BIKE MOUNTAINBIKE A
BIKE MOUNTAINBIKE A SUCCESSFUL OFF-ROAD YEAR FOR MOTOREX RIDERS In the fields of mountain biking and road cycling, the MOTOREX Bike Line range has gained considerable renown over the years within the international cycling community thanks to the numerous victories and titles it has won. As a technical partner of the very best UCI teams both in XCO (crosscountry) including Multivan Merida, BMC Mountainbike, Uniors Tools, Ghost and Stöckli and in DH (downhill) with Team Trek World Racing, the 2014 season once again saw a rich haul of titles to add to the evergrowing list of trophies. During the European Championships held from 5 to 8 June in St. Wendel, Germany, the MOTOREX brand won no fewer than three medals. In the men’s Eliminator category, the Swiss 2012 World Champion in the discipline Ralf Näf, riding for Team BMC, won a magnificent silver medal while in the XCO Elite category, an Olympic discipline, the gold medals were won by Tanja Žakelj of Team Uniors in the women’s competition and the inevitable Julien Absalon of Team BMC in the men’s race. This year’s mountain bike world championship was held in Norway in the resort of Hafjell-Lillehammer from 2 to 7 September. Under an everpresent sun, the riders offered the numerous spectators an absolutely unforgettable show. In the descent discipline, Team Trek World Racing had 3 riders with hopes of a medal. With the experienced Neko Mulally (USA) and Brook Macdonald (NZ) in the men’s Elite category, a podium finish was a strong possibility. In the end, the two Team Trek riders had to settle for 4th and 5th place, less than 3 seconds off the gold medal time! The entire team was disappointed not to win yet another medal following the previous day’s junior race in which the talented 17-year-old Laurie Greenland from Bristol (England) took a magnificent 2nd place to offer Team Trek a silver medal. In the women’s cross country event, the Slovenian Tanja Žakelj of Team Uniors just missed out on a podium, finishing fourth. Often at the front of the pack throughout the season, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå of Team Merida Multivan was keen to make her mark in front of a crowd that was totally behind her. The likeable Norwegian had every chance of adding another trophy to her impressive collection. Finishing 9th, Gunn-Rita was unable to hide her disappointment. © Photo: Team Lampre Merida The men’s elite race offered the best chance of winning one or more medals. Although they managed only one medal between them, no fewer than 5 riders supported by MOTOREX finished in the top ten places of this competition. José Antonio Hermida took 9th place for Team Merida while the Team BMC riders Ralf Näf, Lukas Flückiger and Moritz Milatz claimed 10th, 7th and 4th places respectively with Milatz only 5 seconds off the podium. Victory and the gold medal went to one of the leading lights of the 2014 season, the Frenchman Julien Absalon. It should also be noted that Mathias Flückiger of Team Stöckli finished a disappointing 19th place in these World Championships, a result that the Swiss rider was quick to put behind him by winning the first edition of the Swiss Epic race between Verbier and Zermatt only a week later. © Photo: Grega Stopar © Photo: Matthew DeLorme © Photo:Marius Maasewerd / EGO-PROMOTION 26
BIKE MOUNTAINBIKE JULIEN ABSALON, AN EXCEPTIONAL RIDER! © Photo: Maxime Schmid Following an absorbing season-long duel with the Swiss Nino Schurter, the 34-year-old French rider Julien Absalon once again left his mark on the 2014 crosscountry season. With an unparalleled list of triumphs to his name including two Olympic gold medals, 4 World Championships, 2 European titles, 5 World Cup wins and 11 national titles, the rider from Saint Amé (Vosges) was as motivated as ever for the 2014 season. Having won the French and European titles as well as taking first place in the final standings of the UCI MTB World Cup, Julien Absalon had a single aim for the World Championships in Lillehammer: to win a 5th gold medal. Having claimed 3 successive titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006 wearing the colours of Team MOTOREX-Bianchi, the Team BMC Mountainbike Racing rider gave his main rivals absolutely no chance, taking first place ahead of Nino Schurter and the Italian Marco Aurelio Fontana. The right technical choice! Throughout his career, Julien Absalon’s most significant victories have all come with a Hardtail mountain bike model (front suspension and rigid rear frame). In Norway, however, the multiple World Champion opted for the brand new BMC Fourstroke FS01 29-inch model with full suspension. After the race, Julien Absalon admitted that “this technical choice played an essential role in today’s success and I am really pleased to win a new rainbow jersey 7 years on.” © Photo: Maxime Schmid ROAD RACING DEVELOPMENT PHASE IN 2014 MOTOREX is also present on the international road racing scene with numerous different teams. Throughout the year, the Lampre Merida and Raleigh teams are present at all the major international races. Having joined Team Lampre Merida at the beginning of the 2014 season, the 2013 world road racing champion Rui Costa claimed his 3rd consecutive overall victory in the Tour de Suisse. Naturally, the entire Lampre Merida team benefitted from the Portuguese rider’s qualities and experience throughout the season. © Photo: BettiniPhoto WOMEN’S TRIATHLON A YEAR OF HIGHLIGHTS Gwen Jorgensen only took up triathlon in 2010, earning seven top-ten finishes in her very first year. A year later, she took second place in the World Championship series in London. However, 2014 was to be her greatest triumph: Jorgensen won four consecutive major World Triathlon Series races, a feat no triathlete before her has ever achieved. With a commanding victory in the season’s finale in Canada, she then won the short-distance World Championship. She also enjoyed considerable success over the Olympic distance in 2014 winning the American Championship. On a personal note, Gwen Jorgensen brought the season to a successful end in October with her wedding. We would like to congratulate her on a spectacular year all round! © Photo: Competitive Image / Paul Phillips 27
