New Zealander Jess Blewitt will be joining the Downhill Factory Racing Team from the 2024 season. At the age of 21, she is one of the most up-and-coming riders on the downhill circuit and has regularly achieved podium finishes despite bad luck with injuries. "I'm looking forward to the team and the bike. I immediately felt like part of the family at CUBE," says the CUBE Factory Racing rider. Also racing for Factory Racing are seven-time German champion Max Hartenstern and 21-year-old Simon Chapelet.

The Cross Country Factory Racing Team was newly founded in order to expand the commitment to the Olympic sport and add the discipline of cross country to the Factory Team. Around Kira Böhm, who comes from the team's own junior team, the Norwegian champion Knut Røhme and the young Swiss Finn Treudler are to exploit their full potential in a professional environment and establish themselves among the world's best.

The junior sector is also being expanded. After years of involvement in cross country, the downhill discipline will also be included in the Next Generation program. Young talents will be given the opportunity to develop in this team and make the leap into the corresponding professional team.

For CUBE, a family and long-term cooperation is very important and the focus on young athletes is a clear sign of this, says CUBE founder and owner Marcus Pürner. "With the development of race-specific bikes for downhill and cross country, it was also clear to us that we wanted to further expand our sponsorship. With Jess, we now have a rider in the DH team who can regularly stand on the podium. Max and Simon have also already proven that they have arrived in the extended world elite. With her eight top 10 finishes in the World Cup, Kira has already shown that she will have a say in the cross country races. Finn and Knut's upward trend is just as positive. This clearly shows that our product portfolio and our developments in the downhill and cross-country sector have arrived at the top of the world and that we offer our customers bikes of the highest quality. The commitment to young talent is a project close to our heart, in order to train our own talent in the long term."
 
The UCI Cross Country World Cup begins with two races in Brazil, while the Downhill World Cup is scheduled to start at the beginning of May in Fort William, Scotland. A total of eight races are scheduled for the cross country team and seven for the downhill elite. With the World Championships in Andorra from August 28 to September 1, the big goal of the season is on the agenda, before the season comes to an end with races in the USA and Canada. For the Next Generation riders, the podium at the European Championships in the U15 and U17 categories is the clear goal.

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