So a couple of days ago we dropped a press release letting you know that MS EVil was gone and MS Mondraker had risen in its place, with Brook MacDonald staying on the team. Anyhow Mondraker designer Cesar Rojo and Marzocchi decided that Queenstown was the perfect place to get the new bikes dialled and do some testing and suspension setup. Instead of sending someone from Marzocchi in Italy or the US they decided that Wide Open’s Rainman of suspension Jono Church was the man for the job. So now he’s got three days of testing ahead of him and plenty of tweaking. Spoke contributing photographer Patrick Fallon has been on hand to capture it all and he should be bringing us a few more sneaky photos over the next couple of days. Oh and there’s a full press released below.
Marzocchi is proud to announce our support of the MS Mondraker team for the 2012 season. The team’s DH athletes have been able to climb to the top of the world ranking list and are no strangers to the podiums of UCI World Cups and UCI World Championships. Team MS Mondraker will be riding our DH flagship, the 888 RC3 EVO TITANIUM and Roco RC World Cup rear suspension.
The team delivered a particularly impressive performance at the World Championships in Champery (SUI) last year. Emmeline Ragot climbed to the top of the podium at the most important event in the mountain bike world and now bears the title of World Champion. Damien Spagnolo only barely missed first place and is currently vice World Champion. At other races, the MS Mondraker team was definitely a force to be reckoned with as well: Brook MacDonald took three podium spots in the UCI World Cup circuit and Markus Pekoll is the crowned king of the iXS European DH cup. We are excited to have the opportunity of working with such a successful team: “Partnering up with the MS Mondraker Downhill team is a great start into the new mountain bike season. We have had a great 2011 season and are ready to begin the 2012 season at full force. We feel that the MS Mondraker team truly represents that spirit and are excited to have them on board”, says Simone Bassi of Tenneco Marzocchi.Currently, the MS Mondraker team are in New Zealand conducting extensive testing of Marzocchi suspension products. Markus Stoeckl, team manager of the MS Mondraker team asserts: “We are really looking forward to the cooperation with Marzocchi. It is the only suspension I know that is perfect straight out of the box so we are thrilled that these are the products we get to use. From the start, working with Marzocchi couldn’t have been easier; they really listen to our input and are always working on tweaking their products to perfection. Especially on our suspension of choice, the 888 RC3 Evo Titanium and Roco RC World Cup.”Speaking of our 888 RC3 Evo Ti, listening closely to our pro athletes in the past has allowed us to develop a fork that is the lightest coil DH fork on the market, only barely heavier than its air equivalent. At the same time, it offers all the advantages of a coil: stability, reliability and durability and no stress. Combined with a rear shock from the Roco series that offers the perfect setting for every terrain and makes your back wheel stick to the ground like glue, our gravity suspension systems will always create the best riding experience for you when gravity calls!The MS Mondraker athletes’ best results summarized:
- Brook MacDonald
– 3 podiums at UCI World Cup races 2011
- Damien Spagnolo
– Vice Champion at the 2011 World Championships in Champery (SUI)
- Emmeline Ragot –
World Champion at the 2011 World Championships in Champery (SUI)
- Markus Pekoll
– Champion at the European IXS Cup 2011
It is really good to see that a very strong team will be rolling Marzocchi forks and shocks this year at the world cup. I have 55 and they are easily the best forks I’ve ever ridden on, they stick to the ground like nothing else I’ve experienced, and allow you to do really stupid things, like slam on your front brake mid off camber corner, and instead of getting spanked like you deserve they grip up and the bike stops, then you say to yourself (and anyone you are riding with) for the many-th time I can’t beleive how well these forks work.. Hopefully Brook will rule it this year on them, though his mechanic may be left with more time on his hands!
May be you need to look at the photos more
Okay so Jono is the Marzocchi tech but but the looks of Patricks photos they may have roped him into a bit more than that (bleeding Shimano brakes, although i think they wont be Shimano for much longer)
whoops, to be honest i didn’t even look, all i know is those bikes have Shimano bits on them that will be SRAM come tomorrow… the bikes in today’s photos are still not world cup spec.
Formula brakes Caleb! They are formulas.