Nick Beer - Radon Magura Factory Team

Nick Beer from the Radon Magura Factory Team gets the start. His workhorse is the Radon "Swoop" in size L with 200 millimeters of suspension travel at the front and rear. The bike stands out somewhat from the standard bikes. Like his team colleagues, Nick rides the Dorado upside-down forks from Manitou. The team livery also does not match the series. The fast Bernese rider also rides the new Pro Taper 780 aluminum handlebars from Answer. This comes with a 31.4 millimeter clamp diameter and has the advantage over the new 35 millimeter clamps that it absorbs more vibrations.

Carina Cappellari - Radon Magura Factory Team

Beer's team colleague Carina Cappellari got a new frame for the World Cup in Lenzerheide - ladylike in pink. "A real candy bike", Cappellari calls it with a laugh. She rides her Swoop in size S and sees the advantage in its maneuverability. Like the whole team, she rides Magura's MT7 brake anchors in the bright yellow Race Line version. Carina keeps contact with the ground with Magic Mary tires with the soft Vert-Star rubber compound from Schwalbe, in the 27.5x2.35 dimension. Compared to Nick Beer, who rides tires with a downhill carcass, Cappellari relies on tires with the lighter Super Gravity carcass.

Maxime Chapuis - Team "WeRide WeRespect"

The Frenchman Maxime Chapuis is the reigning Swiss champion and rides for the "WeRide WeRespect" team. His bike is a V10 Carbon from Santa Cruz. Maxime rides almost an off-the-shelf bike. You can actually buy one, but his V10 also has features that are not available from the Santa Cruz catalog. For example, the Boxxer fork from Rock Shox has been tweaked. The Bern-based suspension tuning company "Akira" is responsible for this. The Axxios technology stickers are hardly noticeable, but all the more special. These are designed to reduce vibrations in the frame, shock absorbers and many other parts. This means that the rider is less tired and can use their strength for a faster ride.

Emilie Siegenthaler - Pivot Cycles Factory Downhill Team

Emilie Siegenthaler has been the fastest Swiss downhill rider for years. She has been riding for the Pivot Cycles Factory Downhill Team since 2015, where she clearly feels at home. Her bike - the Phoenix DH Carbon - is certainly one of the most special and lightest bikes in the world. It just scrapes the 15-kilogram mark. The rear triangle designed by suspension guru Dave Weagle delivers a good 20 centimeters of travel. Shocks with air suspension are now seen more often, but are still outnumbered. Emilie rides completely air-suspended with products from Fox. Her stylish Phoenix is almost identical to the one you can buy.

Basil and Myles Weber - Team Project

Brothers Basil and Myles Weber ride for Team Project on Devinci bikes. Their Wilson carbon downhill bikes are definitely not available like this. The frame has been completely changed in color with specially made sticker sets. While the Rock Shox suspension elements are standard, the two Notubes Flow EX rims ride on Onza tires. The cockpit comes from Joystick, the saddle is from 66Sick. Also differing from the series bikes, Basil and Myles ride brakes from the British manufacturer Hope.

Lea Rutz - Team Gravity Union

Lea Rutz rides for the Swiss team "Gravity Union" and has been using Norco bikes for two years. Her Aurum C 7.1, in size S, has 200 millimetres of suspension travel and is almost identical to the standard bike. There are differences in the cockpit, for example. Lea rides a spike handlebar from Spank, shortened to 760 millimetres. A special feature of this is its Vibrocore foam core, which is designed to reduce vibrations. For the tires, Lea relies on Swiss rubber from Onza.

Lutz Weber - Team Swiss Downhill Syndicate

Not related to Basil and Myles, but still a Weber. Lutz Weber was the fastest Swiss rider at last year's World Cup race in Lenzerheide. He competes for the Swiss Downhill Syndicate, which rides NS bikes. The "Fuzz" frame, normally orange or black, is painted white for the team. Like his team colleagues, Lutz's suspension fork and shock have been revised by Fast Suspension and have little in common with the standard products. Rarely seen on the World Cup circuit are tires from Vee TireCo.