Two-time Olympic MTB champion Julien Absalon (BMC) gives yoga two thumbs up.(Image credit: Armin M. Küstenbrück)
Team BMC assumes Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana 1) pose during a yoga practice at team camp.(Image credit: Armin Küstenbrück)
Julien Absalon, Ralf Naef, Moritz Milatz and Lukas Fluekiger(Image credit: Armin Küstenbrück)
Team BMC gets lectured at an early season training camp(Image credit: Marius Maasewerd/EGO-Promotion)
The 2013 BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team gathered for a first team training camp in Saillon, Switzerland, last week. Riders and staff prepared the upcoming season during four packed days of training, testing, workshops, photo shoots and info sessions.
With no fewer than four riders in the top-20 of the UCI mountain bike world ranking, including two-time Olympic and former world champion Julien Absalon, who has made the move from Orbea, the team has high expectations for 2013.
French national champion Absalon, cross country Worlds silver medallist Lukas Flückiger, eliminator world champion Ralph Näf and European cross country champion Moritz Milatz help make up one of the strongest line ups in mountain biking thus far.
The team also includes two professional enduro riders, Francois Bailly-Maître and Florian Golay, who will focus on the Enduro World Series.
"These were very interesting days for all of us. It was to first time we had the whole team together. We worked on the final race calendar with each single rider," said BMC MTB Team Sports Director Alexandre Moos.
The riders met sponsors and learned about the race-testing program for their sponsors' equipment.
Steven Jonckheere, Sports Marketing Manager at BMC Switzerland, said, "We have a high-level team of winners together here. From cyclo-cross over cross country to enduro. The presence of so many top riders is a big motivation for both athletes and staff. The riders will learn from each other, train and work together and push each other to a higher level. We can't wait for the race season to begin."
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The official BMC MTB Racing Team presentation will take place on March 7 at the end of a second team camp in Fréjus, France. Until then, the riders will continue their individual training programs in the South of France, the Canary Island or South Africa.
Julien Taramarcaz and Lukas Flückiger are travelling to the USA for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.
2013 BMC MTB Racing Team Francois Bailly-Maître (Fra) Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Julien Absalon (Fra) Stephen Ettinger (USA) Ralph Näf (Swi) Martin Fanger (Swi) Moritz Milatz (Ger) Reto Indergand (Swi) Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Florian Golay (Swi) (from left to right in attached photo)
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