[Closed] Aaron Gwin Signs With Specialized...

Trek are barmy to let him go, Spesh must have offered a big chunk of money!

How did I miss the Sam Hill to CRC!

The season is starting to look interesting already.

Never known a season like it for team changing. This year should be a cracker 🙂

dawson - my guess is that Trek had very little say in the matter. I suspect that Specialized turned up with a cheque so large that it was unfeasible for Trek to match it. Don't forget that in August 2012 Gwin signed for another three years with Trek:

[URL] http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Aaron-Gwin-on-Trek-for-3-More-Years.html [/URL]

So.... who are Trek going to fill that void with?

Minnaar.

Waits for the call from trek.....

Any number of potential riders no consistent top 3 riders though

Spesh must have offered a big chunk of money!

And a 29er....

Is no thread safe from having a 29r rammed down your neck..... 😆

who are Trek going to fill that void with?

According to a cryptic team rumours cartoon it will be Brook MacDonald.

Greg Minaar would be a nice safe choice and some one young and faaast too.

Specialized haven't won for a while so if they can bag half as many wins as Gwin got Trek last year it would be a start. Lets hope he gets on with the Spesh bike, but I imagine the entire race paddock thinks the complete opposite and would like the playing field leveled.

What a mercenary!
I shall laugh my balls off if he stops winning.

Bloody hell, so the rumours were true.

Cheeky way to break the news...

Don't forget that in August 2012 Gwin signed for another three years with Trek

Wonder how he got out of that. Can't have been performance related as he's won plenty. Maybe they bought him out.

Wonder how he got out of that.

money.

Yeah I guess Gwin will have had to pay a penalty to get out, which Spesh will have compensated him for.

Seems like a decent guy so I would imagine they must've doubled his pay to get him to break the contract.

Seems like Trek are not letting him go without a fight and that he had signed a 3 year deal with Trek first.

Martin Whiteley is not a happy bunny...

"The last several weeks have been a very difficult period for our company as owners of the Trek World Racing program. Despite the fact that on August 9 of last year, Aaron Gwin signed a legally binding Letter Of Intent with our team for the next three seasons, his agent wrote an email to the team in mid-December stating he had decided to race for another bike brand. Mr Gwin confirmed his agreement with our team in public statements, and he and his agent repeatedly confirmed the existence of, and commitment to, the agreement in written correspondence with us. Yet, only weeks before the team was required to submit the official team roster to UCI, Mr Gwin informed the team that he was abandoning TWR in total disregard of his contractual obligations.

The team reached out on several occasions in December in order to try and remedy whatever concerns Mr Gwin had, but these were ignored until the team received a letter from his Attorneys on December 27 stating he would not ride for our team. In the interests of the team and our sponsors, we are actively pursuing all options open to us at this point, including legal action, and remain completely surprised by Mr Gwin’s unprofessional actions.

Team Director Martin Whiteley says: “This has not been an easy time for us. In the bigger picture however I find positivity in the fact that the Trek World Racing program will continue regardless of the outcome of this dispute, as no single rider is bigger than the team as a whole. Every rider who has been on our Downhill program has had the best years of their career with us, and we will continue to bring on talented riders. The team has a history of helping riders win who had not previously won, including Aaron Gwin. It’s our intention to continue that type of record with new talent. I would personally like to acknowledge the complete support and loyalty we’ve received from our title sponsor Trek Bikes who have been unwavering in their commitment to the program since this news broke. In the interests of the fans, we hope this matter will be resolved sooner rather than later”.

Oh, I didn't realise he was breaking contract. That's a big no-no.

Obviously I want to see riders do well and get the best deal possible for the entertainment they provide but disregarding contractual agreements?

Martin Whitely does seem royally p*ssed off

Oh Trek aren't happy! It all looks a bit messy. I wonder what the penalty clauses are like in a Letter if Intent?

tomaso - Member
Greg Minaar would be a nice safe choice and some one young and faaast too.

Minaar's an old boy! And don't think he'll be leaving Santa Cruz/The Syndicate anytime soon, he can pretty much do what he wants there.

Aaron Gwin signed a legally binding Letter Of Intent

doesn't sound like he had a contract..... LOAs are a bit of a halfway house I believe.

Coyote - Member
Oh, I didn't realise he was breaking contract. That's a big no-no.

Obviously I want to see riders do well and get the best deal possible for the entertainment they provide but disregarding contractual agreements?

I can't find any amount of bothered over this, happens in every other sport.

Shame he felt the need to wait till just before their deadline to do it though. Would agree that that seems a little unprofessional. Leaving Trek a bit high and dry to find his replacement before the deadline, although am sure there will be plenty of young guys who will do well with that place. Be good to see if Brook can string together a good season, I like the way that boy rides.

Minaar's an old boy!

I think he meant Minnaar plus another young rider.

That's what I'd be looking to do if I were in Trek's position anyway.

happens in every other sport

Doesn't make it right though.

I do feel quite sorry for Martin Whiteley and the Trek World Racing team. It does appear to have been quite underhand.

I can't believe that people on pinkbike are selling their session 88 and some taking their demos off sale :-O do they not realise that most riders will ride for who pays them most and because Gwin rides one doesn't mean it's the best bike for them?!? Crazy

Apart from the obvious financial gain why would he leave a team that has brought him two successive WC titles?

Maybe it was just the money on offer that made Gwin move, but maybe he wasn't entirely happy at TWR?

Whiteley does seem to have his fingers in a lot of pies, and hasn't been shy of taking credit for Gwin's success.

I can't believe that people on pinkbike are selling their session 88 and some taking their demos off sale :-O do they not realise that most riders will ride for who pays them most

I know what you mean, from reading the comments on there they seem to think it's all about which brand of fizzy pop sponsors each rider.

It cant be just $. He's not daft and has alot of very clever folk who know whats what advising him. JT would have been involved in some way shirley?

Maybe Jesus told him to do it?

I don't feel sorry for Martin Whiteley, he should've got the contract particulars agreed and signed in the 4 months since the letter of intent was sorted in August. Afterall that is his job.

chakaping - Member

"Minaar's an old boy!"

I think he meant Minnaar plus another young rider.

That's what I'd be looking to do if I were in Trek's position anyway.

Yup, on review 😳 As you were!

tomaso - Member
I don't feel sorry for Martin Whiteley, he should've got the contract particulars agreed and signed in the 4 months since the letter of intent was sorted in August. Afterall that is his job.

Anyone really surprised by Specialized moving on Gwinn?

Industry bullies, take whatever they want, and **** everyone else.

Thats what a Imeant - a safe bet on a known world class performer and a young fast hungry gamble.

Corporate responses:
Yeti to Trek move > I don't begrudge them at all.
Trek to Specialized move > completely surprised by Mr Gwin’s unprofessional actions.

Karma bites?

AjsMonkey - interesting, and possibly fair, take on it. Do you know what Gwin's contractual position was with Yeti at the time of his move to Trek?

So if the deal with Trek wasn't done, perhaps they weren't offering Gwin what he thought he was worth?

If they wanted him watertight, they should have got him to sign a contract, rather than letters of intent...

To suggest previously he had 'signed for another 3 years' with Trek was a bit silly really, it should have been 'gain has indicated he will be racing for TWR for the next 3 years, subject to contracts'.

Specialized haven't really poached him, or bought him out of a contract, he was out of contract already! Just signed a better deal. Nothing underhand there.

Seemingly as weak as the one with TWR?

Gwin on Trek move:
I'm super excited about the whole Trek World Racing deal and how that all went down. My manager, friend, and mentor, Rich Houseman put it all together for me and I'm so thankful for that. Rich has pretty much been responsible for my whole racing career and I think together we really found a good home at Trek.

Chris Conroy, Yeti Cycles on the move:
People ask me all the time if we get tired of big teams "stealing" our riders after we put so much into them? I don't begrudge them at all. I want riders to earn as much as they can as professional mountain bikers. As a small company, we simply don't have the resources to match huge offers and we aren't willing to walk away from our development efforts for a single rider.

Gwin on Specialized move:
“I'm super excited to start this new chapter in my career with Specialized bicycles. The entire Specialized staff has welcomed me with open arms and I'm blown away by the level of support they've shown me. This is my dream program and I can't thank them enough for this opportunity. Bring on 2013!”

TWR on the move (as per Chakaping):
In the interests of the team and our sponsors, we are actively pursuing all options open to us at this point, including legal action, and remain completely surprised by Mr Gwin’s unprofessional actions.

Seemingly Gwin's view on both: "Super excited" and most importantly looking after No 1.
So, either he was in a position to do it and TWR need to suck it up, or TWR can take him to the cleaners.
Currently trying to think of other sports with such contractual issues........