25 September, 2025
Orbea FOX Factory Team Close Out Europe with Medals, Lessons, and Resilience
With the final European World Cup in the rear view mirror, Orbea FOX Factory Team take stock on a year that wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops.
The team has seen some massive highs and crushing lows that go hand-in-hand with top flight cross country racing.
Les Gets, World Championships and Lenzerheide were not back-to-back events but they almost could have been. Just enough time to rest and reset before going again.
Simon’s early season was derailed by concussion and the symptms would linger long into the season, the furstration was palpable. That said, it all came good at the end of the season as the big Dane started clawing his way back into the top 10.
Testament to the man he is and the backing he receives from the team, Simon was hunting down a medal at the UCI XCC World Championships, finishing 4th, but then took his first podium of the season in Switzerland to take the XCC Bronze. Watch out North America, Simon has unfinished business.
Rebecca had a very different but equalling testing time. Proving her resilience by winning the National title despite injuring herself in a crash. Once back on the pace, the results would come in fits and starts.
Our Aussie World Cup veteran has had the opposite problem to Simon. Whereas he had a working body and a misfiring brain, Rebecca has her head where she needs it but with courses getting no less technical, upper body injuries hit the confidence when the going quite literally gets rough.
Pierre had seen off the frustrations at the start of the season to finish back where he belongs in the top 15, no doubt boosting his confidence going into the final part of the season. Proof that grit and determination pays off when the wheels come off the car.
Jenn Jackson’s season is hard to sum up. She took 6th place in Brazil in a start that was hoped for, but nobody expected. Then a medal at World Champs… We’re still riding the crest of that wave and will be for some time.
In this short period, it feels like the team have turned a corner. The resilience against the odds has paid off, coming away with a Worlds medal for Jenn, and XCC medal for Simon and the team can boast a full house of national champions.
To celebrate this, our riders have received, over the course of the year, their own custom bikes that differ from their team Oiz race bikes. This level of customization for paint and spec lets their personality shine through and is also available to everyone through MyOrbea Custom.
While the race results are easy to see and draw conclusions from, there’s the quieter, less hectic side to racing than requires a solid ‘Off’ switch to be used. The ability to have a life separate from racing, is crucial to it. They often paradoxically go hand in hand.
Our racers and team have by their actions, shown they they fully emobody the values we set out for Orbea FOX Factory Racing. Resilience, mutual support, and the determination to keep improving has been present by the truck load in 2025 and we’re proud of each and every one of our team.
Built to Fly
Oiz has delivered great results at the highest level, with its ultra-light frame, race-proven suspension, and unmatched efficiency. The very same MyO Custom Oiz that powers our athletes is available to you. Get inspired and design your own.
We’re back again this year with our eyes on the prize. Follow along as we share the stories of pushing ourselves and our bikes to the limit in the most exciting races on the world stage.