Athletes
Knight to Sponsor Novus OMX Pro Team
Jan
When we embarked on our journey into off-road, we tested every competitor wheel on the market – the wheels we knew we would be compared to and challenged by. Wheels designed by engineers we already had a lot of respect for, who earned it by constantly innovating to make better products. That’s where we set our benchmark, and so finding the right team to compliment that intent, to train and race on our wheels and offer solid feedback on a global level, was absolutely paramount. The young men and women at Novus OMX Pro Team told us they wanted to become the world’s number one XC race team by Tokyo 2020, beginning by chasing places at Rio and winning races on the World Cup circuit and other important events, and this totally resonated with our small team here across the pond in Oregon. The drive to win is, of course, very important to have in your heart if you’re striving to be a champion, but it’s also important to go out every day on the bike knowing you can depend on equipment that will give you that edge, no matter how long you’ve been in the sport. So that’s what we hope we can bring to the table for OMX and we couldn’t be more excited to be their partner for 2016 and beyond.
Knight have produced the fastest road wheel in the World, and now their brand new line of off-road wheels is set to be released, with Novus OMX Pro Team becoming the first mountain bike team with the honour of racing on them.
Knight is a company whose characteristics and ambitions resonate with our own: to be the best. Quality and passion combine to make truly remarkable, World-leading wheels which will be ridden by our World-class athletes.
Paul Beales, Manager at Novus OMX Pro Team, is excited by the prospect of working with Knight.
“Knight Composites in a company formed from some of the World’s leading specialists who have come together to produce extraordinary wheels; to have them as a sponsor of Novus OMX is a real privilege. Not only do we have their expertise behind us, but also their dedication in helping us to be the best.”
For OMX it is highly important to give our riders the best equipment and the best support. The relationship between OMX and Knight is a new one but we already feel that we have both of these key factors from our new partners.
We very much look forward to rolling out on Knight wheels in 2016.
Together, #weareOMX.
About Novus OMX Pro Team
The History
The Beginning:
Novus OMX Pro Team began life in 20014 when Paul Beales and Will Cooper set up a small shop team in Essex, England. Over the next ten years the team grew from a local group of friends to national recognition and then onto international and professional success.
British Champion, Olympian and member of the Novus OMX Pro Team, Annie Last, will be riding on Knight Composites wheels in Rio 2016
The now:
At the start of 2015 the team rebranded from ‘Orange Monkey’ and became OMX Pro team, with Novus as the title sponsor. The team took a big step up, with new riders, new staff and a new goal for their team: to become the number 1 ranked team in the World by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Last year (2015) was a huge success for OMX as we really established our name on the World stage and climbed to an incredible 12th in the UCI team rankings which put us amongst some of the biggest names in the sport.
The future:
2016 has already seen another leap towards our goal, with the signing of Annie Last (Profile on omxprobike.com). In this Olympic year there will be a continued focus on qualification for the Rio Games, with Annie, Shlomi, Mariske and Cherie all gunning for places. The World Cup will be another major feature of the season, with Annie looking to get back onto the podium. Again we are looking to grow the team, the OMX brand, and all of the sponsors we work with. We want to be one of the biggest names in cross-country mountain biking, and that dream is coming ever closer!