When Lief Rodgers and Evan Wall announced their new team for the 2026, it was a bit of a shock. The brand, Priority, is better known for commuter bikes. And a brand making a big new investment in enduro kind of bucks this seasons\u2019s trend. But, for everyone involved, the gamble is already paying off.<\/p>\n
Rodgers landed a career-best World Cup finish, placing second in Leogang<\/a>. Not bad for a new partnership and a brand built on commuters, eh?<\/p>\n Rodgers started his season with a win at the Canadian Enduro League in West Kelowna. Hit the podium again at the OneUp Squamish Enduro, which he calls \u201cmore gnarly than almost all the World Cup races.\u201d Then headed over seas. From there, Rodgers and Wall headed overseas and he landed another podium there. He\u2019ll race again in Val di Fassa this weekend.<\/p>\n Rodgers admits the partnership wasn\u2019t exactly expected. He says Priority reached out to Wall, then him at the end of 2025. In an era where even top pros are working pretty hard to maintain spots on teams, that was already a bit unexpected.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d never even heard of Priority before they reached out to us,\u201d Rodgers admits. \u201cWe were a little worried getting on a bike that hasn\u2019t been race proven. We had no idea if it would be good or not. If it had been a brand that I knew a bunch of my other friends were racing, it\u2019d be a bit easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodgers and Wall are quickly proving that Priority\u2019s Vanth is the real deal. Race-proven doesn\u2019t get much better than World Cup podiums in its debut season.<\/p>\n A new bike means Rodgers and Wall have become the friends people come to ask about the bike. Starting from the CEL race, the Vanth\u2019s attracted attention.<\/p>\n \u201cI parked on race morning and there were people coming up to me just asking about the bike right away. No one\u2019s ever seen it before. So yeah, lots of people asking about it and lots of questions.\u201d<\/p>\n Priority didn\u2019t tip-toe into the world of enduro for its first bike. The Vanth, with its belt drive, gearbox and distinctive high pivot design is the kind of bike that would attract questions, even if it wasn\u2019t new.<\/p>\n All that leads to the obvious question, how is the bike?<\/p>\n \u201cThe bike is pretty insane. It just erases bumps,\u201d Rodgers says.<\/p>\n The combination of Pinion gearbox and Gates belt drive, which have been the calling card of Priority since its start 12 years ago in commuters, are a big part of that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bike is so quiet on the descents. I always have people telling me how quiet it is,\u201d Rodgers says. \u201cWhere that puts the main weight on the bike is cool. It moves it all from the back wheel to just over the bottom bracket. I was actually adding weight to my enduro race bike last year, two pounds. So I don\u2019t do that anymore. It\u2019s just there already.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodgers says the weight is roughly the same as his old race bike. That puts either bike at a weight he finds more planted. He admits the gearbox did take some getting used to, especially when riding at World Cup pace. But it also has some advantages.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can shift through the gears when you\u2019re coasting, so I had to learn that, in a race scenario, I can shift when I\u2019m riding a rough section before a climb and it\u2019ll just be in the right gear for a climb or to pedal out of corners. That took a bit of figuring out but it\u2019s definitely helpful being able to do that in racing.\u201d<\/p>\n These are all advantages Connor Swegle, co-founder of Priority Bicycles, has spent 12 years advocating for. Swegle says that, while the jump from commuter to enduro seems large, it\u2019s a natural progression of the advantages they see in the belt drive and gearbox system. (The brand also does make hardtails that have seen some interesting uses in bikepacking and adventure racing, but that\u2019s still a world away from World Cup competition.) It also makes Priority a brand with proven experience in technologies, like gearbox, that are full of hype right now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really felt we could apply these technologies, belts and gearboxes, in ways people are interested in that deliver on brand values. The overall experience with the bike, the low maintenance factor, the reliability factor, that\u2019s part of who we are,\u201d Swegle says.<\/p>\n While Gates has a $100,000 bounty on a downhill World Cup win, Swegle says the pedalling aspect of enduro fit with Priority\u2019s core values. Add the abuse of enduro racing, and the team is, he says, \u201cA great place for us to hang our hat.\u201d<\/p>\n Add the advantages of moving unsprung weight off the back wheel and towards the BB and a new patented suspension design, and it\u2019s a very interesting bike. And one that\u2019s proving fast.<\/p>\n Priority may be new to full suspension mountain bikes and to organising a team. But it\u2019s not a new brand, and it has some advantages of its own.<\/p>\n \u2018This isn\u2019t the only place where we\u2019re hanging our hat,\u201d Swegle says, when asked about the apparent decline of interest in enduro. \u201cWe can create success here and, in the mean time, we still have the other divisions of our company.\u201d<\/p>\n While the commuter bikes truck along, potentially enjoying an oil-crisis-driven bump in interest, Priority is busy making sure what they learn in one part of the company makes every part better. That\u2019s over a decade of experience working with just belt drives that goes into each bike.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much cross over with it, Swegle says. The learnings in commute world impact what happens in the bikepacking world, impact what happens with the Vanth.\u201d<\/p>\n The bike itself was more than four years in development before Rodgers and Wall dropped into their first race stage. Swegle admits he got so caught up in the development and the logistics of organising and then launching a team, that the payoff caught him by surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re caught up in all of that, then you hear \u2018Podium\u2019 and you\u2019re like, wait a second, this is awesome. Like, this is really cool!\u201d<\/p>\n Swegle says the Vanth and Priority Racing Team project has been full of lessons. Not all of them about the bike.<\/p>\n \u201cCanadian athletes are very different than American athletes. There\u2019s a quiet confidence to them. I think that there\u2019s a lot of camaraderie that\u2019s really important,\u201d Swegle says. \u201cAnd I think the learnings is that there is so much joy to be had in the world of enduro right now. I think there\u2019s a huge opportunity to really show that who these athletes are.\u201d<\/p>\n Swegle\u2019s enthusiasm for enduro is refreshing in a year where that seems unfortunately lacking. If you read the, uh, hyperbolic comments sections of some websites, enduro is in trouble. And it\u2019s hard to argue that it\u2019s getting the same coverage it once was, though 2026 is already better than last year. None of that bothers Swegle.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople can say whatever they want to. We have a great bike in the Vanth and we have two great athletes that are busting their butts to make it happen. There\u2019s no market opportunity timing consideration that goes into that,\u201d Swegle says in a refreshing bit of perspective.\u00a0\u201cThe headlines and chatter gives people something to talk about but life goes on. These guys want to race. They want to perform. We want to make great products. So the chatter? I didn\u2019t really bear any relevance.\u201d<\/p>\n And, as Swegle reminds me:<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry direction doesn\u2019t affect the effort that Leif and Evan put in during the offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n That work is already paying off in spades. On top of the podium, both Leif and Wall were in the top 15 at the EDR opener. There\u2019s still more racing to come, we can\u2019t wait to see what the team comes up with.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\nBetting on an unknown<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cyclingmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JDP_SQUAMISHENDURO_20260503-1267.jpg\")
<\/a>Debuting the Priority Vanth<\/h2>\n
![\"Lief](\"https:\/\/cyclingmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/MTBWS-LEOGANG_UCI-Enduro-World-Cup-1.jpeg\")
<\/a>Bringing the belt drive and gearbox to the World Cup<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cyclingmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JDP_SQUAMISHENDURO_20260503-2032.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cThis is awesome!\u201d The advantages and payoffs of building a team<\/h2>\n
![\"Lief](\"https:\/\/cyclingmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/unnamed-2.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cThe industry direction doesn\u2019t affect the effort that Lief and Evan put in during the offseason\u201d<\/h2>\n