Introducing The 2016 Specialized Gravity Team
Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at 5:46AM Specialized will partner with Pure Agency in 2016 to form a new Specialized Gravity Team, supporting the 2015 World Champion Loic Bruni, Junior 2014 Junior World Champion Loris Vergier and first year junior Finn Iles on the UCI World Cup circuit. The team will all be racing aboard Specialized bikes and select equipment pieces next season.
Troy Brosnan will remain and star on the Specialized Racing Factory team, a separate set up, but with the same ambition.
Loic Bruni had this to say about the change, “I'm really excited about changing rigs for many reasons, and it gives me coherence in the way I see my career. The team and I have worked hard during the past few years to reach a high level. We have all ambition and we are all able to deliver really professional work while still having fun. I was really seduced by joining such a big family. The brand already has a great history, and I'm excited about being part of it—it's always been a dream. Reaching this step is a big satisfaction for me and the team, it is what we need and we know Specialized is the right partner for new things. I'm looking forward to ride well with my Rainbow Jersey and the Demo, of course, I'll try to do great stuff with it. We are already working on the bike and tires to be ready for the season 2016 that is promised to be a blast.”
"I've been with the team since I started on the World Cup circuit, and I always thought that it was almost perfect, with good friends, good atmosphere, and good sponsors. And now, a dream came reality, riding with the biggest brand in the world with still the same crew is an amazing opportunity that I'm really proud of. Really excited for the future!” - Loris Vergier
“2015 was in many ways our best season yet," said Benno Williet, Team Manager for Specialized’s Factory MTB programs. "The overall structure of the team finally came together and the results the guys achieved on the race course really backed that up. At the end of the season, we bid farewell to Aaron Gwin after an awesome season, but at the same time, we look forward to the future and are excited to be supporting more riders than ever before. Between Troy on our Factory Team, and then also Loic, Loris, and Finn, four of the very best riders in the world will board a Demo at the highest level of completion. It is a youthful, super talented roster throughout, so it is safe to say the future is bright!"
“This, my second year in the team (Pure Agency), is going to be exciting. I am super happy to be continuing on with such a good group of guys. Last year was an awesome experience, to see how well the team worked together blew my mind. With this upcoming year being my first year of racing junior, I am honored to have such an amazing brand behind my back. I think this is an amazing opportunity, and I can't wait to see what the future holds. Heading to California in January to link up with everyone is something I'm really looking forward to!" - Finn Iles
With a full team presentation to follow in early 2016, Loic, Loris, and Finn will rely on the radical S-Works Demo 8 carbon downhill race frame with single-sided seatmast as well as Specialized 2FO shoes and full complement of Downhill Tires.
“I was really proud to work with our partners, and in the eight years, we created something really special, but when we had first contact with Specialized, we felt that it was time to move. The opportunity was unique, because we had the chance to keep the same working process with same staff and riders. They understood that a good result is not just a good athlete or the best bike, but also a great atmosphere, where everybody in the team is able to make his own contribution to perform. To be honest, we also had another good financial offer, a higher one, but it was definitely a different way of work, and it was not the first choice of the key guys in the team. When the boys tested the bike, it confirmed everything. We have the feeling, too, that R&D is really strong and all details are well thought on the bike. One last detail, but maybe the most important detail in our decision: Loic and I received a personal message from M. Sinyard, and I don’t know a lot of bosses who are involved like this in Sports Marketing. It showed us how the company is passionate about DH and racing. We really appreciated this.” - Laurent Delorme - Pure Agency Manager
Finn Iles, Loic Bruni, Loris Vergier, Specialized Bikes |
Lapierre Gravity Republic - Moving On To New Horizons!
Thursday, November 26, 2015 at 6:43AM After 8 years of partnership, 2016 will mark the end of the journey shared by Lapierre & Pure Agency, who managed Team Lapierre Gravity Republic. Both partners are launching new challenges for the next season, after climbing to the top of the world in 2015.
In the paddocks, the continuous progression of Team Lapierre Gravity Republic since the very beginning has not passed unnoticed. Crowned best UCI Gravity team in 2014 with Loic Bruni, Loris Vergier, Sam Blenkinsop and Emmeline Ragot; the team claimed the ultimate title in 2015: the Elite Men’s World Championship jersey, to draw the curtains on an amazing adventure. In total: 4 overall World Cup victories, 3 World Championship titles and dozens of podiums… What a way to end!
Gilles Lapierre, MD of Cycles Lapierre, reflects on this achievement: « It has been an incredible adventure at the side of talented riders and renowned staff. We can’t forget that we started from scratch! Over the years we have battled with the best MTB teams in the world. Loic Bruni’s title of World Champion has been the grand finale of this adventure, we couldn’t have hoped for better. It’s now time to move on.
The end of DH sponsoring does not mean the end of Team Lapierre Gravity Republic as we are staying very active in Enduro, which continues to develop with the Enduro World Series. Nicolas Vouilloz, who we don’t need to present, & Adrien Dailly, winner of the EWS U21 in 2015 will have new teammates for 2016 … You’ll be hearing more about this soon.
We are therefore staying committed to MTB competition. We are also supporting the development of e-bike competition, which is undergoing massive expansion, and for which our Overvolts are already a reference. Many new challenges lie ahead of us once again!
An incredible showpiece for Lapierre’s savoir-faire, the Team help develop their MTBs to benefit from the cutting edge technology. Our latest DH model, launched in 2014, won its first race at the Fort William round of the World Cup with Emmeline Ragot. Loris Vergier then became Junior World Champion on this machine a few months later. He was followed by Loic Bruni using it to take the ultimate title in septembre 2015 à Vallnord. The final proof, if it was needed, that this collaboration functioned in the best possible manner.
Laurent Delorme, Manager of Pure Agency, looks back on the years of partnership:
« Working with Lapierre for 8 years was an amazing adventure. Gilles Lapierre, the teams at his side and all the company were a reliable and efficient support, right from the start.
With a strategy of developing young talents, we have pulled the performances of our riders to the highest level, thanks to the technological innovations responding to the needs of competition.
Gilles, particularly involved in this project, both when we were victorious and in the hard times, always knew how to drive our performances. We are proud to have grown with Lapierre. »
Thank you to all our partners who have followed Team Lapierre Gravity Republic during these eight years.
Loic Bruni's 2015 World Champ's Lapierre
Sunday, September 6, 2015 at 8:28AM ;)
Nico takes us through the new DH Team bike.
2015 Lapierre DH Team Geometry
One of the major new products for 2015:
The Lapierre DH has been completely reworked to provide a platform with superior performance!
Developed around our new SLT suspension (Supra Link Technology), the new DH was created with 2 objectives in mind: performance and reliability.
All the experience of our engineers, plus the riders and the mechanics of Team Lapierre Gravity Republic, was put to use in order to evolve this new model. Directly inspired from moto-cross, the SLT kinematics provide 210mm of travel and offer a more sensitive and progressive suspension. This new bike is the response to the ever more exacting World Cup courses and the continuously more aggressive riding style of our team athletes.
100% made from Supreme 6 aluminium, the geometry for the new DH was developed following recommendations from Team Lapierre Gravity Republic riders. It was specially conceived for 27.5" wheels. This new standard was the unanimous choice of our riders at the end of the 2013 season, following Sam Blenkinsop’s 4th place in the Worlds at Pietermaritzburg and a 2nd place at the Leogang World Cup for Loic Bruni.
Number 1 in the UCI Gravity Team rankings at the beginning of the 2014 season, Team Lapierre Gravity Republic were put to work harder than ever to perfect their new weapon! Numerous tests were carried out on various prototypes, and proved that our new DH pushes the limits further than ever before. Loic Bruni, Loris Vergier and Finn Iles more than ever, they’ll be taking their place on the podium!
The right diameter for your riding
A few years ago, there was a real boom in 29" wheels, offering a proper alternative to the traditional 26". Nowadays, 27.5" is winning over most of the MTB world, as the ideal compromise. We at Lapierre have believed in this new wheel format from very early on, and we have been offering our OST+ platform in 27.5" for our Spicy and Zesty AM models since 2014. It is also making a name for itself on our brand-new X-Control. For 2015, our 27.5" range is expanding even more: for the first time, we are offering this diameter wheel on our DH models! This new standard has proved itself, with podium finishes at the Downhill World Cup for Loic Bruni and his fellow Team Lapierre Gravity Republic members.
Our choices in terms of wheel size and the emergence of new standards like 27.5" are in response to a need to optimise performances. Our goal is to provide you with the best bike for the way you ride, for your favourite terrain and for your build.
How does it work?
Everybody knows that the smaller the wheels, the more responsive the bike and its handling. The bigger they are, on the other hand, the better suited the bike is to speed and rolling over obstacles.
What's more, larger-diameter wheels have significant inertia (because their rotational mass is greater). You need enough inertia to keep the bike stable, but too much inertia will negatively affect its handling, its acceleration and its braking.
Therefore, we can distinguish 4 criteria that vary significantly with wheel diameter: weight, rollover, grip and acceleration.
For different assemblies with the same component types (wheel + tire):
- A 27.5" wheel is 5 % heavier than a 26" wheel
- A 29" wheel is 11 % heavier than a 26" wheel
A bike's rollover capacity is determined by the wheel's angle of attack to the obstacle. The bigger the wheel, the smaller the angle of attack, making it easier to roll over.
The bigger the wheel, the more contact surface between tire and ground (at the same inflation pressure), which therefore improves grip. Better grip means a bike that is easier to ride and has better braking.
It is wheel inertia that influences a bike’s acceleration performance: the bigger the wheels, the greater the rotational mass, the higher the inertia and, therefore, the slower the acceleration. As we can see in the graph below, a bike fitted with 29” wheels will have a higher top speed, but more time and energy will be needed to reach that speed.
