MTB XCO: Luca Martin joins Decathlon Ford for 2027

Luca Martin, overall winner of the 2026 cross-country (XCO) mountain bike World Cup, is changing teams for 2027. According to MTB-News, he is joining Decathlon Ford with Canadian Cole Punchard. Both riders come from Cannondale Factory Racing, which closed at the end of this season after many years on the World Cup circuit.

A title secured before the last race

Martin finished the season as champion at Lake Placid, the last round of the 2026 XCO World Cup. Adrien Boichis's absence had already made him the overall winner mathematically before the start. He finished fifth. For Cannondale Factory Racing it was the last World Cup race: the team ended it with a win for Charlie Aldridge and three riders in the top five, including Cole Punchard in fourth.

What Decathlon Ford announces for 2027

• An expanded line-up with Luca Martin and Cole Punchard, joining riders already on the team, including Samara Maxwell and David List
• Van Rysel becomes official bike and apparel supplier from 2027
• A new mountain bike, the Van Rysel RCR-XC, unveiled at Roc d'Azur in Fréjus on 8 October 2026

The team is managed by Samuel Roces. Singletrack World describes Martin as the UCI world number one and also names Samara Maxwell, with two World Cup wins, and Savilia Blunk among the riders.

Martin says he is looking forward to the new adventure: according to MTB-News, the team's project for the next two years convinced him, and he describes a young team already established on the World Cup scene.

The Van Rysel RCR-XC in numbers

The Van Rysel RCR-XC is a 32-inch full-suspension cross-country race bike. Its carbon frame is 230 g lighter than the 29-inch frame the team currently uses (size M). Wind tunnel testing shows a saving of 15.5 watts at 35 km/h compared with the team's 2026 mountain bike. Development partners include ZIPP, RockShox and Vittoria, according to Singletrack World.

How Martin adapts to the new equipment will become clear at the start of the 2027 season.