Hardly any other athlete stands for racing as uncompromisingly as Fabien Barel. A successful downhill career with several world championship titles was followed by impressive victories in the Enduro World Series. The Frenchman now also spends a lot of time behind the scenes: as a mentor and manager, Barel passes on his experience to the riders of the downhill and enduro teams of main sponsor Canyon. Nevertheless, he proves time and again that he can still do it best himself: At the start of the 2023 E-EDR season, Fab only wanted to ride the first race. But Fab wouldn't be Fab if he hadn't prepared perfectly for it and, in addition to winning the first race, also won the overall standings of the new series in impressive style. At the age of 43, Fabien Barel is dominating the EDR-E World Cup. His young rivals can only marvel. The most successful German e-racer Johannes Fischbach says: "You can trust this guy to do anything. If Barel were to set himself the goal of racing in the Downhill World Cup again, then I would trust him to finish in the top ten after two or three races."
Who is Fabien Barel?
- Nationality: French
- Age: 43
- Team: Canyon CLLCTV Pirelli
- Greatest successes: three-time downhill world champion (1x junior, 2x elite), EWS champion, EDR-E overall World Cup winner
Fabien's penchant for testing and technology
Perfectionist, medallist, gravity junkie - Fab, as he is known to friends, is one of the most experienced mountain bikers in the world. In 2004 and 2005, the 43-year-old became downhill world champion, and in 2013 he switched to enduro. With his engineering degree and penchant for technology, his commitment to his sponsors has always gone far beyond racing. Barel has always provided his input to the development departments. For many years, the Frenchman had retired from active racing and looked after the downhill and enduro pros of his sponsor Canyon. The trails around his home in the French Maritime Alps not only serve as training tracks for his team riders. Prototypes are tested here, suspension set-ups compared and new components trialled. From the all-mountain to the downhill category, every bike has to stand up to the test on these trails. And only when Barel gives the green light does it go into production.
Fabien's bike: The Canyon Strive:On CFR
- Suspension travel: 170/165 mm
- Weight: 23 kilos
- Motor: Bosch Performance CX-R
- Battery: Bosch Powertube 625 Wh
Fabien Barel has been intensively involved in the development of Canyon enduro bikes for ten years now. Fab has also had a significant influence on the suspension and geometry of the Canyon Strive:On take. With the Strive:On CFR, Canyon presented its first enduro e-bike in 2023, and it was also the first e-mountainbike from the Koblenz-based company with a Bosch drive. The focus in the development of the Canyon Strive:On CFR was clear. The bike should score points without compromise in the newly created E-Enduro World Cup. The modern bike with a full carbon frame thus followed in the footsteps of the non-motorised enduro bike Strive, which also has a lot of race DNA. In keeping with the Strive:On's mission to claim podium places, the LTD model came with the Race version of the Bosch Performance CX. Now all you had to do was put the three-time downhill world champion on the saddle and the medal forge was ready? Pretty much. Barel did indeed take victory in the first race and ended up in first place in the overall ranking of the E-Enduro World Cup.
Barel rides his signature edition with a shiny red Fabien Barel banderole in the decor. Overall, the set-up of Barel's Strive:On is like his riding style: very downhill-orientated. This also fits in with the character of the E-EDR races, which are currently very close to the regular enduro races - and which are mainly decided on the long and technical descents. Fabien emphasises this once again by using the smaller and lighter Bosch Powertube battery with 625 instead of 750 watt hours for the races. This option is also available for the standard bike. When ordering online, customers can choose freely between the two battery sizes.
Josh Welz
Editor-in-Chief
