McConnell and Henderson with new squad ahead of 'massive' 2018

Australian mountain bike stars Daniel McConnell and Bec Henderson have made the move to Primaflor-Mondraker-Rotor-Ajram Cap. The couple had been racing with their own private team in 2017, but will now join up with the Spainsh squad.

Aussie Dan McConnell battles through the dust Source: Rob Jones

The announcement by the star mountain-biking couple comes ahead of an important 2018 season, with the 2018 Commonwealth Games looming on the horizon as the big goal for both.

Henderson has been a regular in the top placings at XCO events in recent years. At the moment, she is in the 17th place in the UCI rankings with top results of 8th in Nove Mestro and 5th in Albstadt. The other big result for the year was her third Australian national title.

"I chose Primaflor Mondraker with the strong recommendation of my friend and former teammate Sergio Mantecon," said Henderson, who used to ride with the Trek team. "He speaks very highly of the riders and management of the team so  I am really excited to work with a Spanish team.

"I really like the mentality of the Spanish, focused and serious about the racing but it’s also really important to love and enjoy the sport of mountain biking.  I feel Primaflor Mondraker offers so many great opportunities for me to progress my career and I am looking forward to having strong European based support.

"My goals for 2018 include the Commonwealth Games, this is a huge (almost equal to the Olympic Games) event for the Commonwealth Countries and it is held on the Gold Coast in Australia.  I will also be working hard to get back onto the World Cup podium again - it’s such a great feeling!"

Daniel McConnell is already one of the stalwarts of the World Circuit with three Olympic participations over his career. He finished 2017 in great form with a ninth-placed finish in the World Championships held in Cairns.

His best regular season was 2014 when he never missed out on the top ten in any World Cup race. His best result came a year earlier when he won in the World Cup event in Albstadt, without any doubt his greatest success as a pro biker.

"I am really excited to be riding for Primaflor Mondraker," said McConnell. "After a season racing as a privateer with Bec I am super grateful to have been given this opportunity. 

"The 2017 season was really tough on us both but we still achieved some successful results and I have a lot of motivation and determination to get back to a high level in 2018 and with our really strong team I think we can push each other to achieve some great results while keeping our passion and fun. 

"2018 is a massive year for me and I believe that Primaflor Mondraker can make it possible to achieve my goals. I will be targeting the Commonwealth Games, the World Cups and World Championships."