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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 possibleMAXXIS TIRES - JENSON USA - FOXBreathing 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 sponsorsJenson USAMaxxis TiresFOX Racing ShoxSee Luca on YouTube - @luca_cometti  Follow Luca on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/luca_comettiShow Contents0:00 - The Coffee Setup8:12 - Bonus for Beating Strait & Slalom Bike Setup21:11 - Finding Bikes and Grom Video-making in San Diego30:36 - DH Racing Progression & BetterRide Camps36:46 - Pursing a DH Racing Career43:43 - From Factory Racer to Privateer52:56 - Pursing Crankworx Instead of World Cup57:07 - Marketing as a Rider and Filmmaking1:06:19 - Importance of Social Media Influence1:11:04 - Quality of Content1:22:44 - Brands Measuring Athletes with Promo Codes1:27:37 - Video Project with Greg Minnaar1:31:22 - Filming Kyle Strait's Back-breaking Rampage Crash1:38:05 - Crankworx Hustle and Bernard Kerr's Success1:44:21 - SURON Riders Wrecking Trails?1:54:13 - Racing Big Mountain Enduro in 20232:00:30 - 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 contents0:00 - Using PVC Pipe as Fake Roots on a DH Track3:03 - What is SoCal Speed Team6:37 - From Moto to MTB13:06 - Will We Ever See Skatepark Chuck Again?16:05 - DH Race Progression / Fontana24:54 - World Cup Visions28:14 - First World Cup DH Success36:45 - Getting Comfortable at World Cups39:06 - Riding for Intense Factory46:08 - Breaking into Top 10 at the World Cup49:57 - Moving to Trek Factory Racing56:00 - Reece Wilson Story1:00:45 - Plagued with Injuries1:13:59 - Retiring from DH Racing1:20:56 - DH Training Program1:24:23 - Outside Hobbies and Overlanding1:28:32 - Helping with Santa Cruz1:32:52 - Embarrassing CrashWatch 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 Topics0:00 - Introduction and Fontana7:10 - BMX to Basketball to Downhill16:50 - World Champs DH in Cairns19:57 - First Sponsors, Racing for Tomac24:54 - Slalom, Dual & 4X30:59 - Bike Setup Back in the Day34:28 - Why Did 4X Die?35:56 - Proudest Racing Moment38:08 - Making a Living Racing MTB42:48 - Discovering Aaron Gwin54:05 - Sponsorhouse to Hookit1:00:17 - From MTB Racer to Desk Job1:06:26 - Social Media's Impact on MTB Sponsorship1:19:53 - What Makes a Successful Social Media Pt?1:32:52 - Difficulties Female Athletes Face on Social Media1:35:27 - Athletes Succeeding on Social Media1:40:14 - Leticia Bufoni using Hookit1:47:32 - Lew Buchanan Riding for OnlyFans1:51:22 - Wyn Masters' Sponsor Value1:56:11 - 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 Contents0:00 - Trinity and WRP Background2:39 - Gearbox-Adaptable Trinity Design7:15 - Steel and Aluminum Frame Build9:30 - Modular Frame Flex and Compliance Tuning 4:54 - Importance of Swingarm Flex17:33 - Geometry - Matching Rear-center & Reach?19:24 - Suspension Kinematics23:44 - Modular Drivetrain Design25:47 - 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 Linewww.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 contents0:00 - Intro / Semi-final World Cup DH format Impact on Mechanics17:35 - How Many Tires Used at a World Cup DH?21:15 - John Hall was Jason Schroeder's Mechanic25:45 - Becoming Aaron Gwin's Mechanic40:35 - Trying to Get 27.5 DH tires and wheels in 201347:57 - Spoke Tension Debates53:25 - Prototypes and Different Rider Setups1:00:54 - Recipe for Winning1:15:47 - 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 Rider1:59:13 - Bike Reviews Based on Incorrect Setup2:11:14 - You Can't Scrub2:14:36 - Don't Make Bets with Mitch Ropelato or Aaron Gwin2:19:36 - John Tomac Stories2:24:29 - Developing the Prototype Intense M279 HP62:43:18 - Suspension Platforms2:54:45 - The Broken Chain Leogang Win Story3:12:53 - 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: MaxxisBurgtecIndustry Nine  0:00 Dakotah Norton's initial reaction as a World Cup racer4:51 Breakdown and discussion of new semi-final and finals format9:45 Impact of the new format on US DH racers11:38 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 weekend33:52 How to watch World Cups in 202336:05 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-finals52:10 Rumors of track standardization53:40 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?

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 Linewww.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 Linewww.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 thanksJenson USA- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items Maxxis TiresSanta 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 thanksJenson USA- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items Maxxis TiresSanta 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 -  @niknestoroffFollow Nik on InstagramVital MTB thanksJenson USA- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items Maxxis TiresSanta Cruz BicyclesShow Contents0:00 - Nik's Bootleg Canyon Crash2:43 - Switch from DH to Enduro4:37 - New Bike Sponsor - Fezzari7:08 - Volcom MTB Riding Gear8:20 - Enduro Compared to DH Racing13:38 - Training for Enduro16:22 - How Nik Got into MTB19:50 - Nik's First Bike20:50 - Racing Fontana DH at 9 Years Old23:18 - Palmer Project and Intense Factory Racing26:33 - KHS Factory Racing28:49 - Shaun Palmer Stories35:02 - Favorite / Least-Favorite DH Tracks39:28 - World Champs Bikes and Race Results41:22 - Enduro Trophy de Nations USA53:04 - Buying a $400 Civic in Scotland1:01:29 - Under 21 Rental Car Hack1:01:40 - 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. 

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 hereThe 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.comFollow Vital MTBwww.instagram.com/vitalmtbwww.facebook.com/vitalmtb