Nach Emmeline Ragots rührendem Abschied vom aktiven Downhill-Rennsport war klar, dass sich im Team MS Mondraker für die kommende Saison etwas ändern würde. Wie genau das Team für 2016 ausschaut und was sich geändert hat, haben wir jetzt direkt von Teamchef Lukas Haider erfahren.

Die Großen Neuigkeiten zuerst: Der 2015 Junior World Cup Gesamtsieger und amtierender Junior DH World Champ Laurie Greenland fährt im Jahr 2016 für MS Mondraker. Damit bildet das Nachwuchstalent ein Team mit Danny Hart und Markus Pekoll, von denen er sicher noch den ein oder anderen Kniff lernen kann. Für seine erste Saison in der Elite Klasse ist Laurie also in besten Händen.

Eine weitere Überraschung hat Teammanager Lukas Haider noch in Petto: „Darüber hinaus sind wir froh, einen Last-Minute Neuzugang zu unserem Team bekannt geben zu können und zwar Emmeline Ragot. Das kommt für die meisten von euch vielleicht überraschend, da sich Emmeline 2015 offiziell zur Ruhe gesetzt hat. Diese Entwicklung sollte also nicht als Comeback gewertet werden, sondern als offene Hintertür für den Fall,dass sie sich zu hundert Prozent von ihren schweren Knöchel und Ellenbogenverletzungen erholen kann.“

Emmeline kann es also doch nicht ganz lassen. Verständlich, denn auch wenn es rührend war, wie sie von Rachel Atherton zum Abschied auf die Bühne getragen wurde, so ist dies sicher nicht die Art und Weise, wie man sein letztes DH Rennen beenden möchte. Ob es mit der rechtzeitigen vollständigen Genesung und einer weiteren Saison im Rennzirkus klappen wird werden wir abwarten müssen. Wir drücken Emmeline auf jeden Fall die Daumen!

Abgesehen von dem A-Team, startet MS Mondraker 2016 mit einem B Team, welches sich auf Europäische Rennen wie den IXS Cup konzentrieren wird. Dieses Team wird aus den Fahrern Fabian Ulrich, Matt Lawton und Pascal Engel bestehen.

Die  Statements der MS MOndraker Worldcup Teamfahrer zur kommenden Saison:

Danny Hart: “A few changes for me in 2016: firstly I have been working with the RMJ-Acadamy for training, so that means spending a lot of time in Liverpool at the John Moore University, and I am loving it, training in a group has been really cool. I am also excited to be working with a few new team sponsors, Maxxis tyres is cool for me, they are the OG of the tyre industry: I used these when I was an amateur coming through. Concerning Dainese, a lot of you may know that I am a big Moto GP fan and these guys are the biggest name in leather suits, so I can’t wait to see what they are going to do for our team: We visited see the facilities and I was blown away. Finally, Fox, what can I say! They have dominated the last few years of DH racing, and I am really looking forward to bolting their stuff to my bike. 2016 looks like it is going to be good!“

Markus Pekoll: “2016 is going to be a very interesting year for me! After four years on Marzocchi, 5 Years with Alpinestars and 8 Years with Schwalbe, new things start with Fox suspension, Dainese clothing and Maxxis tyres!

I’m really looking forward to compete with this winning proofed products with a great history against the best in the world! When I started riding Downhill around 2004, the first protection I used was Dainese and Maxxis rubbers fitted my bike! My first real DH bike had the fox 40 in it! So, for me this is something like going back to the roots, and yes as I wrote before I can´t wait to race with this stuff on my Summum!
Another good thing for 2016 is that we got the fastest Junior in the World to race with us! I met Laurie earlier this year and I think we got along well from the first second as teammates! His speed and style for his age are incredible and I am sure we will have a great time on and off the track! With Danny and Laurie I have two of the best riders in the world as team members and that definitely should help me to reach my goals for the upcoming season!!”

Laurie Greenland: “The MS Mondraker team has been one of the most professional teams on the circuit for years- working with these guys, my good friend Chaz as a mechanic and being able to keep my favorite components and sponsors going into this year make me very excited!! Riding along experienced elite riders like Marcus and Danny will help me a lot going into my first year in the category. My goals are to progress on my results from last year, pushing towards more top 20 results!

Emmeline Ragot: “a lot of you guys may be surprised seeing me in the current roster of the MS Mondraker Team. My last season was not what I was hoping for. At the start of the previous season I was almost sure that I was going to retire at the end: But as we got more and more into the season I was feeling good, that is until my crash in Mont Sainte Anne- the injuries I got made the decision easier for me. Right now I am doing a kind of re-education to get my elbow and ankle up to a 100% level, which means I am still training. Registering with the team keeps a door open for me… we will see!”