Canadian Cyclist

 

March 26/02 12:48 pm - Where Do We Go From Here? An Editorial by Roland Green


Posted by Editoress on 03/26/02
 

Where Do We Go From Here?

World Cross-country Champion Roland Green sent us this editorial giving his views on the state of our sport in Canada.

The last few years racing the World Cup and Norba mountain bike circuits has made two things obvious to me. Canadians are improving and our sport is in a down swing.

I want to ask, what can Canadians do to help the sport?

After seeing the success of racing at Grouse, I realized that the real problem with mountain biking is how far the venues are from a large city. Look at the turnout (at Grouse), it was big and could have been even bigger. Short track racing is a success!! When placed in an inner city location or very near, it will draw large crowds, media and the most important thing - T.V!!!

Would spectators pay admission for a family outing? For hot dogs and beer? You bet. If all the major cities in Canada held an event like this, just think of the potential sponsorships. With the short track on Saturday and the XC on Sunday could we not draw the people a few miles out of town to a longer event? I think so.

The Canada Cup series I did in `96 did everything to help me start a successful career in mtb. If those organizers are listening, I hope you see this vision too. And thanks for putting in all that effort, because it really made a big difference for me.

Sincerely,
Roland Green

 

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