Giant hasn't been present in the top tiers of the results for a few years: it's clear that his focus was no longer directed to competition. But now there has been a change for 2023: perhaps the name of thickness is missing but there now seems to be the will to improve. All teams, DH/XC/ENDURO, are unified under the same name and image, i.e. Giant Factory Off-Road.
Jens Schuermans
The thick name is Jens Schuermans, a 29-year-old Belgian. He took part in 2 Olympics (2016 and 2020) and got 5 podiums in the World Cup. In Short Track he has made various top10 in the world cup while in XCO he is a top20 athlete.
Joining the Giant Factory Off-Road Team is really special to me. I had a good 2022 season with various top 10 finishes in the World Cup, but missed the podium on a few occasions. Podiums are where I want to be and I believe this world class team and staff can help me achieve that. I've been testing my new Anthem Advanced Pro 29 for a few weeks now and I'm very happy with my new mtb – Jens Schuermans
Alexander Balmer and Carter Woods
Another new signing is the Swiss Alexander Balmer, which will combine road and MTB with Team Jayco AlUla. She is only 22 years old and in 2018 she won two world championships as a junior: XCO and Team Relay. He was also European junior champion and Swiss road champion. He is one of those young MTB talents who wanted to try out on the road and who we could now see again in XCO thanks to Giant.
Carter Woods is the bet for the under 23 category: in recent years Carter Woods has been the protagonist of the category. He is 21 years old and finished 2nd overall at the Under 23 World Cup last year. Besides getting a win, he has proven to be a very consistent runner. In 2023 he will continue to compete as an under 23 and will aim for the title of world champion in the category.
And we can't forget Antoine Philipp, who is still on the Giant Factory Off-Road Team. The 25-year-old Frenchman has already achieved his first top-10 in the XCO World Cup and is positioned as one of the great talents of the French youth academy.
SECTOR DOWNHILL
Here comes the Australian brothers Luke and Remy Meier-Smith who shone in both enduro and DH. In DH Luke has twice entered the top-10 of the World Cup despite being only 20 years old. He also won 5 Enduro World Series races in the under 21 categories.
His younger brother, Remy Meier-Smith, 18, is Australian DH champion in his category and has 4 World Cup podium finishes, as well as silver in the Junior DH World Championship. Remi Thirion continues with the Giant Factory Off-Road Team for one more year.
