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Actually, they had them as soon as 2011 and they had special ones for the Worlds, with the names of the riders instead of the model name. I have pictures from Champery that year. Team, except Graves, was a bunch of cool southern hemisphere juniors, like Shaun O'Connor and Brandon Yrrtiaho etc.
I found a picture in the mean time. Need to look for those with tires.
Mx
The names on the bikes appear to be in maxxis model name font
I didn't have time to find the other pictures yet, but these are just the bikes. The tires obviously had the names in Schwalbe font.
Mx
This is the standard font and look Yeti used to mark the rider of the bike.
Was 2009 season. But yes one of the first and they were blown away by the tires and how the casing held up compared to Maxxis at the time.
Cool! Didn't realise it was THAT long ago. Strange for yeti or Schwalbe not to do some legacy marketing buzz on this one. Seen as Schwalbe has grown so much in the MTB market since 2009
I've watched a few LMS vids of him in Queenstown from the past few days. Looks like Dane Jewett, his teammate and mechanic, is there with him. No Jakob Jewett, but Mark Wallace is there. Could Mark be subbing in for Jakob as he heals from his shoulder injury?
I was over riding Mt Prevost a while back and saw Mark and Dane riding together. I heard some local riders talking about Mark being hired by Giant as a DH coach. He's seems like a great guy, cool job for him if that's true and a good edition to the team.
Yeah, Mark's their coach and will be helping with line spotting and so on on the World Cup. It's a great role for him and I hope that it becomes a long term thing he can do. He has so much racing experience and seems to be quite level-headed.
I hope it's fine now.
Isn't this Jakob he's behind starting at 6.50, and Luke behing Dane earlier at 0.45?
Crestline Speedshop team announced
https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/crestline-speed-shop-dh-team-features-ronning-pate-burke-tomlinson
Also: Ryder Lawrence, Connor Knipscheer, and Zack Harper all announced as part of SpokeX / Mondraker Factory Development Team. Assuming they will be focusing mainly on domestic racing and Monster Pro DH Series with Clay's kid on the team, though Ryder was getting some good DHI results toward the end of the season (5th at Lake Placid and 5th at MSA).
Hannah B on Nike ACG.
Tilly Melton on Yeti. PR below
Yeti / FOX Factory New Rider Announcement – Matilda Melton
(“Golden, Colorado”) – Yeti Cycles is proud to welcome the arrival of young talent Matilda “Tilly” Melton (USA) to the Yeti / FOX Factory World Cup Downhill Program.
Matilda “Tilly” Melton has had a quick progression from her days racing BMX to her Junior Downhill World Cup podiums. As a former Junior National Downhill Champion, Tilly captured multiple Junior World Cup podiums in 2025, against some of the best up-and-coming talent in the world.
Melton is poised for success in her first year of Elite Women’s Downhill World Cup racing as she joins the Yeti / FOX Factory World Cup Downhill program alongside Richie Rude (USA), Tyler Waite (NZL) and Jonty Williamson (NZL).
“I’m proud to be joining the Yeti / Fox Factory DH Team for 2026. It’s an honor to be supported by a brand with such a strong history and dedication to racing. Yeti’s focus on performance aligns well with my motivation to ride fast, train hard, and enjoy the time riding my bike. I’m excited for the season with the team where we have a shared passion and goals - now let’s get to work!”
- Tilly Melton
"Developing riders into World Class athletes is core to the Yeti / FOX Factory program and we’re excited to sign Tilly to the program. In our short time working with Tilly, we’ve come to know her as an incredibly smart and hard-working young woman. Tilly has shown a professionalism, persistence and maturity we believe will propel her to a successful career in the Elite Women’s DHI World Cup field.”
- Garrett Davis, Yeti Cycles, Director of Marketing
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
2025
• 4th – 2025 UCI DHI World Cup Overall – Junior Women
• 2nd – UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – DHI – Junior Women - Lake Placid
• 4th – UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – DHI – Junior Women - Lenzerheide
• 6th – UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – DHI – Junior Women - Haute-Savoie
• 3rd – USA National Championships – DHI – Elite Women – Big Bear
• 3rd – UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – DHI – Junior Women - Loudenville
• 4th – UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – DHI – Junior Women - Bielsko Biala
• 2nd – Monster Energy Pro DH Series – Junior Women DH
2024
• 3rd – USA National Downhill Championships – Elite Women
• 3rd – Crankworx Canadian Open DH – Elite Women
• 3rd – Tennessee National – Elite Women DH
Photo Credit Yeti Cycles and Dave Trumpore
About Yeti Cycles –
Founded in 1985, Yeti Cycles makes race-bred, obsessively engineered, masterfully crafted mountain bikes proven by the fastest riders in the most demanding conditions. Based in Golden, Colorado, Yeti is owned and staffed by riders who are more likely to be out riding the company’s latest creation than sitting in a conference room. Visit www.yeticycles.com to learn more.
Did Yeti forget that they are from Golden, CO and Tilly is from Bellingham, WA?
Not a rumor exactly but remy morton no longer sporting a Red Bull helmet. I find it interesting that some RB athletes have normal duration (3-5yrs) contracts while others seem to last their entire career and beyond.
Thomas Genon joined Rocky Mountain as per captioned pics that were just uploaded on PB. Doesn't look like the article has been released yet, so I'm thinking someone forgot to set the pics to private?
Proper sleuthing. It's private now.
Trick and style-wise, Tommy G is the Marc Johnson of mtb hotdogging. I’ve never seen him do anything wack and he’s looked good the whole time. The guy is so sick.
*alcoholism and shady ethics aside I hope
Kade Edwards no longer with Fox Racing?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV0QkjwjW0m/?igsh=M2JxdW05c250MHE3
Did not have Jack Moir ft DVO on my 2026 bingo card
Had trouble to identify brakes brand on the slowmo part (near the end) of this insta video.
Looks like new 5.10 mtb shoes?
Looks like old Codes![]()
Gotta make money somehow!
Yeah, they are old Codes, in the bike build vid he said the Mavens weren't in the shipment with the other stuff he got from the SRAM OZ. Threw the old Codes on to get the bike rolling until the Mavens showed up, which he now has on in the Day 1 TransTassie vid that dropped today.
RMS has picked up a Commencal ride through the local Australian subsidiary for some Australian racing including the National Champs this weekend.
Our French-speaking colleagues at Vojo Mag reporting that Isabeau Courdurier is planning to come back to racing in 2026 (after the recent birth of her first child). She will race select enduro and DH events, with the focus mostly on the latter (coached by Cecile Ravanel).
Belgian 😘
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