Canadian bike company Devinci and their Spanish distributors XMS Racing Import have teamed up to launch a new downhill squad.
The five-man XMS Devinci World Cup Team will compete in the Nissan UCI World Cup, Maxxis Cup and other international races. They will ride Devinci's Wilson downhill bike with custom-made BOS rear shocks.
The riders are:
- Pasqual Canals: The Spanish rider with the best overall World Cup ranking in 2008 (16th position); came fifth at the 2007 World Championships in Fort William and second at the 2007 European Elite Downhill Championships.
- Toni Ferreiro: Came third at the 2008 European Juniors Championships and won every title in Spain last season.
- Xavi Cabau: Downhill marathon ace who won the Maxi Avalanche race at Kielder last year and was second junior overall in the series.
- Javier Guijarro: Junior rider who is a former Spanish BMX champion and has won two silver medals at the Spanish nationals.
- Andrew Mitchell: Defending Canadian downhill champion.
At the team's first outing, the Maxxis Cup in Gouveia, Portugal, last month, Pasqual Canals placed fifth, just 1/10th of a second behind Josh Bryceland and ahead of Dan Atherton. Javier Guijarro was fastest junior and 19th overall.
Devinci said: "With this new addition, Andrew Mitchell, signing we believe we will have some of the best racers out there to perform on our bikes. We're looking forward to see them compete in the first World Cup event of the year in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa."
