All Stories End, Trek World Racing - Video

Nov 17, 2015 at 6:05
by Trek Bikes  

bigquotesOver the 7 years of Trek World Racing, there has been a lot written and said, there have been great victories, personal goals achieve and hopes dashed, but above all, there have been amazing stories. In this video we attempt the near impossible task of acknowledging some of those amazing stories, appreciating all those that made Trek World Racing what it's been to the sport, and bring to an end the final chapter of this amazing team. Thank you to all the fans, we hope you enjoy this special video.

Music: Audrey Fall/Petrina

MENTIONS: @trek


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105 Comments

  • 101 21
 in hindsight letting Gwin go was a pretty bad idea.

but not even the smartest marketing department guy could have forseen that; after all he was only undefeated on the world cup circuit.
  • 73 2
 They didn't let him go, he left, don't you remember the scandal?
  • 20 4
 TAR - Trek Atherton Racing
  • 18 15
 yeah, but if I remember correctly his contract with trek was ending so that's why he left. trek probably just thought they could easily renegotiate with him on a deadline and squeeze in a better deal. that was their mistake. if you are a company that has money to throw, and probably your biggest marketing asset is threatening to leave. you throw money at him till he stays.
  • 25 2
 He signed a letter of intend mid season I think, so he wasn't threatening to leave. You're assuming a lot there.
  • 54 7
 I think, as a company, Trek's most important marketing assets in terms of riders are Brandon Semenuk and Emily Batty.
  • 19 8
 Sure because the Men's slopestyle and women's XC bike segment are huge. Having viewed the level of comments it seems that most Pinkbike followers think of anything other than mountain biking when ever there is an article on Emily Batty. And personally, having watched Brandon train and compete for years, including 8 Crankworx live, whilst I am full of admiration for his style and incredible ability, the thought "Oh I might go and buy a Trek bicycle" has never crossed my mind.
  • 10 1
 I wonder where the ex boys of twr will ride for 2016
  • 17 10
 @fercho25 - "biggest marketing asset"

Yeah not at all, maybe in the niche market Pinkbike and DirtTV has, but as far as sales numbers go Trek sells MAYBE a couple hundred Session 9's every year. Definitely not enough to justify the salary they give any of their DH riders. Their XC, Road, and CX riders sell 100's of times as many bikes as an DH or Slope-style rider sells. You can arguably ride XC, Road, and CX anywhere wheras DH is a very niche market, so no Gwin is and was nowhere near Trek's biggest marketing asset. I'd put Cancellara light years ahead, then McConnel and Batty miles ahead of any of Trek's DH or Free/Slope-style riders.
  • 15 2
 @Randomacity Where do you get the info on how many Sessions Trek sells? I don't think Trek sells only a couple 100 of anything.
  • 2 41
flag corposello (Nov 17, 2015 at 10:38) (Below Threshold)
 @orastreet1 I have my sources... You're going to have to take my word for it though.
  • 5 0
 Ahhh, but sponsoring someone is never going to mean suddenly your sales increase by XYZ. Who really watches someone rid ea bike and thinks, woah - they're good - I need to spend $10K on one!

It's all about brand position and psychology. The more times you see a bike from a certain brand doing rad things, sub consciously you associate it with being good. I'm not an expert by any means, but if it was direct sales then sponsorship would more often than not be a waste of time.

In terms of the audience of THIS site, BS will be a great asset - but who knows in the grand scheme of things.
  • 2 0
 I'm more likely to buy a Trek because of them sponsoring my fave movies which happen to have my fave riders. Unfortunately for Trek I got into NWD before the Collective.
  • 2 0
 fecho25 you do not remember correctly and are completely off the track with your assumption
  • 5 0
 Well for trek Increase by xyz definitely worked with Lance Armstrong... Until it didn't work anymore....
  • 2 2
 Who the hell is emily batty
  • 2 0
 eddardstark40 : seriously ? Have you ben living under a rock!!??

emilybatty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1002995_10153013994760273_1846617197_n.jpg

Sorry to hear you've been missing all those years :-)
  • 54 1
 Just to clear things up.The Athertons signed with Trek Factory Racing - not TWR - TWR is completely different, run by 23 Degrees, a sport management company. Trek was the title sponsor to the team. It could have easily been the Specialized World Racing team or other brand, had they signed on to provide bikes. The TWR guys didn't get booted because of the Athertons, but possible TWR closed shop, (contract expire and not renewed with Trek) due to Trek wanting to have direct involvement. It's great that Trek took the Athertons - it gives them a female - Specialized and other big companies need to promote more female racers too.
  • 32 0
 Wow, it's like Needles never existed even though he got his first WC podium with TWR...
  • 13 1
 Yeah, Needles was definately an undervalued asset to TWR and an under appreciated WC racer. Bummer he couldn't consistently crack the top 10 in his career...
  • 2 2
 Never heard other than from YOU that Neddles was an under appreciated WC racer
  • 10 1
 You can def get the message that Martin's 23 Degree's is humbled and heartbroken and want us to remember how much they did in the years racing. Even though Mr Whitley wasn't the most approachable guy: you can feel his broken heart in this.......that is something I can give sympathy towards. A man who puts his heart into things he loves- only to find it never loved back is tough to swallow. Trust me on this.
  • 8 0
 I just have to say that I hope Brook finds a factory ride soon. While not on the top of the food chain, watching him bludgeon a track to death when he is game on is inspiring.
  • 1 0
 Hope Brook and Brendan stay around the WC scene. Two of the most awesome riders to watch on the planet...IMO.
  • 10 4
 TWR was/is owned by 23degrees, and Trek was frame sponsor. Now trek apparently dropped 23degrees/twr to form a new factory team. Hopefully Martin will have a new WC team for 2016, good guy
  • 25 2
 Every video I saw of Martin, he looked like an arrogent prick. Even the way he publically made passive-agressive remarks post Gwin leaving the team was petty and juvinile. Can't say I'm sad to see 23degrees loose teh contract. Maybe riders might stick around the brand longer under the Atherton leadership.
  • 9 1
 Yeah, that was pretty unprofessional, though what Gwin did was arguably equally so. That said, Martin totally shot himself in the foot when he started spouting off on social media.
  • 27 1
 Gwin said he preferred to keep it private and didn't speak ill of anyone. That is the definition of professional.
  • 4 1
 Just to know , who is this " martin" ?
  • 2 1
 Martin Whitely - managing director of TWR.
  • 5 9
flag notthatfast (Nov 17, 2015 at 12:07) (Below Threshold)
 And I just think Gwin could have gone about what he did a little better, but then none of us really know the whole story.
  • 3 0
 Chances are you're basing that opinion off what happened when Gwin signed with Specialized. But the blame there should predominantly be placed on Martin Whitely, at the time the Team was called Trek World Racing. It was not a factory team, it was a team run by Whitely, the title sponsor was Trek. As a result Trek got a lot of negative press based of the fact that Whitely handled the situation poorly. Now Whitely is gone, the new team is run by Trek, but I can't say how Brook, Laurie or George will be handled. Trek will now have world class Road, XC, CX and DH Factory backed teams. I'd like to see what's going to happened with the Enduro team since Tracy Moseley has retired and Justin Leov was managed by the clown that is Martin Whitely
  • 3 0
 Yeah that's what I was referring to, but like I said, none of us really know the details. Sounds like Whitely didn't get his way and kicked up a stink like a big baby. Although I think we'd all be upset to lose someone like Gwin after two seasons like that.
  • 7 1
 What what ...what does this mean
  • 5 2
 Basically they're renaming it to Trek Factory Racing. AKA Atherton Racing + Trek.
  • 1 0
 It means TREK World Racing is gone now. But well, it's kinda still there as it's now "Trek Factory Racing" since the Athertons signed up, but I'm not sure it will be the same staff
  • 24 0
 No, Trek was only the title sponsor of Trek world racing, just like Mondraker is the title sponsor of MS Mondraker. The actual team is a separate entity. so just like MS Evil turned into MS Mondraker, Trek world racing could just as easily turn in to lets say GT world racing.
Just like in F1, Mclaren were never owned by Mercedes, they were just the main sponsor, so when Mercedes started their own team (just like Trek moving their support to the athertons), Mclaren were free to either continue using Mercedes engines but no longer receive factory support (aka, continue using stock trek frames and not get any prototypes) or switch to another supplier and receive full factory support.
I have no doubt a new factory sponsored team will come of this, likely with Brook and George as the title riders.
  • 3 0
 Well I just read an article on Dirt that actually said it's a whole new team : staff and pilots
  • 2 0
 @bluumax Oh ok, so they're just parting ways with Trek, as they got replaced by the atherton's team. Well, let's hope they find a good sponsor then Smile
  • 3 3
 just to start the rumours again... Canyon World Racing!
  • 1 0
 Obviously i cant say for sure whether a new sponsor is lined up or not, but it just seems likely to me that if Trek has decided to move their factory support to the Athertons, the owner of TWR would be more likely to look for another brand without a factory team, like GT, who now needs some big names to fill the athertons shoes (brook and george).
So yeah i don't know.
  • 5 0
 @squarewheel...... With Barel pulling out of racing Enduro..... could we be seeing a sexy new DH bike and team coming out of Canyon?............
  • 4 2
 I see a lot of potential with the incorporation of Atherton racing into Trek. They've been doing some great work with a lot of junior riders and through working with Trek it will provide an incredible foundation for these up and coming riders
  • 2 0
 TWR were a great team and influenced a lot of riders to strive for more. Martin Whiteley did a awesome job managing the racers and making them better and fair play to him. I hope all the boys and girls get a ride next year in XC, Enduro and downhill and go on to race and win more races.
  • 1 0
 I always thought that Whitely is Trek World Racing. Regardless of who his riders are. I wonder where Whitely is going next.
  • 2 1
 FYI,

TWR was the DH squad: "Trek World Racing is a World Cup Downhill racing team competing in both the Elite and Junior categories of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup." www.trekworldracing.com/team-concept

The Atherton's are now the Trek DH squad.

XC and END are not affected (read: Leov and Batty).
  • 1 0
 ...I've had quite a few personal dealings with Martin and the team over the past few years and he is a true gent. I'm gutted Trek decided to wholesale shift and was hoping both teams could of co-existed. I'm sure all of the huge talent that team has will not go to waste
  • 1 0
 Sad to see the team come to an end. I will always remember when getting into downhill myself as a young teen a fair few years back now looking at photos from the Downhill WC races, looking at the photos of some of the TWR riders (Leov and Gwin in particular) at Windham, inspiring me to get into downhill as much as I could. The TWR team has gone, but it has built some great riders and given some great opportunities!
  • 3 0
 Something tells me you will see Brook and a few other kiwi riders on GT in the near future...
  • 2 0
 It's good to mix up the stew every now and then otherwise it congeals and becomes all lumpy and unsatisfying and the dumplings get a bit like jelly.
  • 1 0
 Sad to see such a big getup go. Not sure I totally understand the ins and outs but the Athertons must be worth a lot to Trek. Shame about all the riders loosing a sponsor. No pressure on the Athertons then...eek
  • 1 0
 The road, XC, enduro and Katie Compton all have rides with TFR for next year.
  • 1 0
 Money makes the world go round the world go round ,and perhaps square sometimes.
  • 1 1
 That was a shity exit ! Could they not tell us why they closed shop. Trek would not be Trek if it weren't for fans and people who buy their bikes.
  • 1 1
 This all video, all this history, all these wins... and now they can it to hire three spoilt brats... Goodbye Trek, you were once a pretty good brand.
  • 2 1
 Dam are they done with the team ???? One of the best teams in the world
  • 3 2
 So now Brannigan and Macdonald are without rides?
  • 1 1
 bloody boringtons! probably the best place for them on one of the most corporate teams...
  • 1 0
 Can someone tell me what's happening??
  • 1 0
 Damn good video to watch. Makes me wanna race!
  • 1 0
 not the music, but the clips were good.
  • 1 0
 I get that there was a sad theme also.
  • 1 0
 Real Class video to see them off. Some great footage in there.
  • 1 0
 it's good they are out of racing, winning is boring. said no one ever!
  • 2 4
 3:34 of the video "Of An Historic Run". As nitpicky as it seems, super simple spelling and grammar mistakes often ruin the moment for me and taint the professionalism of whatever's being presented.
  • 1 0
 It's a pretty damn cool video! Cheers!!
  • 1 0
 Semenuk will be happy watching this video
  • 2 2
 So now it's gonna be Atherton Racing??
  • 2 3
 i think it will be the new brand team name like Trek Atherton or something like that
  • 1 0
 bikes
  • 1 1
 dayum!!!
  • 1 1
 What happens to Leov?
  • 1 0
 Good question, everyone is waiting to see to which team they will go (Leov, Bulldog, etc)
  • 3 1
 TWR were sponsored by Trek not a trek factory team, unlike with the Enduro or road teams.
  • 5 1
 Yeah, I don't think the enduro or xc teams are effected by this as they are actually Trek Factory Racing which is Trek's team for everything from DH to road. Trek basically just made the move to create its own team versus just sponsoring a team. I think this is a great move for Trek. It will allow them more control and more focus on development. Trek always says the main reason they race at all is to put their ideas to the test. I predict some pretty sweet advances for DH bikes because of this.
  • 9 11
 Never really liked trek anyway haha. Go ahead and neg prop me for this one. Se la vie.
  • 5 1
 * C'est Wink
  • 1 3
 atherthons make a team appart with trek and stay by 3 or they become TWR?
  • 2 5
 Why did they put chainless in the video? Gwin won chainless with spesh...
  • 6 0
 Neko Mullaly (Trek at this moment) did a crazy Chainless run before Gwin. And if you watched the video correctly, you'd have seen they were talking about him Smile
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