Pearl Izumi announced its 2023 athlete roster of six returning riders and two new additions— Whitney and Zack Allison—while welcoming back Alexey Vermeulen, Hannah Shell, Jake Magee, Brooke Goudy, Mark Mathews, and Marley Blonsky.
“We’re extremely proud of our group of athletes this year and excited to share their accomplishments in the year ahead,” said Rebecca Brough, Marketing Manager at Peal Izumi. “Our riders come from wildly diverse backgrounds and have equally varied plans and goals for the upcoming season. Their common thread is the way in which they engage with their respective communities and give back to the cycling community at large. We’re proud of our riders both when they stand on podiums and how they conduct themselves as stewards of the sport of cycling.”
- Whitney and Zack Allison are best known as the gravel-riding husband and wife duo behind Fort Collins gravel race, the FoCo Fondo. They are also the founders of Bike Sports, a racing program, bike fitting studio, gravel camps, have a bike route website, and are engaged in Bike Sports TV. Both have placed consistently in events, including BWR, Unbound Gravel, and SBT GRVL.
- For over a decade, Mark Matthews has progressed the sport of mountain biking with freeride lines and visionary trail builds and filming content. He dedicates himself to improving and expanding the trail network in his hometown on Vancouver Island, BC.
- Brooke Goudy’s love of cycling has transcended her role as an athlete. She is a Black Girls Do Bike co-leader.
- As the Co-Founder of All Bodies on Bikes, Marley Blonsky believes anyone should be empowered to experience cycling and offers resources to promote body-size inclusion within the industry.
- Jake Magee was a flat-track motorcycle national champion in Australia before he switched to cycling in 2009. Since then, he has set gravel records at the Gravel Worlds 75 mile and has stood on the podium placing 2nd at Rad Dirt, 2nd at OKC Gravel Grinder, 2nd at BWR Kansas Wafer, and 2nd at BWR Utah Wafer.
- WorldTour racer turned gravel rider Alexey Vermeulen delivers wins on the race circuit, co-founded From the Ground Up, a cycling scholarship program to inspire riders to complete the Leadville 100.
- Hannah Shell is taking a second crack at the Lifetime Grand Prix in 2023. Her resume includes wins at Miami Gravel and Foco Fondo, 3rd at Rad Dirt, 4th at Gravel Worlds 2021, 5th at Gravel Worlds 2022, 5th at BWR Lawrence & BWR Utah, and 12th at Unbound 200 in 2021 & 2022.
