"As one of the world's best mountain bike teams, we want to constantly offer our athletes new opportunities for further development. Stimuli via international road races can be an important piece of the puzzle," says team boss Ralph Näf on the motivation behind this project in international mountain biking. These stimuli are needed, as the nature of mountain bike racing has changed significantly in recent years: "Our aim is to prepare our riders for the ever faster and more tactical races. The short tracks in particular are often all about tactics, positioning and reading the races correctly. Riding elbow to elbow is a completely different challenge than in the past, when mountain bike races were often decided in maximum two-man sprints," explains Ralph Näf.

Knowhow from the ex-national coach

This initiative is based on the fact that Thömus-Maxon has its own development team, the Thömus Akros Youngstars. As a result, the Thömus young riders are integrated into the Thömus-Maxon professional team during the road races. This gives all athletes the unique opportunity to set important accents and training stimuli by taking part in intensive road races in preparation for the first Mountain Bike World Cups and the other major goals of the season. The head of the new road project is former Swiss national coach Bruno Diethelm, who has been the sporting director of the Youngstar team since this season. Diethelm will support the team with his extensive expertise and wealth of experience.

"I am delighted that we can offer our riders the opportunity to try out and develop themselves in a new environment. The switch from mountain biking to the road and back will be an exciting challenge and will bring great benefits for all athletes in many respects," emphasizes Diethelm.

Starting with Croatia

The athletes have already competed in the two UCI 1.2 races "Umag Trophy" and "Poreč Trophy" in Croatia last week. The team led by Mathias Flückiger and Lars Forster is currently competing in the four-day Istrian Spring Trophy (UCI 2.2). The following riders have been nominated for the road block in Croatia: Mathias Flückiger, Lars Forster, Vital Albin (all Thömus-Maxon), Romano Püntener, Nicolas Halter and Loris Hättenschwiler (all Thömus Akros Youngstars).

Later in the season, after the first Mountain Bike World Cup races, the prestigious Berner Rundfahrt and the Swiss 1.2 race in Märwil are still on the program. These prestigious events offer the riders the perfect platform to further develop their skills and provide further important impetus with a view to the big goals on the mountain bike calendar.

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