Photo: The new team includes veterans like Tinker Juarez and Pua Mata as well as rising stars. (Courtesy Cannondale)
Video: Cannondale and Sho-Air Merge Race Teams
Mountain Bike Racing
The new hybrid team will focus on North American cross-country and endurance races ByRon Koch Tags:Cross-Country Racing,Mountain Bike News
Anyone following La Ruta de los Conquistadores might have seen this coming. There, Sho-Air racer Pua Mata rode a Cannondale to victory, even though the team had previously been sponsored by Specialized. But this was more than a hint that Mata was switching teams. Men’s runner-up Alex Grant, who races for Cannondale, had added the Sho-Air logo to his jersey. Rumors of a merger began to fly like mud spinning off the racers' tires.
Last week, the companies made it official and formally introduced the Sho-Air Cannondale team—a hybrid that contains members of the Sho-Air team, as well as Cannondale’s North American race squad. The new team is comprised of Cannondale’s Tinker Juarez, Jeremiah Bishop and Alex Grant. Joining them from Sho-Air are Max Plaxton and Pua Mata. Interestingly, the team also contains two motorcycle road-race legends: Eric Bostrom and Josh Hayes. Ty Kady will manage the team, and former racer Manny Prado will provide rider support.
The new Sho-Air Cannondale squad will focus on North American races and compete on Cannondale’s Scalpel 29er and F29 hardtail. The former Sho-Air riders we interviewed at the team introduced raved about the bikes and seemed particularly impressed with the steering precision of the Lefty fork. Team co-sponsors include Enve Composites, Magura, Crank Brothers, Maxxis, Fizik, Jakroo, and Osmo Nutrition.
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