Spotted this in the inbox earlier this week: Gautier Paulin, the longtime French captain for the country’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations team, has now been named manager of the national team. Gautier, who was part of every French team for more than a decade—including the five straight wins the team had between 2014 and ’18—will make the always formidable French even stronger. Here’s the press release from the French Motorcycle Federation:

Selected 11 times to defend the colors of the France at the highest level, architect of the success of the Blues from 2014 to 2018, Gautier will be able to use all his experience in the service of the France team to compete in this 75th edition of a reference competition to be held in Ernée on October 7-8. 

In this strategic position, he succeeds Pascal Finot who led the French delegation to the top step of the podium for 4 consecutive years, from 2015 to 2018. The FFM salutes the remarkable work carried out by Pascal for eight years, the last of which ended with a very good second-place at RedBud behind irreproachable Americans.

“Gautier knows perfectly the workings of this France team with which he played from 2009 to 2019. Beyond his 5 victories, Gautier has been an emblematic captain to federate and create this emulation which has been one of the ingredients of our collective successes. His experience, his natural aura and his love of the flag will be strong assets to allow us to hang a new star on our list. Finally, I would like to salute Pascal Finot for his unwavering investment in this position. He continues his adventure at the FFM as Deputy National Technical Director in charge of high performance, a position he has held since 2021.” 

“It is an honour to succeed Pascal,” said Paulin. “In continuity, this mission testifies to our mutual trust with the Federation. At 33 years old, it is therefore a new challenge that awaits me and that I will take up with strength and determination with my vision as a former high-level athlete. The Motocross des Nations is an extraordinary race where individuality fades in favor of the collective. Together, we will make every effort to ensure that each driver becomes the best version of himself on D-Day to wear the colors of the France as high as possible.”

37 years. 3 generations. Countless memories…

For nearly 4 decades, our family has cultivated and grown Swan MX into what it is today. We have been extremely blessed to see it prosper and become a place where families have spent irreplaceable time together. As we watch our own children growing up so quickly, we recently made the bittersweet decision to sell our lifelong project in order to spend even more valuable time together with our family.

We are excited to announce that we have found a special family who is passionate about motocross, loves to play in the dirt, is eager to make Swan even better, and is committed to continuing the legacy of what we have established.

We are pleased to be passing the torch on to the Moe family. Jason, Laurie, Katelin, and Colton are devoted to preserving what we have started, and carrying it to even greater heights!

We want to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all of our riders, and to the many really good people that have helped us, for the love and support you’ve poured out on us over the years. We have made many friendships that we will cherish forever. Our family will continue to assist on race weekends to help ensure a smooth transition. It’s going to be another awesome racing season! We look forward to seeing y’all at the races!