The Specialized Factory Racing team will be bolstered next year with the signing of Burry Stander and Todd Wells to the squad, joining current World XC Champion Christoph Sauser.
32 year old Todd Wells regularly podiums in the World Cup XC series, with a 10th overall in this years series, and the Colorado-based rider was part of the US Olympic team that went to Beijing.
“I'm very excited about joining the Specialized Team,” says Wells. ”I started my career with Specialized, and it's great to come back home. In addition to riding with my current teammate, Burry Stander, I'm really pumped to ride alongside the current World Champion, Christoph Sauser, and once again work with my great friend, Ned Overend.”
Less well-known, but we're sure that'll soon change, is 21-year-old South African Burry Stander, winner of the under-23 UCI World Cup Series and a strong 5th overall in 2008.
The news is a big step for the young Stander, saying: “As a young rider, I am still aiming to achieve my full potential, and I feel Specialized has the team and the bikes that will get me there.”
The men's squad will compete on the new Epic, apparently the only full-suspension bike to win an XC World Championship.
“Burry and Todd will fit in perfectly,” says team manager Bobby Behan. “Todd is a proven talent on both the mountain bike and in cyclo-cross. Burry and Christoph raced as teammates in the 2008 Cape Epic, and at only 21, he has already pushed the World Champ to improve. We had to have him.”
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