Scott came up with something special for Nino Schurter. His world championship bike, the Scott Spark 700, attracts more attention than any other cross-country bike in the starting field. Attention is quickly drawn to the lovingly designed details. Nino's racing file, for example, has a chic Norwegian pattern to match the host country. This is emblazoned on a bright red background on the seat stays and on the seat tube. Technically, however, the 9.5 kilogram Spark 700 does not differ from its predecessor.

In contrast to Nino Schurter, Mathias Flückiger relies more on a simple look, but all the more on technical innovations. The wearer of the world championship livery is a prototype of the 2015 Beryll RSC from Stöckli. It uses a new fiber that was designed with a new production process in the area of the inner mold. In addition, the resin content is lower than in the current model, which, together with the optimized design of the fibres, reduces the frame weight of the Twentyniner to 892 grams. Stöckli now uses a thru-axle on the rear triangle of the Beryll.

Mathias was the only Swiss elite rider to ride a hardtail in Hafjell. But that didn't mean he had to sacrifice comfort. A specially padded standard saddle and the slightly flexible AX-Lightness seatpost cushion the bumps somewhat. In addition, the suspension travel on the Fox 32 ICD suspension fork has been increased from 100 to 107. This increase in suspension travel flattens the steering angle on the 8.4 kilogram Beryll by exactly one degree, which in turn results in a smoother ride.

Although Ralph Näf rides BMC's fully "Fourstroke FS01 29" in cross-country races, he opted for the new BMC prototype for the Eliminator title fights. The race hardtail Teamelite TE01 29 serves as the basis, which has been converted into a kind of hybrid - i.e. neither fully nor hardtail. BMC is still keeping a lid on what exactly is used as the bumper. However, the system is very reminiscent of the Ritchey Softtail, which Thomas Frischknecht rode to the world championship title. Näf gives us a short ride through the paddock, where we can see the functionality of the system for ourselves. As to how well it works off-road, we have to take Ralph Näf's word for it.

No special paint job and no prototype either, but it is a novelty to see Fabian Giger on a full-suspension bike. Having previously only ridden a hardtail, the Giant rider has been convinced of its advantages. Giger's world championship weapon is a Giant Anthem Advanced with 27.5-inch wheels, which weighs in at 9.8 kilograms. The Giant team relies on suspension elements from DT Swiss. Giger shifts its gears with the new XTR 1x11 drivetrain from Shimano. Nevertheless, there is something here that is not yet available in specialist shops - Shimano's prototype 36 chainring for their 1x11 drivetrains.

Once and only after the race, Jolanda Neff's world champion bike gets an upgrade. For her U23 World Champion title, Neff will receive an OPM-O.D.L suspension fork from DT Swiss with gold lettering and the inscription "2014 World Champion"

More and more riders are riding with the new RS1 suspension fork from Rock Shox. However, this upside-down fork requires a special hub called Predictive Steering. Apart from Sram, only DT Swiss was previously allowed to build such hubs. Now the German lightweight manufacturer Tune is also coming up with a predictive steering hub. A prototype of this is currently fitted to the bikes of the Ghost Factory Racing Team riders, including Katrin Leumann. However, no details about the sophisticated component were available. It can only be assumed that the hub should be very light again.