Carlson, the team’s lone rider specializing in E-bike competition, went two-for-two at the Cannonball MTB Festival, the biggest gravity mountain bike event in Australia. More than 600 riders competed for a share of a $100,000 purse over five days of racing. Riding his Reign E+ team bike, Carlson won both the All-Mountain and “Flow” races in the men’s E-bike category.
“The E-Bike All-Mountain race was first up early in the week, followed by high-speed, eye-watering corners in the E-Flow race,” Carlson said. “I’m super happy to come away with the win in both events. My Reign E+ worked fantastic all week and felt amazing.”
Vezina was in the U.S. to race a round of the SoCal Enduro Series in California. Racing his Reign Advanced Pro 29, he was able to take the win in warm, dry conditions. “It was a smaller event, but a few of the locals are top-notch talent, so it made for a tight battle on some physical tracks," he said.
XC Season Opener
Meanwhile, Indergand was representing the team’s XC squad in Europe. The Swiss rider kicked of his race year with a win the cross-country event at the Karaburun MTB Cup in Alayna, Turkey. Indergand was there with the Swiss national team and went into the race familiar with the terrain having also won there last year.
“I knew the course, it has a ton of corners and not much climbing,” said Indergand, who rode his new Anthem Advanced Pro 29 to take the win. “I knew if I wanted to win, I would have to go half a lap or maybe even a full lap full gas to make a few seconds on my opponents.”
The 30-year-old made his move and dug deep to hold off the chasers. “The new bike helped me a lot with the higher efficiency and less weight to accelerate out of the corners,” he said.
Conditions were slick from rain earlier in the week, but Indergand, wearing his Giant Rev Pro helmet and Charge Pro shoes, handled the conditions well and went on to take the win.
Three Races, Three Wins for Giant Factory Off-Road Team!
Monday, February 14, 2022
Teams/Riders
A new race season is underway for the Giant Factory Off-Road Team, and the first victories of 2022 are starting to roll in. Australian Josh Carlson, Canadian Mckay Vezina and Swiss rider Reto Indergand each brought home their first wins of 2022 at different events around the world.
Carlson won two E-Bike events at the Cannonball MTB Festival in Australia, the All-Mountain and Flow races. @wesleylonerganphoto
Carlson has his first two wins of the year. @wesleylonerganphoto
Vezina opened his season with a win at the SoCal Enduro Series in California. Chris Vezina photo
Vezina on the podium with his winning bike, the Reign Advanced Pro 29. Chris Vezina photo
Indergand rode his new Anthem Advanced Pro 29 race bike to take the win in Turkey. Photo courtesy Velo Alanya
The Swiss squad was using the Alayna event for some early season race preparations. Photo courtesy Velo Alanya