To be fair, the content on the front page seems to be a fairly even split between Flow and VitalMTB. Even local news is reported through a link to Vital. Do Vital pay for the links?
When I think about it, probably like many, I generally go straight to the forum on RB and ignore the front page. Yet on Vital or PinkBike I only look at the home page and rarely go to the forums.
To me it seems like there is a great opportunity on the front page from an advertising and publicity perspective (amongst others).
Probably the fact that it is nearly all links (in an unattractive font and tight spacing) with few images or video stills means that people are not immediately attracted to it. Its a shame because one good picture with some decent editorial could be a lot more effective for promoting an event rather than having to go through several forums sections and potentially only stumbling on what you are interested in. I've probably missed it but I'm surprised that the AM / GE / Enduro type events aren't featuring more on the home page. I will happily click on a US or European event just to see what they're up to when I'm on Vital / PB / Enduro.