[Closed] Athertons say bye to GT

That's a real shame as I think they've been really good for each other.

They've certainly done a huge amount for the development of the shape of the bikes and it hasn't hurt GT's somewhat tarnished image at all.

Heard a rumour they were going to a German brand but that was a while ago.

The Gwin/YT thread suggests Trek and Pinkbike gossip also reflects that.

And it is the most logical move IMO - biggest team in need of consistent top tier performers.

Oh look...
https://instagram.com/ream_tumours/

Pinkbike comment made me lol

This is because Gee's career is going downhill fast.

I must be a bit thick, but can someone explain that 'ream_tumors' thing to me please?

Athertons purchase a french rock and take it to Los Angeles.. and then decide to (not) do enduro?

Errr... 😕

Shame, thought they suited each other quite well, and like Speeder said, they've helped up GT's image quite a bit. Doubt they were cheap though, their pit set-up was like the old days of DH with the mahoosive Winnebago / trailer deal.
Will be interesting to see who GT goes for next, swap with Book M at Trek?

no_eyed_deer - Member

I must be a bit thick, but can someone explain that 'ream_tumors' thing to me please?

Athertons purchase a french rock and take it to Los Angeles.. and then decide to (not) do enduro?

Errr...

First one seems to be the Athertons saying 'goodbye' to someone Dutch (with a dog) Martin Maes I guess.

Don't know who 'LA' is, but they're French and off to Canyon?

4th is the Athertons going for a Trek.

Final is someone with a square head giving up Enduro for Downhill maybe Richie Rude

I've never really understood the Team Rumors thing.

First one is Max Commencal no? Is the last one Dan going back to DH?

First one seems to be the Athertons saying 'goodbye' to someone Dutch (with a dog) Martin Maes I guess.

Isn't Martin Maes Belgian?

It's not all about the Athertons.

The first (or last) one looks like Ritchie Rude (note the bad language) going out on a high and returning to DH.

The French rock to Canyon is tough. Some suggestions in comments that its the Lapierre team moving to Canyon (I thought it was a factory set-up though!).

Could be Vergier? Unlikely to be Bruni I'd have thought, even less likely to be Barel making a comeback.

Don't know who 'LA' is, but they're French and off to Canyon?

La Rock -> Lapierre

(pierre means stone, it's a st peter thing I think)

(with a dog)

Could it be the guy just likes to doodle?

Don't know who 'LA' is, but they're French and off to Canyon?

Lapierre team to Canyon bikes

EDIT: Beaten to it by miles!

Final is someone with a square head giving up Enduro for Downhill maybe Martin Maes - didn't he race a DH race this year and do very well?

Suggestion is that's Richie Rude going back to DH after winning the EWS

lemonysam - Member

First one seems to be the Athertons saying 'goodbye' to someone Dutch (with a dog) Martin Maes I guess.

Isn't Martin Maes Belgian?

So he is, are there any Dutch DH/Endruo riders?

Aneeke Beerten - but she's been improving and seems cosy on Spesh.

And they'd probably have put a skirt or long hair on the pic...

Barel making a comeback.

He told Pinkbike last week in a front page interview he's sticking with Canyon to develop their bikes, he'll still race but not international stuff, more just for fun

Suggestion is that's Richie Rude going back to DH after winning the EWS

Yeti getting back into DH? would be a bold move to jump team and discipline from the world champ position

I wouldn't be surprised if Barel helps with the Canyon dh team in a coach/team manager /tutor role.

Sam Dale to GT as well... No Trek Factory racing. Graves to Specialized. Hope Richie Rude doesn't drop Enduro. Be a crying shame. He does seem to be enjoying his time on the DH bike at the start of the off season though.

Graves to Specialized.

They certainly seem to have been good for GT... Not so up with the DH bikes but after years of tall steep long travel bikes, it seems like having Dan say "**** off, these are rubbish" helped get them into the same decade as everyone else...

it seems like having Dan say "**** off, these are rubbish"

Is that what happened or did they redesign their bikes and then relaunch the brand by hiring the Athertons? My guess would be the latter. Not to say they didn't contribute but I doubt that they didn't have plans for a new version of GT before the Athertons were approached.

The flag of Luxemburg looks almost identical to the Dutch flag...

The flag of Luxemburg looks almost identical to the Dutch flag...

I don't think we have any bike manufacturers or teams (apart from road teams, not at all for tax purposes) here... unless Andy Schleck is launching a DH team which would be pretty ironic.

Graves to Specialized

Firstly good luck to the Athertons, I hope they are getting some reward for their hard work and excellent performances.

I'm always a bit nervous to see change of kit after a successful season, will be a very busy winter getting new bikes setup. Fingers crossed they are competitive.

atlaz - Member

Is that what happened or did they redesign their bikes and then relaunch the brand by hiring the Athertons?

The new enduro bike arrived a long time after Dan joined the team- he did a load of messing around with modified Forces and protos and geometry hacks before they got to the new bike, and he wasn't shy about slating the standard Force.

Surprising move from Troy Brosnan...

View this post on Instagram

😯

I'd have seen him more as a climber than a classics man.

GT came up with the old alloy / carbon fury on their own, and part of the deal was the athertons helping to develop a new DH bike. Thus along comes the aluminum fury, and from that the sanction as well.

Plenty of rumours floating around about a new canyon DH team on a new bike, possibly with Barel involved somewhere. In his pinkbike interview he flat out said he's not managing a team, but he will be supporting riders and carrying on R&D.

Isn't that a Lorry? (Laurie Greenland)? going towards a Canyon?

getonyourbike - Member

No Trek Factory racing

Aren't the Athertons going to Trek? Not a factory team?

I meant no Trek Factory Racing as in the Martin Whiteley run TFR, but Atherton Racing will be representing them, if you see what I mean.

[i]Aren't the Athertons going to Trek? Not a factory team?[/i]

Isn't the team "Atherton Racing" ?

Edit: what he said!

Athertons = Athertons and Red Bull?
If you have the sponsor power and the bikes are sorted do you need the factory part?

Atherton Racing have been competing under the name 'GT Factory Racing' so a change to 'Trek Factory Racing' wouldn't be a big jump. They'd still get called the athertons all the time though so it doesn't really fit in with Treks global branding exercise.

They'd still get called the athertons all the time though so it doesn't really fit in with Treks global branding exercise.

Aye, but look what they've done for GT's Brand.

You'd have to very certain of your plans for success if you're not going to sign the Athertons to help you do it...

I'm sure the Athertons will want to keep their own organisation and management, so no TWR in DH sounds feasible. Martin Whiteley wouldn't have much left to do.

It'll be interesting if Canyon and YT are both signing up fast riders and taking it seriously too.

getonyourbike - Member

I meant no Trek Factory Racing as in the Martin Whiteley run TFR, but Atherton Racing will be representing them, if you see what I mean.

Right. But still a "factory" team in terms of support from Trek, I guess.

I never really understood what the Factory part of the Trek Factory Racing meant (or any Factory racing part of any team). Is that the riders are paid by trek to ride their bikes and receive direct support via Trek mechanics, transport etc?

So in the Athertons case they may just get the bikes and the Atherton team takes care of all the other things such as mechanics, transfport travel etc etc?

I am a bit confused to be honest!

I never really understood what the Factory part of the Trek Factory Racing meant (or any Factory racing part of any team).

It means they are the primary sponsor but also supply the main kit (the bike). So like in F1 Ferrari are a Factory team, their car and main sponsor.

This might blow your minds........Atherton/Trek - Factory racing.

[img] [/img]

ahhh ok I get it/ Thank you!

Atherton Racing is 'sort of' team isn't it - Commencal and GT were both factory teams, but the Athertons come with their own structure in terms of mechanics / management etc.

Slightly OT - what ever happened to Marc Beaumont? I've seen him do GMBN thing with 'The Don' but he won the BDS in 2014, GT/Athertons dropped him, I've no idea what he's done this year.

[url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/interview-rachel-atherton-dh-world-champion-2015.html ]Rachel Interview [/url]

Nothing about moving teams though

Presumably they have been offered a better financial deal.

It was a great deal for GT especially when you couldnt actually buy the same frame as they used. Theirs were all custom made, hence the lack of carbon

It was a great deal for GT especially when you couldnt actually buy the same frame as they used.

"now you have left muddyfox whats it really like to ride a muddyfox dan?"

"dunno never ridden one"

I love the way Bulldog always comes up on these things. He's the perennial fill in for someone better. I'm really not surprised if Trek are planning to do something else as their profile has bombed since they lost Gwinn and were forced to pick up whoever was left standing.

chrismac - Member

Presumably they have been offered a better financial deal.

It was a great deal for GT especially when you couldnt actually buy the same frame as they used. Theirs were all custom made, hence the lack of carbon

That's not unusual, I don't many, if any of the top 10 / factory riders are riding standard off-the-shelf frames. When they were with Commencal, Max Commencal said that they'd never sell a bike with the same set-up / geo as Gee's DH race bike as most riders would hate it.

Cube have a new downhill bike so they might start a DH team , they have a fairly large enduro team so are no strangers to investing in a race team .
Would love to know what having the athertons on a team does for actual bike sales , your pretty much guaranteed top spot in the women's and top ten in the men's and dan offers plenty of media exposure if not top race results but what does that mean in terms of punters walking out of bike shops with a GT

Another one for you lot. Justin Leov to Canyon...

Speeder

I love the way Bulldog always comes up on these things. He's the perennial fill in for someone better. I'm really not surprised if Trek are planning to do something else as their profile has bombed since they lost Gwinn and were forced to pick up whoever was left standing.

Pretty nasty. He's one of the most talented riders out there, he just needs to ride on the limit of crashing, not past it. If he can get it together and stay injury free he'll be right up there.

Wouldn't surprise me if Trek had some big plans for Rachel. She's at the top of her game, and if 2015 is anything to go on she might be there for some time. Given the amount of brand activation / press that LA got during his time on Trek, it wouldn't surprise me if they made her the face of a relaunched womens mtb line.

[i]He's one of the most talented riders out there[/i]

Can be said about most of the men's field though, and TBH the competition is so tight these days that even wildly good riders like McDonald are scrapping it out for top 20 places rather than top 5, and you can't be doing that on a Trek.

Pretty nasty. He's one of the most talented riders out there, he just needs to ride on the limit of crashing, not past it. If he can get it together and stay injury free he'll be right up there.

Probably is and sorry if it offends but he's been on a top bike/team for a good few seasons and not delivered much beyond top 10s. there certainly doesn't seem to be any progression.

There's a few fall into this category. One of which is Brendog but he redeems himself by looking rad and getting everywhere with great footage.

Anneke Beerten to GT...

Brook is still one of the few current racers to have won a WC round.

I'm sure he would admit he hasn't done as well as he or Trek hoped, a new team might be a good move for him now anyway.

Next year's gonna be a corker anyway, hope we see a bit more consistency from him, Connor Fearon and Mike Jones.

And hopefully Troy Brosnan will stick one of his insane runs.

Athertons are on trek (possibly without taylor vernon)
Martin Maes stays with GT
Brook is on GT
Greg Williamson on commencal
Don't know where laurie has gone for sure canyon I am led to believe.

Big changes coming in the running of the world cups too, mainly starting in 2017 with less riders in finals and live coverage showing full runs.

Result and marketing don't mean popularity or bike sales, danny Hart mega popular and no doubt sells bikes but he's way quiet and doesn't podium very often.

I''m not sure Danny ever needs to ride a bike again, [i]that[/i] run is immortal.

That said, I'm sure he'd like to get the monkey off his back and win a dry World Cup or two.

live coverage showing full runs.

*raises eyebrows*

chakaping - Member
live coverage showing full runs.
*raises eyebrows*

Is it even possible? Don't runs overlap below the top 20? It'll be a lot of cameras whatever happens. If they do it, it will be great but the spectre of Rocky Roads looms large.

He also mentioned thinning out the field, which could prevent runs overlapping and which we knew was on the cards.

Screening full runs could definitely be done with Red Bull's money and I'd love to see them try.

Could take DH to the next level as a spectator sport for the casual viewer?

Result and marketing don't mean popularity or bike sales, danny Hart mega popular and no doubt sells bikes but he's way quiet and doesn't podium very often.

I think results mean a lot in DH.

Look how many Iron Horse sundays and Demo's got sold when Sam Hill was riding for them and winning. Hasn't done so well for Nukeproof and you don't see as many about.

How many sessions were about when Gwin was destroying everything on one, vs the dodgy year (for his standards) he had at specialized.

Any plenty of glorys about when Danny Hart won world champs.

chakaping - Member
live coverage showing full runs.
*raises eyebrows*

Is it even possible? Don't runs overlap below the top 20? It'll be a lot of cameras whatever happens. If they do it, it will be great but the spectre of Rocky Roads looms large.

I seem to recall the plan is to have less riders, which isn't so great for new talent, but increase the number of riders who get the track to themselves so they can show whole runs which makes for a better spectacle for viewers.

I think DH has been in the decline a bit of late, if Redbull (or whoever wants to pay for the TV rights) wants to get more viewers they need to put on a better show - you never know, they might actually convince non-mountain bikers to watch it.

I bet we'll see a lot more Nukeproofs selling now they've slimmed the Pulse down and made it look sexier.

Buyers clearly are influenced by results - but nobody wants to be riding a boat anchor.

I seem to recall the plan is to have less riders, which isn't so great for new talent, but increase the number of riders who get the track to themselves so they can show whole runs which makes for a better spectacle for viewers.

I can totally sympathise with the up-and-coming riders who suddenly might only qualify for every other round instead of comfortably making the cut.

But if the audience for the sport can grow, maybe Red Bull would screen qualis too the day before? They do it with Rampage already and it works for F1 on the telly.

Then everyone's getting their exposure still.

Great off season so far, loads of juicy rumours.

Athertons to Trek is fairly well known I believe, Rude coming back to DH is also fairly certain, Gwin in his own team but still riding Specialized bikes is an interesting one....i've heard he might partner up with Luca Shaw for that one with Troy Lee Designs and Redbull footing the bill perhaps?

As others have said Brook Mac seems to be the go-to-guy when a team is stuck for a top rider, he's good but I don't think he'll win a WC in current company....surely better to give a junior a chance?...rumour is Brook Mac to GT, that's ok but if I was GT I'd want Martin Maes doing a full senior season too.

With TWR effectively folding or being taken over by the Athertons where does that leave Laurie Greenland?...i hope he's got a good deal for next year.

Sam Hill and Mike Jones are staying put, they're a good pairing and once Hill is fixed he'll be winning again.

Santa Cruz Syndicate?....i reckon Minnaar will stay on to see just how far out of reach he can put his World Cup victory tallies, Bryce seems happy....I'm concerned for Peaty, I'd hate to see him failing to qualify for the main event each round, he had an excuse this year but next year it's make or break basically....top-20s will be the minimum expected of him to keep that ride I reckon.

I'd like to see Wyn Masters in a well supported team, he's hovering outside the top-20 currently but could break into the top-10 with the right support I think.

Brosnan is safe at Spesh I reckon, he's their banker if Gwin moves on.

Interesting to see what Hart does now Marzocchi have effectively folded and become Fox?....he's so close to a World Cup win....rumours are Bruni is moving on, seems odd given he's just landed Lappiere a World Championship but rumours again say the team has been bought out by Canyon?!....with Barel in an advisory, developmental, coaching role.

YT are rumoured to be entering the class, plenty of good riders for them to pick from....Sam Dale, Matt Simmonds, Blenki etc....

Is it even possible? Don't runs overlap below the top 20?

less riders in finals

From the UCI"

Rationalising the great appeal for Downhill Mountain Bike, it was agreed to reduce the total number of riders at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano. This will reduce pressure on the course during training, space required from the organisers, a slightly reduced schedule to give some flexibility in the case of stoppages/red flags, and importantly reduce the wide ability range that currently means some riders are able to access a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup who maybe do not have sufficient experience. In the same spirit, the UCI Management Committee approved to increase the UCI Mountain Bike Team annual registration fee."

So no more privateers?

I can totally sympathise with the up-and-coming riders who suddenly might only qualify for every other round instead of comfortably making the cut.

Maybe have higher level europe, american and national championships to develop the talent, alongside the slimmed down world cup.

I'm concerned for Peaty, I'd hate to see him failing to qualify for the main event each round, he had an excuse this year but next year it's make or break basically....top-20s will be the minimum expected of him to keep that ride I reckon.

Naaaaa, look at a trail center car park:

Orange
Orange
Santa Cruz
Orange
Orange
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz
Orange
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz
Orange
Orange
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz

Realistically who do you REALLY want to advertise at, kids with a paper round, or middle aged blokes with £5k to burn who are buying the bike they remember the guys riding when they couldn't afford one. I suspect a lot of Orange and SC's commercial success is down to the Peaty brand. I suspect at worst he'll retire to a Barrel style management/coaching/development role.

.I'm concerned for Peaty, I'd hate to see him failing to qualify for the main event each round, he had an excuse this year but next year it's make or break basically....top-20s will be the minimum expected of him to keep that ride I reckon

I reckon Peaty is on that team for as long as he wants to be , even without results he is downhill royalty and brings them a lot of media coverage , i am sure when he finishes racing he will be involved as a brand ambassador or something like that .

edit- what he said !

[i]So no more privateers?[/i]

when was the last time one broke into the top 20?

I imagine a lot of SC success is also down to ratboy

There will come a time when Peaty stops being a top 10 contender, hopefully he'll be back in 2016 and back where he was in 2014, but I reckon he'll go out on his own terms before he can't get a place on a factory team on merit and not just because he can sell a lot of kit.

Also this top 20 thing, the UCI haven't said they will limit the amount of riders on a WC to anything like 20 have they? There were 170ish Riders in the Elite Men alone at Ft. William this year. You could halve that and (excluded riders aside) not many people would complain.

There will come a time when Peaty stops being a top 10 contender, hopefully he'll be back in 2016 and back where he was in 2014, but I reckon he'll go out on his own terms before he can't get a place on a factory team on merit and not just because he can sell a lot of kit.

Whilst I am a fan of Steve Peat, he's already stopped being a top 10 contender.

He's only made it inside the top 10 on 3 occasions at World Cup level since 2012.

Clearly when he's fit and healthy, he's still a top 20 contender, which at his age, is pretty bloody impressive, but I doubt we will see him in the top 10 again.

The new format won't have runs overlapping there will be three "finals" WC 1 riders 1-25 WC2 25-80 and then WC3 juniors women will run the top 5 as finalists.
This will all be through redbull with coverage as the highlight of the sport is to see the fastest elite men everything else is just development (with the juniors etc) to get to WC1.

World Cup 1 will run in Sunday as per normal and maybe the top 5 women

Just watched the video in the OP for the first time as I didn't want to at work earlier and I have to say that's a really classy send off by GT.

All the best to all concerned. Will be interesting to see how the new bikes compare - if it is Trek the session is reported to be one of the best so things could get interesting at the sharp end*.

* even if it is all much of a muchness at that level.

World Cup 1 will run in Sunday as per normal and maybe the top 5 women

mikewsmith - Member
World Cup 1 will run in Sunday as per normal and maybe the top 5 women

Such equality in the sport as always...

I'd say that was over representing the demographic currently.