After E-MTB racing, now cross-country: World champion Joris Ryf back on a lightweight bike

Joris Ryf started racing cross-country at a young age and later developed into a specialist for E-XCO competitions. It wasn't until 2020 that the biker from the canton of Bern, who was born in 1997, switched from cross-country to e-MTBs. The Swiss rider quickly made a name for himself with his technical skills on challenging climbs and descents. In 2023, he was crowned the fastest e-biker in the world at the World Championships in Glasgow. In 2026, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced that it no longer wanted to continue the E-XCO discipline.

In addition to his career as a professional biker, Joris Ryf also works as a coach and looks after various ambitious athletes. These skills are also likely to be crucial for his future in the Specialized Factory Racing Team. The Californian cross-country team dominated the 2025 World Cup season. In this interview, we spoke to Ryf about racing, preparation and the new racing year.

The secret of Specialized Factory Racing's success

BIKE: Specialized Factory Racing was virtually unbeatable in the 2025 Cross Country World Cup season. What do you think made the team so successful?

JORIS RYF: Our team spirit was just really good. This applies not only to the athletes, but also to the entire team behind the riders. Whether team manager, mechanic or performance coach: everything worked really well together and brought a good momentum to the team. The motivation to achieve something together has driven us throughout the year. We always tried to improve, looked at what the others were doing and always tried to outperform them.

Is it possible to improve on this success for the 2026 season?

Athletes, material and team can always get better. We have just launched the Specialized Epic 9, which surpasses the super successful Epic 8 as a race bike. Lighter, more sensitive, more powerful: That can still make a difference.

The cross country season has just started. Are you in top form?

I'm doing very well, but I'm not the team's priority. Above all, it is important for me to support the team, to be involved in its development and to act as a technical coach. I've currently been working a lot with our female riders and can say that the three of them are in top form. We have already achieved a clean sweep for the men, i.e. all three podium places in a World Cup race. We are still working on this goal for the women.

The first Cross Country World Cup race in Korea was already very exciting. Specialised team rider Sina Frei snatched victory. Were you able to prepare well for the course?

We had no idea about the route beforehand. There were rumours but nothing reliable. We hadn't been there in Korea before and only received the exact track data two weeks before the race. In fact, we had already expected difficult weather conditions and a lot of mud.

Which World Cup stop are you looking forward to the most?

Nove Mesto is always one of the highlights for me. Simply because the atmosphere is good and the course is cool. But for me as a Swiss, all races in my own country are of course also great because I'll see lots of familiar faces there. So Lenzerheide is also at the top of the list.

How exhausting is a full World Cup season? Is there enough time to regenerate between races?

You can't always give 100 per cent in the last race, but it all depends on how you manage your tapering. If you're not quite in shape at the beginning of the season, it will be very difficult at the end. You have to set your peaks in a targeted manner, be it at the World Championships or at a special World Cup race. I don't think we Europeans should complain. Our riders from America are away from home for a long time and that's much harder than when I'm at home for five days or even two weeks after a race weekend. You can't underestimate that.

Some Specialized team riders swear by meditation and breathing training. How can this help an athlete?

These are rituals that help you to calm down and that you can do anywhere - whether in the training camp or in your hotel room. Chris (Blevins) meditates every day, but the rest of us riders also benefit from it.

Conclusion

Even though Joris Ryf's world champion discipline has been cancelled, he is still an important source of expertise in the Specialized Factory Racing Team. His insights into life as an XC pro and the individual situation of the riders make it clear just how professional our sport has become. We can't wait to see whether Specialized can build on the successes of last year. Jan Timmermann, BIKE editor

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