It was no longer a secret for a long time: the French brand Origine had ambitions to launch into the XC world cup since its Théorème FS was on the drawing board. “ The time has come to confront our bikes at the highest level and propel them onto the international MTB scene », explains Rémi Lefèvre (photo below), co-founder of this brand based in Valenciennes and which has experienced quite spectacular growth since its launch less than 10 years ago.
Between the idea and the realization, we had to let the Olympic Games pass (before which the teams often remain frozen) and find the right people to make the project a reality. In 2025, all the stars are now aligned.
At the head of the team, we will find a shock duo, made up of Matthieu Durand, who we previously knew as manager of the Specialized Enduro team, and a certain Maxime Marotte.
Very recently retired, Maxime Marotte left the Rockrider team at the end of the 2024 season and is embarking on a whole new adventure by joining the staff of the Origine team as co-team manager. “ Matthieu has been my agent for over 15 years, we know each other very well. He is a lawyer by training, and the combination with my sporting experience gives a duo that complements each other well to support our athletes. »
And what about athletes? The Origine team is not really big, since it is made up of four riders. But, in the absence of quantity, the quality is there, as well as the international side.
In the figurehead, we find Mathis Azzarowhose talent has truly exploded in 2024. Coming from the Rockrider team, where he established links with Maxime Marotte, Mathis Azzaro is the reigning French XCC champion and he signed three World Cup podiums last season (2nd in XCC and XCO at Mont-Ste-Anne, and 3rd at Val Di Sole). He also finished 2nd in the last Roc d'Azur after leading the race for a long time.
At her side, as a female leader, we will find Martina Berta. The reigning Italian champion is an experienced athlete, who already has several World Cup podiums to her credit, as well as a 3rd place at the 2024 world championship. She was teammate of Maxime Marotte a few years ago. years within the Santa Cruz team.
The German Ronja Eibl completes the female squad. Winner of the World Cup in Espoirs and several times winner of the World Cup in the category, she now wants to achieve success in Elite.
Finally, the 4th athlete is Knut Rohme, reigning Norwegian champion, who also represented his country at the Paris Olympics.
The team will ride on an Origine Théorème GTR 120 mm frame identical to the stock one, with partners that we have detailed for you here: Video | Origine launches its XC World Cup team
We will see the riders of the Origine-Ekoï team for the first time at the French Cup in Marseille, which will take place from March 13 to 16, then in all 10 rounds of the 2025 World Cup.
Come back soon for more information and an interview with all the members of the team, whom we met during the team presentation.
