A coming together of minds at the end of 2019 saw the creation of what would evolve into the Maxxis Flanders Race Team, a squad that provides a launching pad for some of the top elite, junior and master cross-country and cyclocross riders in the country. Despite the setbacks of COVID, the team has already achieved some incredible milestones, including multiple national titles and has a bit of European racing experience under their belt. They head into the 2025 season with a solid lineup of riders and brand support, ready to tackle the domestic and international racing calendar.
We caught up with Todd Cuthbert, the co-founder and general manager of the Maxxis Flanders Race Team, to find out about how the team developed and what it can provide the mountain bike community.
How did the Maxxis Flanders Race team begin?
Through a mutual love of racing bikes and a desire to provide a platform to give current and upcoming riders a springboard for success, the Maxxis Flanders Race Team was born. Towards the end of 2019, Paul Redenbach, owner of Flanders Cycles (also multi-discipline Australian champion if you don’t mind), and Cuthbert began chatting on the possibilities of a more mountain bike-focused team.
Redenbach had already established Flanders FMB, which was a cyclocross-focused team that had also dabbled in MTB racing. This was where Cuthbert saw the opportunity to build something.
“I was coaching some really good athletes at the time, and they just had a lack of opportunity in terms of sponsorship,” explains Cuthbert. “There were a few (riders) with local shop sponsorships, but I just felt that these guys were above that.”
While the start of the pandemic slightly extinguished the fire that had been lit for the team, Duke Flanders Racing was officially established at the start of 2021. A new title sponsor deal with Maxxis has been signed for the 2025 season, with the team to be renamed as the Maxxis Flanders Race Team — watch out for their bright jersey flying past on the circuit.
The fabric of the Maxxis Flanders Race team
Todd Cuthbert and Paul Redenbach have taken a tactical approach to building a mountain bike team, with a carefully curated lineup of Elite, Juniors and Masters riders.
“The team consists of three elite, three juniors and four master riders, which provides a great opportunity for mentorship and support from the older riders,” Cuthbert says.
The collection of masters riders on the team is rather impressive and it’s no question the junior riders are learning from the best. The likes of Christopher Jongeward is one of these riders, whose resume speaks for itself — 6x National Champ (XCO, XCC and CX), 2nd XCO Masters World Champs and 15th XCO World Champs. But the pedigree of these seasoned racers runs deep, and the other masters riders include Simon Bishop — 2x CX National Champ Masters — Paul Redenbach, and, of course, Todd Cuthbert — multiple CX and XCO National Series wins and coach extraordinaire.
The idea being that their collective experience, steep learning curves and adversity that the older riders have faced through their careers so far will rub off on the team’s juniors.
“The masters riders hold certain gems that can’t be obtained unless you have been through the process, especially with European racing,” Cuthbert explains. “For these young riders, they can get a better picture of that area or help with racing strategies, general support and maybe assist them in reaching their goals.”
Cuthbert’s ultimate goal is to create a platform to help the youngsters not just make it to the world stage, but also find success when they make the step up to racing overseas. He’s also pushed for his junior riders to experience the UCI racing scene when the opportunity arises.
“Dom did a six-month stint with a team in Switzerland (on a UCI World Cycling Centre scholarship). He was coached by a UCI team, raced on the World Cup circuit and had mechanical support. It was a great opportunity for him,” he explains.
Everything the team is doing is in service of developing these riders and creating opportunities like this, the team has honed its focus for the 2025 season, concentrating primarily on the Australian and Oceania MTB circuit.
The team’s trophy cabinet already includes multiple National and Oceania titles across U19, U23, elites and masters across all disciplines from MTB to gravel to cyclocross and road. Quite the resume to show, yet they’re not the type of group who likes to boast.
Factory support and the kits to match
The team has had unwavering support over the journey from Flanders Bikes and Duke Wheels. But beyond just the bikes and wheels, Cuthbert has put a focus on broader support from the local industry to ensure that the young riders don’t have to worry about equipment and can just focus on training and racing.
For the 2025 season, the support of Maxxis Bike tyres through KWT imports. The company has stepped it up for the team and are providing significantly more tyres for the riders — ensuring their bikes will be perfectly set up for whatever race day conditions are thrown at them.
The Maxxis tyres will be strapped to a set of Duke Wheels — a French brand that supports riders like Jordan Sarrou and Loana Lecomte of the BMC Factory Racing Team. The brand is brought into Australia by Redenbach.
For the 2025 season, the Maxxis Flanders riders will be jumping aboard the Flanders Bossberg (left below) and Flanders Berg 29ER (middle below) for MTB Racing and the Flanders Forte and Zen (right below) for Cyclocross and Gravel.
Bringing on French clothing brand Kenny along with the support of Magicshine Australia, Clifbar, Joe’s No-Flats, Northwave Australia, Zeffs socks, Evoc and ABUS Helmets.
Their great level of industry support can be attributed to the passion that Cuthbert has for promoting his team and riders and making sure they can get as much help as they possibly can.
“Getting in front of these brands and chatting to them about what the team is built on and the opportunities it provides is critical, often this is a pretty important factor for these companies,” he says.
While it’s these brands that help keep the team kitted up and the bikes maintained and running smoothly, it’s the support of the riders’ families that really keeps them motivated. A level of support that should not be underestimated.
“Every rider’s family is involved (with the team), but especially with the juniors. They put so much on the line to help these young riders chase their dreams,” Cubert says.
Junior racers across the nation face a cut-throat environment and are consistently hit with adversity along the way. Cuthbert describes to Flow the physical challenges that the junior riders face but also the financial roadblocks they need to maneuver if they want to achieve the ultimate goal of international racing.
“The junior riders are very committed, sometimes training up to 20 hours a week at 16 and 17 years old and then grinding it out studying for VCE exams or managing apprenticeships or part-time job,” Cuthbert tells Flow.
“I’m sure there would be a huge gap in the budget these European countries have in terms of developing their athletes compared to here (Australia), particularly countries like France and Switzerland who have incredible facilities,” explains Cuthbert who has spent a considerable portion of his coaching career as an attaché for the AusCycling contingent of juniors that are selected for World Champs.
It’s financial barriers such as these that Cuthbert and the Maxxis Flanders Race team are trying to break down and to continue providing the maximum amount of support for these junior riders to help them achieve their ultimate goal.
Future goals and the team’s ethos
The ability to support young emerging and elite riders in the Australian racing landscape is always a challenge, but that’s exactly the challenge Cuthbert and the Maxxis Flanders Race Team want to continue to tackle.
Their team structure with the experienced riders there to teach and help the newbies, the Maxxis Flanders team ethos is always looking to keep their riders motivated and committed and to provide a supportive environment where young talent can thrive.
“Our optimal goal is really creating opportunities that will help support as many young and elite riders coming through in any way possible. Whether that eventually becomes financial support or it’s just bike, components and kit,” he tells Flow.
“For these junior riders to be paying retail on their bikes and parts, it’s difficult and I think a large reason why we lose all these amazing athletes and the talent pool disappears,” Cuthbert explains.
Cuthbert believes that the team’s success and values can be seen as a model for other youth development programs in cycling.
“What’s always been in the back of my head is just trying to create opportunity, through sponsorship or just helping them get to more events to keep them building up,” Cuthbert explains.
We think the Maxxis Flanders Race Team will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming season, and we cannot wait to watch those bright kits fly by with some epic results to come!
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