Vali Höll returns to the YT Mob and the four time DH World Champion hopes her second spell is just as successful
The Austrian rider is back after three years at Trek RockShox and joins a stellar line-up of riders for the '24 DH season
The YT Mob is heading into the 2024 downhill mountain bike season with what looks like the strongest line-up of riders it's ever had. After another dominant downhill World Cup year and three years after her first spell at the YT Mob, they are delighted to welcome back – Vali Höll, who will lead the team into the 2024 season in the coveted rainbow jersey.
The back-to-back elite DH world champion and one of the fastest names in downhill mountain biking returns to the team where her ongoing glittering career began. Vali signed for the team back in 2013 at just age 13, and in the six years that followed, she racked up two Junior World Championship titles and a world cup overall, before moving on to Trek Rockshox Race Team, and a successful three seasons adding two elite WC titles and a World Cup overall to her junior success.
YT's Mob race team made its comeback to racing last year after a two-year break at the end of the 2021 season. They returned with an expanded racing remit that went beyond just DH racing, with the YT riders racing in enduro, freeride and slopestyle events.
The return of Vali Höll is sure to be seen as a massive coup for the German brand and the downhill team looks sorted for '24 with former Junior World Champion, Oisin O'Callaghan, and Sian A'hern retaining their spots on the team. Vali along with her new teammates will ride the YT Tues, Vali is no stranger to the Tues and interestingly she has decided to complete her build with RockShox suspension and SRAM components, while Oisin and Sian remain on their choice of Fox suspension.
Vali Höll spoke about her excitement for the season ahead and her return to YT, “It’s amazing to come back into the family. I feel at home, and I can see how hyped YT is to push the race team. The next couple of years will be rad. The Tues was easy to get used to. It’s the bike I learned my basics on and made some great memories with in juniors. I’m happy to tackle something new. I could have stayed in my comfort zone and kept doing what I’m doing, but I think I’m at a perfect age where I can try something new and make the next step.”
The YT DH team are currently dialing in their YT Tues rides in Australia, before the season kicks off in the Scottish Highlands for the always epic and legendary Fort William World Cup in May. Keep an eye on the YT Mob YouTube and the YT and riders' Instagram channels to catch all the action.
Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.
Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2