Vali Höll, Jamie Edmondson, Ethan Shandro & Tegan Cruz Join the RockShox Trek Race Team
After seven years with YT, the German brand bid farewell to Vali Höll at the end of December and since then we've been waiting with bated breath to find out where the young Austrian would land for 2021. At just 19 years old, she is already a two-time World Champion in the Junior category and one to watch coming into what will be her first full season in the Elite category in 2021, after an ankle injury at the Leogang World Championships cut her 2020 season short.
We've now found out that SRAM and RockShox, who have been supporting Höll throughout her career, most recently on SRAM TLD Racing, are joining forces with Trek Bicycles. RockShox and Trek will support Höll, Jamie Edmondson, Ethan Shandro, and Tegan Cruz on the newly formed RockShox Trek Race Team.
 | We're super excited to take the foundation of this team to the next level by adding new resources and increasing our commitment to winning. |
| Trek is thrilled to partner with RockShox and welcome Vali, Jamie, Tegan, and Ethan onto this exciting new team. These riders will be an important part of the Trek family as they help usher in the next generation of World Cup contenders. We can't wait to see what they do in the season to come. Bring on 2021! |
| SRAM and RockShox started supporting me super early on, and that was always super cool because they helped me so much. Joining with Trek is a big step in the right direction. They're so organized, they have so much knowledge, they have the best racers, and they had Rachel Atherton obviously. With Andrew Shandro and Tracy Moseley on the mentor side, it's really exciting. Tracy already called me so many times and asked me how I'm doing with my recovery, and if I would need anything, any tips. I think that's something I need because I'm still so young, and I haven't been in that proper team where you always have someone better than you. I was always alone. It's never too late to learn something. And I think Tracy can help me a lot. |
19-year-old Jamie Edmondson grew up racing and trail building in a little village down the road from Aviemore, Scotland. Last year, he finished off his first elite season with a podium spot in Lousa. Edmondson does dual duty in both Enduro and Downhill disciplines with three podiums in the U21 category in the Enduro World Series in 2020.
Edmondson is excited to jump from a privateer set up last year to the world’s youngest gravity-fueled elite race team in 2021 and will focus his racing on the World Cup circuit, with a few Enduro World Series events along the way.
| It's really exciting. I think it takes a lot of weight of my shoulders. I can just focus on the racing and not having to spend all off season writing emails to sponsors to try and pull together a bike. And I know when I get to the races I can just ride, I'm not worrying about fixing broken parts, so I can focus on my performance a bit more. I think it will really help me, which I'm excited for. |
Two-time Canadian National Junior Downhill Champion Ethan Shandro is a familiar name in mountain biking after his impressive debut performance as a junior on the World Cup circuit in 2019. After a 2020 season spent recovering from injury, he is looking to get back on dirt.
Ethan will continue to focus on his recovery for the time being and look to add regional races when back up to speed.
| The opportunity to ride for the RockShox Trek Team this year is very emotional one for me. I feel very grateful given my circumstance and can’t thank all the sponsors enough for their support. This year there is no pressure and it is the perfect situation for me to recovery fully from my concussion and continue to do what I love. Regarding my concussion, I am still dealing with lingering symptoms day to day and I am seeing various specialists to get back to normal life. This whole injury has been devastating for me but I am working tirelessly to get back between the tape. |
The Sea-to-Sky region of British Columbia pumps out a bunch of fast kids, one of which is Tegan Cruz. Cruz was raised on a farm with a pumptrack in Pemberton, only a quick drive to the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The 15-year-old's brother Lucas Cruz was Höll's teammate in 2019 before moving on to Norco Factory Racing.
The 2021 race season will see Tegan focus regionally on races within B.C. as well as a few trips to Europe, should travel restrictions allow.
| To have full factory support from the best brands in the world right into my elite year is truly a dream come true. I will have all the tools available to give me the best chance for success so all I need to do is focus on racing and having fun. It’s an honour to be on a team with the best support people, a World Champion and guys that have tasted a World Cup podium. Not to mention, they are also great humans. I'm very grateful for this opportunity and I'm ready to have some fun! |
Support Crew:
Current UCI Masters Downhill World Champion Mathieu Gallean will support Vali and the rest of the RockShox Trek Race Team in 2021. Gallean has been supporting Höll since 2018.
| Mat rides similar to me, so he thinks a lot about my bike set-up. I trust him when trying new things, I just hop on it and it works out. Mat has been my mechanic since my first year of World Cup, 2018. |
JT Evans will support all team activities with a specific focus on Jamie Edmondson during World Cup events. Evans has worked as a mechanic with the SRAM TLD Racing team since 2016.
| At one point I wanted to be a bike racer, but just didn’t have the head for it. Being a mechanic is my way of still being around it and being able to contribute to a team. Having been on the other side of it, I understand what the athletes are going through, what they have sacrificed, and what they are trying to accomplish. |
Rounding out the team crew is team physio Phillip Bacher, athlete performance manager Andrew Shandro, and Managing Director John Dawson.
2021 Team Calendar:
PRIMARY – UCI DH World Cup
April 24-25: Maribor, Slovenia
May 22-23: Fort William, Scotland
June 12-13: Leogang, Austria
July 3-4: Les Gets, France
Aug. 24-29: World Championships Val di Sole, Italy
Sept. 4-5: Lenzerheide, Switzerland
Sept. 18-19: Snowshoe, WV. USA
SECONDARY
National Championships – Austria, Canada, UK
Enduro World Series – Select
CRANKWORX Events – Select
Regional Events - Select
Sponsors:
Title: RockShox – All Suspension, Hydraulic Seat Posts
Co-Title: Trek – Frames
Team Partners:
SRAM – Drivetrain, Brakes
Maxxis – Tires
DT-Swiss – Wheels, Hubs, Spokes
Ergon – Saddles, Grips
Troy Lee Designs – Race Kits, Gloves, Helmets
Equipment Suppliers:
Chris King – Headsets
Quarq – Power Meters
Truvativ – Handlebars, Stems, Seat Posts
Zipp – Road Components
For more information about the RockShox Trek Racing team, check out rockshox.com & follow the team at @RockShox_Trek_RaceTeam
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Anyway... so very awesome to see people my age and younger out there on there bikes and kicking @$$.
The best of luck to the four of you!
Always a good time with categories for every level.
Kat Sweet @ Sweetlines is a solid coach for getting into racing or just being more confident on a bike
This is like Valli's old team, but with teammates and Trek frames instead of YT. Their paychecks will be coming from SRAM (or a 3rd party owner), Loris' paycheck will come from Trek, like it used to come from Santa Cruz.
I thought probably the Syndicate TBH.
Needs pedals.