Any post-Olympic year sees significant shifts in the team landscape for mountain bike racing, and 2024 is no different. One of the biggest changes underway is at Trek, both the elite Factory team and its development Trek Future arm, where several top riders are aging out. But that doesn’t mean they’re staying with Trek.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of that shift is Scott-SRAM, which today announced the signing of Trek Future riders Bjorn Riley and Emilly Johnston for 2025 on two-year deals. Heading into their first year in the elite ranks, both riders join Andri Frischknecht, Filippo Colombo, and the legendary Nino Schurter, injecting some youth into one of mountain biking’s most successful teams. They’ll also keep the team’s North American connection going, as former World Champion Kate Courtney has announced her departure.
Along with these two new signings, Nino Schurter has extended his contract for another two years with the team. Having joined the team in 2002, this will take him through a remarkable near-quarter century on the team, a partnership dating back to his last year as an U23 rider. In a press release issued by the team, the 10-time World Champion said, “I’m incredibly proud to be entering my 23rd season with SCOTT-SRAM. This team is much more than just a team to me it’s a family. Together, we have already celebrated many unforgettable experiences, and I look forward to many more adventures with my teammates.”
Riley and Johnston – who have both proven themselves on the U23 world stage – represent a fresh injection of young talent for Scott-SRAM, whose youngest rider was previously Colombo (who will turn 27 this week). With a change in team also comes a change in equipment. Scott’s Spark XC sits at the opposite end of the XC spectrum from the Trek Supercaliber and both riders will need to adapt to the longer-travel, more progressive-geometry Spark.
If you follow mountain biking at all on social media, you have more than likely been fed some of Riley’s outrageous riding reels on Instagram. The 22-year-old American can seemingly do whatever he turns his hand to on two wheels, with descending skills that defy what you think is possible with only 100 mm of travel. Away from the World Cups where he already achieved a victory in both Short Track and XCO at the Haute-Savoie round this year, Riley has a clear passion for art. This has led to a creative collaboration with Scott in the shape of a custom frame celebrating his national champion status.
Johnston, a two-time Canadian U23 national champion, had a stellar final year in U23, pulling off her first World Cup Short Track victory along with several podium finishes in XCO and a bronze medal in XCO at the World Championships in Andorra. Her 2024 season makes Johnston one of the most promising young female talents stepping up to the elite ranks.
Thomas Frischknecht, Team Director of Scott-SRAM MTB Racing said, “I am very excited about the future of the Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team. We started in 2002 as a development team (with Nino, of course), and today we want to pay more attention to young talent again.
“With Emilly & Bjorn we now have young blood in the team who show our future prospects. However, this is without losing the proven guarantors of success who have built up the team’s legacy over the past two decades.”
I got to talk to both riders about joining one of the most iconic teams in XC World Cup racing and getting to better understand these rising stars of the sport.
Alex Hunt: What was it about Scott-SRAM that drew you to the team?
Emilly Johnston: There are not many times you get an opportunity to join Scott-SRAM. The team never changes. It’s such a family, and I think being a part of a team that feels like a family is just so important for me because on last year’s team, we were all super close. It makes it way easier to perform and you get to learn from the best in the world and the best of all time it’s a pretty incredible opportunity.
Bjorn Riley: For me, it felt like there was a lot of creative opportunity for some things that I wanted to do outside of cycling. They proved to me that there’s a lot of opportunity to do some cool stuff with the brand, so for me, that was a really big thing.
I think [Thomas] Frischknecht, the way he goes about everything is pretty insane. He really puts his whole heart into the team which for me is obviously massive. I felt that I connected with him on a really deep level. When you join a team like Scott-SRAM, which is so tightly knit, you join Nino, Andri and Filippo. It’s pretty wild because, you know, the team’s never really changed and they’re always at the top of their game, so no matter what happens, we’re gonna learn a lot from them, on and off the bike.
AH: What do you see as the biggest opportunity that being on Scott-SRAM provides you?
EJ: Being able to go into elite on one of the best teams in the world is so massive because you get to learn so much from the people around you. I get to feel confident in the equipment, the setup and the way they do things. I have always got so much to learn, the amount of learning that I can do to become the best all-round athlete that I can be.
BR: For me, it’s sort of the same. I think there are so many aspects to talk about on why I’m so excited to be riding for Scott-SRAM and also working closely with [both brands]. On the cycling side, I feel like a lot of the people we were racing against in U23 were on factory contracts when we were on a development team, and that’s not to say that the development team wasn’t amazing. We had a lot of support there and they really focused on making sure we did the best we could for the World Cup.
But now being on one of the top teams, anything we wanna try we’re able to. Now it’s really about going above and beyond and trying to find that extra one per cent. That’s super exciting because I think that’s a way for me to get out of my comfort zone and push myself and the equipment. I feel comfortable already, but we could try something else to see if I feel better about it. That’s super exciting. The racing now will be insane. I think wearing a Scott-SRAM kit will give me a lot of confidence and I feel like with confidence comes good results.
When I signed, I kind of wanted to sign with the team or a brand where I’m never gonna leave. I wanted somewhere I could stay until I retired and then move into a job where I could help that brand. With SRAM or Scott, I could work with them on more of a creative aspect and like Emilly was saying, they’re so open to trying so many new things with us it just really excites me.
AH: How do you see the challenge of switching teams in the year you make for the jump to elite?
BR: It’s super motivating to switch teams [in the] first year [for elites]. Our previous team [Trek Future Racing] was only U23 so we knew that the change was coming, but I think it was exciting the whole year. I mean, exciting and stressful. I think it’s gonna be a good first year and they’ve made it really clear that they’re always here to support our development and help us learn. They just want us to learn as much as we can and ride bikes as fast as we can, but they’re always gonna be there to help teach us.
This year was pure euphoria, almost like there wasn’t anything that went horribly wrong. There are some things I’m bummed about, but whatever, that is what it is. I think next year is going to be a pretty big kick in the head but that’s pretty fun.
I think after a kick in the head, you really get to know who you are. So, I’m really excited to get my head kicked in. Hopefully, in the end, I’m able to prove that there’s a reason why we’re on Scott-SRAM and we’re gonna deal some damage to them.
AH: Have you spent much time on the new equipment yet?
BR: I’ve been on it for 10 days. I think the positioning on it is very different, so it’s taken a lot to get used to, but once I got used to it, I feel a lot more relaxed on the descents.
EJ: I got to ride the Spark earlier as my contract was over in October with Trek Future Racing and I didn’t have a bike, so Scott was nice enough to get me a bike for Mont-Sainte-Anne [the final World Cup round – Ed.] on some very short notice on my part. So I’ve been riding it for a long time and it’s been super fun.
On the Trek, it would be like you would go to bunny hop a section of roots or pull off a natural feature – it wouldn’t even have to be a jump – and then you would brace for landing because out here we come’ and there’s never a bottom on the Scott. That’s not to say the Trek was bad, Trek was also a dope bike.
AH: The Trek Supercaliber and Scott Spark take very different approaches to XC bike design, will the Spark change how you approach races?
BR: Part of what I was struggling with –which I think contradicts kind of what people think of me–was on the technical climbs. I felt I wasn’t tracking well enough with my rear wheel, so I’d lose a lot of power and no matter what I did power-wise, the bike couldn’t keep up with the front guys.
Maybe that was my skills plus just my form or something, but I noticed already with Scott, that I can be a lot more fluid on those sections. It’s not really going to change my tactics, but it makes me a little more relaxed when those sections come. I know I can actually be there instead of, opening up a small gap.
EJ: Now we can kind of mob the descents. I’ve been pushing myself too hard on the descents, so I just keep crashing. It’s my fault, I’m just like, ‘I can go faster.’ I’ve never crashed so much in the offseason because I just keep trying to go way too fast for what I can ride. So I’ve got to tone it down.
AH: Have there been any other notable equipment changes for you?
BR: For me, the pedals, and the HT pedals were really interesting because they’re just super tight and the Time pedals are like the complete opposite. They’re a lot looser and easier on the knees, but I think after a while I really like HT pedals. So that was a big change for me too.
AH: Have you got any specific goals going into 2025?
BR: I think if Les Gets is still one of the World Cups on the circuit [it is a goal]. I know that’s my favourite course and I always do well at it. That’s I guess why it’s my favorite course. I’d want to try to podium there or a top 10, I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. I found out from Emilly that it’s not top five anymore on the podium. So maybe that’s a little bit too big of a leap for me, but, I mean, also if I get 20th, I’m still pretty hyped.
Other than that, nationals for me and the Brazil World Cup and then, if I’m feeling good at the end of the season, I’d like to kind of hit the last two World Cups pretty hard because that’s where I think a lot of people fall off, but I fell off this year there, so we’ll see.
AH: Is there anything in particular you are hoping to learn from the master himself, Nino Schurter?
BR: I feel like there are almost too many things. He can teach us pretty much anything that we need to know about cycling. I assume he knows where all the good wine and food is in South Africa. So I guess that’s a start for me. And then, yeah, keep your chill to start, then start zoning in for the World Cup, and then I’ll ask him World Cup questions.
AH: If we’re looking beyond 2025, where are you hoping to be after a year in elite, where are you hoping you can position yourself in the field?
EJ: I think to be consistently in the top 15 with some top fives would be my goal. I would like my first year to be as much in the top 20 as possible and hope for some more like that. In the first couple of years, some consistent top 15s or top 10s would be nice.
BR: I’d like to be consistently in the top 15 and then same with Emilly, like if I could get some podiums next year, that would be pretty dope, but that’s a stretch. I think it’s also one more like you take it as it comes because you just have no idea.
I was lucky enough at Worlds to have all raced together to see kind of where you could slot in with the elites. It was a bummer for our actual race because it wasn’t very fair for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, but it was nice to know that I could ride in the top 20 and with faster lap times if I don’t mess up that first lap or get quite as stuck in traffic as I did that race.
AH: How are you feeling about stepping up to the Elite Short Track as well as XCO?
BR: For me, that’s probably the thing I’m most excited about. I love short track, I grew up racing it when I was a kid every Wednesday of the summer and that’s why I fell in love with cycling. Short tracks are my favourite, I love it.
I think I can do better there than I can do in the XCOs, especially for my first season. I think it’s more based on positioning and following wheels that you know are really good at going through the pack. If I prove myself to the leaders in the first few races that I’m a good wheel to follow, and I earn that respect, hopefully, I can do pretty well on those, so I’m so excited to tussle with people. I really like that kind of close-up and super-tight racing because I think that’s where I sometimes shine.
EJ: For me, maybe not quite as well, I’m really excited for them and I had a really good year of short tracks this year. The short track was my better half, which is not normal for me, but I think I still struggle with positioning sometimes and feeling so comfortable in the group because I hadn’t raced as many short tracks. I think every race I get better at it and so it’ll just be really fun. I love how fast they are. Short tracks are like the best part of the weekend. They’re so exciting.
AH: Can you share what projects you might have planned with the team off the bike?
BR: I always wanted to build my own or make my own custom frame with my own art and they made that possible. That got me hyped up. I’m not in school, so I feel like learning something for when I retire would be valuable. That’s where they’re saying that they want to really help with some video project stuff and that means that I can work with the people that I think I can learn a lot from so that in the future I can be the person directing all that stuff.
I really wanted to do a custom bike since I was a kid. I remember always putting mockups on my old bikes I always kind of dreamed of doing that and then I guess being natty champ, they told me that they could design the bike or I could design it. I was pretty scared because I had no clue. Putting something on a bike compared to on a canvas is super different because the ratio is a lot smaller, so you can’t have something too big because it’s tacky, but you can’t have something too small, because then it’s just a waste.
Riley and Johnston will join the rest of Scott-SRAM for a training camp in South Africa in February before lining up for their first races for the team later that month. Ahead of the first World Cup of the season, both riders will take to the start of the South Africa Cup Paarl February 23 and the Internazionali d Italia on March 16-23.
Riley and Johnston’s first UCI World Cup will be in Araxá, Brazil on April 3–6.
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