The powers that be must have been listening in. They just squashed these rumors: http://cog.konaworld.com/connor-fearon-extends-contract-with-kona-for-two-more-years/
We’re thrilled to announce Connor Fearon has signed a two-year extension of his contract. The young Australian gravity shredder has been piloting a Kona since 2010 and will continue to race his Operator DH machine through the end of 2018.
“I got my first Kona at the end of 2010 and tagged along with the world cup team for a couple of races in 2011 as a first year junior. In 2012 I placed third at the Junior World Championships. I’ve ridden for Kona ever since.”
Connor had a stellar season on board the new Operator, riding it to two top five podium finishes.
The quiet, all-round rider has been making some noise recently. One of the most exciting riders on the World Cup circuit to watch, his dependable top 10 placings, highlighted by trips to the podium in Switzerland and in Andorra last weekend, had him exceeding his own personal goals for the season.
Connor’s consistent 2016 season resulted in a top five finish in the 2016 UCI Downhill World Cup standings.
“My goal for the 2016 World Cup season was to be consistently in the top ten and finish the season top ten overall. To walk away with fifth at the final round in Andorra and fifth overall is a dream ending to this season for me. I never really think of myself as a pure downhill racer, I love riding all bikes from dirt jump hardtails to trail and downhill, just having the most fun I can on all the sweet bikes Kona makes.”
His passion for all-things-bike includes his input and heavy involvement developing the new Operator that will be available this fall, and was very evident in his excitement about his Ti Humuhumu ‘signing bonus’.
Kona co-founder Jacob Heilbron offered Connor his personal Ti Humuhumu as a signing bonus.
“I’m a bike enthusiast and like owning cool bikes that make me happy. I got a Ti Humuhumu frame as a gift from Jake (Kona co-owner) for signing again, I just look at it and think how cool it is. I will own that bike forever.”
The Downhill World Championships are just days away and Connor will be piloting this one-off green and gold Operator on the well-loved track at Val Di Sole, Italy.
Things aren’t slowing down for Connor anytime soon, after this weekend’s World Championships in Val Di Sole, Italy, he’s heading to Canada to star in a video showcasing Kona’s new Hei Hei Trail bikes and then teaming up with Aggy at Retallack to finish up the Operator video, a project spanning two summers and a full World Cup race season.
Connor will continue to pilot the Kona Supreme Operator with support from our key sponsors SRAM, RockShox, WTB and Maxxis.
