It's been 11 years since Lapierre took part in cross-country mountain bike racing at the highest level. The development of the Lapierre Mavic Unity team marks the French brand's return to elite racing.
Lapierre already participates in Enduro racing with the Lapierre Zipp Collective and e-MTB competition with the Lapierre Overvolt Team. The new Lapierre Mavic Unity team will target the UCI's new XCO and XCC series calendar as well as a commitment to the next two Olympic cycles.
Lapierre brand manager Dorian Tabeau said, "Cross-country is an important part of Lapierre’s DNA and history. The brand has been focused on performance sports for over 25 years, so after road and enduro, it’s time to return to the XC scene. We are therefore very happy to have been able to finalize this project, with a team and partners, such as Mavic, that match our values."
The team will be six riders strong and made up of three women and three men who all have impressive palmares. The team will feature Malene Degn (8th at the last European and World Championships), Annie Last (runner-up in the XC Marathon World Championships in 2022), and the promising french rider Isaure Medde (World Champion in the XC Eliminator in 2020 and runner-up in the French U23 Championship in 2021 and 2022). On the men's side Lapierre Mavic Unity has signed up Sebastian Fini Carstensen (seven-time Danish champion and two-time European XCO vice-champion), Thomas Litscher (2022 XCC World Championship bronze medallist), and Erik Haegstad (2021 Norwegian XCO and XCC champion).
The team will race aboard Lapierre's best XC mountain bikes with the option of either XR full-suspension mountain bike or the Prorace hardtail. Both bikes use Lapierre's UD SLI carbon fiber and are designed specifically to tackle XCO and XCC competition.
The bikes will be kitted out with some of the best mountain bike wheels and roll on Mavic's Crossmax SL Ultimate carbon wheels. Lapierre Mavic Unity will also be partnered with Fox suspension, Michelin tires, and FSA components.
The UCI XCO, XCM, and XCC racing will kick off in Nova Mesto on the 12th of May. You can follow the team on the Lapierre Mavic Unity Instagram page.
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