resource they cannot gain anywhere else. Finn Iles remembers the famous 'hockey strike' where the players made a stand. I hope it doesn't get to that point, but as we know, history doesn't actually repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
Good discussion; if the sport wants to move to the next level, then it needs more rounds. 6-9 really isn't enough. How are sponsors, etc getting enough exposure? Answer - they're not. Which is why we see so few non bike related sponsors.
And I agree about the qualifying; should be live, most other sports show it. The cameras are there - it's paying the operators/producers which is the issue at the moment.
Couldn’t agree more!
Rob Warner for president
well i hope the changes in the world cup change for the better
Can the team managers possibly play a bigger role? I agree that it's difficult to have a union and rep made up of competitors who want to focus on the race, a team advocate would be good. But unionizing does seem like it would give the riders the best leverage and voice, like Finn said, there have been strikes in the NBA so there's no reason why you all couldn't also have that type of respect in The sport as well. Dean was right about how it goes both ways because there's no race without the riders but there's no word cup without the organizers. Andorra is definitely a shining example as to why you guys really need to be heard, you guys should've had input during the build of the track not after riders are injuring themselves.
Do you all sign contracts for each round? If so it would be something to look into to have some sort of safety clause added to contractually obligate the ones in charge of each track to listen to the riders on safety issues.
I completely agree with Finn on the future needing a lot of work to get the sport to widely known, but that is pretty far ahead and right now I'd rather you guys focus on safety and organizing a better representation.
Absolutely heart breaking to hear Rob won't be coming back, wow. Like thats a huge huge disappointment for next season and I truly can't imagine not hearing his voice, like Finn said, his "look at the time!!" Is just legendary now and he's the voice of the sport. Also yeah wow I didn't know him and Elliot were remote for that commentary! Honestly I liked it, because it felt like super pro lol like how the NBA broadcasts, but I do also love that they are there live.
Can we also address some of this prize money? I get any amount is better than nothing but jfc you're putting your life on the line and the organizers reward you guys with a couple hundred bucks some times. There should be giant reward money, but hopefully the sponsorships make up for it.
Loic definitely has the right idea that you have to approach it from a "win win" mentality.
Interesting with the different tracks, I must admit I basically fast forward to find Vali, Camille, Nena, pompom, and maybe a couple others because they are the only ones that let loose, sometimes having up to 15+ second gaps between the top 5 and the rest of the field. And even the top five can be seconds apart some times. Where as men's typically is within fractions of a second of each other. It would be sick to have a track the women can shine in and look sick 🤘
A riders association is needed with a representative that’s a former World Cup racer. It also needs to be a paid position with the uci or Discovery paying for it. I know there’s pressure from sponsors to race, but the fans will definitely back the riders. Like you guys said it should never come to that. There seems to be a trend in cross country racing with riders skipping races. IMO juniors should be extended in age with the option to move up early if results warrant it.
This is what we’re looking to do 👌🏼
Less racers in the final event. Now it's 60 riders. If that were split in half, so 30 racers are slotted for the main event, the other 30 racers who didn't qualify still get world cup points (more than what occurs now). Then the race organizers would have more flexibility in how they present and manage the final event and can try some more fan-friendly methods to show off the main event.
Talking about who can Replace Rob? Is Claudio under contract? I’ve always love his energy
I think he will be stepping away also but not 100% on that.
In all unions the executive staff is paid for. Does the riders union have enough money to do this? That's the question.
They’re are working now to get that happening.
24:51 People that don't give a fffsshdamn about biking
Can’t agree with the presentation of the top 15 riders which Finn explained using Loic as an example. Imagine you watch every WC race and every time you must hear that Loic is that number world champion and he is that years old and listen to this for every rider. I am sick when Rob presents one of the riders as the Irish national champ. Eeeevery time the rider gets out of the gate Rob cant say anything else except that he is an Irish national champion. Imagine how hard is also going to be for the commenters to think of presentation for every rider.
Also now when, hopefully, UCI agrees about the “voice” of the riders. That voice and also the riders should listen at least a little the voice of the fans. Haven’t heard from anyone that he/she agrees about less people in the finals. 30 people for us, the fans, is not enough to see. This sport is not like football to watch your favourite player for 90 mins. Here you watch him/her for 3-4 min and then its the next rider. We want to watch you guys some proper time. Even now when is that hard to get to the finals and we are all excited when Ben Cathro qualifies for finals how is it going to be for him when he knows its gonna be almost impossible to qualify in top 30 and ride at least one final during the whole season. Sponsors are going to drop out, the budget is gonna be shorten and etc.
Sorry for the long comment but had to say it. Lucas, big fan of yours. Keep the punk alive! 🤟🏻
it would be nice to have something to hold the microphone, and make the guests more comfortable heheheheeh
More stuff to carry around the world 🙅🏽♂️
@@DMs.withDEAN true that
This would be a perfect job for Cedric Gracia
Union, sure, then you all can go the way of the WNBA and women's Soccer - only they have more fans. Seriously.
Do you think we’d look as good in soccer shorts?
@@DMs.withDEAN I think that you would look good in just about anything - that however does not discount the fact that we are participants in a sport that is a tiny spec of sporting on a whole. The number of fans of our sport is low, the number of fans willing to pay to watch is far, far lower. We need to look no further than the failing sites who have enacted paywalls for access to stories. PB, Bicycling and on and on and on have paid viewer rates far lower than total accounts (and click through). Those who do pay for access to the sites are the pariahs. So, they enact a paywall, some advertisers see a lower value in placement as they are only talking to an already biased market (for instance, hard to find a S fan out shopping for a Niner), it is the new comers who are not past the pay wall that are potential new business.
Where this comes in is where the rubber hits the (trail). Riders ride for the love of the sport...and will ride with or with out pay. Sponsors enable those riders to have a fractionally higher chance to perform at a fractionally higher level (of a fraction of the riders). Start taking that sponsor money (even in kind and product placement) and adding administrative fees and dues and sharing....well....it is a great theory of a panacea in a riders life, it is not a reality. Competitors are much like a commissioned sales person - your raise becomes effective when you do. Want a raise? Close the deal....
Two weeks ago I watched a jumping contest - it was cool. Amazing. Had it been even $5 to watch....I would have not been at the jump line watching. Just reality.
Riders reps are a conflict of interest
Congratulations!
It is time for us human beings to decide what we want to experience.
(The tip of the iceberg is the company behind all this: RedBull. It takes the athletes outside the limit)