How We Roll Ep. 1: Reset. Rebuild. Race. – Orbea FMD Racing

The year comes to an end, and with it we close our first chapter in the most demanding category of MTB: Downhill. We look back and remember how everything began, with the intention of opening new paths, facing unfamiliar challenges, and leaving our mark in a terrain where we had barely taken our first steps. We brought all our experience, technical knowledge, and competitive spirit to contribute in a real and transformative way, driven by passion and a commitment to continuous improvement.

From those early prototypes tested in Lourdes in 2021 to the different evolutions refined throughout several World Cups, this journey has been a constant learning process. The FMD team and its deep racing expertise have been essential, together with the support of FOX and other partners who have accompanied us, sharing their knowledge and helping us grow and better understand a discipline as demanding as it is thrilling.

Today, as we close this first year, we understand that this project is only the beginning. A starting point that inspires us to keep building, improving, and writing new stories alongside those who share our vision and our desire to always go one step further.

Our leap into Downhill didn’t begin in an office or with a finished frame, but with a question: What could we achieve by combining our capacity for innovation with extensive downhill racing experience? FMD brought years of pushing limits at the highest level; at Orbea we brought the ambition and agility to turn ideas into reality. Two different paths, one shared vision.

In the beginning, we didn’t talk about geometry or drawings, but about purpose: why we wanted to do this, what we aimed to build, and what values connected us. That’s where trust began to take shape.

When FMD visited our Basque Country facilities for the first time, they needed to really see what we were capable of. And that’s where our way of working made everything clear: in-house manufacturing that allows us to control every detail; our own paint shop, turning each prototype into a piece ready to ride; and an agility that makes it possible to go from a sketch to a real frame in a matter of days. It wasn’t about boasting. It was about demonstrating what we were trying to achieve.

This is how preconceptions dissolved. Instead of presentations, there were freshly baked frames. Instead of concepts, tangible iterations. They saw week-to-week changes, sensations turned into materials, decisions turned into performance.

Until the first real heartbeat arrived: race day on the world stage with a bike that remained a secret to almost everyone… except those who had made it possible. It was indeed a test, but also a statement. And when we crossed the finish line in first place, we knew that victory wasn’t a surprise; it was confirmation that this alliance works where it truly matters, where only facts count. A demonstration that the bike, and the team behind it, were born to fly.