CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING TEAM – IT’S A GAME CHANGER USING A HYDRATION BACKPACK

With the top riders onboard the team, Henrique Avancini (Brazil) and Manuel Fumic (Germany), the Cannondale Factory Racing team is one of the best mountainbike marathon dual teams in the world.

At the Cape Epic race in 2019 they were the only top team using hydration backpacks. Henrique and Manuel delivered an outstanding performance and finished in 2nd place. This was a game changer for using hydration packs in mountainbike racing, and we at USWE are damn proud to be a part of it.

In March, we meet up with the Cannondale Factory Racing team in South Africa during their preparations for the Cape Epic 2020, for product development. Unfortunately the Cape Epic race was canceled due to the Covid-19 virus, but the insights are here to stay.

This is an exclusive interview with the riders Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic, who talk about their experiences of using a hydration backpack in the race.

“We really really needed a good backpack for our races. To be honest I never heard about the brand USWE before. Once I tried it on I said: OK - this is spot on! This is gonna be great!

 The main benefit is allowing the rider to drink in places that you would not drink. If you take the bottle out of its cage and you drink and put the bottle back, it takes too long. And you probably gonna hit a few rough things. Which might cause maybe a flat tire or a crash. With a backpack you just take the valve and put it in your mouth and then you can drink and then release it with your mouth. It´s just way more comfortable and it pushes you to drink more throughout the race. You never really forget to drink, because of the tension you have with the race and the terrain. So it's easier to keep hydrated. ”

- Henrique Avancini

“Our team manager had a look at what´s available in the market for hydration packs and we ended up using USWE products. This is our thing, this is the best choice if we look into hydration packs!

That was kind of a game changer for us. There are so many positive sides racing with a hydration pack. One thing I want to point out is that sometimes when you ride in rough terrains or tough trails, it´s not that easy to grab a bottle you know.”

- Manuel Fumic

“As a top contender we focus on all key details and keeping our riders hydrated during a marathon race is extremely important. Being able to play with the combination of bottles and hydration packs, gives us more flexibility to dose the right amount of nutrition, without having to stop at every waterpoint. Choosing USWE was a no-brainer, they’re the number one pack on the market offering the perfect race-fit with their harness technology.”

- Daniel Hespeler, team manager Cannondale Factory Racing

“We’re extremely proud that Cannondale Factory Racing XC Team contacted us about their interest to run our packs. We love their attitude in racing, which is spot-on the identity of USWE. That’s why we joined up as CFR’s official bag partner, covering all their needs of performance packs and gear/travel bags. Together we’ll make new history”

- Jacob Westerberg, CEO at USWE