Some rumors had already started to circulate, but now the news is official. The decision, taken in agreement with the main sponsor Wilier Triestina, aims to focus on a discipline that is constantly growing, both from a sporting and media point of view, with the goal of establishing itself as one of the reference teams in the Elite category of the UCI MTB World Series.
"The decision to focus all our resources on Cross Country for the 2025 season represents a strategic choice for Wilier Triestina. Cross Country is a discipline that offers enormous visibility on a global level, embodies the excellence of off-road and fits perfectly with our vision of growth in the off-road world. This commitment demonstrates our ambition to become a point of reference on the international scene.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to Massimo De Bertolis without whom Wilier's entry into mountain biking would not have started 10 years ago, Fabian, Samuele, Daniel and all the staff who, in recent years, have given prestige to our brand with memorable victories and unforgettable moments", so declared the Gastaldello family.
A heartfelt thanks goes to the athletes of the Marathon team for the numerous successes and results achieved in recent years by Fabian Rabensteiner, Samuele Porro and Daniel Geismayr, as well as the tireless commitment of a top-level technical staff.
Fabian Rabensteiner, in particular, has made a name for himself by winning the overall classification of the last two World Cups, with stage victory at Nine Mesto in both years. The South Tyrolean athlete himself graduated European Champion in 2022 in the Czech Republic and was a protagonist at the Cape Epic in South Africa with a double partial success in both 2022 and 2023. This year, he also won the'Andalucía Bike Race paired with Porro, who in turn is coming off a splendid year, with the triumph at Dolomites Superbikes.
«A heartfelt thank you to all those who have made this extraordinary shared journey possible. A thank you that starts from the distant past, over 10 years ago, with Damiano, Ivan, Gioele, Walter, Michele, Johnny and Alexey, up to the last seasons with Fabian, Samuele and Daniel: together we have achieved incredible goals, giving us unforgettable emotions. It has been a privilege to have athletes of this caliber in our Team, not only for their extraordinary sporting abilities, but also for their human value. If the sporting chapter is closed, the human one, however, remains alive and strong: these guys represent a second family to me. A heartfelt thank you also goes to the staff, the silent engine behind the scenes that made these successes possible. Together, we have written a memorable chapter in the history of the Marathon. As for the future, the 2025 race calendar is being defined, with some new features and a clear goal: to aim even higher», declared the Team Principal Marco Trentin.
