Cannondale Factory Racing bolsters lineup with new blood

Simon Andreassen and Alan Hatherly have signed with the Cannondale Factory Racing mountain bike team for 2021. The two former World Champions will focus on the UCI Mountian Bike World Cup series, World Championships and the rescheduled Olympic Games. 

Andreassen won the first round of the 2020 World Cup XCO series in Nové Město, Czech Republic, and is a former junior XCO and cyclo-cross World Champion. 

Hatherly placed fifth at the second round of the 2020 World Cup XCO series, also in Nové Město, and is the former U23 XCO World Champion and e-bike World Champion. 

The two young riders will join Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic to make up the four-man Cannondale Factory Racing squad. Andreassen and Hatherly will also target the Absa Cape Epic in Hatherly's native South Africa in October. 

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“It’s with such excitement and honor that I am joining Cannondale Factory Racing," said the Danish Andreassen in a team news release. One of those scenarios where reality beats imagination. It’s a complete game changer for me - especially after being on the first team camp and seeing how professionally the team works and how much fun we have together.”

Hatherly expressed a similar sentiment, saying, "I can’t wait for the season to commence and to get racing on the new machine with some big goals in place for the 2021 season. I’m confident that I’m going to level up and learn in this space which is also really exciting.”

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In October, the team announced that Maxime Marotte would not be riding with the team in 2021. It has since been announced that Marotte is joining the Santa Cruz FSA team. 

Avancini and Fumic will certainly be able to provide a helping hand to their new young teammates, as both riders have stood on World Cup podiums and together have competed in five Olympic Games. 

“Having Alan and Simon on board for 2021 and beyond, alongside top-ranked Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic, was the next logical step for CFR, said team manager Daniel Hespeler. Simon and Alan are 2wo of the most promising up-and-coming riders from the U23 and already delivered Elite World Cup podium performances in 2020. Every single rider on the team has been a World Champion in their careers already. We expect some great things from this new team composition and the fun and laughs we had at the team camp are a good indicator to be on the right track.”