Bye bye!
YT confirm the news that Aaron Gwin (and Neko Mullaly) are indeed departing the race team. No confirmation yet where they’re going though.
“Thank you for three glorious years of World Cup Racing, historic firsts, epic victories and a lot of lessons learned. Demonstrating that YT can succeed on a global stage, proving doubters wrong and establishing the YT MOB on the circuit. Thank you for the good times Aaron & Neko! Now is the time to go back to the core and take the gained knowledge to our roots. Pass it on to the next generation, identify the next Young Talents and redefine the rules once again. Let the journey begin!” – Markus Flossmann, CEO, YT Industries
Posted by YT Industries on Friday, December 21, 2018
“Thank you for three glorious years of World Cup Racing, historic firsts, epic victories and a lot of lessons learned. Demonstrating that YT can succeed on a global stage, proving doubters wrong and establishing the YT MOB on the circuit. Thank you for the good times Aaron & Neko!
“Now is the time to go back to the core and take the gained knowledge to our roots. Pass it on to the next generation, identify the next Young Talents and redefine the rules once again. Let the journey begin!”
– Markus Flossmann, CEO, YT Industries
Story from October 31st 2018…
Has Aaron Gwin just confirmed he’s leaving YT?
“But things happen I guess, wasn’t my decision”
In comments on an Instagram post, Aaron Gwin appears to confirm the rumours that he’s leaving YT. Let the rumour mill go into overdrive!
>>> Three times Aaron Gwin made our jaws drop
@aarongwin1: “@xxxxx haha thanks man, the [YT] Mob will stay where it’s at though”
@aarongwin1: “@xxxxx haha welll that doesn’t mean I’ll be part of it, just that it’s [the YT Mob] staying. Regardless, my program next year is gonna be epic. I’m very excited about it.”
@xxxxx: “@aarongwin1 oh man I thought you hand picked the [YT] Mob. Well good luck, you’re the man and can’t wait to see where your journey leads you!”
@aarongwin1: “@xxxxx ya I did. But things happen I guess, wasn’t my decision. Thanks tho buddy, lookin forward to it for sure.”
If he’s going, where is going?
There are three main teams that have been mentioned in the internet rumour mill of late: Trek (again), Specialized (again) and Intense. There has also been mention of Scott but that looks increasingly tenuous.
However, as startling as it may sound, most people’s money appears to be on Aaron Gwin riding an Intense for the 2019 World Cup season.
This would actually tick a lot of boxes. They’re an American brand. They’re one of the longest standing 29er fans in the DH scene. Intense are seemingly on and an all-or-nothing push to reinvent themselves, so money may not be too much of an object.