End of the Santa Cruz RockShox Pro Team

It was one of the most widespread rumors this year and it has finally been confirmed. The Santa Cruz RockShox Pro Team, one of the most relevant in the XCO World Cup in recent seasons, will not continue in 2025. In its place, the Italian structure of MMTB Cycling, the base of the team, will transform into a new project with young cyclists.

The Santa Cruz RockShox Pro Team closes its doors

The Santa Cruz RockShox Pro Team started in December 2018 when the Italian company MMTB Cycling joined forces with the Italian distributor of Santa Cruz Bicycles, a leader at the time in gravity disciplines, to promote the brand in the XCO discipline.

This union resulted in 3 years of growth for the team and the brand until in 2021/22 there was a significant turning point with the direct arrival of Santa Cruz Bicycles USA and RockShox to the team. International figures in organizational and sports aspects joined the Italian structure, such as the signing of Maxime Marotte.

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The investment of effort, time, and money soon paid off, and in 2022 Luca Braidot gave the team and Santa Cruz their first victory in the XCO World Cup. That was in Lenzerheide, and 7 days later he repeated in Andorra. Here you can see in detail the first Santa Cruz with which a World Cup was won. From there, the team's successes were counted by weeks, including medals in World Championships, podiums in the World Cup, national titles in all categories, and a sudden rise in the world ranking.

This is how Francesco Bondi, director of the Santa Cruz RockShox team, remembered it, while explaining the end of the team's cycle:

"They have been incredible and exciting years. A long journey, far from being simple, that has allowed us to achieve unimaginable goals. But like all things, projects have a beginning and an end, and with the Olympic year 2024, our cycle with Santa Cruz in terms of the international team definitively closes. It will always be a source of pride, mine and my boys', the satisfaction of having given Santa Cruz the historic first victory in the XCO by Luca Braidot, as well as the world bronze in Les Gets, therefore, the two Olympic participations, especially in the Paris event where we were present with both Martina and Luca, who, let's remember, came close to a real feat. Too bad for that medal. He deserved it for all the effort we put into preparing for the event, as did all the boys on our staff who did everything possible to help Luca on his long preparation journey".

With this farewell, the team closes, but the MMTB Cycling staff warns that they are not closing doors, but preparing to start a new and equally ambitious project, divided into two fronts, rooted in The Cycling Nest, the team of young talents created by MMTB Cycling two years ago.

"We are defining all the details in these days - Bondi continued - in the coming months we will provide the necessary information. At this moment, we can only talk about renewal. We all need new stimuli and finding new goals was a fundamental part of the renewal process. We will start with the young ones, also taking advantage of our sector started with great success two years ago - The Cycling Nest - and we plan to follow a growth process that will allow us to return to the top of international mountain biking in a few years. In all this, Santa Cruz Bicycles Italia will remain by the side of the youngest, while for the growth and development project, for what will one day be the International Team again, we are defining a new collaboration".

Waiting for more information, with this statement it is understood that the current team members, such as Martina Berta, Luca Braidot, or Nadir Colledani, are released and we will see them wearing the jersey of other teams in 2025.