The news of Aaron Gwin making a new home on Frameworks TRP yesterday left a lot of unanswered questions. Thankfully the man himself was down for a candid chat to discuss his new future.

Cover photo by Callie Horwath

Topics

0:00 - Intro and What About Crestline?

9:34 - History with Neko

12:26 - How Can Frameworks Afford Gwin?

15:38 - Does Gwin Have to Race Now?

19:14 - Dealing with So Many Product Changes

32:31 - Does the Frameworks Accomodate Gwin's Riding Style?

43:00 - Being on a Team with Asa Vermette, Battling the Kids

49:50 - Game Plan for 2026 Races

53:55 - Gwin's Training Regimen

1:00:35 - Involvement with Lake Placid World Cup and TN National in 2026?

1:06:30 - Racing Hardline Tasmania

1:11:32 - Aaron Gwin 2011 vs. Aaron Gwin 2026?

0:00 - Aaron Gwin

8:16 - James McAllister

16:05 - Neko Mulally

As the 2026 downhill mountain bike season dawns, Frameworks TRP Racing announces that #USDH superstar, Aaron Gwin will join the team. Aaron, multi-time World Cup-winning downhiller, ran his own team, Gwin Racing, aboard Crestline bikes in 2024 and 2025. The change to Frameworks means a focus on racing, rather than team management, as Gwin seeks to wrap up his competitive career giving it all he can. With a new team comes new equipment. Besides the Frameworks frame, Aaron returns to FOX suspension after Ohlins with Gwin Racing. He'll be on Burgtec bars, a departure from his long-time Renthal setup. Wheels change to ENVE from e.thirteen, and he'll be aboard Continental tires.

Vital contributor, Jack Rice, catches up with Aaron, Neko and James McAllister, Aaron's mechanic during a testing session at Windrock Bike Park in December to discuss the changes and challenges.

This Inside Line podcast explores how mountain biking's newest competitive event, Hard MTB League, has the potential to change the sport. Vital Content Director, Shawn Spomer, met up with Braydon Bringhurst and Adam Pishl, the two visionaries behind the League, two weeks after its inaugural invitational near Boise, Idaho. 

Topics include explaining what Hard MTB League is, reflecting on how the first event went, the challenges that were faced, the excitement of tight racing, how athletes are selected, what the future looks like, and most importantly, how community is being fostered through the series.

If there are any questions or feedback about the Hard MTB League, Adam can be reached at hardmtb@icloud.com

Thank you to FOX | Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA for supporting The Inside Line

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Industry Nine | Burgtec

​The B Practice Podcast is back! After some unfortunate technical difficulties last week that saw our post-Lenzerheide show evaporate from existence, the powers that be allowed our post-Leogang show to happen. Only two rounds into the UCI Downhill World Cup season, and we’ve been treated to tons of epic racing. We don’t know if there has ever been a season with as close of racing and so many potential winners. 

As always, Dakotah Norton brings you between the tape with his trackside insights and breaks down the excitement from Lenzerheide and Leogang with Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew discusses initial impressions of the new race format, thoughts on the new broadcasting, the impressive crop of talent spread across each category, first-time category winners, Rachel Atherton’s legend status, and Loic Bruni’s futuristic gear. Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody after Val di Sole in a few weeks! Enjoy!

These great companies make The Inside Line possible
Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA | FOX 

Love him or hate him, Taylor Sage, or TSage as many call him, has been a breath of fresh air in the mountain bike scene for nearly 20 years. He's raced XC and downhill, he was a main builder at the infamous Hidden Valley trails, he's filmed for multiple New World Disorder movies, dug at Rampage for Kyle Strait and Cam Zink, helped keep MTB real with the 2Six Stallions, films and builds with Brandon Semenuk and so much more. Oh, and he's not on Instagram.

Enjoy the show with a living legend who's all grown up now...sort of. 

#MTB #podcast #mountainbike 

Show Contents
0:00 - Strava, Lopes and Racing XC
5:43 - MTB history
9:18 - Meeting Kyle Strait
14:40 - Building Trails and MTB vs BMX
27:54: - Mike Hucker Clark
30:36 - Zink, Strait, 2Six Stallions, Filming for NWD
39:51 - Robbie Bourdon's Broken Neck
47:23 - Film, Digital and Battling The Collective with NWD
50:47 - 2Six Stallions vs The Bicycle Rockers
52:53 - Sage is Unmarketable and Being Blind in One Eye
1:04:36 - TSage and Cam McCaul Saw a UFO
1:12:50 - Losing His Index Finger
1:28:15 - No Social Media
1:41:29 - Camera Gear, Semenuk, Editing Process
1:48:42 - The Future and Reflecting on the past

The B Practice Podcast is back after a small hiatus! Since our last recording a few months back, the crew has been busier than ever. Austin moved from Colorado to California to start a new role with Specialized, Dakotah has been in the thick of developing the latest Intense DH bike while continuing to build his house, Tanner’s been busy jump-starting his career as a producer, and I’ve just been doing what I can to keep pumping out cool content for the site. 

With the 2023 World Cup downhill season less than a month out, the good news is that we will soon be back to our normally scheduled post-race podcasting. This offseason has been longer and more action-packed than usual, and a lot of pre-season racing has ensued. We sat down to discuss how the current crop of elite racers are looking after these warm-up events, who will be contending for the win at Lenzerheide, find out how Dak is feeling heading into summer, highlight some fast up-and-coming #USDH racers, and speculate on what type of course tape will be used at the first round. 

As always, a huge shoutout to Maxxis, Industry Nine, and Burgtec for supporting the B Practice Podcast! Enjoy this episode, and we will see everyone the week after Lenzerheide for our post-race show. 

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!

• ​MAXXIS TIRES
• INDUSTRY NINE
• BURGTEC

Welcome mountain bikers, I’m excited to have Ben Plenge on the show today. He’s a rider, racer, but he’s also the founder and coach at The Strength Factory in the UK. We discuss how Ben found mountain biking and being a fitness coach as well as specific philosophies and techniques to become a stronger, fitter rider.

Episode Topics

0:00 - Intro
 2:34 - Getting into MTB and Joining the Army
 9:21 - Becoming a Fitness Coach and Founding the Strength Factory
 15:36 - Fitness for MTBers over 40 years old
 21:32 - Mental Health, Training and Empathy
 27:01 - Do You Need Weights or Tech Gadgets to Train Well?
 34:13 - Importance of Posture for MTB
 39:33 - Different Body Types and Training Based on Forward Riding Foot
 44:37 - Nasal Breathing for MTB
 50:26 - Being Successful with a Fitness Plan - Realistic Time Management
 59:28 - Benefits of Low-Intensity Aerobic Training
 1:10:48 - Does an E-Bike Make You Weak?
 1:14:36 - Racers Ben Admires
 1:16:56 - MTB Strength Programs

Strength Factory Promotions for Vital MTBers

• Use the code VITALMTB for 20% off the Complete MTB Programme
• Use the code VITALDH for 20% off the Complete DH Programme
• Use the code VITAL40 for 20% off the Over 40s MTB Programme

All discount codes expire on 31st May.

Instagram: @strengthfactory_coach
YouTube: @thestrengthfactory.

These great companies make The Inside Line possible
MAXXIS TIRES - JENSON USA - FOX

Breathing Information

• The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown
• Breath by James Nestor
• Follow @_brianmackenzie or his website: Shift Adapt

Luca Cometti is a professional mountain biker and filmmaker from Southern California. He moved from BMX to MTB at an early age, hitting local races and making videos of his friends. As the years progressed, he turned that passion into becoming a Dual Slalom specialist, landing a ride on a factory team to race World Cup downhills, competing in Crankworx festivals all over the globe and creating film projects with some of mountain biking's most talented riders. Enjoy the show with one of the nicest riders in the game.

The Inside Line is supported by these great sponsors
Jenson USA
Maxxis Tires
FOX Racing Shox

See Luca on YouTube - @luca_cometti 
Follow Luca on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/luca_cometti

Show Contents
0:00 - The Coffee Setup
8:12 - Bonus for Beating Strait & Slalom Bike Setup
21:11 - Finding Bikes and Grom Video-making in San Diego
30:36 - DH Racing Progression & BetterRide Camps
36:46 - Pursing a DH Racing Career
43:43 - From Factory Racer to Privateer
52:56 - Pursing Crankworx Instead of World Cup
57:07 - Marketing as a Rider and Filmmaking
1:06:19 - Importance of Social Media Influence
1:11:04 - Quality of Content
1:22:44 - Brands Measuring Athletes with Promo Codes
1:27:37 - Video Project with Greg Minnaar
1:31:22 - Filming Kyle Strait's Back-breaking Rampage Crash
1:38:05 - Crankworx Hustle and Bernard Kerr's Success
1:44:21 - SURON Riders Wrecking Trails?
1:54:13 - Racing Big Mountain Enduro in 2023
2:00:30 - Why Isn't Dual Slalom a UCI Event?

#MTB #mountainbike #bike

U.S. downhill mountain bike racer, Charlie Harrison, joins us on The Inside Line to discuss his race career, injury and why he's decided to retire. Charlie has seen success with multiple World Cup DH podium results over the years. We talk about how he went from motocross racing to finding downhill MTB, career highlights, riding for Intense Factory Racing and Trek Factory Racing. As injury plagued the end of his time on the track, Charlie decided it was time to hang up the number plate and set his sights on a career in firefighting. He continues to ride regularly and does bike test work for Santa Cruz on occasion. #MTB #mountainbike #usdh 

Video contents
0:00 - Using PVC Pipe as Fake Roots on a DH Track
3:03 - What is SoCal Speed Team
6:37 - From Moto to MTB
13:06 - Will We Ever See Skatepark Chuck Again?
16:05 - DH Race Progression / Fontana
24:54 - World Cup Visions
28:14 - First World Cup DH Success
36:45 - Getting Comfortable at World Cups
39:06 - Riding for Intense Factory
46:08 - Breaking into Top 10 at the World Cup
49:57 - Moving to Trek Factory Racing
56:00 - Reece Wilson Story
1:00:45 - Plagued with Injuries
1:13:59 - Retiring from DH Racing
1:20:56 - DH Training Program
1:24:23 - Outside Hobbies and Overlanding
1:28:32 - Helping with Santa Cruz
1:32:52 - Embarrassing Crash

Watch the episode - https://youtu.be/WYbuPIpYCkI

Rich Houseman forged a successful career as an American mountain bike racer in the late nineties and early 2000s. Taking wins in downhill, dual slalom, 4x and dual, Rich has seen all the different trends and changes that mountain bike racing has taken over the last two-and-a-half decades. As his race career wound down, he found himself at a company called Sponsorhouse, which managed athlete and brand sponsor partnerships. Sponsorhouse changed its name to Hookit and Rich has remained an integral part of the business for 19 years. He continues to oversee athlete and sponsor relations and discusses how Hookit uses data-driven information to help companies and riders succeed in their marketing efforts.

Thanks  to JENSON USA  and MAXXIS TIRES  for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast.

Watch this podcast on YouTube

Discussion Topics
0:00 - Introduction and Fontana
7:10 - BMX to Basketball to Downhill
16:50 - World Champs DH in Cairns
19:57 - First Sponsors, Racing for Tomac
24:54 - Slalom, Dual & 4X
30:59 - Bike Setup Back in the Day
34:28 - Why Did 4X Die?
35:56 - Proudest Racing Moment
38:08 - Making a Living Racing MTB
42:48 - Discovering Aaron Gwin
54:05 - Sponsorhouse to Hookit
1:00:17 - From MTB Racer to Desk Job
1:06:26 - Social Media's Impact on MTB Sponsorship
1:19:53 - What Makes a Successful Social Media Pt?
1:32:52 - Difficulties Female Athletes Face on Social Media
1:35:27 - Athletes Succeeding on Social Media
1:40:14 - Leticia Bufoni using Hookit
1:47:32 - Lew Buchanan Riding for OnlyFans
1:51:22 - Wyn Masters' Sponsor Value
1:56:11 - Dad Life

#MTB #Mountainbike #bike

It's a downhill bike. It's an enduro bike. It's a gearbox bike. It's a regular derailleur-based drivetrain bike. Learn all the details about Trinity's diverse and unique mountain bike with Mic Williams. Mic runs Williams Racing Products and is 1/3rd of the Trinity crew. 

Interview Contents
0:00 - Trinity and WRP Background
2:39 - Gearbox-Adaptable Trinity Design
7:15 - Steel and Aluminum Frame Build
9:30 - Modular Frame Flex and Compliance Tuning 
4:54 - Importance of Swingarm Flex
17:33 - Geometry - Matching Rear-center & Reach?
19:24 - Suspension Kinematics
23:44 - Modular Drivetrain Design
25:47 - WRP Gearbox Explained

Aaron Gwin's mechanic and potential 2023 Fontana 30-39 Expert champ, John Hall, joins Team Robot, Jason Schroeder, Jonny Simonetti and gordo on The Inside Line Ride Along. We spend three hours discussing everything from the unwritten rules of World Cup downhill warm-up spots, spoke tension myths, creating mountain bikes for consumers vs. pro racers, the new Intense M279 HP6 prototype,  Gwin's chainless victory in Leogang and plenty more.

These great partners support The Inside Line
www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code INSIDELINE and receive 10% off qualifying items.
MAXXIS TIRES - they've been with The Inside Line since day one and make the best-performing mountain bike tires for all styles and riding conditions.

Interview contents
0:00 - Intro / Semi-final World Cup DH format Impact on Mechanics
17:35 - How Many Tires Used at a World Cup DH?
21:15 - John Hall was Jason Schroeder's Mechanic
25:45 - Becoming Aaron Gwin's Mechanic
40:35 - Trying to Get 27.5 DH tires and wheels in 2013
47:57 - Spoke Tension Debates
53:25 - Prototypes and Different Rider Setups
1:00:54 - Recipe for Winning
1:15:47 - Will John Hall Be the 2023 Fontana Ex 30-39 Champ?
1:27:50 - Thoughts on e-Enduro Racing?
1:38:38 - Developing Bikes for Every Rider
1:59:13 - Bike Reviews Based on Incorrect Setup
2:11:14 - You Can't Scrub
2:14:36 - Don't Make Bets with Mitch Ropelato or Aaron Gwin
2:19:36 - John Tomac Stories
2:24:29 - Developing the Prototype Intense M279 HP6
2:43:18 - Suspension Platforms
2:54:45 - The Broken Chain Leogang Win Story
3:12:53 - SoCal Speed Team

In December last year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced fairly monumental changes to the format of UCI World Cup downhill racing. The introduction of a third points-paying race per round that will result in less elite riders in finals quickly stirred up a commotion. On today's episode, the crew sits down to discuss the details of these changes and the possible implications they will have when the season kicks off in June. Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible:
Maxxis
Burgtec
Industry Nine 

0:00 Dakotah Norton's initial reaction as a World Cup racer
4:51 Breakdown and discussion of new semi-final and finals format
9:45 Impact of the new format on US DH racers
11:38 Why did Warner Bros. Discovery implement these changes?
16:27 Broadcasting top 30 vs. top 60 
17:30 Points breakdown per round  
19:07 How will more points per round affect racing? 
26:55 The dynamic of doing three race runs in a weekend
33:52 How to watch World Cups in 2023
36:05 Third-party media changes 
39:55 New protected rider rules  
50:09 The stresses of being a top 10 racer OR top 30-40 racer in semi-finals
52:10 Rumors of track standardization
53:40 Why not a B Final or last-chance qualifier?  
55:05 How season-long storylines could change with less racers in finals 
1:00:02 Will wildcard racers still be a thing?
1:00:14 Updates to replacement rider rules 
1:02:04 2023 Schedule breakdown 
1:08:04 Are all these changes just TV broadcasters taking over our sport?

MSA, what a way to end the season. Grueling and daunting, it's a track that other venues will forever be compared against. It feels wrong that this could be the last World Cup at Mont Sainte Anne for a long time (if not ever). At least the final send-off race was one to remember. For our crew, it was memorable because our guy Dak, against a lot of odds, slotted himself into 4th place less than a year after a life-altering injury. We couldn't be prouder. In this episode, we chat about Dak's program (or lack thereof) going into the off-season, Jackson doing Jackson things to take the overall title, the current rider pool being so deep, tire sealant tips, Rampage thoughts, and what type of content is even engaging these days. 

Thanks for listening and supporting the podcast this season! 

Bob Weber set out on a crusade to make the safest motorcycle and mountain bike helmets available and today they're celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Vital spent a morning with Bob and Derek from 6D riding bikes and then sitting down to discuss their journey. Their patented ODS helmet technology is explained along with Bob's philosophy about preventing concussions and minimizing injury from cycling and biking-related crashes.

Jason and Shawn rode in the 6D ATB-2T helmet earlier that morning and were surprised by its comfort and stability on the trail. The protection offered by the helmet, paired with the comfort and fit has them considering running it full-time.

These great partners support The Inside Line
www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code INSIDELINE and receive 10% off qualifying items.
MAXXIS TIRES - they've been with The Inside Line since day one and make the best-performing mountain bike tires for all styles and riding conditions.

Team Robot, aka Charlie Sponsel, drops in for the first Inside Line Ride Along, where mountain bikers sit down with no real agenda to discuss life and bikes.

It's a new year, and we have some exciting changes for the podcast! First, we are finally filming the show. Unfortunately, this means Dakotah can't cook dinner while we record and Austin will have to get out of bed. But we couldn't be more stoked to continue evolving the podcast and offering everyone entertaining and insightful conversations focused on downhill racing. If everything goes to plan, the plan is to pump out a weekly podcast. Wish us luck.

And second, we've managed to score some fantastic sponsors for the podcast this year. Somehow four friends bantering and bench racing has turned into a mildly successful passion project, so shoutout to everyone who's listened in the past and helped get the podcast to this point, and a big shoutout to Maxxis, Burgtec and Industry Nine for coming on board to support the podcast. We will do our best to keep these sponsorships from going straight to our heads and changing who we are. 

Professional downhill mountain bike racer, Chris Grice, checks in from a training camp in France. He's recently moved from Specialized Gravity to Generation Specialized for 2023. We talk about that move, how he's training, what he thinks about the changes to the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and World Series, meeting Aaron Gwin for the first time and his insane crash at Windrock while filming for Vital RAW.

These great partners support The Inside Line
www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code INSIDELINE and receive 10% off qualifying items.
MAXXIS TIRES - they've been with The Inside Line since day one and make the best-performing mountain bike tires for all styles and riding conditions.

We sit down with all the members of the Santa Cruz Syndicate downhill mountain bike race team, Laurie Greenland, Nina Hoffman, Jackson Goldstone, Greg Minnaar, Steve Peat and Lee Huskinson, Laurie's mechanic. We talk about everything from impressive race performances to making sure that little adjuster knob on an airplane tray table is perpendicular to the ground.

Vital MTB thanks
Jenson USA
- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

Maxxis Tires

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Jackson Goldstone and Greg Minnaar of the Santa Cruz Syndicate join us on The Inside Line mountain bike podcast. We met up with them at the Fox MTB headquarters as they were deciding on their new race kits for 2023 and debuting the new Union shoe. Jackson discusses his insane huck off a bridge at the Andorra World Cup. Greg talks about breaking his neck in Val di Sole, Italy, 20+ years of racing downhill, going from a super long V10 to reeling the length back in, the 45,000-Euro Showa forks on his Honda G-Cross downhill bike and more.

Next week, we'll continue the episode with all the members of the Santa Cruz Syndicate - Laurie Greenland, Nina Hoffman, Jackson, Greg and even Steve Peat! 

Vital MTB thanks
Jenson USA
- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

Maxxis Tires

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Welcome mountain bikers! Shawn Spomer and Jason Schroeder sit down with Nik Nestoroff who just announced that he's riding for Fezzari Bicycles. We discuss racing enduro full-time after a strong downhill career, competing in Fontana DH races at age 9, the Palmer Project, Intense Factory Racing and KHS Factory Racing. Great stories about buying a $400 Honda Civic in Scotland to tour Europe with Trevor Boldi come to light, and hacking the system as an 18-year-old to rent a van in the USA to go race make this one a great listen.

Follow Nik and Kailey on YouTube -  @niknestoroff
Follow Nik on Instagram
Vital MTB thanks
Jenson USA
- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

Maxxis Tires

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Show Contents
0:00 - Nik's Bootleg Canyon Crash
2:43 - Switch from DH to Enduro
4:37 - New Bike Sponsor - Fezzari
7:08 - Volcom MTB Riding Gear
8:20 - Enduro Compared to DH Racing
13:38 - Training for Enduro
16:22 - How Nik Got into MTB
19:50 - Nik's First Bike
20:50 - Racing Fontana DH at 9 Years Old
23:18 - Palmer Project and Intense Factory Racing
26:33 - KHS Factory Racing
28:49 - Shaun Palmer Stories
35:02 - Favorite / Least-Favorite DH Tracks
39:28 - World Champs Bikes and Race Results
41:22 - Enduro Trophy de Nations USA
53:04 - Buying a $400 Civic in Scotland
1:01:29 - Under 21 Rental Car Hack
1:01:40 - 2023 Race and Ride Goals

In this episode of the B Practice MTB Podcast, we rope in one of our favorite #USDH racers, Dante Silva. We've known Dante since he started popping up at popular shuttle zones in SoCal years before he could drive. Now a fun-spirited, high-energy 19-year-old, Dante has harnessed the natural talent he oozed at 12 to become one of the fastest U.S. downhill racers of the modern era.   

After racing as a supported privateer during his Junior years and first Elite season in 2021, Dante made the jump to the Canyon Collective Pirelli Team for 2022. Never one to waste a hard-earned opportunity, his 2022 season was filled with consistent results and a few moments of glory, highlighted by two top-20 finishes at the North American World Cup rounds. With racing behind him for the year, we chatted with Dante about off-season activities, helping develop Pirelli tires, having Fabien Barel as a line coach, crashing at the U.S. Open, being bored and dying his hair, pants vs. shorts, and so, so much more. We enjoyed this entertaining and at times hilarious conversation, and hopefully, you do too! 

#MTB #USDH #mountainbike #bikes

Welcome back to another episode of Vital's B Practice Podcast! In this episode, we chatted with professional downhill racer Frida Rønning. Originally from Norway, Frida became part of the #USDH scene after moving stateside for college and now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she is working towards her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. On top of pursuing her education, she has chased World Cup racing for the past several years, and 2022 marked Frida's first season on a properly supported team - the UNION. 

We had a great time chatting with Frida and discovering how she balances school, racing, and continuing to live in the U.S., how she got into downhill racing, and what it was like transitioning from privateer support to racing for a legitimate World Cup team. We then broke down the crash that ended Frida's season and left her with a lengthy concussion recovery. Concussions are, unfortunately, a part of mountain biking, but the information surrounding rehab and healing is limited. We gained a ton of helpful insight from Frida's experience and recovery, and hopefully, anyone dealing with post-concussion symptoms finds this episode useful.

Thank you, Frida, for taking the time to chat with us, and we can't wait to cheer you on next season! 

After supporting our Inside Line podcast series for years, Maxxis has stepped up to also sponsor the B Practice Podcast moving forward. That's right; enough of you enjoy listening to us ramble about bikes and racing that we are starting to move up in the podcast world. Hopefully, now we can get Dakotah a hotspot for his potato phone and invest in some real mics. No promises. 

Maxxis has built its name through racing at the highest levels of the sport, claiming countless race wins, World Cup overall titles, and World Championships along the way. Visit your local shop or favorite online retailer to get the same tread patterns and compounds used by the fastest racers in the world. 

If World Cups are the pinnacle of downhill mountain biking, Red Bull Rampage is the absolute pinnacle of big mountain freeriding. After ten days of digging and testing, 16 riders lined up last Friday to carve their names into Rampage history. This year was filled with plenty of historical moments, the usual scoring controversy, and some added drama with wind complications and the live broadcast quality.

We sat down to discuss all the madness from the event, and pulled in our good friend Jon Simek, who attended the two-week event as a digger for Kyle Strait (get well soon, Kyle!). We chat with Jon about how riders approach building lines, the science of stacking dirt in the desert, riders running out of time to finish builds, and Kyle's crash and recovery. We then get into Rampage scoring and the need for more transparency, Dylan Stark's crank arm grind, wind and weather delays, ESPN+ coverage, tricks versus big lines, and much more. Enjoy!   

After supporting our Inside Line podcast series for years, Maxxis has stepped up to sponsor the B Practice Podcast moving forward. That's right; enough of you enjoy listening to us ramble about bikes and racing that we are starting to move up in the podcast world. Hopefully, now we can get Dakotah a hotspot for his potato phone and invest in some real mics. No promises. 

Maxxis has built its name through racing at the highest levels of the sport, claiming countless race wins, World Cup overall titles, and World Championships along the way. Visit your local shop or favorite online retailer to get the same tread patterns and compounds used by the fastest racers in the world. 

The B Practice podcast returns! There was a lot of racing the past six weeks or so. Our main man Dak was busy globetrotting and facilitating one hell of a comeback. So we can't be too upset about his lack of availability. Thankfully, we sat down this week to chat about some DH racing and were joined by special guest Dante Silva. We kept the conversation laid-back per usual, breaking down the unpredictable track from Lake Placid, how Dante and Dak's weekends went, what winning the U.S. Open for the third time meant to Dak, Dante's switch from racing World Cups to being a US-only racer this season, and plenty of other topics. We hope you enjoy this episode, and thanks as always for tuning in!

Braydon Bringhurst joins us live today on The Inside Line MTB podcast to discuss his new movie, 8600FT. The movie documents Braydon's achievement of attempting to climb the entire Whole Enchilada Trail in Moab, Utah, without walking any section, including the world-famous Snotch. 8600FT has premiered in select cities and will be launched live online on November 2. See www.8600ftfilm.com for details

Photos by @ToryPowers

View the live video on YouTube here

The Inside Line podcast is proudly supported by

• www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.
• Maxxis tires - hit up www.maxxis.com to search their line-up of mountain bike tires to see which best suit your riding style and terrain.
• Santa Cruz Bicycles -  Santa Cruz offers free, lifetime pivot bearing replacement on all frames, and through their PayDirt Fund, they're giving $1 million over three years to trail projects and initiatives. www.santacruzbicycles.com

Watch this podcast with pictures and clips on Vital MTB or our YouTube channel.

Jordi Cortes, Race Team Manager for FOX, Marzocchi, Race Face and Easton joins us on The Inside Line Live podcast today. You probably know Jordi best from his appearances in FOX's Dialed series about World Cup Downhill racing.

The Inside Line podcast is proudly supported by
- www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

- Maxxis tires - hit up www.maxxis.com to search their line-up of mountain bike tires to see which best suit your riding style and terrain.

- Santa Cruz Bicycles - Santa Cruz offers free, lifetime pivot bearing replacement on all frames, and through their PayDirt Fund, they're giving $1 million over three years to trail projects and initiatives. www.santacruzbicycles.com

Follow Vital MTB
www.instagram.com/vitalmtb
www.facebook.com/vitalmtb

Take a trip back to 2018 in this archive episode of The Inside Line. All heart, all passion and all in. Eric Davies, founder of Deity components, has turned a life-long dream into a thriving independent mountain bike parts brand. From a unique childhood in Central America to stumbling across mountain biking in college, Eric worked his way from bike shop employee to industry insider. Eventually, he grew tired of helping others build something he didn't believe in and started Deity in late 2003 with his wife Sadie. The rest is patient, deliberate history and I hope you enjoy learning about that history in this week's podcast.

Jenson USA has everything you need for your mountain bike! It's a great time of year to save big and if you use coupon code inside line all one word at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

If you're lackin' the traction or wanna ride like Jackson (Goldstone), Maxxis tires will give you the grip. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions.

On the fastest, roughest World Cup DH track of the year, Santa Cruz bicycles took a 1st place and two 2nd places under Jackson Goldstone, Nina Hoffman and Laurie Greenland. The V10 is stomping DH and their Megatower and Hightower are new this year with internal frame storage. Don't forget, that any Santa Cruz bike comes free, lifetime bearing replacement, too! Santacruzbicycles.com is where to find a local dealer.

The World Cup downhill season might have wrapped up last month, but there is always plenty of racing-related topics to podcast about! We have talked about wanting to interview people on the B Practice Podcast all season, and those hopes have come to fruition with our first guests: Dillon Lemarr and Austin Dooley. Dillon is the Team Manager of the Commencal North America Team, and Austin rides for Dillon's team and should need little introduction after his successful 2022 World Cup campaign. It was awesome to hear both of them reflect on the season from a manager and team rider perspective and touch on the struggles of elite racing, areas for improvement, and goals for 2023. But before we dove into the Austin and Dillon show, we did cover Dakotah's $15,000 win at the US Open, his ongoing home renovation and plans to visit SoCal, Proving Grounds, Dylan Stark at Rampage, and our 2022 Downhill Test Sessions. 

Thank you so much, Dillon and Austin, for taking the time to chat, and we hope everyone enjoys listening!

The 2022 UCI Downhill World Cup season has come to a close, and racing concluded on debatably the gnarliest track of the year in Val di Sole, Italy. Overall titles were crowned, bikes were pushed to the limit, and our co-host, Dakotah Norton, finished the year with a career-best 3rd place. It was a bitter-sweet ending to the season with Dak ending on a high note, Camille Balanche pushing through injury to wrap up her first Elite title, and Red Bull signing off on their last broadcast.    

This week, the B Practice crew breaks down all the craziness from the weekend, discussing Dak’s podium weekend, World Cup bonuses, UCI podium payouts, Rob Warner’s final race as the voice of World Cup downhill, Amaury Pierron’s dominating season, and ability to ride the edge, rumors of an A and B final next year at World Cups, plans for the podcast this offseason, plus lots of random banter. Enjoy!

Can this season get any more exciting!?! World Champs from Les Gets, France, was one for the record books, with Loic Bruni taking his 5th World title and France sweeping the Elite Men's podium. There were plenty of other highlights from the weekend, including Valentina Holl taking her first World title, upsets in the Junior field, custom bikes and gear, and one of the largest crowds we've ever seen.

This week the B Practice crew breaks down all the craziness from the weekend, discussing the mental approach to a one-off race like Worlds, favorite custom bikes, Greg Minnaar's Jamaican bobsled team kit, Loris Vergier's grip choice, why the French have been historically so successful at Worlds, and most importantly, what is up with riders cuffing their pant legs. All that, plus some insights into the gnarly Val di Sole track being raced this weekend for the final World Cup of 2022.

Two weeks ago, we attempted to record our usual post-race podcast after the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont Sainte Anne, but unfortunately we had issues with the recording upload. Oh, the joys of conducting a podcast with multiple people in various countries across the globe. As World Championships approaches, we decided to wait and record a pre-Worlds show, covering highlights from MSA and touching on the World Cup overall standings heading into the final round from Val di Sole, Italy.

We also chat about concussion protocol, Crankworx Whistler, the dangers of World Cup spectating, who is the sickest downhill racer currently, the updated Les Gets track, and speculate on the anarchy that could follow if a French racer wins on Saturday. Enjoy! 

Welcome mountain bikers, let's jump back 5 years to a previously aired Inside Line featuring Eliot Jackson. This was the very first Inside Line ever and Eliot was kind enough to be the guinea pig for us. Needless to say it's been an awesome ride for the Inside Line and we're stoked for more. Eliot mentioned on his Instagram account that the Mont-Sainte-Anne Red Bull webcast with Rob Warner a week or so ago was his last World Cup commentary. We'll definitely miss his knowledge and enthusiasm on the broadcasts and are excited to see what his future holds. He's the founder Grow Cycling, doing great things there and always has something up his sleeve. 

Jenson USA has a Labor Sale going on right now. Bikes are on discount, parts, riding gear, you name it. It's a great time of year to save big and if you use coupon code inside line all one word at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

If you're lackin' the traction or wanna ride like Jackson (Goldstone), Maxxis tires will give you the grip. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions.

On the fastest, roughest World Cup DH track of the year, Santa Cruz bicycles took a 1st place and two 2nd places under Jackson Goldstone, Nina Hoffman and Laurie Greenland. The V10 is stomping DH and their Megatower and Hightower are new this year with internal frame storage. Don't forget, that any Santa Cruz bike comes free lifetime bearing replacement, too! Santacruzbicycles.com is where to find a local dealer.

Enjoy the show!

Back in the USA, baby! Last weekend, the World Cup circus headed across the pond for the first time this season to Snowshoe, West Virginia. After years of relatively dry racing, the east coast provided, welcoming riders with plenty of rain and slippery conditions. Not many made it down without having a near-death moment (or two), and it might have been the toughest track raced in years.  

This week, the crew discusses Dakotah’s now infamous race run inside line, how the Snowshoe track humbled the world’s best racers, the tripod corner that ended a few race runs, the rise of Ronan Dunne, who is responsible for track maintenance and safety during a race weekend, result breakdowns for each class, and then they close things out with some pre-Mont-Sainte-Anne chatter. Enjoy!

The mud at the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill in Snowshoe provided the drama, but the racers, fans and atmosphere were the highlight of the weekend. Trill Will got his hands on interviews from Bernard Kerr, Camille Balanche and Eliot Jackson, Ronan Dunne, Gracey Hemstreet, Superfan Alex Ohlman, Laurie Greenland, Matt Sterling, Preston Cline (Race Director for the Snowshoe World Cup) and Wyn Masters.

Two years ago to the day, Vital member, contributor and finance specialist, Jeff Brines, posted a question in our forum, "Will more companies be shutting down in the next 12-24 months?" A small, but exciting mountain bike brand, Guerrilla Gravity, surprisingly announced it was closing, and the rest of the industry was in the wake of the Covid boom. It was a dynamic time with plenty of uncertainty ahead, so the question Jeff asked was very relevant and our community was engaged.

Fast-forward to today and that forum thread has 414,000 views and over 3,100 replies as the Vital community has followed the topic every day for the last two years. At the request of the thread's participants, we honor the anniversary of the topic as Shawn Spomer, Vital Content Director and Charlie Sponsel, Vital contributor, catch up with Jeff to look back and reflect on the health of the bike industry today and to speculate what may happen going forward.

THANK YOU to all Vital MTB members who have participated in this discussion. We're honored to have such a fantastic community of bike riders on our platform.

The one-year anniversary podcast with Jeff can be found here

Thank you to FOX | Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA for supporting The Inside Line

After two years, the World Cup circus returned to the heart of the Pyrenees Mountains for an exciting weekend of dry, hot, fast, and tight racing. With a brand new track on a completely different side of the mountain, gone were the steep, technical sections we are used to seeing in Andorra, and instead, the track was made up of blistering fast off-cambers and high-speed turns with no shortage of loose shale and dust. Times were tight, and the margin for error was even smaller.

This week, we discuss if World Cup downhill should assign permanent race numbers, if selling more downhill bikes is the answer to the longevity of the sport, the multiple death-defying sections on this year’s track, Loic Bruni's softer-than-average suspension setup, Jackson Goldstone having the fastest time of the day, plus our usual deep dive into results and overall standings. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Inside Line podcast, Jason Schroeder sits down to interview his good friend and past landlord, Austin Smith, better known as Cheddar Child. Originally from Southern California and now residing in Boise, Idaho, Austin is first and foremost a ripping snowboarder. Introduced to mountain biking during his college years, his love for two wheels and digging trails have become his newfound passion. 

As the current Director of Innovations and Marketing at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, he has played a huge role in growing Bogus’ new bike park, which has moved the needle forward for mountain bike trails in the greater Boise area. He’s a staple in the community who is constantly organizing dig days and trying to improve the experience of every rider who visits the park. He also has some of the sickest backyard dirt jumps you’ll likely never see and a love for music festivals and drum and bass. Austin is truly a one-of-a-kind individual whose intensity for life and motivated personality leaves an impact on everyone who crosses his path.

Have a listen as Austin discusses growing up being a snowboarder in Southern California, jumping beach cruisers at Sheep Hills, what a degree in Ski Business & Resort Management involves, the costs of operating a bike park, what it means to be a nonprofit mountain recreation area, and what it’s like being queer in action sports. Enjoy!

Thank you to
- jensonusa.com - Use coupon code “insideline” (all one word) at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.
- maxxis.com
- santacruzbicycles.com 

Cover photograph by John Webster - @johnjwebster

Show Notes

• The inspiration for the name 'Cheddar Child'
• 2014/15 Snowboard Edit
• Air Awareness
• Building ‘Crackland’ Backyard Dirt Jumps
• Crankland 3.0 Session
• VitalMTB All Trails POV The Basin Gravity Park
• ‘Wish You Were Here’ Austin Smith 
• Bogus Basin Community Trail Build Day
• Pose TV Series
• Ballroom Culture 
• We're All Mental Community 
• 'Freedom From The Known' by Jidda Krishnamurti
• Mr Happy - DNB Song 
• Critical Crack Critters Anonymous Spotify Playlist

Dakota Norton qualified 2nd in Lenzerheide, was up at the splits and had an unfortunate slideout during his race run at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill. Jason Schroeder and Tanner Stephens, former World Cup downhill racers, talk with Dak about his race weekend and then the three of them dive into the performances of top finishers in all categories.

Will Washam, also known as Trill Will, is on the Inside Line podcast today. If you've raced a Downhill Southeast, watched one of their race replays or attended a recent National Champs gravity event, you have heard him making the calls as commentator. We talk about his journey into mountain biking, finding his way into announcing duties over the years and more.

Thanks to jensonusa.com for supporting The Inside Line. They have their Independence Day sale going on right now with big savings on bikes, components and riding gear. Summer is here, so make sure you and your bike are ready for shredding. Use coupon code InsideLine, all one word, at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires are stacking wins this year with Richie Rude winning the latest EWS, Jesse Melamed winning the week before, Vali Holl taking a Crankworx DH win in Innsbruck and Matt Walker winning the Leogang World Cup downhill. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions and maybe you'll be on the podium at your next race, too.

Santa Cruz bicycles just launched the new Hightower 29er trail bike with 145mm of rear travel, internal frame storage and 5 size options. Hit our site to see our first ride review with our tech editor Jason Schroeder ripping the trail in Oakridge, Oregon, or hit up www.santacruzbicycles.com to learn more about this do-it-all trail smasher! Don't forget, they offer free, lifetime bearing replacement on their full-squish frames, too!

We're going to take a trip back in time to 2018 with a previously aired Inside Line featuring Rob Warner. If you didn't know, after this 2022 season, Red Bull will no longer produce the Live webcasts of World Cup Downhill and Cross Country as the UCI sold those rights to the Discovery channel through 2030. Upon hearing the news, I asked Rob if he would still be involved as race commentator, hopeful for a "yes" answer because he has been such an integral part of what makes those shows so exciting to watch. This was his reply, "after this year, it's highly unlikely I'll be commentating on any UCI MTB World Cups for the foreseeable future." and he left it at that. With that answer, I thought it was a great time to revisit our interview from 4 years ago to showcase just how much passion he has for what he does.

Thanks to jensonusa.com for supporting The Inside Line. They have their Independence Day sale going on right now with big savings on bikes, components and riding gear. Summer is here, so make sure you and your bike are ready for shredding. Use coupon code InsideLine, all one word, at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires are stacking wins this year with Richie Rude winning the latest EWS, Jesse Melamed winning the week before, Vali Holl taking a Crankworx DH win in Innsbruck and Matt Walker winning the Leogang World Cup downhill. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions and maybe you'll be on the podium at your next race, too.

Santa Cruz bicycles just launched the new Hightower 29er trail bike with 145mm of rear travel, internal frame storage and 5 size options. Hit our site to see our first ride review with our tech editor Jason Schroeder ripping the trail in Oakridge, Oregon, or hit up www.santacruzbicycles.com to learn more about this do-it-all trail smasher! Don't forget, they offer free, lifetime bearing replacement on their full-squish frames, too!

Engage time travel....now.

Dakotah Norton, Jason Schroeder, Austin Hackett-Klaube and Tanner Stephens discuss all things UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Leogang, Austria. #MTB #downhill #DH

Vital's B Practice podcast continues with a discussion about the last mountain bike World Cup Downhill in Fort William, Scotland. Jason Schroeder and Tanner Stephens get on the line with #USDH shredder, Dakotah Norton, to hear about his race experience and break down the other results of the weekend. The Leogang World Cup DH is next in line June 10 and 11.

Riding bikes and hanging out with friends as a kid has translated into riding bikes and hanging out with friends as an adult. Jeremiah work found fun and success racing BMX and building and riding trails in Texas. Eventually, he found his way into mountain biking through 4x racing, working his way up into the pro ranks of the Mountain States Cup and pushing on some heavy World Cuppers at a few select events. When his race career subsided, he shifted his focus with a desire to build the mountain bike community at home and in his region. He and his crew created the fun Trail Party race series that is going off. They recently announced the Downhill Rockies series which will bring #USDH racing back to the Rocky Mountain region this year with a race at Angel Fire and Purgatory and possibly 5 races in 2023. Listen to some great stories and get stoked to go rip some laps with friends.

www.trailparty.com

www.downhillrockies.com

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for listening to Vital MTB's Inside Line podcast. Our guest today is Noah Sears of MRP, but you may know him in the Vital forums and comments as NoahColorado. Today we discuss Noah's skills in the comment box, how he got into bikes, his eBay-bike-parts-sales career, blogging, working for Over the Edge Sports, how he found his way to MRP, ebikes, gravel bikes and more.

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop-shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Ryan Condrashoff, a #USDH shredder, joins Griz on The Inside Line to discuss getting into mountain bikes, becoming a top U.S.-level rider, racing World Cups, dealing with injury and coming to grips with the reality that a professional race career is not in his future.

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop-shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Les Gets is now the unofficial Mud Fest of season after back-to-back years of treacherous conditions. It was a spectacle to watch, and delivered a mix of insane bike handling skills and unfortunate mishaps that could have overall point implications as we get to the end of the season. 

Dakotah Norton breaks down what it was like to go to battle with such an unpredictable track and the bike changes needed to survive. The crew always debates rotor guards, wireless DH drivetrains, and Joe Breeden's 'Get a Grip' bar ends, stand-out rides from the weekend, Dak's #doitforDale Worlds bike, and thoughts on who could take the rainbow stripes in Champery this weekend. Enjoy!

Thank you Maxxis and Burgtec for supporting the B Practice Podcast!

Vital's B Practice Podcast kicks off with a post-race show discussing the Lourdes World Cup Downhill. Dakotah Norton, 11th place finisher in Lourdes, joins former #USDH World Cuppers, Jason Schroeder, Austin Hackett-Klaube and Tanner Stephens to discuss the first round in France. They ask Dak about his transition from YT to Intense, riding a brand new bike at the race, track difficulties, race results across all categories, why all the kits seem to look the same, Dak's color palette to stoke out his grandmother who's been diagnosed with cancer, and Fort William coming up. Oh, they apologize for leaving Luca out of the discussion. He's so good, it wasn't a shocker, HA!

See all of Vital's Lourdes World Cup Downhill coverage

Mountain biker, Kyle Warner, joins us on The Inside Line for his second appearance. Kyle recently got back on the bike after being sidelined with an adverse reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine. It's a very personal discussion about loss, depression, recovery and hope.

Kyle is involved with ReAct19, a research-focused, grassroots organization made up of patients, scientists and physicians.

You can watch Kyle and April's mountain bike videos on their channel - www.youtube.com/c/KyleAprilRideMtb

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop-shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Even after a fruitful World Cup- and National-level downhill race career over a decade ago, Kieran Bennett is still one of the fastest DH riders in New Zealand. The Kiwi pinner joins us on The Inside Line today to discuss how his mountain bike race campaign took shape, its highs, its lows, and where he's at today living in Nelson, NZ.

cover photo by Sven Martin

The Inside Line is supported by jensonusa.com, your one-stop shop for all things mountain biking. Use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Thank you to Maxxis tires for making The Inside Line go 'round and keeping Kieran on the gas. Maxxis.com is the place to find the perfect mountain bike tire for your riding style and terrain.

Lastly, thank you Santa Cruz Bicycles for supporting The Inside Line. Kieran rides Santa Cruz Bicycles, and we get into his experience with the V10cc MX.