April 1, 200620 yr My quess is Lance will just play ride on his GG on his Texas ranch , I don"t think he will be entering any competions. But if anybody out there has some inside connections with Lance , he might be willing to mention trials in an interview or some other high profile public appearance.
April 2, 200620 yr Lance is used to excellence! The American attitude toward performance in trials is geared toward the sportsmen. Not bad just differnt, like comparing the weekend hacker to Tiger Woods! Comparing Lance on a bycycle to most American bike riders is comparing him to the old men in spandex you see riding along a lot of American roads. Comparing USA national riders to Adam Raga is the same! Our local, regional, national or world round trials in the USA are not organized on the same foremat as they organize trials in Europe. Simply an observation! The bikes are similar in the USA, the attitude toward the sport is not.
April 2, 200620 yr I'd bet Lance is more than smart enough to understand the differance in european and american cultures... And I'm also sure that if he put his mind to it or just wanted to play at it he could probably hold his own on a trials bike. I thought this thread was about the possable mainstream exposure of our beloved pastime , and you never know he might be a natural............ It does happen !!! Glenn
April 3, 200620 yr I like the idea of mainstream exposure for trials, face it however. America's general public was only interested in bycycle racing when one of our own was beating the world. I think you will find that same thing to be true for trials! Put American trials back on the map with world round contenders, like Lance did for bike racing. Then I bet you will see some mainstream interest in the sport again.
April 3, 200620 yr Once again I agree with Mich. Americans really won't care until an American starts winning World Championships. I hope our trials organizations start taking this awesome challenge seriously because I don't want to have to wait for my daughter to win the Womens Championship cuz she's only 7. I like the age classes for us old guys but we need to start grooming young men and women to compete for wins on the International stage. Why can't we have both?
April 4, 200620 yr Olympics yes! What amazes me is that I've run into American trials people who are against it. Ray Peters being one of them! They fight trials in the mainstream tooth and nail. Why, not sure? I simply don't understand their logic. Couldn't agree more with bringing along our new young tigers. Without proper grooming and progression into the world championship, North American riders don't have a chance of playing in the major leagues of trials, like they once did. Again, there is a large portion of the US trials community including members of the NATC who refuse to provide this progression and grooming. Why, I simply don't understand their logic. They also refuse to defend their positions in public. Overall it's the American women riders who have been slammed down harder than any other group by the US federation. In 1999 they placed third in the world but the AMA/NATC failed to support our women riders when the rules changed. It required a walk-out by the international women riders against the FIM to correct the problem a little. The AMA/NATC sat on the sidelines doing nothing, I know I was there and saw it all come down and supported the women's riders strike. The NATC has put North American women in an impossible position! They have fallen father and farther behind the Europeans and Japanese women every year. I've simply given up on our girls winnning! I figure, get the boys up to speed first, then maybe we can get the girls back on top again later.
April 4, 200620 yr Mich, what are the reasons you've been given by those opposed to excellence on the world stage? I can't imagine anything other than the establishment wanting to run things their own way or fear of having world class riders coming over here and embarassing them. The big fish in a small pond syndrome?
April 5, 200620 yr I was told point blank by Wiltz Wagner with Bud Mylerburg and Dave Russel sitting with him that the NATC didn't want professional riders anymore. The national federation felt that professional riders where bad sportsmen and dragged down the fun factor for the rest of the riders wanting to ride well organized national events for fun. They didn't like the atmosphere the factory teams brought to the sport, which was strictly business and a very high level of riding! We also had many conversations about trials growth back then at the NATC. Some felt that if the sport got bigger a "bad element" would creep into trials. Those of us who worked for the importers disagreed but the club representative won out over the industry people and US trials became the secret, small amatuer sport it is today in the USA. That's why our sport is small, our riders are not able to compete with the rest of the world and the US championship is dominated by the 17 differnt age classes. In the past it was 2 classes, then one over 35 senior class was added, then one more, then one more then one more until we now have about 17 different age classes winners out of around one hundred entries at a nationals. A small sport, with no professional riders was all part of the Wiltz Wagner plan for USA trials. I disagreed with the plan back then, I still do today. Now at this moment, I'm not trying to convince anyone that a bigger sport in the USA would be better. Likewise, at this second I'm not selling the idea of the need for Americans to win the TDN and score world round points. I simply think people need to know WHY our sport is in the position it is today. Small, with no progression to the world championship, It was by design of Dr. Wagner, who the Wagner Cup US world round is named after.
April 5, 200620 yr Yes Mr. Fracy, I am new here. I trust that it is not a problem for a new member to chime in with questions and opinions? If I offended anyone it was not my intention. The questions I have about the U.S. riders not competing at the world level is solely due to my great pride about being American. I do not mean to take sides but it seems to me that Lanes views mirror my own on this subject. I think this is by far the best Observed Trials forum that I know and that's why I became a supporter and a contributor. I seek knowledge!
April 5, 200620 yr Lane, thanks for your explanation about Dr. Wagner and the NATC.Are there any competing organizations to the NATC and if not what is the possibility of starting one up with the emphasis on preparing American riders to compete on the world stage? How about in conjunction with the FIM?
April 5, 200620 yr We need the NATC because they are linked with the AMA. The AMA is linked with the FIM so I support the FIM, AMA and the NATC. I also believe that the NATC has done a great job building the US sportsmen Championship. Expanding the brand to include a winning TDN team and American world trials champion is the logical next step for expanding the AMA/NATC brand. Think of it like this, insted of joining a third political party an interested person should join one of the exsisting ones. Then work to change the politcal party to include those people who are not now being represented in it. Why throw the baby out with the bathwater, lets work within the AMA to get Americans back on top!
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