This year OMX Pro Team have once again grown as a team and further established ourselves amongst the best teams in the World. We finish the year with a UCI World Ranking of 12^th, our best ever, and we wrap up the season with some of the strongest results we have ever achieved:

In 2016 we recorded our highest Elite World Cup placing with Annie Last’s 17^th place in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada; Martin stormed to victory in the HC category race in Istanbul; after years of trying, we secured an overall British XC National Series title with a fine season of domestic racing from Isla Short; Mariske Strauss and Cherie Vale were unstoppable in South Africa and finished the season in amazing style with seven wins from seven stages at the Cape Pioneer Trek; and finally, the cherry on top of the cake, we made it to an Olympic Games as Shlomi Haimy lined up and took on the World in Rio.

Each member of the team has worked tirelessly to achieve these results, with unwavering passion, some blood, a lot of sweat and a few tears (but mostly smiles) along the way! OMX is still a small team in many respects, but we have pulled together to make big things happen.

The journey from a local team of friends in South East England to the number one team in the World continues. We are dedicated to make the dream come true, and we are very excited to push forward into 2017 with great memories from a successful 2016.

A big, heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been a part of the journey and supported us through the year.

News on our 2017 roster will be revealed soon. Watch this space!

Shlomi is featured in the latest edition of the Dutch cycling magazine, ‘BikeFreak’.

Jim van Overbeek, a former Dutch XCO Champion and now editor of BikeFreak, was interested to hear Shlomi’s story, from his home trails in Israel to following the Olympic dream. We are delighted to see Shlomi recognised by international media and we are very proud to support such a hard-working and talented gentleman.

The article is in Dutch, but you can read the original English transcript below from which the article was formed. 

Q) Shlomi, where do you live right now?

A) I am living in Israel.

Q) On the teamwebsite I read: living in Kibbutz Ein Ha’shofet. Can you tell us a bit how life is there? Can you train OK in the neighbourhood?

 A) Kibbutz is a collective community settlement with socialism lifestyle. My wife was born and raised in the Kibbutz and we have lived here together for four years. The environment is ideal for a cyclist, with endless trails nearby and a peaceful environment. Plus the Kibbutz has a dining room, gym and laundry service – perfect for an athlete like me!

Q) Can you tell me how you started cycling in Israel? Did you do other sports when you were young?

A) From the moment I learned how to ride a bicycle it was a pleasant for me. As a young child I used a bicycle as transportation to school and to visit friends. Naturally I started to challenge myself with basic skills and off road trails. When I was 12 years old I joined a local club and that time I started racing too. Except cycling I used to play inline hockey and play the drums.

Q) Do you also race on the road? 

A) In my first years of racing I used to compete road bike and downhill. I was good in all of the disciplines, but cross country was – and still is – my favourite.

Q) You are national champ. Congrats! Can you tell us how that race went?

A) Thank you! It was a good battle between me and Rotem Ishay who lives and trains in Colorado and always comes to the race with good form. It was a tactical race – on the last lap I made the gap for the win. It’s the 4th year in a row that I have won the National Champs!

Q) Your dream is the Olympics in Rio. Do you have a chance for selection?

A) Short answer: YES! Long answer: the Olympic qualification divided to 2 parts –

Firstly we need to be sure that Israel is ranked in the top 23 nations who get the chance to go. At the moment Israel is in 18th place..
Secondly there will be an inner qualification for which Israeli rider will go. The test will be 3 World Cup events in the 2016 season.

Q) Can you tell us something about the bike scene in Israel? Is MTB getting more popular? Many races? (XCO or Marathon…?) Not too hot to race?

A) The bike scene gets bigger and bigger every year. In the “hobby” level you can see a massive amount of cyclists on the road and off road.
There is a national project for building single trails in many areas in Israel that has been running successfully in the last few years. The possibilities are always extending.
We had 14 UCI races during 2015 as part of our Olympic campaign. Most of the events are XCO. Unfortunately, the professional aspect of the sport is still not in line with the growing popularity of the sport. There is no big sponsor who will raise their hand to develop professional teams and athletes. A young Israeli rider who would like to be professional must find their way in Europe.

Q) I read last year there was even a Epic Israel race! Did you compete there?

A) Yes, there is an Epic Israel. It’s a big event with top class organisation. If you like to explore I can really recommend racing here – there are positive vibes along with amazing trails, and an experience unique to Israel.

Q) Do you follow a special training program? Can you tell something about that?

A) I have a specific training plan for the demands of XCO racing. My coach, Christoph Soukup, is from Austria. During the preparation period I spend a lot of days on the road bike and also in the gym for strength.

Q) How did you get in contact with the OMX Pro Team?

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that British Champion and Olympian, Annie Last, will join Novus OMX Pro Team in 2016.

To have a truly World-class British Champion on this British team is a dream come true. The team’s growth, especially over the last year, has put us in a position where we can sponsor and support a rider of Annie’s quality and provide an environment in which such a rider can thrive.

Annie is a four-time British Elite Champion, two-time U23 World Championship Silver Medallist, U23 World Cup Winner, London Olympian (8th place), and Elite World Cup podium finisher. All of this, and still just 25 years old! Annie is, however, much more than just her impressive palmares. She is a friendly face and a wonderful ambassador for the sport as a whole and the many organisations that she works with; she is an excellent role-model with a vast experience who remains passionate and humble; she is a consummate professional both on and off the bike and will no doubt bring both results and lots of laughs to the team.

Annie has had a tough few years with a serious back injury and the subsequent struggle to regain fitness and form. Looking to the future, Annie wanted a stable team environment that she would feel at home in, and the best equipment to race with, to aid her journey back to the top. Here at OMX we know that we can provide both of these key elements for Annie, and it is a great honour that Annie has this confidence in us.

“I am really excited to be part of the Novus OMX Pro Team in 2016. The team is made up of people who are passionate, who will support me to achieve my goals, and who will also have a great time doing it.
I chose OMX Pro Team because I wanted to be part of a good team environment with people who are passionate about bike racing. Having good support from the team allows me to get on with training and racing my bikes as I know I have good people in the background helping me out and looking after me and making sure I have everything I need. Good equipment to race and train on is really important, I want to get back to the front of races and compete with the best in the world, so having bikes and equipment that is some of the best in the world is key.
With OMX I have a great training and race programme which will allow me to perform to the best of my ability and hopefully go fast! It is Olympic year, so it is really important to have everything in place to help me score qualification for Rio.”

Signing Annie Last signifies another big step forward for Novus OMX Pro Team. Not only do we have Britain’s current top cross-country rider, we now have genuine World Cup winning potential. This is the talent that Annie has, and we are very excited that our respective journeys to World Number One will now be together.

You can follow our 2016 journey across social media – we would love to have you on board! To find out a bit more about Annie, check out her OMX Rider Bio here.

#weareOMX