Thömus maxon launches its own road program

The Swiss MTB team Thömus maxon is taking a groundbreaking step in its history and for the first time is running an international road program with several appearances in the UCI Europe Tour. An innovative project designed to prepare the riders for the ever faster MTB races and at the same time stimulate their physical fitness.

“As one of the world’s best mountain bike teams, we want to constantly offer our athletes new opportunities for further development. Stimuli via international road races can be an important piece of the puzzle,” says team boss Ralph Näf on the motivation behind this unique project in international MTB sport. This step is needed because the nature and style of MTB racing has changed significantly in recent years: “Our aim is to prepare our riders for the faster and more tactical MTB races. The short tracks in particular are often all about tactics, positioning and reading the race correctly. Riding elbow to elbow is a completely different challenge than in the past, when MTB races were often decided in maximum two-man sprints,” explains Ralph Näf.

Drawing on Bruno Diethelm’s know-how

This initiative is based on the fact that Thömus maxon has its own development team, the Thömus Akros Youngstars. This means that the young Thömus riders are integrated into the professional Thömus maxon team for road races. This gives all athletes the unique opportunity to set important accents and training stimuli by taking part in intensive road races in preparation for the first MTB World Cups and the other major goals of the season. The head of the new road project is former Swiss MTB national coach Bruno Diethelm, who has been the sporting director of the Youngstar team since this season. Diethelm will support the team with his extensive expertise and wealth of experience.

“I am delighted that we can offer our riders the opportunity to try out and develop themselves in a new environment. The switch from mountain biking to the road and back will be an exciting challenge and a great benefit for all athletes in many respects,” emphasizes Diethelm.

The following riders have been nominated for the road block in Croatia: Mathias Flückiger, Lars Forster, Vital Albin (all Thömus maxon), Romano Püntener, Nicolas Halter and Loris Hättenschwiler (all Thömus Akros Youngstars).

Croatia block on the new Thömus road bike Sliker R3

Thanks to the cooperation with Thömus, the team partners and the suppliers, Thömus maxon has the perfect bikes for all disciplines. The new Thömus Sliker R3 Ultimate is a road bike that has nothing to fear from the competition. It is lighter, more aerodynamic and the geometry has been adapted to the latest standards. The athletes have already competed in the two 1.2 races Umag Trophy and Poreč Trophy in Croatia last week with the brand new Thömus Sliker R3 Ultimate road bike. Today, the team led by Mathias Flückiger and Lars Forster will start the four-day stage race Istrian Spring Trophy (UCI 2.2).

Later in the season, after the first MTB World Cup races, the prestigious Berner Rundfahrt and the Swiss 1.2 race in Märwil will be on the program. These Swiss events offer the riders the perfect platform to further develop their skills and provide further valuable impetus with a view to the big goals on the MTB calendar.