Noga Korem Dropped by GT & Sponsored by Commencal

Jun 6, 2023
by Alicia Leggett  
photo

Noga Korem shared on social media that she is no longer sponsored by GT and is now working with Commencal Bikes to support her race season, even swapping to the Commencal Meta frame just 16 hours before the Pietra Ligure Enduro World Cup began.

She shared in an Instagram post:

bigquotesWondering what the &*@% is going on with me?!? Check below.

My athlete sponsorship agreement was terminated on the 13th of April. This mid-season surprise caught me off guard and left me with a lot of uncertainty about my future. After quite a few sleepless nights, I decided this is not the way I am ending my career, and I will do everything I can to see this season through. I started sending emails to potential sponsors and was encouraged by some amazing brands that gave me hope. @joesnoflats were the first to jump on board and made it possible for me to get to Europe and also to keep my bike clean and running. @israelpremiertech were the next to show their amazing support. Their incredible generosity made the rest of this trip possible. @dtswiss @100percentbike @jinga_clothing @goldfus.ins @shimanomtb, jumped on board and set me up with amazing products. The first few days of #teamimprovise were super fun but also pretty stressful with a lot of uncertainty. Practice with the Israeli crew was great, and everything went smoothly.

After practice, I met with the @commencalbikes family who had this CRAZY idea to race their bike in the upcoming race with no real prep time. I was very excited to try the bike, but we agreed that I would race them only if I felt comfortable. They worked the next night and day to build the bike.

Friday evening, 5 seconds into the first run, I was already shocked with the performance of the bike. 2 runs in I totally fell in love, so we decided to take the risk and race the brand new Commencal Meta V5.

All in all, I am happy with my race, and if 8th place is what I can do with 2 runs on the bike, just wait until the next round.

I am super motivated to push through, and I appreciate all of your support! Thanks to all my amazing friends and family who helped me get through this challenging time.

Can't wait to share some more exciting news really soon.— Noga Korem

We don't have information about the end of her relationship with GT, though mid-April is a pretty non-traditional time for a team to drop a top EWS rider. That bike, too, still hasn't been released, although Commencal has been teasing it since last year.

The fact that Noga could push through the setback, problem-solve enough to keep showing up where it counted, figure out a new team, and place 8th on a totally new bike is seriously commendable. We look forward to seeing what else she can accomplish this year.

Posted In:
Racing and Events Noga Korem


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132 Comments
  • 173 2
 It's inspiring that Noga persevered despite the chaos, and it's great to see all these sponsors back her up. It's also so exciting to see Alicia's name at the top of articles again!
  • 5 0
 Almost got relegated to the 3rd world privateer life.
  • 130 9
 GT was doing so good with their PR. Until this.
  • 64 0
 I agree and major props to Noga especially as it all happened so quickly. Given @GTBicycles has been kicking goals, I'd be keen to hear what they say about it before dismissing them. Large multinationals can often have funny agreements where an athlete is sponsored by one part, but not by the 'Global brand' etc... (or vice versa). That doesn't absolve anyone from the responsibility of being professional but still worth giving both sides a chance to post before conclusions.
  • 4 3
 @mwysel: Preach.
  • 10 51
flag slickwilly1 (Jun 6, 2023 at 20:37) (Below Threshold)
 Pump the hate brakes. How could you sign a contract and not know your termination date?
  • 37 4
 @slickwilly1: termination is not the same as expiry. If you read her statement again you’ll figure it out.
  • 25 54
flag RadBartTaylor (Jun 6, 2023 at 21:28) (Below Threshold)
 Business as usual - just like our jobs, can't blame a company for axing employees if it makes sense financially, is what it is and not personal. Not fair to second guess why GT did it....could have been for a number of reasons none of which we are privy to.
  • 9 1
 feels like business got in the way of a good time. She's probably way better off with a proper sponsor. Hopefully Wyn's getting paid at least?
  • 38 2
 @RadBartTaylor: Yes, companies have the right to act within the limits of the law, even if it may seem unkind; for now, we should assume GT did so.

Similarly, consumers have the right to choose which companies to support. Saving money on the athlete budget may sacrifice sales - that's a risk they chose to take - and companies that spend money to do more than the legally-mandated minimum deserve to gain sales.
  • 38 6
 @RadBartTaylor: Axing a job affects someone's livelihood, so to say it is not personal is absolute bs.
There are good and bad ways to let go of an employee, and obviously there may be factors that the general public doesn't know about. But to drop someone mid season and say 'that's just business' is not a good way to operate.
  • 4 11
flag RadBartTaylor (Jun 7, 2023 at 6:51) (Below Threshold)
 @R-M-R: neither you nor I know if they did more than legally mandated minimum - not your place or mine to second guess that based on a sentence in an IG post.
  • 11 14
 @zyoungson: wait till you get into the real world son....none of this stuff is personal and you can't assume it is or play the victim or you'll have a long rough road ahead.
  • 5 2
 @RadBartTaylor: Consumers have the full right to make their buying decisions based off of one sentence in an instagram post, especially if it goes unaddressed by the company in question.
  • 6 6
 @noodlewitnosteeze: believe anything you want online, from one perspective, without knowing context or specifics - nobody is stopping you
  • 5 1
 @noodlewitnosteeze: @noodlewitnosteeze: consumers are some of the stupidest people you will ever meetWink

But seriously, no one knows what the specifics are (other than those directly involved, and even their version of what happened likely differs), so if youre going to condemn a company from one persons IG post, you can prolly include yourself in the group of consumers noted above.
  • 2 0
 @onawalk: @RadBartTaylor: You all do have a point I guess. Seems like a surprise though.
  • 3 2
 @noodlewitnosteeze: agreed, very surprising and it sucks for her, she seems like a super rad person, always smiling that does well promoting the brand....
  • 115 5
 Change her name from Noga to Nogt
  • 25 0
 From GT to GTFO
  • 61 0
 If the bike didn't have the brake hose and gear cable routed through the middle of a headset bearing the mechanics wouldn't have to work "night and day to build the bike".
  • 1 0
 Haha! So true
  • 51 1
 Great move, Commencal! Almost absolves you from the headset routing. Almost
  • 3 0
 They did catch me off-guard there.
  • 10 8
 Don’t forget the cracking frames too!
  • 37 0
 Why is everyone hating on GT? Couldn't it be that some kind of unworkable relationship had developed, caused by either party, on which neither party wishes to comment on?

Sometimes athletes can be very picky and peculiar too, no?
  • 3 0
 Indeed. In my life I always favored truth even it if somehow presented harsh or selfish. Most of the people will relate to a reason or an argument based on truth better than half baked narrative that sounds fake. There's always two sides of every story. We're all human and know some reasons are hard to swallow but they're part of our daily life's, and I'm sure both sides have plenty.
  • 3 0
 Spot on! We are fans and have our favorites. But most of us don't know the riders personally or have worked with them.
  • 9 0
 Noga seems like an outgoing, extremely positive and likeable individual with a great personality. Ideal brand ambassador in many ways from all outward appearances.

Without speculating as to who’s “at fault,” I’m guessing there was some drama here. A contract is a contract, and there’d need to be cause to terminate it. All this chatter that this is just bean counters at PON making a cost cutting decision doesn’t seem particularly plausible. She was unhappy with them or they were unhappy with her. Who knows which, or why, but something went down.
  • 2 1
 That’s a very fair point! But the fact it’s Thursday and GT hasn’t put out a press release is pretty bad! Just to at least put the speculation to rest! It could be something as small as a conflicting sponsor or something but the longer we wait the worse it’s going to get! Noga is a very popular rider imo and she has done a great job at biting her lip I’m sure!
  • 4 0
 I totally agree but someone handed out tinfoil hats to everyone here. Apparently you didn't get yours
  • 47 11
 Katy is still with GT, still not performing near her pre-concussion best, but Noga was still a regular to the podium. Me thinks this is something Pon v Israel political BS.
  • 9 10
 Something I am missing here? Pon is Dutch right? Something between Dutch and Israel? I fully expected to see Pon be some Islamic held company and that would make sense.
  • 10 17
flag justinfoil (Jun 6, 2023 at 20:54) (Below Threshold)
 And April 13th is some magic special Zionist date, so they dropped her then as a calendar-based f*ck you? No. It's about dollars and cents.
  • 22 144
flag tomerboniel (Jun 6, 2023 at 22:07) (Below Threshold)
 I think so too.. and I'm from here!

Without getting TOO political..

Israel has recently received political and very anti-Semitic criticism of its operations in the Gaza Strip (as a response to Hamas launching missiles at our citizens for no reason).
The last one was just two weeks ago.
I wouldn't be surprised if this is the reason the company terminated her contract in the middle of the season.

I really can't see any other reason to do so...
  • 90 11
 I completely missed Pon acquired GT too. I just knew about Cannondale but maybe the acquired the whole lot (GT, Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose)? Even if they don't like the Israeli politics, it does kinda suck to drop an athlete. Then again, of course the same happens to Russian and Belarussian athletes for Olympic sports though of course, the Olympics are typically more of a political shitshow than enduro bicycle racing is.

@tomerboniel: Anti-Semitic, that would have been against them being Jewish. The criticism isn't against their religion. It is against occupying conflicted land, building settlements and attacking the original inhabitants (even by using military force and heavy machinery). I'm sure if the Israeli clear their illegal settlements and stop their attacks, the missles will stop soon enough.

But yeah, agreed it sucks for Noga and I don't think it is right to drop an athlete this close to racing season. Glad she found some new sponsors to help her make this season count.
  • 1 0
 @vinay:
www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2021/10/11/pon-agrees-buy-dorel-sports-810-million
www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2022/01/04/dorel-completes-sale-dorel-sports-pon-holdings
  • 70 2
 @tomerboniel:

"for no reason" please.
  • 5 3
 @mfoga: yes I’d say it could well be impacted by a Dutch companies position to not show support to Israel (companies or athletes) due to political positioning.
In any case, 8th on a fresh bike!!! Sounds like it’s put fire in her Belly!

Also super good looking bike… Ibis going to lose out on some sales for dragging their ass’s on a longer more aggressive Ripmo… not to mention all the links intelligently moved and hence protected by the seat tube. Fingers crossed for a good rrp when this new meta hits!
  • 4 5
 @gcrider: Would be really interesting to hear the Pon side of the story. If they acquired GT early 2022 and they didn't want to support an Israeli athlete because of the politics, I wonder how long ago they already informed her. Seems most sensible that they decided early 2022 that it was already too late to drop her for the 2022 racing season but asked her to find a new home for 2023, which deadline apparently expired in April. That would have been most fair, but again that's just me guessing and it would be welcome to hear both sides of the story.
  • 26 42
flag nadavsussman23 (Jun 7, 2023 at 5:00) (Below Threshold)
 @vinay: have you ever been to Israel ? you are tossing strong accusations about us when the situation is far from being as you described it and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict does not orbit and will not end with the illegal settlements... the media is making us look like an 'evil conquer' and we all get punished for that GLOBALY and i have an example from the bike industry for that.. I'm defiantly not saying that someone in GT fired Noga for being Israeli and we all appreciate them for all the good years they took care and sponsored an athlete from our nation , I'm just saying that it sucks that people like you are having such a negative opinions about us just from the media and we don't want to see stuff like what @tomerboniel described happening more often in the future.. , if you or anyone else here want to hear and ask about what's going on in israel and not from the media side you are welcome to DM me Smile
  • 9 6
 @nadavsussman23: Nakba=ever other genocide
  • 20 28
flag nadavsussman23 (Jun 7, 2023 at 5:44) (Below Threshold)
 @IronWheel: again i will not open this subject and get more political here in the comments.. if you are saying that i believe you have no idea what happened here you are just pointing that they suffered because you heard it on the news.
  • 43 9
 @nadavsussman23: Punished globally yeah? Your country is supported by the majority of the Western world with enormous backing from the most powerful country to ever exist. The small amount of media coverage that exposes the crimes that your country commits does not constitute punishment.

I would consider living under apartheid rule after being forcibly removed from your home to be more along the lines of a punishment.
  • 11 3
 @mtbcyclist: So PON is going to stop making bikes in China because of the Uyghur persecution and genocide and theft and authoritarian rule of Tibet then, right? Oh wait, that’s too big of a potential consumer market, we can’t have that, plus using slave labor to make bikes = ££$$€€
  • 7 2
 @americandentalassociation: I did not mention PON in my comment, nor did i have any idea who they were until i saw this article. My comment was explicitly about Israel and it's worldwide support.

Yes, China is bad too.
  • 20 25
flag nadavsussman23 (Jun 7, 2023 at 7:06) (Below Threshold)
 @mtbcyclist: as i told before- you are making your opinion out of the news, doesn't matter from which news.. there are so many factors and things going on that you dont know about and still you think you know exactly who is it to blame because you've watched the TV and a 3 min reel on instagram.
im saying - either talk to people from both sides, truly learn all about this conflict and its history and come to see it for yourself and get involved as i did - or stay out of it and dont let it slide to your judgment because you dont see whole story
  • 22 10
 @nadavsussman23: ah yes, because "you disagree with me, therefore you must not know anything about what we're talking about" screams unbiased and objective reasoning.

I could link numerous articles of Israeli crimes, but I'd imagine you'd call it anti-Israel propaganda so I won't bother.
  • 4 1
 @nadavsussman23:
I am reading Tasting the Sky with my young daughter this week. Not watching instagram…
  • 5 0
 @nadavsussman23: i hear you, but you know, being a patriot don't really make you an objective observer neither... History has proven otherwise.
And you know the spiderman quote : With great power comes great responsibility
  • 9 14
flag nadavsussman23 (Jun 7, 2023 at 8:00) (Below Threshold)
 @mtbcyclist: not at all, i would accept your opinion whatever would it be and i would love to hear it and its important to have different opinions and i bet you will be surprised to find on how much we both agree in this topic! but again- only after you will know -every- aspect of the subject, otherwise from my point of view your opinion isn't clear as you only seeing whats easy to see around you and dont bother to check it down to the bottom line..
  • 6 10
flag nadavsussman23 (Jun 7, 2023 at 8:01) (Below Threshold)
 @mtbcyclist: im done here DM me if you want
  • 10 28
flag Shahriar (Jun 7, 2023 at 9:09) (Below Threshold)
 @nadavsussman23: Sadly, most people are heavily influenced by left media and they have no clue on whats going on there. I totally support you and all Israelis.
  • 7 2
 @Bustedflush:
well, if you can find a reason why it’s ok to fire at citizens… you are definitely of high moral.
  • 4 3
 @vinay: I hope then Commencal doesn't support the Illegal occupations.
  • 2 0
 @hrv: Again first of all, it is still unclear why GT terminated the deal. It could be her being from Israel, it could very well be another reason. And again I'd say (and many with me across this comment section), we can't draw conclusions until we know both sides of the story.

A brand supports an athlete because they want their brand name to be associated with that particular athlete. And there are many aspects to every individual and only one is nationality. For Commencal apparently, the positive aspects still outweigh the negatives. And I'm not even saying whether her nationality is considered a positive or a negative. To say they "support" the illegal occupations would be another big step though. That would only be relevant if she actually lives in an illegal settlement. Otherwise, she just lives on the correct side of the border that both parties agreed upon many years ago.
  • 6 1
 @nadavsussman23: Reading a lot of articles = I'm an expert in middle east politics like watching a lot of porn = I'm a sex expert. AYC.
  • 10 4
 @nadavsussman23: not spent much time in Israel, but when I was in Palestine there was a lot of problems caused by the Israeli government and military.

I would like to add that I in know was think that she was dropped because she was Israeli.
Also I believe that antisemitism and being against the nation of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people are 2 very different things that are regularly lumped together to make critics seem bad. And yea I am aware that there are people in the Palestinian side that are doing bad things as well.
  • 1 0
 @americandentalassociation: we can but hope.
  • 2 0
 @vinay: I’m guessing the reason was more about money than Israeli/Palestinian politics. They’re a huge company who sell bikes all over the world (including Israel), they care about money and profit.
  • 1 1
 @nadavsussman23: I’m with you too here.
For the rest let me just leave this here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas_Charter
  • 34 3
 Good luck Noga
I know Noga since she was 12yo. This GT call was a surprise. But, when one door closes, better doors are openning.
Great to see you on Commencal.
Show them what you got ♥️
  • 17 0
 GT needs to get out their side of the story. Its unusual, but not unheard of that company just drops a successful athlete. I am willing to bet there is way more to the story then what is being reported.
  • 5 0
 Maybe, maybe not… could be as simple as a few staff changes that impacted the relationship / chain of comms that she had. Or bottom dollar, post covid sales are down… management says pay less riders, fire some engineers and you will fix the $ issue…
  • 4 0
 @JosMaple: I am sure there are multiple reasons or possibilities regarding her abrupt departure. It will be interesting to hear the reasoning, if ever we do, on her dismissal.
  • 11 0
 A satisfied person tells one person, a dissatisfied person tells 9.... As someone who has had to make staffing cuts and then recently has just been a victim of one, how you deal with departures, how you communicate about them and how you deal with those who suffer the outcome is related to your brand and how people perceive you. It has an impact if externally you are perceived as having treated people poorly. We dont the facts but the way the athlete has been treated looks bad for the brand without further clarification. Perception is everything in brand.
  • 16 7
 This is one of the best news I've read so far.. Kind of a bitch move for GT to just leave a top rider hanging mid-season.. Hope we get more info and GT's side on this.. Kudos to everyone who stepped up to help this amazing rider in a short span of time..
  • 13 3
 Maybe GT were justified in their decision? This whole place is weird in that people assume they know more than what they are shown in brief videos, interviews and heresay.
  • 12 1
 Pon gonna Pon
  • 10 0
 doesn't really explain why tho? which everyone wants to know
  • 9 0
 Great story, way to hustle!
  • 11 2
 Commencal > GT
Good luck racing! Get it!
  • 10 14
flag TannerValhouli (Jun 7, 2023 at 4:45) (Below Threshold)
 Translation: Cracking aluminum frames with headset routing > easy to work on, dependable frames with fully guided internal routing
  • 3 1
 @TannerValhouli: ehhhh I own a GT and I wouldn't say I'm blown away by the build quality, ease of maintenance, or reliability (riding buddy cracked the same frame I own)
  • 2 0
 @IsaacWislon82: Every single frame is subject to breaks/cracks. Zero exceptions. That said, it's how the manufacturers/brands handle the warranty claims and address the issue that counts.
  • 4 0
 Seems the contract had a very short notice period and I'm sure her next contract will consider this better. And no, I don't think that it has something to do with her citicenship or religion - it's cutting down costs to have a briliant balance sheet for the investors. Commencal is a racing dedicated company anyways, so this move was not unfortunate, it's the right opportunity. Go Nora and rip it! Good Luck!
  • 7 4
 Interested in hearing GT side of the story, but no need to focus on the negative - at the end of the day it's a for-profit business. I'd much rather focus on the ton of positivity in this story. From the perseverance of Noga who is a top athlete to jump back on feet and start making phone calls / emails, to the support of the various sponsors mentioned in the article, to the success of both rider & team Commencal to put together everything needed to race a new bike in the super demanding EWS circuit. Kudos!!
  • 3 0
 From this point of view, GT can be seen as ass*****, but on the other hand, why would you wait for the last day of your contract to realize it is finished ? I guess both GT and her have their own responsibilities, anyway, since she seems to love her Commencal, then good for her !
  • 7 1
 That's the new Meta in the picture? Looks like a T.E.M.P.O.
  • 6 0
 It is the new Meta
  • 3 1
 @boozed: Thanks, somehow missed the announcement. Or forgot. Either way I like the new rear.
  • 6 0
 Like a TEMPO without the stupid bend in the top tube.
  • 1 0
 I was about to ask too, looks strange
  • 2 0
 Is the v5 any lighter than the older model as I love commencal but despite all the people claiming a mid 15kg bike (without pedals etc) is fine I am not interested if it's that heavy. I still love ripping around on my old meta SL1.
  • 2 0
 The Tempo they reviewed was 14.1kg with a light build. You can probably make a fairly safe guess from that as to where the Meta will end up
  • 3 0
 I don’t know any of the facts surrounding this. But Noga was very diplomatic and polite about it in her statement. Which says a lot about her professionalism.
  • 1 0
 Noga Korem seems like an awesome, positive person. Her interview on the Downtime podcast was hilarious and Vali Hoell credits Noga with completely inspiring her to a new, happier mindset and improving her racing. Until proven otherwise, GT did something wrong here.
  • 3 0
 Best of luck Noga! No doubt you will keep moving forward and have a great season.
  • 4 0
 Good for Noga! Love her personality and way to get through the bullshit
  • 4 0
 Great job to her new sponsors. Definitely wunder why gt dropped her
  • 4 0
 Pon owns GT? I need a diagram.
  • 5 0
 *charlie with the evidence board meme
  • 3 0
 Pretty sure the new Meta V5 has headset routed lines.
  • 6 0
 Per Camille Balanche's instagram it will come with the option to run either.
  • 2 0
 @robrixon: When is the release date for the new meta?
  • 1 0
 @robrixon: I mean, I saw where she said that, so I’m not arguing with you that that’s been stated. But does it actually make any sense? Like, clearly the frames we’ve seen with headset routing don’t have cable ports on the downtube. So it’s not going to be that you buy a bike that’s set up for either and you get to choose. So then, the other possibility is that when you purchase, you get to choose one or the other. But that’s nonsense too—for one thing, who’s going to choose the headset routing frame? And for another, it just doesn’t seem logical from a production or SKU management point.

So yeah, Camille said that on IG, but I don’t really believe it.
  • 1 0
 @BrambleLee: wei tien ho is on a fresh v5 meta with dt cable ports; there's definitely hope commencal will make the right choice when this hits production.
  • 1 0
 @xy9ine: Yeah, for sure there’s hope. I’ve seen pics of the new frame with downturn routing. My guess has been that one came before the other in the prototyping cycle, but I’m not really sure which would have been first.

I’m just skeptical that they’ll release both so the consumer can choose. That makes little sense to me.
  • 2 0
 @BrambleLee: I agree that it would be very odd for them to release bikes with cables run through the headset and three or four DT ports with blanking pieces in them. Having said that, we are at a weird moment in the cross-over between routing styles and they may hedge on this frame. Maybe framesets will have DT routing and complete bikes will have headset routing? Again, this would be quite bizarre. I know I would already have ordered a Tempo if it had DT routing...
  • 2 0
 @PeaFunk: The same IG post(s) said end of the Northern Hemisphere Summer. I do know from a different source that there won't be a TR and AM version. The Tempo replaces the shorter travel Meta and the Meta V5 is the AM/Enduro platform.
  • 2 1
 Great story, way to persevere Noga, super impressive for those sponsors to step up like that, IPT is on a roll right now, they done right by Derek Gee today too!
  • 3 1
 Amazing athlete and what great positivity! I am cheering for her- and Commencal for stepping up!
  • 3 0
 Best of luck!
  • 9 6
 GT is still around?
  • 8 1
 I guess they are focusing on privateers.
  • 13 8
 They’re busy making $1200 Disney branded bike shaped objects.
  • 3 0
 Go Noga!!
  • 3 1
 You always have us cheering you on, no matter who you’re riding for.
  • 2 0
 You can never hold a good person back!
  • 2 0
 Noga….Noga…..NotGonnaRideForGTAnymore…
  • 1 0
 Came here to say this ha. Ohhh the Bobs
  • 2 0
 That's the way!
  • 2 0
 Good for her! Smile
  • 1 0
 Making it happen! Never let someone quit for you eh
  • 1 0
 Awesome for Noga to do so well on a totally new bike!! Good luck to her
  • 1 0
 Good luck Noga Smile
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