2025 Team Rumors

I thought there was something to his interaction with Greg also.

Max is like that with all the French racers though, he's basically been the Don as far as French DH racing goes for almost 30 years.

He was teammates with Greg. They are mates. Met Greg when they did a promo tour for SantaCruz. Such an approachable genuine guy. Had a quick chat about surfing and his trip. He seems to like people. Not at all surprised he congratulated a mate. Not only the GOAT rider but also a pretty nice guy. 

Misspent summers post race notes says 3 of the 6 elite podium riders likely to be on different bikes .

So Coulanges definitely , Loris seems probably. So who's the other . Has to be Tahnee doesn't it ?

Can't see finn , myriam or vali changing teams .

But they left out the # of team moves 😉

I could  see Finn wanting to be #1 on a team if the right opportunity came up.  

Maybe Norco?

Multiple teams that make an impact on the results folding at year end.

Might be a surprise or two in store.
Hoping if what I've heard happens, the gaps can be filled with equal or larger programs.

I would think his agent may have been negotiating but if they signed before the end of the season, they would have to understand the potential risk of leaving money on the table.. Especially if this win starts a roll for Loris..

Trek athletes are rumoured to have a clause in their contracts that entitles Trek to secure the athlete's services for the year after a world championship win, regardless of offers from other teams. Most teams will have a 'right of first refusal' to retain a rider in their contracts when the term ends. Still, a contractual obligation to retain a rider after a significant win is outstanding for a big brand like Trek, with riders like Loris who could win on any weekend, and if the rumours were true, it was great for an athlete like Reece Wilson, who was on a contract year the year he won world champs, capping off a tough year, results-wise.

I would think that Trek would have a first refusal clause in the contract. In the case of Reece, the worlds win helped him since not resigning the World Champ isn't a good look for Trek and it help establish some value to Reece. That guy hasn't had the best luck as far as injuries go..

I heard some interactions with FMD though ; )

Trek exercising that clause would be surprising. Is Loris marketable outside Europe like Reece?

I've heard exactly zero to corraborate my guess, but Finn to Trek would make the most sense to me. Big brand. English speaking North American based & who has the money to sign him?

Better start keeping an eye on Instagram for local lift bros hunting some cachet by snapping stealth pics of big names on other brands.  The shuffle is almost over.

My guesses on this:

Benoit - definitely moving, since Dorval is folding.  Consistent podium threat, so a good buy for a team chopping & shopping.  One possibility would be Canyon - they had a deal with Thibaut before that blew up last year, so we know they're interested in a top DH rider and had budget.  Either that or MucOff Commencal, who seem to have unlimited budget.

Loris - he'd be my other bet as someone Canyon would have been talking to, or else the obvious Max Commencal hookup.  So between Benoit & Loris, they could both go either way.  Or maybe as others have speculated, Trek sinks their contract hooks in for an extension.

Finn - you can feel how badly he wants to be winning and be number one.  He clearly gets along well with the Spec Gravity program, but I could see him being interested in being the number one elsewhere if it was a similarly big program.  My guess:  Norco to replace Greg, plus being based out of Canada also.

Tahnee - since it's her family's team, it would just be a different frame sponsor if she changes bikes.  Even though GT Factory is done, they do still seem interested in sponsoring teams run by other programs, so maybe they decide to make a sales pitch to FMD.  Doesn't seem to be a shabby race bike either by the results.

Two new bike brands teams next season ? Not new brands, but brands that come into DH or come back

Troy staying at canyon ?

Loris seems to be on the move

Oooh..somebody knows something I know. But you're better at being vague.
People hate me for saying "I know secrets" but...I can't throw hints.  Terrible at that stuff.

So Cannondale with Ratboy is back?

Cannondale & Foes?

Cannondale seems a real possibility, but it also seems a bit counter intuitive to me given that they are a PON brand and PON brand GT pulled the plug on their DH and Enduro teams this year. I guess they are possibly operating as different entities with different budgets. 

OTB podcast calls Loris to Commencal a done deal though

It's hard to see Loris willing not to be the top dog with Amaury. He left Specialized and Syndicate for the same reason...He seems like he has never found a team that would fit.
I heard some reorg at Canyon, it might impact how many teams they support.. 
There is a new DH Orbea floating around.. maybe a new team next season
Some brands like Orbea or Yeti might shift their focus from Enduro back to DH?

-Loris wants F1 so he can feel like he's getting what Loic is getting. Commencal could do that for him. 
-Loris/Trek has been sour for a while. Loris' 2025 contract likely signed months ago. Not sure there is actually this World Champs clause people are talking about. Reece was likely out of a job or had a small contract offer. Then won worlds, so they coughed up cash to keep him. 
-If Finn goes to Norco (possible for a lot of reasons), that would open salary at Specialized--might sign someone like Erice Vanluven (sp) to get a super fast woman in there who will win races next year. Betting on her and Loic to win a lot next year and hope that Jordan starts winning again too. 
-Greg really likes Loris (clear from Wyn interview) so could be ending up at Norco... BUT, for the full F1 treatment, I think Loris would like to be on a local team with Max and all the resources, etc. 
 

Guys:

- Loris to commencal
- Finn stays in Specialized 
- Coulanges to Norco 
- FMD racing to YT

Any thoughts where Matt Walker could end up ?

Not very often a world cup overall and world cup winner is available , 2nd at the European champs and a good worlds show he's still got the pace and he's still pretty young.

Finn to FMD? Instagram post with Tahnee and him maybe a little hint?

They also seemed very close in the WynTV video.....

They are dating. 

Are they? I was getting that vibe, but wasn't sure if I was reading into things. Not really any of my (or anyone else's) business, hope they are happy. 

Why should Finn leave Specialized? He has accepted that Bruni is number 1. He won't get more money anywhere, let alone a better bike.

Id bet Finn could get more money from someone else as they know it would take a big number to pull him away from Specialized, but I bet Finn knows that Specialized is the bike and team a lot of riders are lusting after with the prototypes and seemingly never ending improvement and resources. 

 I really think there is something to the nationalities jiving well together, Finn has made it work with the majority French team but it took a while. Loris seemingly wants to be on a French run team with French riders. I know Dak struggled a bit at Mondraker with the language barrier and all at first but they seem to have figured it out.