In the past Enduro racers came from other disciplines like downhill or cross country. This way of becoming an Enduro racer is changing right now: there will be racers that will start their career directly with Enduro. We like the idea of a long-term relationship with young riders that grow with us in this discipline. Our new rider for this year is one of this new generation: Nicolas Queré, a French young rider. We think that with Remy’s experience he will make some waves! What do you think about the upcoming Enduro World Cup? It’s definitely great progress for the sport. Most of the bikers are Enduro riders. It is evident that likewise there are a lot more Enduro racers than downhill racers. If you go to the Mega Avalanche, for example, there are like 2000 starters. The World Cup is really good for the discipline’s recognition and will give it a great push. You are about to introduce the Meta Am 29er; will your Enduro team ride this bike at some races?
Yes! They will have the full range of Metas (SL & AM 29er will be new for 2012), so depending on the profile of the racetrack they can choose the best-suited one. In XC there are a lot of people racing with 29ers. What are the benefits of the big wheels for Enduro riders in your eyes? Well, the benefits are especially the gain of grip and the feel of security and stability that the big wheels will provide. It is much easier to keep your line. The big wheels almost erase many obstacles and get less stuck in holes or big steps. On several tracks they will be faster. But for sure there are still some weaknesses. The weight of the wheels & tires is a problem, but not that big like in XC. The smaller range of parts makes it difficult to get the perfect components for the given conditions of a race track. Beside the development of the 29ers there is a new trend: 650B. What about Commencal? To be honest, it is too early to make a concrete statement. Most Europeans have realized