Schwalbe bag 8 World Cup MTB titles across XC and DH
With 8 overall World Cup titles won on Schwalbe tyres the 2022 MTB World Cup comes to an end with huge success for the manufacturer.
The extraordinary result follows numerous individual victories at the World Cup races. For Athletes riding Schwalbe, the list includes:
DH WC overall winners
- Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal)
- Amaury Pierron (Commencal Muc-Off)
- Team classification: Commencal Muc-Off
Downhill
With athletes‘ choice of tyres depending on the course, conditions and weather – a setup that worked great in the wet during training may no longer be the best possible choice during the last course check in the dry – as was the experience of Camille Balanche (Dorval AM/ Commencal) in Leogang, for example. At the third stop of the UCI DH World Cup, she switched to Dirty Dan for her race run and won by eleven seconds ahead of Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off), who was also on Schwalbe. The final World Cup victory of the season in Val di Sole was again secured by Nicole, who moved up to second place in the overall standings. She finished behind the Swiss Balanche, who was the top overall rider all season.
In the men‘s field, Nicole‘s counterpart, Frenchman Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off) triumphed in Lourdes, Fort William, Lenzerheide and Snowshow to overwhelmingly win the overall World Cup title. Nicole and Pierron’s results helped push their team, Commencal/ Muc-Off, to win the overall team classification. Without a doubt, Schwalbe‘s Magic Mary is the benchmark for winning downhill tyres, having ridden to well over 50 World Cup victories.
For the perfect tyre choice, the Schwalbe Race Support Team is on site at all World Cup races, often supplemented by product management and test lab experts. Post-race follow-up discussions with riders and mechanics reveal how crucial the selection of different tyre types, profiles, rubber compounds, carcasses and tire widths is to the riders‘ confidence and success
XCO
1. Alexandra Keller (Thömus Maxon)
XCC (Short-Track)
1. Alexandra Keller (Thömus Maxon)
1. Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Team)
XCO U23
1. Line Burquier (Canyon CLLCTV)
1. Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Lexware Mountainbike Team
Cross-Country
The Schwalbe success story also continued in cross-country. There, Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) was crowned with overall World Cup victories in XCC (short track) and XCO (cross-country) over the Olympic distance. The Swiss rider won her first ever XCO World Cup race on Schwalbe‘s Racing Ray in Snowshoe and impressed with very consistent results throughout the season. Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Team) secured the overall World Cup XCC title after pushing Racing Ralph to second place in the last race of the season in Val di Sole. The U23 overall rankings were also firmly in Schwalbe hands. Line Burquier (Canyon CLLCTV) and Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Lexware Mountainbike Team) pushed the number of overall World Cup titles by Schwalbe riders to 8.
Schwalbe First Ride
The development work with top athletes in the World Cup pays off for all cyclists. What starts as a prototype in n high-performance sports is further developed with the riders‘ feedback and ultimately ends up in Schwalbe‘s production tyres. Schwalbe not only utilizes this trickle-down development in mountain biking, the technologies developed in the First Ride program finds its way into all segments.
Beyond the race track
Schwalbe has long been known for building its business around environmental initiatives, including recycling of tubes and tyres, and the manufacture of environmentally considered products.
