Official press release:

The Zimtstern team was never primarily about contracts and tough negotiations. For our bike team, too, the most important thing is that the guys fit in with Zimts- tern. That the riders can identify with us and that we can identify with them. We are delighted to have found a unique mix of riders from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who do. And who can damn well mountain bike! May we introduce our new colleagues:

Andi Wittmann, 22 from the beautiful town of Bad Aibling, is a German ambassador for dirt, freeride, racing and simply everything you can do on a bike. Not only did he win Best Trick at the Vienna Air King and the T-Mobile Local Support in Mainz or the King of Dirt in Garda in 2010, he is also a newly qualified wholesale and foreign trade merchant. Despite his training, he had enough time on the bike, on the contrary, his motivation was all the greater, "because you should look forward to every day when you have time to ride and you have to earn it." Andi is the type of guy whose coolness is not affected by the fact that he initially financed his hobby by delivering newspapers and "through the grannies". He is now planning trips overseas on his bike and studying can wait for now. If you put Cork 720s down, you can take your time.
"When mountain biking, you are completely responsible for yourself and can only progress with discipline and motivation. There are also no limits to your creativity when it comes to riding and building. Versatility is the most important thing for me. You can have fun on the bike anytime and anywhere. We also ride in the rain and still want to be dry. You also have to be flexible and need some special features on your clothing to make it suitable for biking. Zimtstern produces exactly the clothes I need to be able to ride anywhere, anytime. When it comes to dirt jumping, fashion over function does work, but when it comes to real mountain biking, function and looks have to be in good balance!"

Andi Brewi, 25, the Viennese slopestyle rider who is currently at home in Salzburg, proves that he knows his job, and not just by designing the course for the Vienna Air King. As his father comes from a cycling family, he had support for the "nonsense" he does right from the start. We are proud that he also rides in Zimtstern bike clothes and are pleased that he is particularly happy about our caps "because I don't have to worry about my hair." Andi has not only got the hang of bag jumps for practicing new tricks, but also the simplest explanation for the purpose of functional clothing: "Sweating = stinking." On. The. Period.
Andi, what do you actually do when you're not on the bike? "I push..."

Thomas Schmitt, 31, from Germany (Betzdorf, now Tübingen) is a certified sports scientist, renowned bike tester for MountainBIKE and German champion in the Masterclass, who has twelve bikes in his garage. On the side, "the Professor" is also the mascot of a basketball club (in a tiger costume), a weekly radio presenter on air for an hour and socially and culturally involved in a very special housing project at home. Above all, of course, he is on the bike. 20 to 25 hours a week, sometimes even more. Plus the folding bike tours to the farmer - to get milk! We are delighted that he is now doing this at Zimtstern. Your favorite trick, Thomas? "The sawed-up virgin!"
"Many of Zimtstern's approaches fit in with me and my attitude. The ecological thinking, the closeness to the rider, the openness to criticism and innovation and the young flair. Bikestyle can also learn a lot from modern snow sports."

Of course, Zimtstern also has Swiss people on the team. How practical that there are two brothers who are particularly fierce on their bikes. Pascal and Mischa Breitenstein, from Buus, now at home in Oberburg, have long since made a name for themselves outside Switzerland's borders.

Mischa, 21, the younger of the Breitenstein brothers, is a Swiss dirt jump champion and enjoys the freedom (and adrenaline) of mountain biking above all else. He has already completed an exemplary apprenticeship as a carpenter and now works as a carpenter. Nevertheless, he uses every free minute on his bike - when he's not playing the drums - and, like Pascal, is a member of the Flying Metal Crew, an association of dirt jumpers, downhillers and freeriders from the Thun region. They organize con- tests such as the Rocket Air Slopestyle and also offer dirt jump shows with their two ramps.
Of course, Mischa and Pascal do their best on their own, but together they are unbeatable. "Pascal is my motivator and it's much more fun to ride with him than alone. We complement each other by judging each other and telling each other what was cool and what wasn't. Pascal is more the type of guy who has to push and always wants to learn something new. I'm more the laid-back one and work on the tricks I've been doing for a while," says Mischa.

Pascal, 23, has a similar view. "We started biking together and haven't done it any differently all these years. We push each other enormously. I'm more of a trickster on the dirts and Mischa is more of a styler. We also have different tastes in music: I listen to hip hop and rock and Mischa prefers indie and electro." Pascal also still has a "decent" job as an advertising technician and the days when he had to deliver newspapers to finance his hobby are now fortunately over. However, the fact that he used to assemble his bikes from old parts due to a lack of money still benefits him today.
Mischa Breitenstein: "Zimtstern is very committed to the freestyle scene and designs extremely high-quality products. Biking is becoming more and more popular and I think it's great that a Swiss brand is pushing this sport."
Pascal Breitenstein: "I think it's great that Zimtstern takes environmental protection seriously and manufactures its products as environmentally friendly as possible. Because without nature, there's no biking and no snowboarding - and then the clothes aren't much use either."