Cannondale Factory Racing has officially wrapped up more than three decades of World Cup mountain bike racing, and Cannondale is giving the program one final sendoff with What We Leave Behind, the last episode of its Fresh Dirt series.
The film isn’t really about results, even though CFR has plenty. Instead, it focuses on the people who made the program work: riders, mechanics, coaches, staff, families, and the behind-the-scenes team (like Lefty Larry) that kept one of mountain biking’s longest-running factory teams moving from one World Cup to the next.
If you’ve followed mountain bike racing for any length of time, there’s a good chance Cannondale Factory Racing is tied to at least one era of the sport you remember clearly. And unfortunately, that run is over.
More Than 30 Years at the Front
Cannondale’s factory-backed mountain bike program dates back to the Volvo-Cannondale team in 1994 and eventually grew into one of the most recognizable programs in World Cup racing.
Over the years, the roster included riders like Tinker Juarez, Missy Giove, Gunnar Shogren, Marco Aurelio Fontana, Manuel Fumic, Henrique Avancini, Maxime Marotte, Alan Hatherly, Mona Mitterwallner, Simon Andreassen, Charlie Aldridge, and Jolanda Neff.
The bikes were usually just as recognizable as the riders.
Cannondale racing was where the Lefty got pushed at full race speed, where Scalpel development happened under actual World Cup pressure, and where some wonderfully odd Cannondale ideas went from engineering experiments to race-winning equipment.
CFR wasn’t just a logo and a tent in the paddock. For years, it functioned like a traveling R&D department with number plates. Tech-nerds like us loved visiting the CFR compound on the World Cup circuit; you never know what you’d find.
No Mistake – CFR Was Still Fast
The strange part about Cannondale shutting the program down is that CFR wasn’t fading away.
The final roster of Luca Martin, Charlie Aldridge, Cole Punchard, Jolanda Neff, and Ana Santos was still competitive right through the end.
Aldridge closed Cannondale’s World Cup run with an XCO victory at Lake Placid after a season that also included European titles and World Championship silver medals.
Not exactly a farewell tour from a team limping toward the exit. That makes What We Leave Behind hit a little differently. This wasn’t a program that ran out of speed or talent.
Cannondale Factory Racing – What We Leave Behind
The final Fresh Dirt episode looks past podiums and race results, focusing on everything that happened between them. Years spent traveling together. Mechanics keeping bikes alive between rounds. Coaches and staff working behind the scenes. Riders coming through the program and carrying what they learned into the next part of their careers.
Factory teams are easy to reduce to results because those are the numbers we can see. What’s harder to quantify is how much knowledge gets passed between riders, mechanics, engineers, and staff over decades of racing.
Where Will the CFR Riders Go?
The end of CFR dropped one of the strongest XC rider groups onto the transfer market. Most didn’t stay available for long. But it’s not just the riders transferring teams; the entire staff is looking for a new home, and some have already found it.
Luca Martin & Cole Punchard Go To Decathlon Ford Racing
Luca Martin and Cole Punchard are headed to Decathlon Ford Racing on two-year deals beginning in 2027.
The move is interesting beyond the riders themselves. Decathlon Ford is also entering a new technical era with Van Rysel, including the team’s 32-inch-wheel XC development program.
Martin arrives as one of the biggest names on the men’s circuit, while Punchard made a major jump during his first elite season. Both should play an important role in Van Rysel’s push deeper into top-level mountain bike racing.
Charlie Aldridge & More Move To Thömus Maxon
Charlie Aldridge is heading to Thömus Maxon on a two-year deal through the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
But Aldridge isn’t the only part of CFR making the move. Former Cannondale Factory Racing team manager Phil Dixon (and sometimes commentator) is joining Thömus Maxon as sports director, while Kenta Gallagher moves over as race coach and test rider.
Thömus isn’t simply signing one of Cannondale’s top riders. It’s bringing over part of the actual racing structure that helped support CFR. Aldridge will arrive with people who already know how he trains, races, develops equipment, and works through a World Cup season. For a rider changing teams after the closure of a long-running program, that kind of continuity could be a major advantage.
It’s also a notable shift for Thömus Maxon. Aldridge becomes the first international rider in the Swiss team’s history, joining a roster that includes Swiss Nationals Alessandra Keller and Mathias Flückiger.
Jolanda Neff Goes to Fenix-Premier Tech
Jolanda Neff is joining Fenix-Premier Tech for 2027 on a two-year contract.
Neff’s move to a multi-discipline team makes a lot of sense. Fenix-Premier Tech gives Neff room to keep racing mountain bikes while opening the door to road and cyclocross. It’s a huge setup that already knows how to manage riders who move between disciplines.
For Neff, who has raced at a high level across MTB, road, and cyclocross, it gives her more options than a World Cup-only calendar.
Ana Santos is Still TBD
That leaves Ana Santos. As of today, the Portuguese rider has not announced a team for 2027. She’s the final piece of the CFR roster still waiting for a confirmed destination.
What Happens Next for Cannondale?
Cannondale isn’t disappearing from mountain biking, but its approach is changing.
The company plans to launch Cannondale Rogues in January 2027, moving toward a broader program involving racers, creators, community figures, and riders across mountain biking and gravel rather than maintaining one traditional World Cup factory team.
Maybe that turns into something great. It still isn’t Cannondale Factory Racing, and with the historic American HQ in Wilton, Connecticut, closing, I don’t have much optimism. But only time will tell. Pon. Bike seems to be restructuring all its holdings, and Cannondale isn’t the only one. Juliana Bikes was another to be unceremoniously dismissed this year, now absorbed into Santa Cruz Bikes….
Once CFR, Always CFR
There will be no more CFR tent or tweaks on familiar jerseys on next year’s World Cup start line. No more wondering what odd Scalpel setup is hiding in the pits under a mechanic’s towel.
It’s going to take some getting used to, and to grieve over.
What We Leave Behind is a good reminder that a race program doesn’t completely disappear when the last number plate comes off. CFR’s expertise and influence will now spread to the world’s best teams. This lets them keep using the knowledge gained at CFR over years of racing at the top.
The riders move on. The mechanics and coaches bring what they learned to the next team. Engineers carry ideas into the next bike. Fans will remember the good and bad times. Thirty-plus years leaves a pretty long trail. The racing might be over, but the spirit of Cannondale Factory Racing will live on forever.
