2021 Mountain Bike Team Rumors

Maxipedia wrote:

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the...

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the Celtics sent Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs, after he worked his b̶u̶t̶t̶ hip off and sacrificed everythng for his team...

I am curious about what they will be doing too, but let's not turn Gwin into a martyr of MTB free agency, when he's quite the opposite, with probably more power than any other rider at that certain point.

Mx

Maxipedia wrote:

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the...

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the Celtics sent Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs, after he worked his b̶u̶t̶t̶ hip off and sacrificed everythng for his team...

I am curious about what they will be doing too, but let's not turn Gwin into a martyr of MTB free agency, when he's quite the opposite, with probably more power than any other rider at that certain point.

Mx

Primoz wrote:

As far as I know he was expecting to renew the YT deal and they pulled the rug from under him saying there will be no...

As far as I know he was expecting to renew the YT deal and they pulled the rug from under him saying there will be no WC racing team in... 2019? So he scrambled on his own and got the Intense deal, then YT said 'oh wait, we'll do some more racing'.

With the current stuff they do seem very flaky when it comes to their pros. Has the budget run out a bit?

Maxipedia wrote:

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the...

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the Celtics sent Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs, after he worked his b̶u̶t̶t̶ hip off and sacrificed everythng for his team...

I am curious about what they will be doing too, but let's not turn Gwin into a martyr of MTB free agency, when he's quite the opposite, with probably more power than any other rider at that certain point.

Mx

Maxipedia wrote:

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the...

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the Celtics sent Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs, after he worked his b̶u̶t̶t̶ hip off and sacrificed everythng for his team...

I am curious about what they will be doing too, but let's not turn Gwin into a martyr of MTB free agency, when he's quite the opposite, with probably more power than any other rider at that certain point.

Mx

Verbl Kint wrote:

I'll let Aaron Gwin himself talk about it. Quoting from an interview: [b] Before we get too far into the new team, let’s go back in...

I'll let Aaron Gwin himself talk about it. Quoting from an interview:

Before we get too far into the new team, let’s go back in time. Towards the close of the 2018 season, it appeared that you were back on form and all was good. After the Worlds, however, we heard that YT wasn’t going to have a DH team. And, now they do. What was all that craziness about?

Ya, that whole situation came as a pretty big shock to me for sure. I had been chatting and negotiating with YT for the new contract since the Croatia World Cup earlier in the year. We went back and forth a bit to find an agreement that everyone was happy with and I felt that things were going well. I was happy with where everything landed and it looked like we’d be moving forward. I even had a chat with YT as late as Friday night before Worlds. I was told everything was good - to just focus on the race. We planned to meet again Sunday after the race to get it all finalized. I had a meeting with the owner of YT after dinner that night and was surprised when I was told that they wouldn’t be moving forward with the program. They thanked me for my involvement the last three years, and that was it.

Source: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/aaron-gwin-on-his-break-with-yt-and-becom…

Maxipedia wrote:

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the...

”Unceremoniously dropping Gwin”??? As far as I can remember, dude went his own way, to form a team like he desired. It's not like when the Celtics sent Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs, after he worked his b̶u̶t̶t̶ hip off and sacrificed everythng for his team...

I am curious about what they will be doing too, but let's not turn Gwin into a martyr of MTB free agency, when he's quite the opposite, with probably more power than any other rider at that certain point.

Mx

Verbl Kint wrote:

I'll let Aaron Gwin himself talk about it. Quoting from an interview: [b] Before we get too far into the new team, let’s go back in...

I'll let Aaron Gwin himself talk about it. Quoting from an interview:

Before we get too far into the new team, let’s go back in time. Towards the close of the 2018 season, it appeared that you were back on form and all was good. After the Worlds, however, we heard that YT wasn’t going to have a DH team. And, now they do. What was all that craziness about?

Ya, that whole situation came as a pretty big shock to me for sure. I had been chatting and negotiating with YT for the new contract since the Croatia World Cup earlier in the year. We went back and forth a bit to find an agreement that everyone was happy with and I felt that things were going well. I was happy with where everything landed and it looked like we’d be moving forward. I even had a chat with YT as late as Friday night before Worlds. I was told everything was good - to just focus on the race. We planned to meet again Sunday after the race to get it all finalized. I had a meeting with the owner of YT after dinner that night and was surprised when I was told that they wouldn’t be moving forward with the program. They thanked me for my involvement the last three years, and that was it.

Source: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/aaron-gwin-on-his-break-with-yt-and-becom…

mwolpin wrote:

That’s interesting, but to be honest, after the whole Crank-gate issue where his mechanic had to fall on the sword, it’s hard to take anything from...

That’s interesting, but to be honest, after the whole Crank-gate issue where his mechanic had to fall on the sword, it’s hard to take anything from him directly at face-value.

Now, and I know this is likely a very unpopular opinion, but it feels like he is past his prime. Yes, he had a podium or two last year, but I think he has too much on his plate owning a team. He has lost the consistency he had for years.

And bring on the thumbs down votes....

Verbl Kint wrote:

I'll let Aaron Gwin himself talk about it. Quoting from an interview: [b] Before we get too far into the new team, let’s go back in...

I'll let Aaron Gwin himself talk about it. Quoting from an interview:

Before we get too far into the new team, let’s go back in time. Towards the close of the 2018 season, it appeared that you were back on form and all was good. After the Worlds, however, we heard that YT wasn’t going to have a DH team. And, now they do. What was all that craziness about?

Ya, that whole situation came as a pretty big shock to me for sure. I had been chatting and negotiating with YT for the new contract since the Croatia World Cup earlier in the year. We went back and forth a bit to find an agreement that everyone was happy with and I felt that things were going well. I was happy with where everything landed and it looked like we’d be moving forward. I even had a chat with YT as late as Friday night before Worlds. I was told everything was good - to just focus on the race. We planned to meet again Sunday after the race to get it all finalized. I had a meeting with the owner of YT after dinner that night and was surprised when I was told that they wouldn’t be moving forward with the program. They thanked me for my involvement the last three years, and that was it.

Source: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/aaron-gwin-on-his-break-with-yt-and-becom…

mwolpin wrote:

That’s interesting, but to be honest, after the whole Crank-gate issue where his mechanic had to fall on the sword, it’s hard to take anything from...

That’s interesting, but to be honest, after the whole Crank-gate issue where his mechanic had to fall on the sword, it’s hard to take anything from him directly at face-value.

Now, and I know this is likely a very unpopular opinion, but it feels like he is past his prime. Yes, he had a podium or two last year, but I think he has too much on his plate owning a team. He has lost the consistency he had for years.

And bring on the thumbs down votes....

w4s wrote:

Could be, but the GOAT Minnaar had couple down years before refinding his form, too. I wouldn't count Gwin out just yet, I'm no fanboy but...

Could be, but the GOAT Minnaar had couple down years before refinding his form, too. I wouldn't count Gwin out just yet, I'm no fanboy but I think he's still has couple years left once he's able to focus on riding again.

TruckeeRiverTroll wrote:

I'm gonna place a bet that one of the three Frenchies that isn't Loris (so two Remis and a Yoann) goes to Forestal and another goes...

I'm gonna place a bet that one of the three Frenchies that isn't Loris (so two Remis and a Yoann) goes to Forestal and another goes to Sunn Mavic Collective (whatever the team with Isabeau and Adrien is). The French are mega proud people and they would totally fit. With Cederic and Nico being product/team managers now it makes total sense in my pea sized head. Btw, a total shot in the dark, just thinking out loud.

C-LION wrote:

Re: MucOff Commencal - I have a slight feeling that they will be on Öhlins next year. For Öhlins this could be a huge deal and...

Re: MucOff Commencal - I have a slight feeling that they will be on Öhlins next year. For Öhlins this could be a huge deal and a boost for their business.

Commencal 100% is already on Fox and I would be very surprised to see them move on.

Furthermore, there is one thing which really stands out when looking at their current line-up: All or at least most of their bikes are now also available with Öhlins suspension.

Let’s wait and see...time will tell.

SB14 wrote:

Maybe Cube is going all in on a new dh team. Danny, loris and vali?

ORTOGONAL555 wrote:

Concerning Barelli, I think he'll just get personal sponsorhips, given he is over racing as of now. I wonder how money there is in the new...

Concerning Barelli, I think he'll just get personal sponsorhips, given he is over racing as of now.
I wonder how money there is in the new way of representing brands other than racing nowadays, looks like there are so many riders following this path ( which is fine for me, so that you know).

(Ban the dude already)

anotherbikerguy wrote:

Very curious about Giant for 2021. With Marcelo already gone and Eliot now off the team as well, are they supporting any factory DH riders besides...

Very curious about Giant for 2021. With Marcelo already gone and Eliot now off the team as well, are they supporting any factory DH riders besides Jacob Dickson? Doesn't seem like there are many " _____ to Giant" rumors out there... Perhaps they're concentrating more on their road sponsorships (or on national/regional level athletes)?

_Lan wrote:

[img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2020/12/30/10247/s1200_lewis.jpg[/img] Ohlins fork?

Ohlins fork?

Martin_Prophet wrote:

And Max Hartenstern...no Chance, to many Riders. Loris to Trek Hart to Cube Remi Thirion...maybe Mondraker...or Angel to Mondraker, both are from spain Vali is hard...

And Max Hartenstern...no Chance, to many Riders.
Loris to Trek
Hart to Cube
Remi Thirion...maybe Mondraker...or Angel to Mondraker, both are from spain
Vali is hard to say
Norton to syndicate will be cool

JoseMPM wrote:

Remi is close, but one border further north, he's french ;) And Mondraker have Lori, Brook and Eleonora (and Mike Jones? Anybody knows if he's still...

Remi is close, but one border further north, he's french And Mondraker have Lori, Brook and Eleonora (and Mike Jones? Anybody knows if he's still got a contract?), don't think they'll be looking to add another big salary.

On another note, if Vali goes to Spesh, they may as well rename themselves Specialized Red Bull Republic, don't think I'd have ever seen such a high concentration of sugary drinks on one team.

ORTOGONAL555 wrote:

Concerning Barelli, I think he'll just get personal sponsorhips, given he is over racing as of now. I wonder how money there is in the new...

Concerning Barelli, I think he'll just get personal sponsorhips, given he is over racing as of now.
I wonder how money there is in the new way of representing brands other than racing nowadays, looks like there are so many riders following this path ( which is fine for me, so that you know).

(Ban the dude already)