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00:02Do I take it?
00:04Is it? Ooh, so gentle.
00:06It's a symbol for hope.
00:12What does this mean? This is the famous red S.
00:15This is Specialized.
00:18One of the most iconic race teams of the whole circuit is Specialized Racing.
00:23In our sport, there are a few companies that have been around for as long as the sport has been
00:29around.
00:29And Specialized Racing is one of them.
00:33It's been one of the founding brands from the very beginning.
00:36It's got some iconic characters.
00:37Mountain Bike's first world champion, Ned Oberyn.
00:41Hailey Barton, incredible.
00:43I'm Hailey Barton. I'm a professional cross-country mountain bike racer with Specialized Factory Racing.
00:49Specialized bicycles are some of the best in the world.
00:51When you think of this brand, this is a big deal.
00:53Someone you expect champions to come from.
00:55Look at the Specialized riders.
00:57Lara Steger takes the win.
01:00Here he comes.
01:01Aaron Gwynn is going to smash his top.
01:03This is a big brand with big responsibilities.
01:08What is that?
01:10It's the Decathlon logo.
01:12It's the Decathlon logo.
01:15Nobody's listening. Nobody cares. Do I have talent?
01:19What do you know about Decathlon?
01:21I don't know a lot.
01:22Yes.
01:22This Decathlon logo, to me, is a new logo.
01:26So it's part of the Decathlon Ford team.
01:28It's bringing in some corporate industry to the racing world.
01:33This, to me, represents the future.
01:45Wait, whoa, that wasn't good.
01:48Oof.
01:49My name is Vilja Blanc.
01:51I am from Inverness, California, and I race for Decathlon Ford Racing Team.
01:57The bikes we're riding are rock riders.
01:59If you ask anybody in the US what's a rock rider, they wouldn't know.
02:04Their bike line is different, for sure.
02:06Maybe, you know, more accessible bikes for a lot of people.
02:09So I think when they first stepped into World's Cup Racing as a big sponsor,
02:13you don't really know what the equipment will be like for them.
02:15Decathlon wanted to get into the professional field of VTT
02:19because, in strategy, they decided to make a high-speed bike.
02:24So it broke the image of the Decathlon bike of Mr. Tout-le-Monde.
02:28The perception of Decathlon in the marketplace
02:30is selling entry-level products for multiple different sports.
02:36Specialized does this, and they do this well.
02:40Decathlon does this.
02:43And this.
02:44And this.
02:45And this.
02:47All this.
02:48Boxing.
02:49Fishing.
02:50Tennis.
02:51Rollerblading.
02:52Knorkeling?
02:53Questions.
02:55When you have a company that is investing billions of dollars over decades
03:00to perfect equipment, and then you have a store that is so diverse
03:05and makes, you know, snorkeling gear to mountain biking,
03:08it's questionable whether they have that research and development
03:11in the mountain bikes.
03:13To have an outside industry sponsor come in and provide bikes to a race team
03:17is amazing.
03:18It's so healthy for our industry, but it's so quickly hated,
03:23filled with negative feedback.
03:26Of course, everyone thinks that it's a cheap bike because that's what their brand has been for so many years.
03:32Well, yes.
03:33I've had a lot of reticence.
03:34I've had a lot.
03:36Just because the rockrider brand in France, it's a bad game.
03:40Really, the goal and the goal was to show that Decathlon is doing things high-level.
03:45We knew.
03:46The public didn't.
03:47So it's to us to prove it.
03:49At some point, it's just up to the rider to adapt to that specific bike or that equipment
03:54and be the fastest they can be on it.
04:09We are back and we are in Mariporam here in Brazil for a brand new season of racing.
04:16Adding to the attention then, these first three races are where athletes will look to make
04:21the qualifying criteria for their country's Olympic teams come July.
04:25My goals for this year are fully focused on Olympics.
04:28For Rockrider and Decathlon, it was super important to be at the Olympic Games because Decathlon is
04:34partenaires of the Olympic Games.
04:37For the Olympic qualification, it was two top five finishes at any three of the first World
04:44Cups of the year.
04:45It was everything to qualify, you know, the start of the season.
04:49So me and Seville were full on battling it out for those Olympic spots.
04:53The pressure was super high.
04:55Tension's mounting.
04:58And it is almost time to go racing here at the first round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike
05:04World Series in 2024.
05:06Wait for the green light.
05:11And we are go in Brazil.
05:14Martina backs it in the middle of your shot.
05:16Leads them off the line.
05:17You landing after the right-hand side of her.
05:19This big, long start, finish straight.
05:21Well, I had a really bad start, actually.
05:23This kind of happens to me a lot.
05:25I don't have the best start.
05:31But I was able to make my way back to the front.
05:37The Blancs have worked their way through, now into the top ten.
05:40But Hayley Batten as well.
05:41I didn't expect the pace to be so high on this opening start lead.
05:44The level of cross-country racing, I think, gets higher and higher every single year.
05:48And whenever you have an Olympic year, I mean, everybody is performing at their best.
05:52Out front is Hayley Batten, the 25-year-olds, on that Specialized Epic World Cup.
05:56A bike with so much winning history.
06:00There was a lot of, like, emotion and passion in everyone's race.
06:05I don't quit.
06:06I don't quit.
06:07I don't quit.
06:08I don't quit.
06:09I don't quit.
06:09When I'm through, complete the test and then I split.
06:12Get the job and I commit.
06:13What a comeback from Blanc on the Decathlon Ford team, Sevilla Blanc.
06:19Then I found myself in the top three, and I was with Hayley and Jenny.
06:23Hayley and I were fighting for that Olympic criteria.
06:26Americans charging hard.
06:28It's for a top result here, but also a plane ride to Paris.
06:32Batten, Blanc to the front now.
06:34Coffee ride.
06:34Oh!
06:35Oh!
06:36Hayley Batten having the anchor up there.
06:38Sevilla Blanc dropped down the inside line.
06:40Those steeper log sections of Trevor riding for Batten.
06:44Yeah.
06:44It makes it a bit dangerous.
06:51The two Americans at the front of the list are starting to work together just to stretch
06:56the elastic band back to Jenny wrist foot slightly.
07:03I mean, Hayley is my closest competitor is with the American squad.
07:11Yeah, when we're racing together, there's definitely, like, some competition there.
07:16Everyone just starts racing a little bit harder or battling a little bit more for that position.
07:22Oh, wrist foot is looking strong.
07:24Batten right over the handlebars of that specialised epic.
07:29And now wrist foot is going through the light.
07:32Jenny wrist foot heads to the front of the race.
07:34175 beats per minute for Sevilla Blanc.
07:36But we are glued to the front of this one.
07:43Oh!
07:45Cromwell.
07:45Toured by Sevilla Blanc.
07:47Sevilla Blanc right up on the back wheel.
07:49Specialised factory racing rider of the two Americans.
07:51Me and Sevilla were battling for that second place spot on the last lap.
07:56Ibis Cycles Continental.
07:58Oh!
07:59Hayley Batten comes down!
08:00Hayley Batten is down in Mariporua.
08:05Sevilla Blanc heads towards the finish line.
08:08Second in Mariporua.
08:09And a strong start for the Rock Rider bike edging out a lot of legacy brands.
08:14Taking out suckers and busters.
08:17Bouncing the bouncers.
08:18Rushing the ushers.
08:19I'm prowling.
08:20I'm prowling with hunger.
08:21Putting up numbers.
08:23Big game hunter.
08:23And behind her well.
08:24Your heart goes out to Hayley Batten.
08:28Sevilla Blanc then.
08:30On what may just have been a huge day for the US Olympic qualification.
08:35Finishing second and also being so close to that win.
08:39Changed my mentality towards these World Cups.
08:42And this season really.
08:45It's all really unique for the US.
08:47To have two US women at the top.
08:52Superb result for Blanc.
08:53On the decathlon forward team.
08:55Si l'année dernière on aurait dit.
08:57Salut à Blanc.
08:58Sur un podium de Coupe du Monde.
09:00On aurait rayonné.
09:01Aujourd'hui elle l'a fait.
09:02Et je pense que c'est pas fini.
09:03Smash the program.
09:05You've got no chance.
09:06Ice in these veins.
09:08Give me cold hands.
09:09Cold shoulders.
09:10Def up fosers.
09:11Leaving them cracked and it's over.
09:29In the last few years i've spent more and more time in music.
09:33my season is 80% here so it's kind of become more and more necessary for me to
09:41be here and I guess without really realizing it I've kind of moved to
09:46Europe so at first it was my coach is based in Girona Spain it was like oh
09:52come over for the first few months of the year like you can train you can
09:56prepare with me you're done then my fiance is working with him too so he was
10:07coming with me who is Sevilla Blanc to you Sevilla is my fiance yeah Girona is it
10:18feels like home to us right now it's where we spend the most time out of the
10:22year good morning guys we made it to Spain and we're here training and racing
10:28for the next couple months but we're gonna show you guys a little apartment
10:31tour we walk in the door welcome to the apartment I think it is definitely
10:39necessary for a World Cup rider these days to have a base in Europe especially
10:43from North America the amount of travel back and forth just adds up and if you
10:48can limit that I think it makes a big difference for North American riders
10:53definitely a bit more of maybe a sacrifice or an investment to race on
10:57the World Cup circuit spoke with Cole yesterday we haven't had time to talk it's
11:01the time zone is so hard it's kind of no it's for sure difficult challenging yeah
11:08that's the hardest part what we're seeing is a lot of American riders are kind of
11:14learning with time how they perform best in Europe and and what they need to be
11:18able to maybe live there base there get on European teams it's kind of
11:23interesting how I got connected with rock rider because I didn't have like a
11:29very smooth trajectory in the sport I was on a different team every year I can
11:36imagine and when I didn't have a team I made my own team the only way that we
11:45could continue was to create our own program it was super hard we were
11:49banking a 100% on our results which was really difficult to race and also be
11:57thinking about like I really need to do well here to prove that I belong here what
12:02was really clear to me was that this isn't sustainable for her so the whole
12:07goal was how can we get her on a World Cup team she's had so many closed doors that
12:20she's come to and just plowed through them it was just always about like never giving up
12:28the opportunity to be on this World Cup team with Ford decathlon it was huge and felt
12:35like a big relief to finally have that breakthrough and the support that she
12:39really deserved for Sevilla doing it the hard way gives her a greater
12:44appreciation for how much that support means to her now that she's on one of
12:49these big factory-supported teams
12:58Sevilla and her team have a lot of parallels in that they're both fresh to
13:04the scene but they're both doing it in a different way for them to be paired up
13:08together I think it's a great story I feel like I connect with them because of
13:13that because I didn't have an exactly normal trajectory in the sport and here I am on
13:21this bike that has this new story to tell so I think we connect well they've never
13:31produced a World Cup level bike this is the first year they have done that and
13:36we're the first team that's riding these bikes on the World Cup stage
13:48I kind of just jumped into this adventure it's really helped me be able to focus on racing more
14:03so they get some massages at races I have a massage gun at races yeah yeah it was a
14:13good day nice to be back with the whole team it's cool to also be here for the
14:18second year with the team it's the first time I've been with a team for more than
14:24one year so it's nice to be yeah with everyone again the same people that was
14:29nice in Nova Mesto it was kind of strange because we didn't get our official
14:36Olympic selection so even though I had technically met the criteria in Brazil
14:43another top three really riding herself towards Paris 2024 selection Sevilla Blanc
14:49but I didn't officially know yet that's why I still needed to go to Nova Mesto to race to have
14:56a
14:56strong race and get a result on paper take to the start line Blanc really coming of age this season
15:06can the American do it on European soil today
15:11the overall points leader Haley Batten takes to the front row they are on their starters orders in the Czech
15:20Republic
15:24yeah the last 10 seconds before the start are pretty damn intense
15:39when everything is silent and then you just have this heartbeat beating through the megaphone until
15:45it goes green
15:53Haley Batten gets away well in the center of your screen Buck Peters who shoots off the line
15:58Buck Peters who leads him on the start finish straight and on the start loop
16:03and Prevaux just going a little bit slower off the start line just getting buried in the pack
16:07we just lost it from the front row
16:17Blanc just still struggling just mid pack she needs to get wiggle on this as soon as we get into
16:22the
16:22single track all of a sudden that big punch becomes a single line let's go sad come on hold space
16:28hold
16:28space up up up so gnarly yeah I feel like the women are just like so cutthroat so aggressive
16:37and then we see Celina Blanc the American champion just in the background we could have been maybe
16:44forgiven for expecting to see her further up the order
16:48come on Sav you gotta invest push through the yo-yo zone
16:51the yo-yo zone this is somewhere where I way too often I find myself just normally at the back
16:59of the
17:00pack and every corner the pack accelerates and there's just a little bit of lag and it's super
17:07frustrating because you're just there you can't quite make it into the pack to actually get the
17:13benefit of the draft there's certainly phases of the race where physically you are just tapped out
17:20to your maximum level and you're so exhausted and in a really dark mental place
17:29and then there's other times where you're just in a state of flow and you don't remember anything
17:32because it just it was all clicking then down meanwhile there's Haley Patton currently in fourth place the
17:38overall points leader with the yellow number one plate of the leader of the team's championship as
17:43well specialized factory racing that's it looking strong great 14th currently for Blanc the
17:51Catalan forward racing team
17:53Sav you guys perfect question it's a long race here so one step by one step one step by one
17:59step
17:59allez allez c'est une coupe du monde mais c'est aussi et surtout la dernière manche qualificative pour
18:07les jeux aujourd'hui elle doit juste montrer qu'elle a ce niveau-là que ce qui s'est passé
18:10au Brésil c'était
18:11pas un hasard et ça me suffit mais on n'est pas là pour gagner on n'est pas lÃ
18:15pour battre les autres
18:16on est juste là pour confirmer ce qui s'est passé au Brésil ça veut dire juste te faire que
18:20ça t'aille juste
18:25a big performance today from the UCI World Cup overall points leader Haley Patton there's a smile
18:33specialized factory racing another podium for them
18:39it's Lecomte versus Blanc in a sprint finish and it's gonna go to Blanc takes it Sevilla Blanc right on
18:47the line
18:50I mean you've reached out in Brazil yeah yeah no I hope it's good like it's that's what I expected
18:59Bailey Patton second place today a good day for points and a strong strong performance from
19:05Patton I wasn't near the podium but that wasn't really the goal for me for that race
19:11good job solid it's whatever I needed to do you come here for something yeah you have yeah finish
19:18yeah after it's working for yeah after Nova Mesto I still didn't know for sure if I had made the
19:27American Olympic team when I found out I was on the team officially it was like a huge relief
19:34so much work and training went into this build and peak for Olympics that was just massive
19:42it was this period of the most intense focus that I've ever had I was like in robot mode I
19:49was just
19:49like so focused and lasered in on everything
20:08you're walking like this razors edge physically and mentally like eating sleeping training repeat and it's isolating for sure
20:19it's crazy I've been here for six months already like by the end of the year that's gonna be almost
20:26half my time spent here I also learned a lot through that whole process that there needs to be some
20:31balance
20:36my Olympic race was yeah disappointing
20:44at first I was just disappointed and it felt unsatisfying and also I just didn't have a race that felt
20:50like it
20:52encompassed all of the work that I'd done to get there
20:57I took some time to process it but then I think that also gave me a little bit more fuel
21:02for the end of the season
21:03to show myself that all that work wasn't for nothing
21:07Sevilla Blanc still having a cracking season
21:10it has been a long season
21:13Sevilla Blanc onto the podium second place
21:20that should be the ticket to Paris 2024
21:27Sevilla Blanc
21:28putting some serious points on the board
21:32Sevilla Blanc
21:33home in sixth place for Blanc
21:36let's check out what those overall points look like then after this one
21:40Keller leads away from Blanc by 322 points
21:45I have not been thinking about the overall at all this year
21:48until like last week actually when I realized I was like second
21:57and just like that it's the last day of school
22:00it's the final round of the UCI Cross Country Olympic World Cup 2024
22:05and we are in where else?
22:07Mont-Saint-Anne for the final day of racing of 2024
22:12Sevilla Blanc going for second in the overall standings
22:18oh yeah it's just the last one it's been a super long season a huge season
22:24but yeah just one one more time to get about everything
22:28and yeah not give up until the finish line
22:31without putting the pressure on I'm sure you're aware of the standings in terms of that overall
22:35you're currently in second position is that playing on your mind at all?
22:37yeah it comes and goes I mean I didn't expect to be in this position
22:41it wasn't the goal for the season but it's pretty cool to be in it now
22:46it's exciting and yeah I'm really proud of that
22:50for the French team and the captain for the racing team
22:52that she has had the best season yet in her career
22:56ladies and gentlemen from the United States of America
23:05with Batten sitting out due to injury Blanc has a really unexpected chance to win the season overall
23:10not many had this rider or this team pegged as contenders this late in the season
23:28and they are off and racing Xena Fry good start
23:32it's the final UCI mountain bike cross country Olympic World Cup of the season
23:37and Evie Richards has led them off the line
23:39everything is running so high and you're still having to navigate Moncy and Anne
23:44Sevilla Blanc not a great first on the start loop drifting back
23:47probably back in about 20th at the moment
23:50one of those riders that's in that five way scrap for second and third position
23:54Sevilla lurking right behind the points leader Keller
23:58can't a mouse action in these very slick rock faces
24:03Blanc inside the top ten and nine she's got Steger, Keller, Courtney, Kohler, Specha
24:08that's a fast group 159 beats per minute for Sevilla Blanc
24:13on the whoop live as she tries to stay in touch with Alessandra Keller up here
24:20Bart
24:22oh and that looks like problems for Sevilla Blanc
24:26a little bit of a mistake
24:28the mic's okay
24:29and there is Sevilla Blanc and Martina Berta
24:34yeah, 7th and 8th at the moment
24:36yep, 7th and 8th
24:39the Percathlon athlete needs to make a move now if it's gonna happen
24:43Riders, they do the race in the race
24:46so they know exactly which position they have to be for the overall standings
24:51look at Sevilla Blanc fighting off the inside there
24:54it's a full scrap at the moment but his climb is so steep
24:5720-25% on the inside of those corners
25:00Sevilla Blanc is currently in 8th, 2 minutes and 3 seconds back off the lead
25:07dropping some positions in the overall standings here
25:10despite fighting hard, digging oh so deep
25:14Sevilla Blanc rounds out the top ten
25:17and didn't quite come together for her today
25:19with 10th place in Montseignan
25:21officially stamped the decathlon and Blanc names at 5th in the overall
25:26newcomers no more
25:285,000 more
25:297,000 more
25:325,000 more
25:3212,000 more
25:3413,000 more
25:37thank you
25:42bye
25:43you're gonna, no
25:46I threw it away
25:47too hard
25:48what are you doing
25:50fucking
25:50I know, I won't
25:53you want your jacket
26:00I'm so happy. I felt so bad.
26:04I felt so bad.
26:06I felt so bad.
26:07I felt so bad.
26:08You've finished 10, feeling bad.
26:10In the second place, for special life, but pre-racing.
26:14Just think about last year.
26:18Did you feel bad? You've finished 10,
26:21and now you've finished 10.
26:23Yeah.
26:25Civilian Blanc, that was a tough way to finish the season.
26:28How does that feel?
26:29Oh, that was so awful.
26:33Yeah, I felt so bad.
26:35I gave it everything, but it felt terrible.
26:39It's been a huge season.
26:40You've now established yourself as one of the big contenders.
26:44How does that feel at this point,
26:45knowing that you are now one of the athletes
26:47that we look to for the victories and the podiums?
26:51Yeah, it's still sinking in for sure.
26:53It's going to sink in over the next few weeks and the off season,
26:58but it's been a huge season.
27:00I don't think I can't realize it yet.
27:04I'm trying to just take it all in and make the most out of it,
27:09because now I'm entering the peak of my career.
27:13And, yeah, I never would have expected that I would get here the way I did.
27:18And I'm not finished yet.
27:20So, yeah, it's exciting.
27:25My contract is finishing this year, and I had almost every team out there approach me.
27:32That's a position I've never been in before.
27:36I'm really stoked to be re-signing with Decathlon Ford.
27:39I'm in a really good place right now.
27:42I don't want to change that for what? For nothing.
27:46It was a huge kind of leap of faith when I joined the team,
27:50but it's become a really special family on the other side of the pond.
27:58I've built these relationships so far, and I'm really excited to just, like,
28:02keep that going into the next two years.
28:05I feel like we kind of asserted ourselves as one of the best World Cup teams on the circuit.
28:11And I think we've proven the bike more than once.
28:22I think the team can turn rock rider bikes into dream bikes.
28:36Everybody's heard a rumor about this fast American kid.
28:39Asa Vermeep gets ready to drop into his first ever UCI Downhill World Cup.
28:46He's the best-kept secret we've had of downhill World Cup racing right now.
28:49This is the man they're all talking about.
28:52We didn't really know exactly what we were unleashing on the mountain bike world.
29:09So I'm feeling that heat in the night.
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