Goodbye Lapierre Mavic Unity, hello Lapierre Racing Unity! Now the sole title sponsor for the VTT XC team, Lapierre wants to instil its attachment to XC competition and mark the rebirth of the team to conquer new podiums at the highest levels of the international scene.
Source: press release
Even if the structure is still French and led by Céline Hutsebaut, the men's and women's team is almost entirely renewed and remains international while remaining perfectly mixed. With younger and high-potential riders arriving, the Lapierre Racing Unity team is therefore banking on youth and freshness to conquer new podiums in the XCO and XCC races.
Although the team is younger, it still has experienced riders. It will be led by Anton Cooper, especially in the men's category. The New Zealander will try to recover on his XR and will be the team leader. He will be accompanied by German Maximilian Brandl, ninth German champion and four-time world championship medalist. Danish Tobias Lillelund, who left the U23, is a rising star that the team wants to train for his climb to the Elite and score points in the UCI ranking.
Among the women, German veteran Nina Graf (26 years old, 29th in the world) joins the team, as does Italian Chiara Teocchi (28 years old, 18th in the world). Accustomed to the podium, Graf and Teocchi will be alongside young Swiss Noëlle Buri, already present in the Team last year, who will fully integrate the Elite races this year.
The team will make its international debut on the UCI MTB World Series Whoops circuit, during the two South American races in Brazil, the weekends of 5-6 in Araxà and 11-12 April 2025, before returning to Europe with the races in Nove Mesto in May and Leogang in June.
