IN BRIEF
BMC announced on 28 October that it is closing its cross-country mountain bike factory team, BMC Factory Racing. The team has four elite riders: Jordan Sarrou, Loana Lecomte, Titouan Carod and Luke Weidmann. The 28 October announcement says nothing about their plans for 2027. The Swiss brand is redirecting its budget towards women’s road racing and gravel, while continuing to support the Swiss team Bike Team Solothurn in the World Cup.
For those most affected, the news is already several months old: BMC states that riders and staff had been told as early as spring 2026. The brand only made it public on Wednesday 28 October, by email.
BMC Factory Racing, from Loana Lecomte to Jordan Sarrou
When BMC Factory Racing was created, the brand presented Loana Lecomte alongside Jordan Sarrou, a former cross-country world champion, and Titouan Carod, a multiple French champion. This trio still makes up most of the squad today, completed by Luke Weidmann.
Amaël Moinard, BMC’s Head of Sports Marketing, pays tribute to the team’s journey: “Running a factory MTB team has been an incredible journey, filled with memorable victories, strong emotions, and remarkable consistency.”
Heading for women’s road racing and gravel
BMC presents the decision as a strengthening of its sports marketing. The brand wants to enter women’s road racing, a step it itself describes as “long overdue”. It already sponsors the men’s second-division team Tudor Pro Cycling. As of 28 October, BMC’s press release had not yet named any partner women’s team, but the brand states in it that it has already taken “the appropriate and exciting steps” to correct its absence from the women’s peloton, “with an official announcement to follow soon”.
The other priority is professional gravel, with series such as Gravel Earth, the Lifetime Grand Prix and the Nordic Gravel Series. On the mountain bike side, BMC states that it continues to sponsor Bike Team Solothurn, a Swiss team based near its headquarters that competes in the cross-country World Cup.
Another team calls it a day
Before BMC, other brands closed their mountain bike teams this year. Cannondale announced in May that it was ending its race team, and Lapierre-PXR stopped abruptly this autumn. For Loana Lecomte, Jordan Sarrou and Titouan Carod, the 2027 season is still to be written.
