Trek have re-signed slopestyle stars Cam McCaul and Brandon Semenuk for another two years. They will form part of a new mountain bike team called The C3 Project: Competition, Cinematics and Creativity.
The squad will also include Trek-sponsored freeriders Andrew Shandro and Rene Wildhaber, and as the name suggests, will focus heavily on video and photo work as well as slopestyle and dirt jump competitions.
“Trek are thrilled to announce this commitment to Brandon and Cam and the freeride/slopestyle scene,” said Michael Browne, Trek’s mountain bike global brand manager. “We’ve watched these athletes develop in ways we never imagined over the past few years – winning Red Bull Rampage, the Claymore Challenge and Crankworx Colorado, just to name a few – and we’re eager to see where this can go.”
While all of the athletes are part of C3 they won't exclusively travel as a team. "Every once in a while, we’ll be able to pull them all together for special projects," Browne told BikeRadar. "But they'll continue doing their own things.
"Both Rene and Andrew have been a part of 'movements' – Andrew as a founding member of the freeride movement and Rene at the front of the scene as enduro racing became more popular. While both of those formats are still developing, that’s the one area all of these athletes have in common – they're at the top of their game, participating in a rapidly evolving segments of the sport."
In 2008, Semenuk became the youngest rider to win the Red Bull Rampage aboard his Trek Session 88. Revered as one of the most extreme gravity competitions, Semenuk’s first place finish amongst a field of freeride veterans propelled him into the spotlight.
Semenuk jumping Trek's Ticket.
"I'm very excited to continue working with Trek over the next couple of seasons,” said 19-year-old, Whistler-based Semenuk. “I’m really looking forward to being a part of the C3 Projectand watching it take shape."
A long-time Trek rider and one of the best-known personalities on the freeride scene, McCaul has been a fixture at gravity competitions and in bike films since 2003. He’s also a regular instructor at Summer Gravity Camp, a week-long instructional skills camp founded by Shandro, held each July in Whistler.
McCaul sessioning his Trek Session 88.
“2010 will be my sixth full season riding Trek bikes,” said McCaul. “The last five years have been amazing, and it’s the best feeling ever to be staring through the sights of this shotgun with at least another two years loaded in the chamber. I’m looking forward to pulling the trigger on some really cool stuff this year, and I couldn't imagine doing any of it without a Trek between my legs. Giddyup!”
“The name of this new team is a nod to the non-traditional nature of the sport and will allow us to further embrace riders’ activities through new team paint schemes on Scratch, Session, Ticket and Remedy frames,” said Browne. “We’ll also be sharing the amazing footage we capture throughout the season on a new website that will go live later this spring.”
Semenuk and McCaul are featured in Anthill Films’ new feature-length production, Follow Me, to be released later this month at the 2010 Sea Otter Classic.
