Time to get between the tapes

The last year has seen lots of restrictions for any sport, in particular for organised events, so it was not a big surprise that our NINETY-SIX test pilot, José Hermida, jumped at the chance to put the new NINETY-SIX where it belongs - at full gas in between the race tape.

With restrictions partly easing in his native Spain, José was lucky enough that the Clasica Valdemorillo MTB race was able to celebrate its 30th anniversary earlier this month. The Clasica Valdemorillo is both the traditional Spanish race season opener and has been a long-standing companion in Jose's career. Besides being the winner of the event as a Junior, he has been back many times to show his support and to test his racing legs.

This year was no different. With no real ambitions to get a top result, José just wanted to get that race-day feeling back; of being in an event, going through all the painstaking steps of getting ready, having the right tool for the job, and most of all, having that sense of achievement when you cross the finish line.

Being the 30th anniversary of the event, the team behind the Clasica Valdemorillo have created an MTB museum which holds a few of José most precious race mementoes, including his signed Athens Olympics jersey, his last lap bottles from the Athens race and the original (and still dirty) race gloves. 

José and his long-standing videographer David Acedo have created a small video that catches the essence of this experience. Sit back and get inspired to get your racing legs back in shape for when you get your next chance to get between the tapes.

To find out more about the NINETY-SIX raced by José, including key features, R&D and design thinking as well as the intended use, please check the micro page here. 

To get an overview of the entire 2021 NINETY-SIX family, please click here.