GT Bicycles is a large American manufacturer of road, mountain, and bmx bicycles. The company was founded in 1979 by Gary Turner, a welding engineer and Richard Long, a bike shop owner

GT’s story is simple: speed, speed and even more speed. From GT’s namesake Gary Turner designing one of the first BMX race bikes in 1974 to our modern carbon fiber creations that redefine fast-as-hell, we’ve built a long legacy of racing, winning, yet never taking ourselves too seriously. As a company, we’re 30 going on 18. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

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The worst kept secret in mountain biking has been confirmed – the Athertons are on GT bikes for 2012. They'll be joined by fellow Brit and current GT rider Marc Beaumont on the new GT Factory Racing squad.

We expect to see Gee, Rachel and Marc on the GT Fury this year – maybe not in the same lurid yellow colour, though!

“The new relationship that’s formed between Atherton Racing and GT has opened up so many opportunities for everyone involved," said Gee. "I’m stoked to be going into the next few years of racing being bolstered by a company with such a passion for the sport, and whose drive for the top step of the podium matches my own."

“Atherton Racing are one of the most progressive teams in the history of mountain biking and are known for taking the sport to the next level,” said Mark Peterman, GT's global general manager. “We’re excited about the partnership because it both continues GT’s legacy as the brand that helps progressive riders push their limits and because of the opportunities it presents to develop new products.”

GT say the team will "provide important product testing feedback" and will work hand-in-hand with them on "future product advancements and the next evolution of GT mountain bikes". If we were GT, our first move would be to update the carbon Fury with the more up-to-date angles used on the new alloy version.

When the Athertons announced last week that they'd signed for GT for the 2012 season, we had one big question: would they be on the stock carbon fibre GT Fury frame, as use by teammate Marc Beaumont last year, or a new version with the revised angles found on the new alloy version of the bike.

Well, the first pictures of Gee Atherton's new ride have been posted on the AthertonRacing/GT Racing Facebook Page and it looks like the stock Fury, with a few tweaks – shorter than usual shock, offset bushings and angled headset, according to Pinkbike – to bring the geometry up to date.

The trio have carried over most of their previous sponsors, so the bike is decked out with Shimano Saint kit, signature PRO Athertons Star Series components, Fox suspension and Continental tyres. The decals are very basic at present; we expect the team bikes to sport some fancier graphics at their racing debut later this year.