SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (BRAIN) — Brian Lopes is returning to Ibis, where he was a sponsored athlete from 2008-2013. This time, Lopes is managing a new domestic enduro team for the brand.
Lopes said, “Tom (Morgan, Ibis' president) and I were talking, and he said that he was interested in starting a domestic racing team to compliment their EWS team, but that he didn’t have the bandwidth the manage both and Ibis. I’ve been working with athletes as a coach for a few years now and thought that it would be a way to share my experience with some younger riders and reconnect with Ibis.”
Morgan said, "We didn’t stop being friends when he stopped riding for Ibis. We’ve always stayed in touch and when the opportunity to work together again came up it just made so much sense. Working with our EWS team over the past few years has made it clear that we needed some way to search for and develop younger riders, and I don’t think there’s anyone who could better prepare young rider for the rigors of racing at the highest level than Brian.”
Besides Ibis, the team has support from DVO Suspension, G-Form Protection, WTB tires and saddles, ODI Grips, Wolf Tooth Components, Fox Racing, and Dynaplug.
The team is focused on contesting the California Enduro Series, as well as some of the EWS Continental events. The roster includes: Evan Geankoplis, Essence Barton, Paul Serra, and Lili Heim.
