with Pivot covered the early “caravan years.” Now, in the second episode, we focus on the birth of Pivot Factory Racing. When British Pivot importer, Upgrade Bicycles approached us ten years ago saying that it had local racer that we should sponsor we took a chance. “Our team manager called me a few races later and mentioned that Bernard was using up all their spare wheels and then he started breaking frames”, says Pivot Cycles President and CEO, Chris Cocalis. “The other riders on the team went the entire season on the same frames but Bernard could actually break a frame on demand. That’s how the relationship started because we needed to find out what he was doing with his bike. He was literally ripping the seat tube off the frame. It changed the way we handled some of our testing and we started working more closely together.

and he’s continually delivered. He is not afraid to try new products and is a key player in our development program. Behind that sometimes wild and carefree personality is a perfectionist who insists on doing things right. He will speak his mind and give input when things are not working or need a tweak. His influence exists in every model he rides. “We found out pretty quickly that if Bernard broke something that none of the other riders were breaking, we still needed to take it seriously,” says Cocalis. “In those early days, Bernard was fast but wasn’t as smooth. He went big and landed hard.  These days, he’s super smooth. He obviously goes bigger than ever but frames last him an entire season. We’ve both gotten better over the years.”