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Who'll be riding what in the 2019 World Cup season?
We bring you all the news and gossip from what's been a busy 'transfer season' for the MTB pros.
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Although we're still several months away from the new Mercedes-Benz UCI World Cup season kicking off, there's no escaping the fact that it is indeed 2019 and, as a result, we're currently being inundated with team changes.
Mountain biking of course has no official 'transfer window', but if you're a racer at the very sharp end of things, then you want to have time to adjust to and perfect any new set-up and as a result, contracts tend to be signed on a calendar year basis. Here then are some of the big moves which have already taken place and may yet occur:
Aaron Gwin and Neko Mullaly off the YT Mob and on to Intense Factory Racing
A potential winner of 'worst-kept secret of 2019' has finally broken cover and it's official that Aaron Gwin and Neko Mulally are joining Jack Moir on board the new-look Intense Factory Racing team.
Gwin's last move (to YT Industries) was the biggest news story of the 2015/16 off-season and, while last year didn't go quite to plan, it'll be seen as a gamble that paid off.
The Intense M29 is one of the best all-round race bikes out there and it'll be interesting to see what (if any) changes the Californian makes to the bike having tested, raced and ultimately failed to get on with a prototype big-wheeler from his former employers.
So what of the YT Mob? The then brand-new squad which Gwin and Martin Whiteley built around them to campaign those three seasons have yet to comment on who (Ángel Suárez is the only rider left on their roster at the time of writing) will be riding for them in 2019. A lack of big names currently floating around on the market may make things tricky for them.
Athertons to go solo with their own brand
After three years at Trek Factory Racing, the Athertons are moving to pastures new by deciding to race on bikes they will be developing under their own Atherton Bikes brand. It's quite a major departure and financial undertaking for Atherton Racing but you can be assured they'll take on the new business with the same commitment that we see when Rachel and Gee Atherton perform at World Cup races.
This is as close as we get to seeing the downhill bike right now
© Moonhead Media
Find out more about Atherton Racing's plans for 2019 and the Atherton Bikes brand by clicking on the related story below:
Kate Courtney off Specialized and on to Scott
Kate Courtney takes on a World Cup race early in her career
© Jan Kasl/Red Bull Content Pool
The young American World Champion Kate Courtney has swapped one big 'S' for the other big 'S'. Few saw this one coming, as although a move away from Morgan Hill had been mooted, many assumed that such a valuable all-American commodity would be re-signed. But instead, Kate is off to one of the most polished outfits in XCO racing; Scott-SRAM MTB Racing – home of the king, Nino Schurter.
Lars Forster, the reigning European Champion, will also join her there from his previous home at BMC. So that's two World Champs and a European Champ in the one pit then. Previous Scott stalwarts, Matthias Stirnemann and Michiel van der Heijden leave the squad.
Jolanda Neff joins Emily Batty at Trek
Current cross-country World Cup women's overall title holder Jolanda Neff is also another bigger hitter making a move to a new team. Neff joins Trek Factory Racing from Kross Racing after two years with the Polish-based outfit. She's already made her debut on a Trek bike, racing a few cyclo-cross races for them at the latter end of 2018, and even winning a couple for them earlier this month. Neff and Emily Batty look set to be a formidable team for 2019.
Elsewhere on the cross-country scene, Orbea have taken over from BH as bike suppliers of what was the BH SR Suntour KMC team. Team KMC Ekoi Orbea is the new incarnation of this team for 2019 and they've announced three new signings who'll race for them this year – Thomas Litscher, Florian Vogel and Malene Degn. Victor Koretsky and Annie Last are retained from last year's roster, with Jordan Sarrou departing to join Julien Absalon's Absolute Absalon project.
All change for Trek in downhill
Following the departure of the Athertons, Trek have announced that they'll continue their downhill endeavours with a team wholly owned and operated by the US bike brand itself. The team, Trek Factory Racing Downhill, will have a four-person roster (three elite riders, one junior). The team is rather on the youthful side wiith Kade Edwards, Reece Wilson, Charlie Harrison and Ethan Shandro flying the Trek colours in 2019.
Velosolutions Scott closes its doors, but the Scott brand remains on the world stage
After a decade of having the biggest, blackest bus in the business, Velosolutions Scott will not contest the 2019 Mercedes-Benz UCI World Cup season. There were whispers as early as the end of last season, but the team confirmed its abandonment of top flight racing at the end of the November.
Claudio Caluori's Velosolutions outfit will instead focus its attentions on the Red Bull Pump Track Worlds, along with various #pumpforpeace and other pump track projects. So what of Brendan Fairclough and Gaetan Vige?
Brendan Fairclough
© Duncan Philpott/Red Bull Content Pool
Well, Fairclough is staying with Scott and will ride for them in the newly announced Scott DH Factory Team. He's joined on the new team by Dean Lucas, formerly of Intense, and a couple of French riders in Florent Payet and Marine Cabirou. Vige is off to pastures new, with his destination currently 'to be confirmed'.
Adam Brayton off the Scott Gambler and on to a Nukeproof
British downhill champ Adam 'Gas to Flat' Brayton may have the most privileged deal in pro downhill racing in that, thanks to his deals with Hope Technology and Öhlins Suspension, he can pretty much negotiate his own frame deal and ride what he wants.
Brayton is one of the physically strongest riders on the circuit and as a result, was perfectly suited to the, let's just say, 'robust' Scott Gambler. Now though he's moved to the slightly more svelte lines of a Nukeproof. And not just any old Nukeproof, a new Nukeproof.
Admittedly, the bike has very similar lines to the old Pulse model, but we've no doubt that top flight UCI World Cup development underneath a rider who knows how to set a bike up will produce something special. Rumours are that a production version may well appear before the summer.
Martin Maes to stay with GT
Even before Belgium's Martin Maes stunned the racing world by winning the final round of last season in La Bresse, rumours had swirled around what he'd be riding in 2019.
Maes's victory sinks in and the party gets started
© Bartek Woliński
These were quashed however towards the end of the year when he announced that he'd re-signed with the American brand for a further three years. At the end of that contract then, he'll have ridden for them for (a frankly unprecedented in the modern era) eight straight seasons.
Relive Martin Maes' La Bresse winning run here:
2 min
Men's winning DH run in La Bresse
Check out the winning run from Martin Mae in the men’s downhill final in La Bresse, France.
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Josh Bryceland off Santa Cruz and on to Cannondale
Josh Bryceland – Santa Cruz V10
© Nathan Hughes
The man they call Ratboy, aboard a Santa Cruz, won a Junior World Champs title, a famous UCI World Cup overall title in 2014 and holds the honour of being the last man to win a top flight race on a 26in wheeled bike.
After stepping away from downhill, Bryceland is part of the 50:01 collective and has raced a number of Enduro World Series races. Social media posts seemed to promote the idea that he'll be riding for Cannondale in 2019, while continuing with Santa Cruz for wheels.
As it turned out, this was wholly accurate and he'll be one of the figureheads aboard the newly-formed Cannondale Sessions crew, many of whom have 50:01 overlaps. Good times and steezy edits ahead then!
Miranda Miller off Specialized and on to Kona
That's right, the 2017 UCI Downhill World Champion has left the big red 'S' and joined one of the purist's favourite brands; Kona.
Smiling through the wait was Miranda Miller
© Bartek Woliński
The second part of this news story is that she's done with downhill and will instead contest a full Enduro World Series season for the first time instead.
Fancy some more pre-season excitement? Check these out:
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