Noga Korem shared on social media that she is no longer sponsored by GT and is now working with Commencal Bikes to support her race season, even swapping to the Commencal Meta frame just 16 hours before the Pietra Ligure Enduro World Cup began.
She shared in an Instagram post:
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Wondering what the &*@% is going on with me?!? Check below.
My athlete sponsorship agreement was terminated on the 13th of April. This mid-season surprise caught me off guard and left me with a lot of uncertainty about my future. After quite a few sleepless nights, I decided this is not the way I am ending my career, and I will do everything I can to see this season through. I started sending emails to potential sponsors and was encouraged by some amazing brands that gave me hope. @joesnoflats were the first to jump on board and made it possible for me to get to Europe and also to keep my bike clean and running. @israelpremiertech were the next to show their amazing support. Their incredible generosity made the rest of this trip possible. @dtswiss @100percentbike @jinga_clothing @goldfus.ins @shimanomtb, jumped on board and set me up with amazing products. The first few days of #teamimprovise were super fun but also pretty stressful with a lot of uncertainty. Practice with the Israeli crew was great, and everything went smoothly. After practice, I met with the @commencalbikes family who had this CRAZY idea to race their bike in the upcoming race with no real prep time. I was very excited to try the bike, but we agreed that I would race them only if I felt comfortable. They worked the next night and day to build the bike. Friday evening, 5 seconds into the first run, I was already shocked with the performance of the bike. 2 runs in I totally fell in love, so we decided to take the risk and race the brand new Commencal Meta V5. All in all, I am happy with my race, and if 8th place is what I can do with 2 runs on the bike, just wait until the next round. I am super motivated to push through, and I appreciate all of your support! Thanks to all my amazing friends and family who helped me get through this challenging time. Can’t wait to share some more exciting news really soon. |
We don’t have information about the end of her relationship with GT, though mid-April is a pretty non-traditional time for a team to drop a top EWS rider. That bike, too, still hasn’t been released, although Commencal has been teasing it since last year.
The fact that Noga could push through the setback, problem-solve enough to keep showing up where it counted, figure out a new team, and place 8th on a totally new bike is seriously commendable. We look forward to seeing what else she can accomplish this year.