Athletes
Georgia Astle
Georgia grew up in whistler and spent her winters snowboarding and summers out of whistler. It wasn’t until she discovered the bike park at 16 that she finally stuck around town and would become completely hooked on biking. She started coaching the local after school program, and worked in the park, while juggling other jobs and racing to keep the dream alive.
Since then she has made a career out of racing downhill and enduro to finally making the move to the freeride scene.
Kait Boyle
Kait LOVES moving in mountains, mostly on two wheels but also on skis and her two feet. She discovered the bike deep in a career in outdoor education and quickly fell in love with bikepacking which dominoed into pursuing long bikepacking expeditions around the world. That lead to racing to see if she could, which turned into wondering what her best looked like. She won a 24-hr World Championship, set records in self-supported ultras that rival the strongest men and then survived and overcome a traumatic car accident which has ultimately led her to where she is now - a passionate and dedicated backcountry mountain biker and ultra endurance athlete who rides to go deeper, connect to place and people, and expand her limits.
Through this journey she co-founded Bikepacking Roots, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to bikepacking, found her voice and passion as an advocate for wild landscapes, trails, and climate. She serves on the board of Mountain Bike the Tetons to advocate for trails and strengthen the mtb community. As one of the first Protect Our Winter Bike Athlete Alliance members she strives to be an effective climate advocate.
Off the bike she loves time at home in the Tetons with her husband, Will and their dog Hank.
Alexandera Houchin
Alexanderais a citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of the Lake Superior Ojibwe, and live in Duluth, Minnesota. She’s carved out a home in ultra-endurance bike racing. In 2023 she completed the Triple Crown Challenge—an arduous endeavor that spans more than 4,000 miles in a single season of racing. She’s a graduate of the Native Nation Rebuilders Program, a professional development program for Indigenous leaders and serves on several boards including Northland Foundation's Maada’ooking board and the Arizona Trail Association. She has set and still holds several women’s records across bikepack ultra-racing opting for a bike with one cog.
Cami Nogueira
Cami Nogueira grew up in Patagonia, Argentina, and now calls Bellingham, Washington home. A rider who rose to prominence by winning Proving Grounds back to back, she's at the top of her game and known for her all-out, attacking style of riding and her MASSIVE sends.
Kurt Refsnider
More than 20 years ago, 7th-grade Kurt entered his first mountain bike race at the Minnesota Zoo, and he's been hooked on dirt ever since. He's been enamored by probing mental and physical limits in multi-day ultraendurance events since the early days of bikepacking races, winning and setting records in some of the toughest mountain bike ultras in the United States – Tour Divide, the Arizona Trail 300 and 750, the Colorado Trail Race, the Iditarod Trail Invitational, and more. But experiencing new-to-him landscapes and developing a deeper understanding of those places is what really energizes and inspires him, whether that’s moving through those places at a rapid or relaxed pace. And rugged backcountry trails are where he loves riding the most. Beyond simply pedaling his bike, Kurt is a co-founder Bikepacking Roots, a cycling coach, a former geology professor, and an advocate for landscapes, backcountry trails, and climate.
Michael van den Ham
Michael van den Ham is a Canadian Off-Road Cyclist living in Chilliwack BC. Michael a former Cyclocross Canadian National Champion (2017, 2018, 2019), was the 2013 Canadian U23 National Champion, has earned multiple UCI wins, and represented Canada at the World Championships on 8 occasions. Since the birth of his son in 2023, Michael has transitioned away from the travel heavy discipline of Cyclocross to instead focus on racing gravel and MTB and has racked up wins at races like Paris to Ancaser, Rebecca's Private Idaho, and Oregon Trails in the process. In the fall, Michael still remains heavily involved in the CX scene through his role coaching Cyclocross with the National Team.
Steve Vanderhoek
My name is Steve Vanderhoek, I’m 36 and born and raised on the North Shore! I have worked as a career firefighter since 2012 and I love riding my bike. My passion is creating lines that push my riding, creativity and building skills. Im lucky enough to be married to my best friend and professional photographer Kelsey Toevs who always manages to make me look better than I am. I want to bring the community together through bikes and always keen to ride with anyone. More time on bikes, see you on the trails!
Alexey Vermuelen
Alexey grew up in Michigan and started racing through his grandfather (Opa) who had raced bikes in Holland before immigrating to Canada after WWII. He fondly remembers rides with him and his dad where he would be completely exhausted, but his Opa would motivate him to keep pedaling.
Alexey kicked off his career racing for AAVC, Priority Health and Bissell/ABG before deciding to defer college and continue racing for BMC's development team. From 2013 to 2015 Alexey lived and trained in La Gleize, Belgium, not far from the Rosier climb of the legendary Liège–Bastogne–Liège. This training set the foundation for how to ride and compete in Europe.
In 2016, Alexey then turned professional and spent two years racing at the World Tour level with Jumbo Visma. In 2018, Alexey then made the transition to the dirt, believing that the sponsorship model in professional cycling was flawed and he could make more of an impact where the barriers for entry were lower.
Looking forward to 2025- Alexey is focused on winning the Lifetime Grand Prix.
Teams
Visma Lease-A-Bike
Mission
Team Visma | Lease a Bike is determined to become one of the most successful and memorable teams in the history of sports.
Vision
As we chase our own legacy, we aim to ignite a passion in others to ride their bikes and embrace their own dreams as well.
Values
The core values we hold have been pivotal to our success. To embed these values deeply within every team member, we have transformed them into tangible commitments, aligning them with specific behaviours as outlined in our Blanco Koers, which serves as a strategic blueprint, guiding how we work together towards achieving our shared goals.
Our core values:
- Courage
- Dedication
- Forward thinking
- Commitment
- Team spirit
Promise
Becoming one of the best teams in the history of cycling was just a start.
Victory - For us the horizon stretches further: we're riding towards a legacy, longing to be engraved among the greatest in sporting history. Every triumph, every podium, is a testament to our unparalleled teamwork and our constant quest for improvement by approaching things differently. It is not the wind, the gradient, or the pedals, but our collective character that powers us.
Beyond - It has never been just about crossing the finish line first; it is about crafting a story, demonstrating the magic that unfolds when a team believes as one. And as we chase our legacy, we aim to ignite a passion in others to ride their bikes and embrace their own dreams.
We don't just race to win; we ride beyond victory.
Rose // Classified
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Pivot OTE
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Lexware MTB Team
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I9 - Pivot Pro Backcountry Team
The Industry Nine - Pivot Pro Backcountry Team embodies and explores the unlimited potential of backcountry trails for mountain bikers.
With a diverse calendar of events, adventures, and projects spanning down-country and enduro style stage racing, self-supported ultras, trail initiatives, and trailtraverses of the Continental Divide and the Iditarod Sled Dog route, we’re excited for the opportunity to be working with partners and organizations who share our values of backcountry trails, adventurous riding, stewardship, and excellence in our pursuits.