Orange Seal launches talent rich 2022 team
Fresh faces add speed to bright orange roster
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Orange Seal
Orange Seal Off-Road Team is rolling into 2022 with a refreshed line-up full of U.S. talent. The four-rider team will divide its time between cross country and gravel racing. Its targets range from World Cup XCO events to the LifeTime Grand Prix series.
The team is led by U.S. XCO powerhouse Savilia Blunk. Blunk is the reigning under-23 XCO U.S.A. national champion. She is also the elite short track XC national champ. Blunk will be building off a strong 2021 season. Last year saw her land two World Cup podiums in the extremely competitive under-23 women’s field. A third place at Lenzerheide set the stage. A podium at home in Snowshoe, W.Va capped off her season.
Savilia Blunk
Cole Paton
Maddex Thiel
Dennis van Winden
“I am super excited to be continuing our partnership with Orange Seal and joining the Off-Road Team,” says Blunk. “Orange Seal encompasses everything I could wish for in a team and it truly feels like an extended family. I will be focusing on World Cup XCO and Domestic racing, and am so excited to learn from the incredible team of individuals that make up this program!”
Blunk will be joined by aspiring men’s racer Cole Patton and Maddex Thiel. Performance Director and rider Dennis van Winden rounds out the team.
Starting the season fast
The team already landed the year’s first podiums at early season euro XC events. Now the Seal’s are headed Stateside for the 2022 Mid South gravel weekend.
Performance Director Dennis van Winden says he is “Excited to step up in the Orange Seal family as Performance Director and work directly with the Orange Seal athletes. This team has so much potential and each team member is unique in their talents and personality! Personally, I have always been motivated to help athletes chase their dreams, already during my own active career as a professional road cyclist. I am honored to assist this ambitious new generation on their road and off-road to success, on and off the bike. It makes me happier and more eager than I have ever felt before, and I cannot wait to race side by side with our Family Seal talents.”
The 2022 Orange Seal Off-Road Team will race cross country and gravel with tires filled with Orange Seal tubless tire sealant, of course. Other support will come from Scott, Tactic, Gu, Ceramic Speed, Pirelli, Poc, and The Feed.
