This weekend, the World Cup is heading to the iconic destination of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The legendary 1199 trail, featuring big jumps, steep chutes, and hectic rock gardens, will be used as the World Cup DH track for the first time. Whistler also happens to be in Norco’s backyard, so this is technically the Norco adidas Race Division’s home race. To mark the occasion, the team is going all in with custom-painted frames and a new race kit.
The Norco adidas Race Division (NaRD) consists of Gracey Hemstreet, Bodhi Kuhn, Danny Hart, and Lina Frener, and is coached by the GOAT, Greg Minnaar. The Norco team riders will be attacking the rough and unrelenting 1199 track in search of gold on bikes custom-painted with the “gold treatment”. According to Norco, “The bikes are layered with a deep colour flake, contrasted between violet, ‘frozen lemon’, and ivory, with gold flakes catching the light in the sun. An extra detail is tucked under the shock: a special call-out to each team member who contributed to racing this year.”
Bike Check
- Frame: Norco Team DH
- Fork: Fox 40 Factory
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Factory
- Drivetrain: Shimano Saint M820
- Brakes: Shimano XTR M9200
- Rims: Crankbrothers Synthesis DH
- Hubs: Chris King
- Stem & Handlebar: Raceface Atlas
- Saddle: SDG I-Fly 2.0
- Pedals: Crankbrothers Mallet DH
While the paint jobs certainly look pretty cool, perhaps the most interesting thing we noticed is the team’s DH frames. These are very clearly not the Torrent DH frame the brand launched earlier this summer. That’s obviously not a Horst-link suspension layout, and the difference in frame shape, along with the addition of an idler, points to a completely new DH platform. In fact, Norco hasn’t been keeping this unreleased bike much of a secret; it was just featured in NaRD’s “All Hands on Deck” video that came out a couple of days ago (see below). It seems the Norco team has been testing it most of the season and will be racing it again this weekend.
Matching Kits and Adidas Shoes?
Additionally, the NaRD team is getting new race kits that match their custom frame paint jobs. These new kits also strongly emphasize the classic adidas 3-stripe logo, with stripes that extend down the arms and legs all the way to the shoes. Yes, the shoes.
The NaRD team appears to be showing off some unreleased adidas mountain bike shoes, the same shoes that adidas has been teasing recently on its social media channels (see below). With dual BOA dials, those definitely look like MTB shoes, although the prominent 3-stripe branding and small 5-10 logo are a step in a different direction for the brand.
Clearly, neither the NaRD team nor adidas is intent on keeping these new shoes completely under wraps, but these pictures are really the only images we’ve seen of them thus far. We’re looking forward to learning more about them, and we’ll share that info when we do. In the meantime, be sure to tune in to the World Cup action this weekend. It’s sure to be an exciting time for all the racers in Whistler taking on 1199.