From a sporting perspective, the team can look back on a respectable season, with the highlights certainly including the championship jerseys won in Denmark (CX), Austria (XCO) and Holland (XCE), but also the bronze medal at the European Championships in the Eliminator by Anne Terpstra and the silver medal at the European Championships for the Danish team led by Malene Degn. After four years of health problems, Alexandra Engen's 13th place at the World Cup in Nove Mesto in her final season was certainly a special highlight. Nevertheless, the team hopes to be even higher up the results lists in the medium term and is continuing the reorganization already started last year without losing sight of the long-term perspective: "We have been involved in racing since the company was founded and are even expanding our commitment with the current setup, because for us the Cross-Country World Cup is and remains the spearhead and highest league in mountain biking. We are delighted about the two new athletes, who complement our team perfectly and offer them the opportunity to develop further with Ghost in the coming years," says Joost van Schaik, Senior Sales and Marketing Manager at Ghost.

Barbara Benko has been on the international stage since her junior days. Even as a junior, she won medals at the World and European Championships and podium places in the World Cup were also part of her everyday life during her U23 time. In addition to her Olympic participation in London, the Hungarian was also regularly in the top 10 of the elite World Cup, and after winning a total of 27 Hungarian championship titles, it is hard to imagine her out of the red, white and green striped jersey. The 27-year-old is also extremely consistent in her private life and studied optics alongside her sport. Nevertheless, Barbara's priorities are clear: "I'm highly motivated and hope that I can exploit my potential even further with the team's professional background! I'm really looking forward to next year, our first meeting was amazing. I have a great feeling about all the other members of the team and can hardly wait to start the season in the new colors." On the team side, too, the sympathies were immediately apparent and at the first team meeting in Waldsassen, Tom Wickles was also enthusiastic: "Barbi was our preferred candidate and we are delighted to be able to give her this opportunity. We believe that she will fit in very well with our team and complement it very well. She is extremely focused and consistent and we are sure that we can take another step forward together. We want to start a long-term and successful collaboration with Barbi."

Another addition to the team comes in the form of reigning U23 World and European Champion Sina Frei. The Swiss rider has attracted attention in almost every race over the past two years. After winning the European Championship title in 2016 and winning all U23 World Cup races, she made a statement in 2017 with another victory at the European Championships and also at the World Championships in Australia. "We have been watching Sina for some time, but now we both felt it was time to seriously consider working together. After concentrating primarily on completing her training last year, Sina now wanted to take the step into professional life. We agreed that the change would initially bring many changes. Sina should first get used to the team and start another season in the U23 World Cup before she takes the step up to the elite. We will use 2018 to get to know each other better, after which she will still have enough time to move up to the elite World Cup early in her final U23 year if necessary,"said team manager Tom Wickles.

The young Swiss athlete was initially impressed by her new team: "Working with the team is super professional, everyone knows exactly what the athletes need and is passionate about what they do. I've been able to familiarize myself with the equipment for a few months now and the package is 100 percent right." In addition to joining the "Ghost Factory Racing Team", Sina also took the opportunity to be part of the elite sports recruit school: "We have created the ideal conditions to be able to practice the sport in an ideal way and this gives me the opportunity to work on myself more intensively and professionally. I am of course proud to be part of the "Ghost Factory Racing Team" and to tackle my life as a professional rider. I am convinced that together with the team I will achieve my further goals and realize my big dream of the Olympics. I'm looking forward to sharing our passion for mountain biking with the team, traveling the world together and learning from each other."

As in previous years, the season begins with preparations on the sunny island of Cyprus. Immediately afterwards, the team will travel together to South Africa for the first World Cup of the season, before the athletes compete in numerous races in their respective home countries and the rest of Europe.

Two "ghost oldies" leave the team

Lisi Osl has made the Ghost team her sporting home since the start of her career. The petite Austrian won three World Cup races in 2009 and also took the overall victory. She was unable to build on these successes afterwards. After ten years, Osl's Ghost era has come to an end, but not her career. It remains to be seen where the Austrian will ride in the future.

The Swede Alexandra Engen remained loyal to the "Ghost Factory Racing Team" for a remarkable six years. At the end of the year, however, she not only announced the end of this collaboration, but also of her career. After two world championship titles and numerous international successes, the Swede ran into health problems in 2014. It took her two years to recover and work on a comeback. This led her back into the top 15 in the World Cup last year. Nevertheless, she realized that she could no longer invest 100 percent in the sport as she did before her illness.

Alexandra also started 2014 with top 5 Eliminator World Cup results and an Eliminator World Cup victory in Australia, before the first symptoms of illness became apparent and she had to end the season early. After being diagnosed with burnout, it was unclear whether Alexandra could even seriously consider a comeback:
"We promised Alexandra in 2014 that we would stand by her and that she would definitely have a place in the team if she wanted to try to come back. Nobody knew how long it would take, but with Alex's fierce nature, it was clear that she would take the plunge at some point. Today, we are proud to have been a part of this journey," says team manager Thomas Wickles.

After two years away from competition and a full focus on her health and recovery, the Swede felt ready to return to racing at the start of 2016. Bit by bit, she was able to work her way back to her previous form and finished 13th at the World Cup in Nove Mesto in 2017. Nevertheless, at the end of the season, the question arose as to whether she would still be able to avoid putting her health at risk and still invest 100 percent in the sport.

"Even though it was hard to make the decision to stop cycling, it feels right and also like the right time. Tom and I respect and know each other very well, so I know I will continue to get a good cup of tea when I pass the team tent at a race. I think back with gratitude and fond memories of every year with the team and know that I probably wouldn't have had this opportunity anywhere else," concludes Engen.

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