Swiss mountain bike pioneer Thömus hits the road

Patrick Bardelli

17.3.2025

Translation: machine translated

With the new Thömus road bike "Sliker R3 Ultimate" and six riders, the Swiss mountain bike team Thömus maxon is launching its own road programme. The project is intended to prepare the riders for the ever faster MTB races and at the same time stimulate them physically.

As Thömus writes in a press release, the team wants to constantly offer its athletes new opportunities for further development. Stimuli via international road races are an important piece of the puzzle.

"Our aim is to prepare our riders for the ever faster and more tactical MTB races. The short tracks in particular are often all about tactics, positioning and reading the race correctly. Riding elbow to elbow is a completely different challenge than in the past, when MTB races were often decided in two-man sprints at most," says team boss Ralph Näf.

With Bruno Diethelm's expertise and a new road bike

The head of the new road project is former Swiss national coach Bruno Diethelm, who has been the sporting director of the Thömus Akros Youngstar team since this season. According to a press release, Diethelm will support the team with his extensive expertise and wealth of experience. For the time being, the team consists of Mathias Flückiger, Lars Forster and Vital Albin (all Thömus maxon), as well as Romano Püntener, Nicolas Halter and Loris Hättenschwiler (all Thömus Akros Youngstars). So far, appearances on the UCI Europe Tour are planned.

The team says it rides all its road races on the new "Sliker R3 Ultimate" road bike. According to Thömus, the new bike is lighter and more aerodynamic than its predecessors and has geometry adapted to the latest standards. "I am delighted that we can offer our riders the opportunity to try out and develop in a new environment. "The switch from mountain biking to the road and back will be an exciting challenge and a great benefit for all athletes in many respects," emphasises Sporting Director Diethelm.

MTB riders can regularly be found at road races. For example, Jolanda Neff and Filippo Colombo from Switzerland. However, an MTB team switching completely to the road in addition to the trails is something of a novelty.

Patrick Bardelli

Senior Editor

Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.ch

From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.

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