From 24 to 26 September 2021, in the Bardonecchia Alps (TO), the THOK Tribe hosted over 300 THOKers. It is the third gathering in the history of the brand. It attracts passionate owners of THOK and DUCATI e-MTBs powered by THOK from all over Italy and Europe. There will also be a video of our reportage.
Source: press release
After a year of hiatus, THOK gave the isolation a push and organized the usual annual gathering of THOK and DUCATI powered by THOK e-MTB owners.
This year the Cozie Alps in the municipality of Bardonecchia were the setting for the event, one of the most famous tourist resorts in the Val di Susa, a historic winter ski center and an increasingly “bike friendly” resort in the summer. It boasts 400 km of trails, tracks for MTB and e-MTB between high altitude trails and bike parks, and is also a strategic crossroads towards the great classics of road cycling. From here, in fact, you cycle towards legendary climbs of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, such as the Col de l'Izoard or the Galibier.
After the 70 participants of the first edition held on the peaks of the Modenese Apennines of Fanano, who became 150 in the second meeting, which took place in the hills of Salice Terme (PV), this year 300 people registered for the Bardonecchia appeal. all of Italy (the most distant moved from Puglia, Calabria and Sicily!) and from all over Europe (Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia).
Among those present not only the THOK Points (shops where you can buy the THOK) and the THOKers (the owners of the bikes), but also their family members (wives, husbands, children, parents ...) and their friends, who they attacked the THOK Rent (also present) to secure a rented bike and be able to participate in the event on the saddle.
Yes, because to take part in the riding it was a must to pedal on a bike of the brand.
The event began on Friday with the "Press Day" dedicated to journalists, who were able to preview the brand new MIG R (top range of the All-mountain series) together with the rest of the range, including the TK01 and TK01 R of the Enduro. To accompany them to the top of the paths of the Passo della Mulattiera (2.500 m), Stefano Migliorini, CEO THOK and former World Cup pro rider; his daughter Beatrice, multiple Italian champion and European DH champion; Stefano Rota, multiple Italian Enduro champion and Pippo Marani, internationally renowned trail builder, tracker of some of the most famous DH routes in the world ("Black Snake" in primis).
On Saturday, however, the official arrival day of the THOKers. After passing by the welcome (for registration and check-in, welcome kit collection and Green Pass control), the many attendees were able to take advantage of the activities made available on site (such as a free ride on the Alpine Coaster), or more 70 km of trails specially marked for the event. Traced directly by the THOK staff, they were divided by degree of difficulty in ECO-TRAIL-BOOST. Along the paths, there were photographers, videomakers and over 20 THOK entourage guides.
While bringing everyone together under the banner of passion for pedal-assist fat wheels, the Tribe is not alone”riding” but it is mainly a big party organized by the brand for its customers, where everyone gets involved, ebikers and companions, thanks to the playful and festive atmosphere that characterizes the entire long weekend.
Thus, the highlight of the party began with the Saturday evening aperitif offered by DESA, with its typical Piedmontese products, and by Teo Musso (also THOKer present at the event), father of Baladin beer, an Italian excellence appreciated in all over the world (as well as by all present).
The evening was animated by speeches, thanks and awards: the first THOKer registered for Tribe 2021, the most social THOker, the worst in bike maintenance, the inevitable nr. 1 Lorenzo (first to have bought a MIG on trust, when it had not yet been produced but only a project on paper). And then again: the participants from beyond the Alps, the wildest THOKer, the manager of the most active regional club and so on.
A great party, made of laughter, joy and good humor on everyone's faces, led by the histrionic Pippo Marani, a monument of Italian MTB.
The evening then continued with dinner at Harald's restaurant. The "dress code"? The THOK t-shirt supplied to everyone in the welcome kit. Exciting the “duck blue” glance of the 300 seated at the tables?
A moment of dinner on Saturday
Many Ambassadors and VIPs were present: in addition to the aforementioned Marani and Teo Musso, also Livio Suppo (one of the 4 founding members of the brand), former Moto GP team manager with Ducati Corse and Honda HRC and Nicola Dutto, the most famous Italian motorcyclist disabled, among other things a driver of the legendary Dakar and soon riding a THOK specially prepared for his needs.
On Sunday, despite the rain-conditioned program that prevented the long group rides and lunch at high altitude, the staff and Team Colomion promptly reorganized the day at Harald's. Thanks to the afternoon clearings, the raidings of the diehards resumed, together with the guys from THOK. At the end of the day, greetings and thanks, truly heartfelt, from everyone.
The Tribe is not the only meeting opportunity that THOK organizes with its buyers, but it is the main demonstration of how much time and energy the brand invests in the attention and care of its customers. A direct contact, the one between the company and the end user, which never stops, and who tries to use all means, including social media, to keep it alive.
A modus operandi rather than a marketing strategy that, if for many other brands it can be tiring, for Alba it is something natural and therefore easy.
The helpful, kind, empathetic and welcoming staff aims to try to associate as much as possible the sale of a bicycle with a face, a name, a story rather than just a monetary transaction. In everything it does, THOK always puts its face in it and the customers perceive the genuineness of the intentions as well as the passion and competence. This, combined with the unfiltered dialogue with the company, makes the customer feel part of the project.
The result is a strong sense of belonging that creates loyalty. The perception of becoming part of a family convinces and binds.
Unique in its kind, innovative in its communication, THOK has managed to involve its THOKers like few other brands. Hence the birth of a vast and cohesive community, an extremely active and compact group, both on social networks and on the territory, where regional clubs arise spontaneously.
In short, when the brand calls its audience it responds. This was the case of the 2021 event in Bardonecchia, where there was a real declaration of love for the brand.
