Rider X...




Belgian mountain biker Roel Paulissen will make his return to the Cannondale fold in 2007 after signing a two-year agreement with the Cannondale-Vredestein Mountain Bike Racing Team. The 30-year old, who lives in the Italian South-Tyrol, last raced aboard a Cannondale in the 2003 and 2004 seasons as a member of the Siemens-Cannondale team.
Paulissen returns from a successful 2006 campaign that saw him take a bronze medal in the World Championships mountain bike marathon, the Belgian marathon national title, and a seventh overall in both the World Cup cross country ranking and the UCI final individual ranking.
In addition to Paulissen, the Cannondale-Vredestein team for 2007 consists of New Zealander Kashi Leuchs and Swede Fredrik Kessiakoff, who finished third in the cross country World Championships.
“With Paulissen, we have landed a world class racer who can certainly lend the team an extra impetus,” said team manager Jan ten Tusscher.
The talented Dane, Jakob Fuglsang, winner of the 2005 espoirs World Cup, has extended his contract for an additional two years. Like Paulissen, he is assured of a place in the team through the 2008 Olympic Games.

We've just spent the week in Frejus, southern France, for a tire testing session with Vredestien.
Each day they made us ride lap after lap on a set course that contained a diverse amount of riding situations, doing many laps. We had to think hard to determine what we liked... with 3 new tread patterns and 4 different compound combinations, it was not always so easy!! We also tested all our other favourite tires for direct comparison.









Discussing the tires with our new team mate... rider X (until Jan 1st :)








The hills near Frejus are very beautiful, and still warm at this time of year. We had the full team setup, inc. mechanic and soigneur!







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And our own film crew for the upcoming real life tv show...




Two of the proto types for the Black Pantha and the Bullock. Instead of rushing to supply us with a tire last year, Vredestien have put a huge effort into getting things right. Its paid off, as these tires are already truely awesome. Just a few small revisions based on all the feedback and they will be available March... just in time for us to start winning races on them !!!