What a way to kick off the 2026 season in South Korea! After months of preparation, it feels unreal to finally be back in race mode with the whole World Cup crew. New track, new conditions, and a fresh start for everyone — the first round always brings a mix of excitement, unknowns, and big opportunities.

If you’re reading this, you already know what we’re here for. At Santa Cruz Burgtec, the goal hasn’t changed: we’re pushing for the front, and we’re ready to make our mark right from race one.

Our new kits for the first half of the season have landed — and they’re impossible to miss! And the bike build is amazing.

What a way for Nathan to kick off the season in South Korea. Honestly, we didn’t see this one coming — and that makes it even better. P5 at World Cup #1… that’s a huge statement to start the year!

All weekend long, Nathan kept things low-key, just building speed run after run and getting more comfortable on the new track. After qualifying strong (P5), we knew he had something good in him — but putting it all together on race day like that? That was next level, to hold the pressure like that and do the same in final. From top to bottom, he committed fully, riding loose, fast, and on the edge.

Crossing the line in P5, right there with the fastest guys in the world, is an incredible way to open the season. It just shows the work done over the winter is already paying off, and it feels like there’s even more to come.

We’ve always believed Nathan could run with the top guys — and this weekend, he proved it again. First race, Top 5… yeah, we’ll take that any day. After this one, we think it’s possible to reach the podium.

“I honestly didn’t expect that result at all. The goal was just to put down a clean run and see where I’d end up. The track was tough, and I didn’t feel perfect, but I just went for it. When I crossed the line, I was pretty surprised to see my name up there. It feels really good to start the season like this — it gives me a lot of confidence for what’s coming next. Now I just want to keep building from here!” – Nathan.

Lisa wrapped up the weekend with a solid P11 in the Elite Women category. It wasn’t the easiest one for her, as she struggled to really find her rhythm and build confidence on track throughout the weekend.

Lisa once again showed her perseverance in qualifying with a strong P5 in Q2 — confirming, once again, that she’s the queen of Q2.

She managed to put down a committed run when it mattered and secured a good result to start the season. After a strong winter of work, there’s clearly more to come. We’re confident we’ll see her much closer to the front in the next rounds.

“Q2 felt really good and I’m happy with the pace I showed there (would have been P6 Q1), but I couldn’t really put everything together in the final. It’s a bit frustrating because I know the speed is there. I just need to unlock it on race run — it will come.” – Lisa.

Raoul started his second season in the Junior category in a solid way, taking P9 at the opening round in South Korea — a top 10 to kick off the year.

On paper, it’s a good result to begin the season with, but Raoul is definitely not fully satisfied with this one. He knows there’s more speed in him, and the goal is clearly higher than this.

A decent base to build on, and we’re confident he’ll be looking to turn that into much better results very soon.

“It’s okay to start the season with a top 10, but I know I can do better than that. I didn’t put everything together this weekend, and I’m a bit disappointed with my riding. The speed is there, I just need to show it next time.” – Raoul.

Unfortunately, it was a tougher weekend for Mylann and Thomas, as neither of them managed to make it through qualifying in South Korea.

Mylann showed encouraging speed in Q1 and was right in the mix, but a crash at the bottom of the track ended his hopes of going into final. Then in Q2 he rode a bit too conservative. A shame, as the potential was clearly there throughout the day.

Thomas, on his side, struggled to find the right pace on this demanding and technical track. Despite his efforts, he never quite managed to put everything together to push for qualification.

Not the result they were aiming for, but valuable experience on a tough track to start the season — and we know both will bounce back stronger at the next round.

The staff did an amazing job for the first round of the season, especially being so far away from home. It wasn’t an easy one to organise, but everything ran smoothly all weekend, which was really satisfying to see.

Tibo was multi tasking for this one : Line guy, Team manager, etc.

If you want to see more behind the scenes of the team, make sure to check out Lalyche.TV on YouTube. It is all in French (sorry about that), but it’s a great way to get a closer look at daily life inside the team.

Santa Cruz X Burgtec by Goodman  @santacruz_burgtec

Thibault Laly  @tibolaly  Nathan Pontvianne  @nathan.pontvianne

Thomas Estaque  @thomasestaque  Lisa Bouladou  @lisa_bouladou

Mylann Falquet  @mylannfalquet  Raoul Schneeberger  @raoul_schneeberger