On a day like yesterday we are reminded how blessedly small the world of mountain biking is. The announcement that Gwin has signed for Specialized, and not Trek as most people, including Trek, thought he would caused uproar. There were angry press releases talking about legal action, people denouncing Specialized as immoral and general confusion about what the hell a letter of intent actually is.
Stopping to take a look outside our little world the response to this calamitous news was resounding indifference. Here in the UK, the BBC website had nary a mention of the MTB drama, opting instead to give precedence to
a lady who races around an oval on a fixed-wheel bike having a baby. The only mountain bike news in sight is the reporting on the genuinely tragic death of
Burry Stander. What the BBC website also has is a whole section devoted to Formula One, a sport many of us here at Pinkbike are fans of. In that world, this kind of team jumping doesn't even raise an eyebrow. It's not unheard of for a team to buy a driver out from the middle of a contract, let alone after a mere letter of intent, a document holding the legal weight of a damp towel in the face of a well-funded legal team. Rumours fly about such letters, will the current champion, Sebastian Vettel,
move to Ferrari at some unspecified point in the future? There's a whole legal soap opera behind the scenes and it's fun to watch and speculate on occasionally, but again, it's all part and parcel of the F1 race scene.
Would I as a mountain biker want to live in that world every day though? In a word, no. One of the things I like about mountain biking is that it's not a big, serious corporate sport. The very fact that this signing has generated so much debate is reassuring that our little world remains just that, little. Maybe this is an omen of a world to come for us. While it is nice to see our sport grow, can we keep that sense of community for just a bit longer, please?
There is another side to this small-town world, a negative one. Collectively we seem to forget that racing is a job and that companies want the best possible representatives for their products. Racers have short careers, a limited lifespan that could be cut short tomorrow by injury. In skateboarding they talk about
The Window, the golden time between 19 and 24 when skaters can do great things. Even legends like Eric Koston today merely limp on in the shadow of his former self at his peak, brief months of other worldly brilliance they can now only imitate.
Gwin clearly saw a job he wanted more than the one he was being offered. Whether it was a financial, technical or moral decision, we may never know, but how many of us would truly walk away from a better job? It's his employer he left, not his family. If Specialized needed a lead rider and felt Gwin was the best possible ambassador for their products, why not take an opportunity to sign him? There's also an argument that Trek World Racing were foolish to tout his position on the team as solid before pen had touched paper. None of it matters at the end of the day, Trek will find someone else to lead their team this year, Gwin will ride a different bicycle and we will all continue to focus on the cursory instead of the meaningful. Why does the drama always take centre stage?
Look at a rider like Matti Lehikoinen. He's had the worst luck in mountain biking, the form he showed back in 2007 has never returned. Each time it looked like he was finding that pace, something brutal knocked him back down again. A friend ran into him pre-season testing in Spain last year, recovering from his latest stomach-churning crash. I'll never forget the creeping feeling of horror I felt as my friend described how Matti had to have an emergency tracheotomy to stop him drowning on his own blood there at the side of the race course. How he even got back to race a World Cup after that is nothing less than inspirational, yet no one is addressing that.
The brutal truth is that Lehikoinen never found that pace again. CRC wanted him to lead their team and he couldn't, he didn't. Simmonds and Smith both out-performed him. When it came time to choose their new lead rider, CRC made the decision that they needed someone who they were sure would be at the sharp end of the field, and Matti was dropped. In all the talk about Sam Hill moving over, I saw barely a comment about Matti, it seemed accepted as part and parcel of the reality of racing. Trek are a successful company and their racing program is strong and well-funded. They will deal with this and you'd be a fool to bet against seeing one of their riders on the top step of a podium before too long. So why is there more comment when they lose a rider than when a man who deserves our full respect loses his ride? It was just a job, right?
Aaron Gwin and Matti Lehikoinen are two sides of the same coin: one riding high on record-breaking form, the other slowly slipping from view, weighed down by the screws, plates and strips that rebuilt his broken body. If we can easily accept the harsh realities Matti and riders like him face, we should understand why Gwin is making the most of his fragile moments at the top of our sport.
Nothing bad happened, no trails got shut down, nobody got physically hurt, and nobody quit the sport because of it. Sure people talked some crap on the internet, but it hasn't affected the sport in any negative way, and relatively few people read it all anyways. Most people are just reading and writing stuff for entertainment anyways. And whats this crap talk about losing a sense of community? People sharing ideas with each other about why Gwin left Trek is in itself the embodiment of a community. And most of the exchanges are polite, people haven't been cussing at each other or anything like that.
Nothing Happened! Quit gettingall sentimental and pretending the sport has lost it's soul, or it's not the same anymore just because one racer switched teams. Nothing changed, mountain biking is just like it used to be.
Drop the "holy'er than thou" and admit that while riding rules, talking bout racing and rumors is also fun.
^^^yes that is a metaphor^^^
Our sport needs badly real journalism...those that can get out and find stories where you have no clue they are, so people get on it....
As for Matti, I'm a huge fan of the guy always have been, always will be. I talked to him in Whistler once after the first major injury, he and I both have broken our necks and seeing his out look and seeing him back on his bike helped me a lot. I love this sport , I love bikes and how they make me feel when out for a ride with good friends. No matter what, Job or not in my idealistic mind this should be about fun. Matti will come back again he'll continue riding and that's what I want to remember. If you wanna ditch teams and take the big money, make childish internet videos to tell every one what your doing, go ahead. all the best to you in the future, but everything you say will be taken with a heavy grain of salt from now on.
P.S. Protour has always had a way of getting under my skin, hes turned me from a rational being to a raving lunatic on a couple of occasions, Thank you Protour for keep us all in check. Thank you for for having an honest opinion, even if it makes me want to strangle a kitten from time to time.
I can't fault him, he obviously got a better deal. Nothing wrong with that. Loyalty is not its own reward, and he has a limited window to make money from his skill set, capitalize and .
its far too easy to say money or not, because you're on the not side, biking for most is a passion, not for the pro's; it is a job. I would do as he has done, because from a job perspective I would do it.
Gwins money hungry and wont admit it, lost alot of respect for him. Thought he was a stand up guy
It reminds me of all the football fans over here getting upset when the star player moves on - yes, it is gutting, but the players are doing a job and that's the end of it. People go massively over the top because they care about the team. It's pretty funny when some foreign superstar moves on and they are accused of being mercenary - didn't seem to bother many when they moved to the club in the first place! Mountain biking is the same - we care about it and associate riders and teams. We have an emotional connection to them, but life will go on - just look at the Athertons and Commencal!
A #1 place on a funded team, more money from spesh? oh - should I stay or should I go now? If I stay it will be trouble... if I go it will be double!!
ja baby.... Gwin for the Win!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q30G67w0iPM
and last but not least... you think spesh would get into this girls fight knowing they would loose? nope. (sorry only pun meant about the girl fight, like in those american movies...)
Another point many haven't touched on is the fact that Trek World Racing (TWR) and Trek are independent entities. The simple fact that TWR has Trek in their team name, along with the recent cry-baby behavior in response to Gwin's departure, should have Trek ishtting their pants because TWR is now dragging Trek's name through the mud, especially with the angry (or passive aggressive, i havent decided yet) responses in the past few days from TWR which include "legal action" and the youtube video.
Poor form, TWR - you should have taken the high road. And all i see over the interwebs is people bashing "Trek", and not TWR. Trek may have a valid reason to sue TWR for causing this. Or, it could be that Trek is letting TWR dig their own hole. Then it gives Trek the perfect reason to cut ties with Whitely and company.
Poor poor form, TWR
Looks like they're coming down from their temper tantrum. That, or Trek watched it.
You're right though man the barel is a legend, and he won it during his injury i reckon if u look at that crazy brace he was rocking
That article should have been called: Was Gwin obligated to leave Trek because Trek knowingly sponsored a doped Lance Armstrong?
Pretty sure Specialized never sponsored anyone with that kind of resume. People inside Trek knew he was doping but let the con act continue because they thought he would get away with it and because they were making alot of money.
Props to Gwin for rejecting such a bad association, I'm sure he feels alot cleaner now.
I don't really care one way or the other, I would do the same for more money or better conditions or whatever. Loyalty works both ways and they'd drop him just as quickly as he dropped them if he failed to get the results or did something they didn't like. And from what I've seen of him in interviews, Martin Whitely seems like a right c*nt. I wouldn't want to associate with him.
One thing I think is quite funny is that Specialized didn't really need him. Hill left, but I think Troy is going to give Gwinner a run for his money this year, and have the beating of him in two to three years. Troy is the next big thing. Sam is over the Hill and Aaron won't keep on Gwinning for much longer. In fact, hes already stopped hasn't he?
And Aaron serms such a great bloke, I believe he is resistant towards offers of easy publicity. I dont want to see his own series like ( with all the respect Clay) 12 episode Atherton Shore
Speaking as a man who has employed people as well as being an employee I strongly feel a person has a right to make those decisions privately for his own reasons.
Nothing gained by "setting the record straight" for anyone.
How about if it wasn't a big deal in the first place, you don't make it sound like one? Then, you won't get that kind of reaction from the Pinkbike community.
Good old fashioned marketing does work sometimes then,
I'll think you'll find many of the 'off to sell my Demo' posts were to be taken with a pinch of salt. ;-)
Demos are still awesome after Hill and Sessions are still one of the best bikes available after Gwin.
No but they can pretend they know what Integrity means.... We all know everything when we're young.
There is more evidence to support him moving on because he no longer wanted to be associated with the brand that is now tainted by Lance Armstrong. Gwin looked up to Trek bicycles when Lance was wining Tour de France's. I'm sure Gwin is disgusted with the Lance lie, and has probably figured out Trek knew Lance was doping all along but did nothing cause they were making tons of money selling Trek road bikes that Lance was racing. It's understandable, if not commendable, for Gwin to want a fresh start and reject Trek for profiting off of a lie for so long and not dumping Lance sooner.
Lance might have shit on the Trek brand, but Gwin flushed it down the toilet.
This is all Trek's own greedy fault, and they deserve it for what Lance forced them to do to the Lemond brand
I mark this issue as a new era of MTB internet media: when mountain bikers got something new to troll on than carbon fibre, gearboxes and wheel size. This takes all forms of entertainment. Congratulations to Team Rumors, you've made history!
Therefore I wish to sing this to all deeply concerned with the matter:
Trolo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo looooo, trollo lo llo lo llo lo llo llooo llooo llooooo, ho ho ho ho Ho!!!
Why else would he leave? I don't think he would have left for more money alone, especially not after signing a letter of intent. I also doubt Specialized is paying him
more, and now he has to get used to a new bike and team.
What changed AFTER he signed the letter of intent is that Lance went from hero to zero once the USADA report emerged, then Trek finally dropped Lance. But then Gwin realized he should dump Trek because they are a tainted company who made some bad decisions to make a profit. Good for him. Hopefully he'll talk about it tomorrow and you can hear it straight from the horses mouth.
protour, stop babbling
Better yet, how about someone explain to me why Lance WASN'T a factor in his leaving Trek? What evidence do you have?
Please tell me when a Formula 1 driver was last bought out of their contract?! It was Raikonen, who was payed out by his *own* team a few years ago. And that caused a pretty big stir! It's not common in F1 for drivers to be bought out of existing contracts. It doesn't happen like the article makes out.
The fact that this has caused a stir has done the complete opposite of reinforcing the idea that we're still a small community. When contracts, deals and money become a talking point, you know a sport is growing.
But nice rationality to Gwin's move etc.
www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1253729
This was indeed a great article to read.
At that point it would have cost him just a phone call to Morgan Hill, to find out what he possibly would be missing out on...
I totally understand Whiteley being bummed about this. Not only is Gwin gone now (sure he got his reasons, but for similar reasons couples get divorced, cause the grass seemed greener), but the whole atmosphere between the pits will be screwed, and I don't necessarily blame 23degrees.
I'm not hating on Gwin here, because apparently he's not pro enough, but Specialized for walking over dead bodies... I think they just got kind of a nasty thing started...
Shhhh.. don't tell them that or they're be a widespread DH racer strike and they'll be after 50% of the manufacturers profits before they start racing again.
Btw. Full respect for Matti but still thinking that Aaron should inform TWR little bit earlier. On the other side the big team like TWR should know that is only a letter of intent not a contract especially when you have the fastest rider in the world.
Aaron Gwin says, “I did not breach any contract”
I'm writing this public note to hopefully shed a little light on what's actually going on with my move to Specialized.
Reports that I broke my contract with 23 Degrees/Trek World Racing are false. My contract expired. The one-page letter of intent I signed said there would be a “full length contract” with “precise terms” coming in the future. The 16-page contract that showed up in late November was not signed by me because it was not the deal we had made. I have moved on to a team that gave me the contract I wanted, and these are the facts.
The press reports are inaccurate, unfair, and one-sided. Because 23 Degrees has hired lawyers and threatened to sue me, my lawyers have told me not to say anything for now.
While riding for Trek, I lived up to my contract and gave them my 100% effort and full commitment. I intend on doing the same for Specialized.
As for now, I want to let my fans know that my offseason training has been going great. I love my new bikes and I'm more excited to race this year than I ever have been. Big thanks to the Specialized family for such an amazing opportunity and support.
I hope everyone understands that I cannot talk any further about this at this time, but I felt like I needed to clear the air a bit, without getting too much into the legal stuff.
Thanks to all the fans who have stood behind me.
AG
"Aaron Gwin says, “I did not breach any contract”
I'm writing this public note to hopefully shed a little light on what's actually going on with my move to Specialized.
Reports that I broke my contract with 23 Degrees/Trek World Racing are false. My contract expired. The one-page letter of intent I signed said there would be a “full length contract” with “precise terms” coming in the future. The 16-page contract that showed up in late November was not signed by me because it was not the deal we had made. I have moved on to a team that gave me the contract I wanted, and these are the facts.
The press reports are inaccurate, unfair, and one-sided. Because 23 Degrees has hired lawyers and threatened to sue me, my lawyers have told me not to say anything for now.
While riding for Trek, I lived up to my contract and gave them my 100% effort and full commitment. I intend on doing the same for Specialized.
As for now, I want to let my fans know that my offseason training has been going great. I love my new bikes and I'm more excited to race this year than I ever have been. Big thanks to the Specialized family for such an amazing opportunity and support.
I hope everyone understands that I cannot talk any further about this at this time, but I felt like I needed to clear the air a bit, without getting too much into the legal stuff.
Thanks to all the fans who have stood behind me.
AG"
in aarongwin.hookit.com
CASE CLOSED.
The real issue is, was Gwinn a total dick to Trek by not giving them an option and leaving them hanging just before the season starts? Or did Trek kill the goose that laid the golden world championship by being a dick themselves and short changing Gwinn on his contract.
Yes, its drama, drama that continues to unfold. I do agree with the article that it's not such a big deal in the real world. It will all be forgotten by Monday
Matti will always have a place in WC.
seriously, who cares. go ride your bike, skis, board or sled. rest up/chill out. have a nap. forget the sponsorhip and teams and marketing and brand hype and mountain bike media coverage - its just bikes - and a better experience when done simply as possible with no hassles
ps all this BS is a very good reason not to buy Trek or Spec
pps - who is all selling your brand new $9k Session 9.9 now lol fanboys
Like I've said before he's doing what he feels is best for him, just as any of us would do, even if it means breaking and agreement with TWR, and that's what he should be doing. TWR is pissed, and maybe rightfully so if they thought they had some kind of agreement, and they to are doing what's best for them by reacting the way they are. I think we all see riding as a hobby but for the top level riders its a career and for teams its big business and this kind of thing goes on in business all the time. It just hard I think for the recreational rider to equal a fun hobby to the hardcore business aspects of it.
My 2 cents.
PS. I don't think Mattis' on the same coin...I don't really see the relevance. Sorry!
As for Gwinn going to Specialized, I think the reason why this story has been so huge is because it's undoubtedly exposed the sheer tenacity of the big brands. Mountain Biking is often portrayed as a counter culture movement, but in terms of Trek/Specialized they have a very firm bottom line - Aaron Gwinn is an American rider and he offers the brands something the US has not had since the days of Shaun Palmer and Tomac.
Gwinn has been criticised for going against his alleged word - people generally find loyalty to be an admirable trait. Arguably people feel let down as he appeared loyal, humble and honest. The reasons for his move are unclear, but there does seem to be a public perception that he went purely for financial reasons, and this harms the image he has cultivated.
AARON GWIN SIGNS WITH TROY LEE!!!
www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/Aaron-Gwin-to-Sport-Troy-Lee-Designs-Apparel-and-Protection,710?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fb_like
and you can say "its only business" all you want. doesn't change a thing. more isn't always better.
this s#!t happens in professional sports man. Don't sweat it, your bike needs your attention, not Aaron Gwins contract situation.
Peace to all my PB homies and keep having fun your bikes...
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them"
He may not have been legally committed, but would Gwin like it if at the last minute Trek had pulled the deal?
You'd be a fool to think no one on Specialized was doping along with the Trek and Lance teams. (dumb argument)
Money talks and people walk....that is all.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9079332
Lol
youtu.be/Q30G67w0iPM
In my opinion they didnt seem interested, they are much more interested in generating accessory sales its the only incentive they offer. I once saw their mechanic confused by something on a bike in store, he had to go and look round other bikes in store to figure out the problem. Not inspiring.
i mean..they just want to higher kids who know diddly squat and have more chance of f*cking the bikes up than fixing em
I'd drop a £50k/year job for minimum wage and basically unlimited free bike/kit repairs etc; and I'm sure a lot of people on here would do the same.
Racing is a commercial enterprise. Money is the whole point. That's not a negative point in any way, it's just the way things are. Hell, even Pinkbike.com is here to make money. There's no point pretending that sponsorship of (top level) DH racing is for the love, or the thrill. It's for the $$$.