Yeti Fox Factory Team Adds New Riders and Sponsors for 2017
 |
Four years as an Enduro World Series team and chasing its fourth consecutive world champion title, Yeti Fox Factory Team continues to defy odds and expectations. Led by two-time EWS Champion, Richie Rude the 22-year-old junior downhill racer turned Enduro phenom, will enter the 2017 season pursuing his third consecutive Enduro World Championship title. Rude will be joined by Cody Kelley who will be entering his second year on the team. Both riders will focus on the EWS international race circuit.
The national team roster adds in a handful of new-comers including Jubal Davis, Shawn Neer and women’s pro-rider, Anne Galyean. Race veteran and Yeti employee, Chris Heath will also return to the team. The U21 team line up adds in a strong contingent from California - Duncan Nason and Paul Serra. Racers on the national team will focus mostly on regional races in the Rocky Mountains as well as a few of stops on the EWS circuit.
 |
"Racing is integral to our brand and the cornerstone of our product development," said Chris Conroy, Yeti Cycles president and co-owner. “We've been fortunate to have some of the best racers in the world on our program over the years and have high expectations for this year's team."
The Yeti Fox Factory Team continues to thrive with the support of many dedicated and generous sponsors that offer high-performance products and services able to endure the most grueling race tracks in the world. Returning sponsors for 2017 include: Fox, Maxxis, Shimano, DT Swiss, Ergon, Giro, OneUp Components, Ion, Stages Cycling, Chris King, Feedback Sports, Honey Stinger and Victory Circle Graphix. New sponsors for 2017, will include Toyota, Motorex, Backcountry Research, Unior, Rocky Mounts and Enduro MTB Training.
“Our sponsors are instrumental to making this team tick,” said Damion Smith, Yeti Cycles team manager. “Each company we partner with serves a crucial role. As we chase our fourth consecutive Enduro World Championship title, we know they will continue to be as important as ever.”
Yeti Fox Factory Team will kick off the season on the EWS circuit at the first stop in Rotorua, New Zealand at the end of March.
MENTIONS: @yeticycles
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
The market for high end bikes moved away from Aluminum all mountain beasts like the 575, ASR7, and so on. Ever since then they've focused their product line and racing teams on Enduro.
God I miss the era of burly aluminum and downhill Yetis! But I guess they are too small a company to afford Downhill (it must have cost a penny to keep Gwin on the roster!) and that's just not where the business is these days. DH is just too small a market.
They have had many legends and a very storied past way before Gwin was around. Riders like tinker Juarez, John Tomac, Missy Giove, Myles Rockwell, Kirt Voreis, Jill Kintner, and Sam Blinkinsop.
Yeti has been killing it since 1985.
Yes, one of the more iconic ones, and was mentioned by @WaterBear, so I didn't feel the need to add it to the list because he knew Graves rode for yeti.
Happily own one myself now.
www.pinkbike.com/news/aaron-gwin-interview-2010.html
Losing Gwinny was tough for us. He is not only an amazing racer, but he is a great person and fit well into our program. Our investment in racing is based on developing riders. We have a junior, national and World Cup program that allows our riders to progress through our system as their results improve. In order to provide the proper support, we invest in great mechanics, coaches and strength trainers. This gives our racers the tools they need to progress to the next level. Sure, great riders come through sometimes and rise straight to the top, but most require development and guidance to reach the next level. 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. It's always bittersweet to lose a rider like Gwinny, but the Yeti program has a lot of depth and the loss of a single rider won't affect our team long-term. I would like to see more teams invest in gravity development programs. If we do it right, I feel the U.S. could move back into a powerhouse in gravity in 3-5 years. - Chris Conroy, Yeti Cycles
Don't ask me, man. I scavenge for berries out on the trail.
The little energy candies are fantastic.
www.honeystinger.com
don't forget that Nathan 'the legend' Rennie rode for Yeti as well.
Lost of many points in the general standings.
E.g. Yeti, canyon ..