NEW 'CANYON X DT SWISS ALL-TERRAIN RACING' TEAM LAUNCHED

• Introducing The Wildcards, a new discipline-free approach to off-road performance.

• First race for the team at Santa Vall, Girona, this coming weekend.

Embargoed until 11:00h CET, Thursday 12 February, 2026 — Global bicycle brand Canyon, together with long-time partner DT Swiss, is proud to announce the launch of Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing – a new professional off-road racing team built to reflect how modern racing is happening today.

Nicknamed The Wildcards, the team brings together 13 riders from five nationalities, spanning gravel, ultra-endurance, cyclocross, marathon mountain bike, and beyond.

Rather than focusing on a single discipline or race format, All-Terrain Racing (ATR) is designed around adaptability: racing across different surfaces and distances in pursuit of performance wherever it leads.

What is All-Terrain Racing?

Cycling is moving fast. Gravel isn’t just gravel. Ultra-endurance has expanded the idea of what a cycling race can be. Even road racing is branching away from pure tarmac. At the same time, the athletes pushing the sport forward increasingly move between disciplines, racing across formats rather than specialising in one.

All-Terrain Racing is Canyon’s response to that shift.

Rather than creating a team for a single category, Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing takes a discipline-free approach to off-road performance, embracing the full spectrum of modern racing. From short, high-intensity efforts to multi-day endurance challenges away from formal competition, ATR is built around the belief that endurance, judgement, skill, and resilience matter as much as outright speed.

This way of racing is already visible at the top of the sport, with multi-discipline Canyon athletes like Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse redefining what it means to be competitive off-road. ATR formalises that reality into a team structure – one that reflects how riders race, train, and think today.

Meet the team: The Wildcards

Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing is made up of riders who arrived in the sport through different routes, often outside traditional development systems. Some transitioned from cyclocross to gravel, others from short-track mountain biking to marathon events, ultra-endurance, or long-distance off-road racing through the night. Few followed a single, linear pathway.

That outsider energy is central to the team’s identity. In cycling, a wildcard sits just outside the established system – invited in, not protected, free to race without a script or the same pressures as bigger teams. For ATR, the nickname reflects both the riders’ backgrounds and how they approach competition: adapting to what unfolds, playing the race in front of them, and earning their place through performance and execution rather than expectation.

Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing roster:

• Alex McCormack (Great Britain)

• Bradyn Lange (USA)

• Caro Schiff (Germany)

• Frederik Raßmann (Germany)

• Jade Treffeisen (Germany)

• Jasper Ockeloen (Netherlands)

• Jordan Schleck (Uganda)

• Juri Hollmann (Germany)

• Larissa Hartog (Netherlands)

• Luca Dreßler (Germany)

• Marei Moldenhauer (Germany)

• Mathijs Loman (Netherlands)

• Nele Laing (Germany)

Team manager: Vincent Durand joins Canyon to run the Wildcards team, having previously made his name managing the highly successful BULLS Racing Team – a long-running fixture in cross-country and marathon MTB racing, and a unit known for their cohesion and commitment to the wider community and the sport.

Rider quotes

“What we’re doing now keeps it fresh. I’m always switching bikes and preparing for something different, and that’s when I enjoy racing the most. Gravel and endurance mountain bike complement each other really well – it makes the whole thing more fun.” – Bradyn Lange (US gravel national champion)

“It's an honour to be in one of the first all-terrain teams. 2025 was hard for me with injury and body problems so my goal is to be healthy and find my rhythm this season. I’m thankful that
Canyon supported me
throughout and never
pushed me – that’s not
normal in professional
sport.” – Carolin Schiff (Unbound Gravel winner in 2024)

“I always like to be at the front of the change instead of following. We have a big advantage with this professional structure. Unbound is one of the biggest goals of the team, and as a team there we have a big advantage. We can play tactics and work together. That excites me.” – Jasper Ockeloen (pioneering gravel privateer)

“I worked at Canyon in the factory in the past. I left with the goal that it would be really cool to return as a professional. And now I’ve managed it.” – Mathijs Loman (2025 UCI Gravel World Series Overall Winner)

“If there was a stat for turning pro having done the least number of races, I think I’d have to be up there... it’s pretty crazy and hasn’t quite kicked in yet.” – Alex McCormack (Atlas Mountain Race Winner 2025)

“I was really, really close to being one more [dead cyclist] — the plus one. The doctors said it was 50/50 whether I could make it back to cycling. I thought: if it’s 50%, I don’t want to stop without trying.” – Juri Hollmann (who suffered terrible injuries from a crash at the Giro d’Italia 2025 and is slowly recovering to return to racing)

* More quotes available on request. *

Racing calendar

The team’s 2026 season begins at Santa Vall (14-15 Feb), the opening round of the UCI Gravel World Series – a natural first test for the Wildcards on Girona’s diverse gravel network.

From there, the racing builds quickly toward the team’s main gravel objectives, including The Traka and Unbound, two of the most competitive and influential events on the global gravel calendar.

ATR’s ultra-endurance riders, Alex McCormack and Marei Moldenhauer, will also line up in the longest distances at these events – such as Unbound XL and Traka 560 – before heading into multi-day off-road epics including Tour Divide and the Mountain Races.

Alongside gravel and ultra-endurance, the team will also compete in cyclocross, marathon mountain bike, and other off-road formats throughout the season. Guest riders from across endurance sports will be invited to join the team for select races and performance-led challenges that sit outside traditional categories. This is where the Wildcards’ philosophy will play out at the farther reaches of the sport.

The full race calendar will continue to evolve as the season unfolds and will be shared on the team’s Instagram channel @canyon_ATR.

Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing will compete on a range of different Canyon Factory Racing (CFR) bikes, depending on the demands of the terrain and discipline being raced. The team will not only race and train on DT Swiss wheels but also has the option for a specific suspension fork, the F 132 ONE, which was specifically developed with Canyon for the use on the Grail CFR.

Talking of which, Canyon’s Unbound and Traka-winning gravel race bike, will be the main all-terrain machine of choice for the team’s riders, although the likes of Marei Moldenhauer, Alex McCormack and Brady Lange will regularly be using Canyon MTBs such as the Exceed CFR or Lux World Cup CFR in ultra-endurance and marathon mountain bike races. These MTBs will be equipped with the most modern DT Swiss mountain bike wheels and a full suspension setup to meet the demands of the longest and toughest courses around the globe.

All bikes will be equipped with Shimano's premium components, ranging from DURA-ACE and XTR to the gravel-specific GRX. And all featuring Di2 for fast, electronic shifting.

The team’s striking new jersey design is from Ryzon, taking inspiration from the team’s all-terrain racing approach and riding in the wild. Replica kit will be available for purchase in the Spring.

Beyond competition, Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing will operate as a rolling R&D test lab for both Canyon and the team’s material partners, bringing product development closer to racing than ever before.

Across gravel, ultra-endurance, cyclocross, and MTB, bikes, components, and prototype setups will be tested under the full range of stresses modern all-terrain racing creates – long-duration fatigue, variable surfaces, weather exposure, and repeated high-load efforts.

Canyon engineers and Wildcard riders will work in close feedback loops, combining rider experience, performance data, and race outcomes to iterate equipment faster and more precisely than traditional development cycles allow. A key component part to this process will be Canyon’s long-time gravel privateer Pete Stetina, a renowned product tester who will serve a key role in linking the needs of the team’s riders (alongside a mentorship role) and Canyon’s mechanics and engineers. 

By opening up this development process to the public, Canyon and the team’s partners aim to show how products evolve in response to real racing demands – refining durability, efficiency, comfort, and handling as racing itself continues to change.

Canyon × DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing is built around a simple idea: fast goes anywhere. Across gravel, mud, snow, and rock. Across disciplines, distances, and directions. A pack of Wildcards, thrown into the elements. Not defined by one surface, one distance, or one rulebook. Racing everything.

For more information, follow the team at @canyon_ATR.

• Canyon: Team owner, co-title sponsor, and supplier of the elite-racing Grail CFR, Exceed CFR and Lux World Cup CFR team bikes, and Tempr racing shoes.

• DT Swiss: A leading manufacturer of high‑performance bicycle components known for precision, reliability, and innovation. As a first time official naming partner of a professional bicycle team in its 31 year history, DT Swiss will provide the team with top-of-the-line wheels and suspension including GRC 1100 DICUT 50 wheels and the F 132 ONE Gravel fork.

• Shimano: High-performance component sponsor. Supplying Di2 groupsets ranging from DURA-ACE and XTR to the gravel-specific GRX groupset and premium pedals.

• Coros: Supplier of the team's navigation devices, watches and heart rate monitors.

• Schwalbe: Supplier of the team's gravel and mountain bike tyres in various sizes and models.

• Ryzon: Supplier of the team's performance and casual clothing.

• Abus: Supplier of the team's Taipan gravel helmet.

• Ergon: Supplier of team saddles and bar tape.

• Dynamic: Supplier of bike care, cleaning supplies and tubeless tyre products.

• Topeak: Supplier of team mechanics' tools, bike stands and team bottle cages.

• Maurten: Supplier of team performance nutrition.

• H20 Audio: Supplier of team headphones.
• BOA: Supplier of dialled in BOA fit systems on performance and casual shoes.
• Sunlight: Supplier of team camper vehicle.

1. Embargoed until 11:00h CET, Thursday 12 February, 2026

2. For additional images, see here.

3. The team's first race will be at Santa Vall, Girona between 14-15 February. For media interview opportunities, we welcome contact from journalists.