Specialized Signs Aaron Gwin

The mountain bike off-season is almost as interesting as the hockey/football/basketball off-seasons, with transfers and team changes becoming as talked about as the racing itself.

It was obvious something was moving in Aaron Gwin’s camp. The rumbles and murmurs had been building. Then when it was revealed Hill was moving on from Specialized, leaving a gap in the roster of one of downhill mountain biking’s most powerful teams, speculation roared as to who would replace the man who used to be the most dominating and frightening downhill racer.

In the past two years, Gwin has grasped the crown as the most dominant downhill racer. He has trampled on the competition, becoming the most successful American downhill racer of all time, and in record time. He won the World Cup overall in 2011 and 2012, becoming the first American to ever win an overall, and being the first man to win five World Cup DH races in one season. That was in 2011, in 2012 he only won four WC races. Gwin joins Specialized riders Troy Brosnan and Mitch Ropelato.

“I’m super excited to start this new chapter in my career with Specialized bicycles,” says Gwin. “The entire Specialized staff has welcomed me with open arms and I’m blown away by the level of support they’ve shown me. This is my dream program and I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity. Bring on 2013!”

Team manager, Sean Heimdal, is equally upbeat about Gwin joining the team. “The combination of Aaron Gwin and the Specialized brand have an American storyline written all over it that was always meant to be,” explains Heimdal. “Aaron will not only bring another element to the program, but it’ll be amazing watching this trio ripping down the tracks together. We can’t wait to get started with this new exciting opportunity and look forward to the season ahead.”