Massimiliano "Masi" Ambrosi is South Africa's 2025 Under-23 XCO Champion, a privateer

racing the UCI World Cup circuit on pure belief and a support structure built from scratch.

In this conversation, he walks us through the full arc: growing up in Johannesburg on

motorbikes, the deal his dad made with him to keep his school average above 75% or lose

the bike, seven years with Trek from a borrowed top fuel to a direct contract with Trek

Europe, and what it actually costs — logistically, mentally, physically — to show up at Les Gets or Andorra against the factory riders of the world.

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