While you were planning your Black Friday shopping spree, another heavy hitter has left team Burton.

Nicolas Müller Leaves Burton for Gnu

It’s been rumored for a while — actually I think going back several years there was talk of Nico leaving Burton for Gnu, but it appears to be true now. As of press time (December 3), Nicolas Müller is no longer listed as part of the Burton team, but word is that he will fulfill his remaining contract with them which carries through the remainder of the 2014-2015 winter season. Müller will fully transition to the Mervin/Gnu team for 2015-2016. He is not yet listed on the Gnu team roster.

UPDATE: as of December 15, Gnu Snowboards has made an official announcement via their instagram and the photo also appears prominently on their website:

Prior to this official confirmation, the original source photo:

Nico perhaps foreshadowed this move in an October interview with Boardsportsource, saying that no matter what happens between he and Burton, he would not hold any grudges, he just wants to snowboard on his own terms:

My contract [with Burton is] coming to an end. So we’ll see what happens there. You know, if ways were to part I could never say it was them, or it was me. For me, I always made sure that nothing would come between me and snowboarding. I’ve always wanted to snowboard for the rest of my life, and so I’ve never done anything too risky. And also, I’m a sustainable guy and I’m looking for a long-term relationship with a brand. But right now, I can’t say what’s going to happen.

According to Fluofun (French), the split was more or less mutual.

[Müller] was simply at the end of his contract with the big “B”, and the two parties have decided not to renew. He’ll be reunited with Mathieu Crepel and his longtime friend Fredi Kalbermatten on a Mervin team that’s starting to look pretty stacked.”

While Burton’s apparent focus on picking up young talent is great for the sport’s future, I’m glad to see companies like Mervin continue to support some of the more experienced riders like Müller. Let us know how you feel about Nico’s move to Gnu in the comments below.