One of the big questions after Jeremy Powers’ announcement that the Aspire Racing program is ending is what team Ellen Noble would be racing for in 2018/19. During her two years with Aspire, Noble won U23 Nationals and a silver at U23 Worlds in 2017 and then finished second at Elite Nationals in 2018, making her one of the sport’s brightest young stars.
On Thursday, Trek Factory Racing announced it has signed Noble to its Cross Country team for the upcoming season. Noble will race in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cups this summer and then return to the cyclocross course this fall. Noble raced primarily on the road in 2017, but is now returning to her preferred summer discipline. She is a two-time mountain bike national champion and finished sixth at the 2016 U23 Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup in Canada.
Racing with Trek is not new territory for Noble. She was a member of the Trek Cyclocross Collective from 2012 to 2014 and won the 2013 Junior National Championship with the team.
Ellen Noble will be racing for Trek Factory Racing this coming season. photo: Trek Bicycles
In a press release from Trek, Noble commented on her new team:
“I am beyond excited to be joining Trek Factory Racing for 2018 and beyond. Going back to my roots and racing mountain on the team that I’ve aspired to ride for since I was young feels like such a blessing. I will be targeting select World Cups, as well as the National Championships. I am so thankful for all the support of my previous teams over the last few years who helped develop me to get to this point. I am very excited to begin racing for Trek again, and begin this new chapter.”
Noble will be joined on the Trek Factory team by Evie Richards of Great Britain.
Evie Richards will be back with Trek Factory Racing in 2018/19. 2017 World Cup Namur. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Richards, the U23 cyclocross world champion, competed in several U23 Mountain Bike World Cups last season and will be expanding her race schedule this year as a fully-supported rider. Richards commented on the upcoming season in the release:
“I am so excited to get this MTB season in full swing with my first pro contact racing for Trek Factory. It’s going to be a really busy year with the Commonwealth Games and two World Cups outside Europe, but I like being busy so I can’t wait! It will also be my first full World Cups series, which will give me the chance to race in so many amazing locations and enable me to learn from the team to be the best I can be on the MTB.”
Stay tuned for more on Noble’s new team and how she will be balancing mountain bike racing with her cyclocross career.
