World cup team changes rumor thread

ajay

^Once punched Jeff Kennett. Don't pick an e-fight
Pretty heavy re the Athertons, got a source? Or just speculating?

Also, Loic and Blenki back on the same team. (According to an ambiguous post on Loic's IG)
 

Topperharley

Likes Dirt
Pretty heavy re the Athertons, got a source? Or just speculating?

Also, Loic and Blenki back on the same team. (According to an ambiguous post on Loic's IG)
Blenki deffo with Norco next year. Know nothing about Bruni, seems unlikely to leave Lapierre tough?

Not revealing my source!!! I do have afew more titbits but you'll have to work to get them.
 

ajay

^Once punched Jeff Kennett. Don't pick an e-fight
Blenki deffo with Norco next year. Know nothing about Bruni, seems unlikely to leave Lapierre tough?

Not revealing my source!!! I do have afew more titbits but you'll have to work to get them.
Yeah I thought it unlikely too, possibly just lost in translation...

I've heard nothing on the Atherton front.... but I'll start the guessing - intense/dvo
 
For next season.....

.......i'll get the ball rolling.....Athertons no longer on GT, or Fox Shimano.
Wow. If true then no doubt YT Industries will seriously be in the mix trying to score the trio. I couldn't imagine the guys going out on their own & not being a manufacturer's coveted DH team, particularly while Gee & Rach still have a solid few years ahead as WC winners/potential World Champions.
 

Ivan

Eats Squid
Will YT really want to spend serious money on a DH team? I didn't think that would fit with their low cost business model.
 
Will YT really want to spend serious money on a DH team? I didn't think that would fit with their low cost business model.
They're more of a streamlined model than a low-cost model. There would be nothing low cost about the way YT function- the make up of bikes & the roster of riders is indicative of their aspirations & intent.

That's the question indeed, & it'd be a long shot they'd pick up the Athertons. But I have been wondering how long it'd be before YT activated a big-hitting DH team that were genuine contenders on the WC- YT wouldn't aim for anything other than the cream if trends to date are to go by.

In the absence of having a model & subsequent range like conventional manufacturers or even Canyon or Polygon, what YT have done over the last few years is a heck of a lot of product refining & effective marketing as a polished lifestyle & big-hitting brand, which has then been supported by rave product reviews, accolades & seemingly translated sales. And to YT's credit, as much as it frustrates the shit out of long list of consumers falling over each other to get a bike, they seem to have done really well at shoring up & ironing out the respective geographic direct-sales markets they enter with their 'niche' mtbs- they're the Intense of the DMS model. YT Industries are one of the more product & brand focused companies out there & seem to really seek out riders from their respective geographic markets that are in line with the YT Industries brand identity (Zink, Lacondeguy, McGarry, Granieri & Regnier- all pretty darn cream riders at the pointy end of their games), yet they haven't ventured into the WC DH competition sphere with a factory team. I'd say it's only a matter of time before YT are bursting onto the circuit.

The Atherton's would be an almost ideal fit for the YT Industries brand, but as to whether YT could afford it? I'm sure the bean-counters at YT have been onto it to see if their sales projections over the next 3-5 years would accommodate the investment & expense. They'd sure love to get a World Champion DH rider on their roster, particularly now that their DMS competitor Canyon no longer have a former WC on their mtb roster. Then again, who knows, Canyon's also another DMS brand that'd be looking to increase their profile, but from a product stand-point alone it wouldn't make a great deal of sense (you only need to look at the Torque DHX to see Canyon aren't investing in development of their products in the gravity range of bikes).

Given they're clearly very astute & driven, none of the Athertons come across as the types who would rely on the industry to see them into life beyond their prime. Given Rach (27) & Gee (30) are at their peak & haven't anything left to really prove (nor have for a while), I wouldn't at all be surprised if they step back/pursue something other than rainbow stripes within the next 5-6yrs. Given their loyalty to brands I imagine whoever they're signing with will be another long-term deal that would go close to seeing them out, or at least with room left in their careers to see out their racing days genuinely on their own terms, on their own independent non-manufacturer team. Looking back across their careers the Athertons as a package have always secured quite unique brands & deals to go with their unique 3-pack "all of us or none of us" contracts. Either way I'll be looking forward to hearing where they go & whether it'll be back to a strictly Atherton Racing scenario i.e. just Rach & Gee racing DH & Dan continuing with the EWS, without the Maes/Vernon-esque tag-alongs filling the ranks. Dan's genuinely competitive days are well & truly numbered & with blood being thicker than water I wouldn't be surprised if whatever deal comes about does so with the Athertons closing ranks & reducing their team structure to give Dan some degree of extra longevity in what has been an otherwise cut-short career for him. Based on Dan's history then if it is a trio deal, there'll also probably be a 4th satellite rider from the enduro side of the field to balance out Dan's DNFs, injuries & building/event commitments.

Naturally it's nothing more than speculation & armchair theories from this end though. Gotta love the silly season.
 
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higiff

Likes Dirt
Rumor is Gwin wants off specialized factory racing, but still wants to ride their frame.
Word is he was asking 500k just to ride their frame and then persure other sponsors... maybe like a TLD / spec team or something
 

dunndog

Eats Squid
Rumor is Gwin wants off specialized factory racing, but still wants to ride their frame.
Word is he was asking 500k just to ride their frame and then persure other sponsors... maybe like a TLD / spec team or something
Still reckon he was better suited to the Session. Not surprised to hear he's shopping around, always believed there was more to the story with Trek than we heard.
 

heavyp

You heard it here first
Bruni seems very chummy with the Santa Cruz guys in videos, speculate away
This I like, as much as I love to see Peaty ride I think its time for him to hang up his boots/take a pay cut or take a management role so Santa Cruz can take someone else on but they'll have to be a bit of a character which leaves out Hart haha.

I can't see the Athertons leaving Fox and probably not GT just as they have a huge budget but its probably the only way we may see Intense on the podium again.
 

NoFilter

Likes Dirt
but its probably the only way we may see Intense on the podium again.
So you think that Jack Moir has nothing to offer then? Did his 10th place at the worlds in 2014 on that piece of shit bergamot mean nothing?

There is no way you will see Athertons on intense, they can't afford them just yet. Athertons will be on giant, it's been in the cards since mid 2014.
 

Boom King

downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
So you think that Jack Moir has nothing to offer then? Did his 10th place at the worlds in 2014 on that piece of shit bergamot mean nothing?

There is no way you will see Athertons on intense, they can't afford them just yet. Athertons will be on giant, it's been in the cards since mid 2014.
+1 for Jack. Shit year, 2 collar bones. He'll be back.
 

heavyp

You heard it here first
So you think that Jack Moir has nothing to offer then? Did his 10th place at the worlds in 2014 on that piece of shit bergamot mean nothing?

There is no way you will see Athertons on intense, they can't afford them just yet. Athertons will be on giant, it's been in the cards since mid 2014.
Jack who ? haha only joking but yeah he won't be on a podium any time soon I'm afraid, he may of had a 10th at the worlds but then again Damien Spagnolo got a 2nd worlds is a different ball game to the world cup series even thou Loic won this year he still feels that a world cup win would mean more to him than being overall world champ.

Giant and the Athertons huh ? interesting has it been on the cards rumour or behind the scenes happenings ?

I'd like to see what Brendo could do on a purebred race bike like a v-10 and Hart on something different to a Mondraker.

In actual fact i could give a shit who's doing on what team as long as Sam Hill is 1st every race in 2016.
 

Topperharley

Likes Dirt
This I like, as much as I love to see Peaty ride I think its time for him to hang up his boots/take a pay cut or take a management role so Santa Cruz can take someone else on but they'll have to be a bit of a character which leaves out Hart haha.

I can't see the Athertons leaving Fox and probably not GT just as they have a huge budget but its probably the only way we may see Intense on the podium again.
They'll go on a trek and find what they're after
 
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