Jolanda Neff Joins Trek Factory Racing

Oct 24, 2018 at 1:09
by Pinkbike Staff  
photo

PRESS RELEASE: Trek

Swiss cross-country mountain bike champion Jolanda Neff will join the ranks of Trek Factory Racing XC. The three-time World Cup overall winner will continue to focus on the World Cup cross-country circuit, but will also race select events with the new Trek Factory Racing Cyclocross and Trek-Segafredo teams.

At just 25 years old, Neff has already made an indelible mark on cycling. She is an elite World Champion, three-time World Cup Champion, three-time European Champion, four-time Swiss Champion, and the winner of 12 World Cups.

“I’m extremely excited to join the Trek family," said Neff. "I love Trek as a brand and am passionate about their philosophy of developing strong women’s programs alongside their men’s teams. It’s also a great pleasure that I will be able to race in MTB, CX, and road, all under the same family of teams. It has been my lifelong dream to race at the highest level on the fastest bikes across different disciplines, and I have found the perfect partner.”

Neff will join teammate Emily Batty, one of mountain biking’s all-time greats, who will continue to race with Trek Factory Racing in 2019 and beyond.

Emily Batty has been a force within the World Cup for many years. In 2018, she earned numerous World Cup podiums and a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships. She'll look to capitalize on this momentum in 2019 and has her sights set on her most successful season to date.

“I'm thrilled to welcome Jolanda Neff to Trek, and I know that we'll be able to bring the best out of each other in racing and training," said Batty. "Trek is creating an environment that's good for women athletes and good for the sport, and I'm proud that together Jolanda and I can lead the charge for the brand."

With a team helmed by both Emily Batty and Jolanda Neff, Trek Factory Racing XC is set to take the World Cup by storm.

“Trek has always seen the value in supporting the top levels of the sport,” said Trek Sports Marketing Director Tim Vanderjeugd. “We are thrilled to continue that tradition by having two of the most prominent athletes in the sport of cycling on one program. Both Emily and Jolanda are primed for success on the World Cup circuit for years to come.”

The full roster of the Trek Factory Racing XC team will be announced in the coming months. The athletes will continue to ride Trek Procaliber and Top Fuel platforms equipped with SRAM drivetrains and brakes, RockShox suspension, and Bontrager wheels and cockpits. They'll wear Santini clothing and will ride with Bontrager shoes and helmets.

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116 Comments
  • 99 2
 Yolanda, be cool.
  • 21 5
 be cool honey bunny
  • 4 2
 Come on Yolanda, what's Fonzie like?
  • 3 0
 "Don’t do a goddamn thing. Yolanda,"
  • 1 0
 It’s the one that says bad ass motherf*cker
  • 47 3
 Emily "one of the all-time mountain bike greats"...
I like Emily as much as many people, and cheer for her regularly, but that's a bit of an exaggeration, no? Consider all the others that we think of as "the greats". I sincerely hope that we can call her that someday maybe though.
  • 24 1
 Furtado, Sydor, Pezzo, Dahle... She's not quite there yet.
  • 19 16
 As a rider and secondly as a huge Ambassador to the sport and mentor to young female riders I think we can call her a "All Time great"

Action sport's greats shouldn't just be measured by their on track results, it should be what they do for the sport outside of the races and how they work to help grow the sport and what not.

Thoughts?
  • 10 4
 @TheBearDen: Rampage is an action sport. A WC XC race is a race...so results do kinda matter. I should have been specific and said all time great XC racer. It was by no means meant as a diss in anyway.
  • 1 1
 @ReformedRoadie: I know it wasn't a Diss in anyway. was just discussing thats all Smile
  • 6 0
 @ReformedRoadie: + Pendrel
  • 1 0
 @DrMaturin: Agreed, but I am at the old range of PB demo, so.... Wink
  • 3 0
 Pb love Emily, fact
  • 3 0
 Nash is and will be one of the greatest!
  • 2 1
 @TheBearDen: results are everything when you are paid to be a pro racer.
  • 3 0
 @ReformedRoadie: Pendrel as far as legendary Canadians goes too!
  • 4 2
 @TheBearDen: She's still (relatively) newer to the sport. "all-time great" is reserved for the few that actually are (Nino, Absolon, Dahle, Furtado, Sydor, Sam Hill, etc...), or else it gets diluted to something meaningless. I get that Trek is promoting their athlete, but to call Batty this is a bit egotistical and self-serving. Totally agree with others here that you need the results to back the claim - hopefully she's on track to getting the top results.

There are many great ambassadors of the sport, Batty included, but most certainly aren't called an "all-time great".
  • 4 0
 Marianne Vos, arguably the greatest women racer ever to live.
  • 2 0
 I absolutely do have the biggest crush on Emily though. 3
  • 4 0
 Alison Sydor, Marie-Hélène Prémont, Catherine Pendrel...a lot of work left to do just to be one of Canada's all-time women mountain bike greats!
  • 1 0
 Add Ruthie Matthes to that list. I rode with her when she was a teenager and it was obvious that she was hugely talented - and her career was awesome.

mmbhof.org/ruthie-matthes
  • 2 0
 @Hand-of-Midas: Ah, no, that would be ACC... Anne Caroline Chausson.... she is the multi-discipline weapon that people will only ever dream of being. A champions champion. I personally have no axe to grind abotu this, but ACC really cant be touched. *shrugs*
  • 1 0
 @Arzeripper: That is the only person mentioned who I know of yet I know of Emily Batty. Just as The Claws results don't speak for what he has done for free ride, Emily has pretty good exposure esp. on this Canadian site. Yolanda also has a presence bigger than just her results. The fact that the only two XC women I know of are on the same team means great marketing for Trek and hopefully women's riding overall.
  • 1 0
 @choppertank3e: Two Specialized women,. Anika Langvad, Kate Courtney... two of the best, Anika's accomplishments are too many to list, Kate's rookie year in Elite, Cape Epic WIN, World Championship Win, and a great career under 23... will be great to see Kate Courtney go in the future, all the women are great to watch,, much better then the Nino show,,
  • 38 1
 Well, I suspect this will give Emily something to focus on in her training this winter. She was the undisputed, top dog at Trek, but now not so much. Jolanda and Emily are both similar in riding style, favoring a high cadence on the climbs and both are skilled on the downhills, although Jolanda is generally the fastest downhill. It should be interesting.
  • 14 0
 It will make them both push a little harder to fight for the top I think, in a good way
  • 1 0
 Should be a fun an exciting team!
  • 2 8
flag trails801 (Oct 24, 2018 at 11:10) (Below Threshold)
 I agree with your assessment of their situation from the vantage point of my office chair:-) Cycling is still and individual sport and this years LaBresse womens world cup was amazing. These two are fast and smart and will work together as its to their advantage, but I can see sprint going either way. Have a great season Trek.

CAT FIGHT!
  • 38 4
 Luca Shaw to Trek
  • 11 0
 aww, puppy love...
  • 23 1
 Hopefully Trek mechanics have their wheel change drills more dialled in! Congratulations to Jolanda, women's XCO will be a Trek and Specialized dominated show in 2019.
  • 19 0
 Not if Kate Courtney moves ;-)
  • 1 0
 @Verbl-Kint: Imagine if Kate Courtney moved to TFR (Trek Factory Racing) what a dream team that would be
  • 3 1
 It would be good if the drivetrain industry improved replacing rear tires. SRAM is better than Shimano with their lockout on the derailleur cage, though.
  • 1 8
flag mattsavage (Oct 24, 2018 at 12:20) (Below Threshold)
 @tacklingdummy: One more button to push to slow down the process...
  • 1 1
 @thomaspurdy: She's moving to Scott-SRAM
  • 1 0
 @billreilly: You are thinking of Kate Courtney.
  • 16 0
 @pinkbikeaudience if you want, you can also write "Jolanda" instead of "Yolanda"
  • 9 0
 They refer to her thinking YOLO before going into a descent
  • 2 0
 Flip ... and I used the PB spelling to "make sure" I got the name "right" and now my posts below are wrong ... Frown
  • 11 0
 Johann Barreli agrees.
  • 1 7
flag Dryb1as (Oct 24, 2018 at 10:38) (Below Threshold)
 @endlessblockades: Yoann
  • 1 0
 @Dryb1as: Yes, yes I know, yo.
  • 14 0
 Did anybody notice the wireless reverb?
  • 113 1
 Wow, I've been waiting for a dropper post that can fail hard and quickly in two exciting ways.
  • 17 16
 Wasn't looking at the bike...
  • 2 0
 From August:

www.pinkbike.com/news/rockshox-electronic-wireless-dropper-post-reverb.html
  • 12 2
 @Staktup: your dropper post popped up
  • 2 0
 @egb81: I nearly spit my drink out in laughter at this lol
  • 1 0
 I thought the same thing.
  • 2 1
 @clink83: my Reverb leaked oil
  • 14 0
 She's getting that Gee Money
  • 6 0
 This is awesome, and with Ellen Noble in the mix too Trek has a very strong women's squad! I'm very excited for racing to get back underway!
  • 2 0
 Ellen Noble's main focus seems to be on cyclocross and she is doing really well on the CX scene this year. I sure would love to see Jolanda in a few WC CX races again this year, although last year her CX season ended with a broken bone from a crash.
  • 5 0
 @PapaStone: I can't help but think that if Jolanda moving to Trek was announced now, the plan will be for her to do a few CX races. Ellen Noble did a few XC World Cups this summer so who knows which way they'll all go!
  • 1 0
 Don't forget evee alice
  • 2 0
 *Richards
  • 5 0
 Smart move by Trek for sure, Neff and Batty dominate social media and the podium!
  • 2 0
 Good luck to them, but I can see this jiving about as well as Jolanda and Pauline did.... I'd like to see Emily be teammates with Annika... LOL Jolanda seemed to do the best in the past when teamed with Miya.... We shall see...
  • 4 0
 Very smart move by Trek. Two of the best women XC racers and both of them have a huge social media influence.
  • 4 0
 Now this makes you wish Kate Courtney stays at Specialized. Spez vs Trek. Annika/Kate vs Jolanda/Emily
  • 5 1
 Another short blonde who wears pearls... I'm starting to see a pattern in Trek's hiring practices...
  • 4 1
 Yolanda will now also have a proper kick ass duallie she can use on some of the more tech races!
  • 1 0
 First thing I thought!
  • 5 0
 No better than the bike she's currently riding. I was really hoping she would go to Scott as the next gen Spark will probably be 67 HA and it'd be hilarious watching her destroy everyone on the descents on such a bike.
  • 3 0
 @jclnv: she already does that
  • 1 0
 @russthedog: I know. I just wanted to see an even bigger advantage for her. Love watching her tearing it up.
  • 4 0
 trek is getting really hungry for world cup wins in 2019...
  • 2 0
 It's going to be a very interesting XCO season for sure.. 2 Treks in the front row at each race. "Epic" battle with Specialized too. I already can't wait, but it's so far!
  • 1 0
 Well done Trek, and even more so Yolanda. Wishing you well for the new season and thanks for the great racing you have been delivering.
  • 3 3
 Stoked for her. Great bike handler and a true spectacle of cycling, Jolanda is. My bet is there is only room for one super star and Batty signs with the likes of Scott or similar.
  • 3 0
 Looks like Trek has first and third locked up on the podium!
  • 2 0
 Congratulations Jolanda, Great Job and keep on kicking ass!
  • 1 0
 will Anton Cooper stay with Trek next year too? (or have they used the $$$$ to sign Neff?)
  • 1 0
 Anton posted a Facebook pic of his new sponsored car yesterday. Had a trek sticker on it.
  • 2 0
 @KiwiXC: thanks. I also checked he re-posted Neff´s instagram, so it looks like he´ll stay in 2019. now Trek needs another strong man.this guy is strong www.velonews.com/2018/10/news/why-luke-vrouwenvelder-is-the-fastest-guy-youve-never-heard-of_480091
  • 2 0
 Trek is stacking the deck for 2019, should be interesting!
  • 1 0
 is that a wireless reverb on the trek top fuel?
think i‘ve seen a pantent by sram somewhere.
  • 1 0
 How about the actual thing back in August?

www.pinkbike.com/news/rockshox-electronic-wireless-dropper-post-reverb.html
  • 3 1
 shouldn't she try downhill also??
  • 1 0
 Jolanda just charges the downhills like a UCI DH pro. That is why she is so fun to watch.
  • 1 0
 Bontrager XR2 tires in the back and a less aggressive XR1 in the front? A bit unusual
  • 1 0
 Braking?
  • 1 0
 Climbing traction
  • 6 0
 Neither! haha, I quickly grabbed the bike off the van and grabbed the closest front wheel for this photo shoot. It is actually Evie's Worlds bike (Evie raced XR2 front and rear at Worlds btw). Good eye though.
  • 1 0
 Fastest and most gorgeous team in women's xco.
  • 1 0
 Coolies.

Should be a good tussle between Emily and Jolanda. ????
  • 1 0
 Stupid emoji question marks.
  • 2 0
 Won't be even be close.
  • 2 1
 What about Trek's DH team? Won't she race there too?
  • 2 1
 Jolanda got a motor in the back of her honda.
  • 1 1
 My anaconda don't want none.. you know the rest lol..
  • 1 0
 Did not see that coming...
  • 1 0
 Womens Trek racing is a muthaf..n force!
  • 1 0
 Was hoping that she would do a couple of enduros!
  • 1 2
 Good luck, girls !
  • 10 13
 Rachel, Jolanda, Emily... when's Trek coming out with a calendar?
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