Trek downhill Mountain bikes

Rachel, Gee and Dan have some shiny brand new equipment in the shed.

In the 1st huge staff news of this off-season, the Atherton siblings and Taylor Vernon have actually signed for the newly formed Trek Factory Racing Downhill group. It’s a move that sees brand-new interactions bloom and some older ones depart, and appears set-to send broader ripples over the UCI World Cup pond.

Gee Atherton, Taylor Vernon, Dan & Rachel Atherton © Rutger Pauw

The cyclists

Rachel and Gee are two quite founded and most effective racers worldwide. Rachel took the dual in 2015, winning all excepting one UCI World Cup (she came second in Lourdes) in addition to World Champs stripes. She seems at present to be head and arms that beats all others of Elite Women’s ranks. Gee has actuallyn’t claimed a global Cup considering that the rain-soaked mayhem of Cairns 2014, but he has got come near and won the Worlds in 2014.

Taylor Vernon will be driving for Trek © Rutger Pauw

Taylor Vernon, the youthful Welshman, is a driver battling with the move to elites. He’s difficult, though, and contains shown the sort of natural rate and resilience in the face of damage that will get him an area on any staff when you look at the paddock.

In Dan, Trek also have some thing somewhat unique, also. He mightn’t campaign the entire Enduro World Series in 2016, but he’s a rider who will do well when he does and will press their brand new equipment to its limitations through the sculpting of events such Red Bull Hardline.

Gee Atherton with his Trek Session © Rutger Pauw

The bikes

The group will likely be on the acclaimed carbon fibre Trek Session, at least for the moment. Between their previous current sponsors of Commencal and GT, the team prove by themselves to be gifted development bikers and a body around which fast and commercially effective machinery is fashioned. The program is already an effective and cutting-edge machine, though, so there won’t be a large urgency to alter things.

Most team's sponsors from the earlier season look to be there and proper from Fox rushing Shox offering suspension system, Shimano supplying drivetrain and Pro providing cockpits and controls. However, the group does look to have split from lasting partners Continental Tyres and Stan’s rims. Trek’s in-house tyre brand Bontrager carried Aaron Gwin to World Cup domination in 2011–12, therefore very few security bells must be ringing on that front.

Rachel Atherton along with her Trek Session © Rutger Pauw

The ripples

The huge concerns stays around what's taking place on present Trek Factory Racing squad, managed by Martin Whiteley, as we knew it. Its youthful talent roster included Junior World Cup champ Laurie Greenland, World Cup winner Brook Macdonald, Greg Williamson and George Brannigan.

Will GT continue in UCI World Cup race? It could seem like confirmed, because they’ve always been a well-represented brand with a very quick pedigree of cyclists.

What’s occurring with Martin Maes? The major (whilst still being really youthful) Belgian is one of hill biking’s greatest abilities. He can win races on enduro and DH bicycles at might. Never to see him in the Trek Factory rushing Downhill team roster was a shock, but we don’t anticipate him becoming sitting at home continuously hitting ‘refresh’ on his inbox somehow.

The Atherton trio due to their new Trek Session © Rutger Pauw

Remember that you can easily maintain to date with all the goings-on from the hectic UCI World Cup off-season right here as well as on the Twitter page