The Santa Cruz Rockshox team needs no introduction, a parterre of athletes at the top of their class combined with performance mtbs that make this team a major player in the xc world cup.
That is why we at Sprayke have chosen to support such an important team, where every little detail has to be perfect, and where even seconds, or so-called marginal gains, can make a difference.
It is precisely thanks to the technology developed over the years and grown through company know-how that we can provide this important mtb team with all the support it needs to excel during the World Cup and the upcoming Olympics, where two of the athletes on the team, are currently the likely holders of the blue jersey.
Let’s get to know the Santa Cruz RockShox team together.
How did the idea of creating the Santa Cruz Rockshox team come about.
The Santa Cruz RockShox was born from a long journey of growth that started almost two decades ago. From a group of enthusiasts who created a small amateur club that soon became one of the provincial and regional references, capable of welcoming more and more members also from neighboring provinces and regions. A continuous evolution, but always growing. Both in terms of numbers and in terms of quality. Bigger and bigger goals and many dreams in the drawer that soon, one at a time, with a lot of dedication, patience and thanks to a lot of help from our partners, we were able to achieve. The first year riding Santa Cruz was 2019, in fact the first team in history taking part in the world cup and major world and continental cross country competitions, riding the California brand. In the third season we led Santa Cruz to take its first victory in an XCO World Cup race with Luca Braidot on the track of Lenzerheide (SUI) and a week later to take its second victory as well, on the track of Andorra thanks to an incredible one-two punch by Luca Braidot who a few weeks later also took world bronze.
Since that incredible 2022 season, many other companies in the industry have approached us, RockShox in particular, and this has allowed us to grow further, raising the bar in terms of internal organization and staff as well as allowing us to start investing in a new and so far unprecedented project in the world of international mountain biking: The Cycling Nes
Who are your top athletes?
Our top athletes are the 6 bikers who make up the Pro Team. Luca Braidot (reigning Italian champion in the Open men’s category), Martina Berta (reigning Italian champion among Open women), Sara Cortinovis (reigning Italian champion among U23 women) and Nadir Colledani (Open men). From this year we have two new international additions: Brayden Jonhson (reigning U.S. champion in the U23 men category) and Norway’s Petter Fagerhaug (Open men). But in our Devo Team we have many young up-and-comers who we are sure will be able to make their mark in some of the international trials on the calendar.
Tell us about a typical day for the team on the race courses.
Generally, our trips are quite elaborate, with attention to detail and often involve several days of travel. The staff has to think about organizing all the logistics and travel, the team managers and coaches about organizing the athletes’ days and appointments. For a World Cup race in Europe usually the staff leaves as early as Wednesday to have everything ready on the race course by Thursday when the athletes arrive for the first reconnaissance. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the times when we all get together, except on race days where each athlete and mechanic has different schedules depending on the races on the schedule (conditioned by their category). Athletes’ schedules and commitments are conditioned by a thousand factors, location, race schedules, weather, training programs. In short, it is difficult to describe exactly a real “typical day.” Let’s just say that this helps us not get bored! Race days are the most hectic. But everyone has their own tasks and knows exactly what they have to do. From the cooks to the masseurs, from the social media manager to the mechanic, everyone follows instructions that are defined in the many meetings that are done on a daily basis.
There are many of us, and it is crucial to be coordinated because at these levels it is the little details that make the difference. Once the last race is over on Sunday the athletes can finally relax, but the staff cannot. You have to be quick to dismantle the paddocks and get back home because all the equipment has to be checked and prepared for the next trip, which is often a couple of days later.
How important is bike maintenance during the season and especially during the world cup?
Bike care is perhaps the most delicate part of all the work behind a world cup team. Consider that our mechanics disassemble and reassemble all of our athletes’ bikes at least three times over the course of a cup weekend. This is necessary both to switch between different set-ups-having to race both XCC and XCO-and to have maximum reliability from the components under the most stress during races, which are then continually replaced and inspected.
What product do you use most from the Sprayke line?
Cleaning and lubricating the parts of a bicycle requires a lot of care and attention. This is why our mechanics use all products from the Sprayke line without any particular distinction: cleaners, lubricants and protectants. Data in hand, however, we can say that the products that are the most popular in this period are Super Cleaner, Pulisuper, Pulifren and Lube 1…but it is clear that the increased consumption of these specific products aimed at cleaning and lubricating the chain comes from this first part of the season often characterized by adverse weather conditions that thus force our mechanics and extra washing cycles than usual.
