"Scott Sram MTB Racing" is the new name of Scott's international mountain bike team for the next four years. Sram has been an important partner since the team was founded in 2002. New as title sponsor, the partnership also means that Schurter, Rissverds and Co. will ride for top positions worldwide with Rock Shox suspension elements - which also come from Sram.
"We are really looking forward to working with Sram and Rock Shox and working together towards our long-term goal of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo," says team boss Thomas Frischknecht.

Even though the team will no longer be riding with DT Swiss suspension elements from the 2017 season onwards, they will continue to rely on the first-class wheels from the Biel-based company. You will look in vain for Ritchey components on the racing bikes. They will now be fitted with parts from Syncros. There is also a change in the choice of tires. For around twelve years, Scott riders relied on tubular tires from Dugast. Only Nino Schurter has already contested a few races during the 2016 season, including in Rio, on Maxxis tires. Maxxis is now the official supplier of the Scott-Sram MTB Racing Team as of this year.

There will also be changes behind the tape. Chief mechanic Yanick Gyger will be supported by Kurt Gross from this season. Gross has previously done good work for well-known racing teams such as BMC and Stöckli. The physical well-being of the Scott-Sram team is now in the hands of Julia Hegar. The Black Forest native was also previously with the BMC team and most recently worked as a physiotherapist for the Team USA cross-country riders.

Cape Epic as the first highlight

The first serious race will be in South Africa on March 19. There, Nino Schurter will start the Cape Epic together with team newcomer Matthias Stirnemann - currently fifth in the world rankings. With the Dutchman Michiel van der Heijden and Andri Frischknecht, the Scott-Sram team is sending another pairing to the legendary mountain bike stage race in the Southern Cape.

Not in the team photo is Marcel Wildhaber. The cyclo-cross specialist is currently preparing for the cyclo-cross world championships and will also be racing in the Scott-Sram colors in 2017.

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