Van Rysel's partnership with French world tour team, AG2R-Decathlon -providing road bikes for the professionals to ride. These road bikes have been winning races at the highest level and this has started to raise some eyebrows. These bikes are some of the most affordable bikes in the pro-peloton so there are big questions being asked about what it means to have a bike with a race winning pedigree.
In this video Sam Gupta takes the Van Rysel RCR and explores what Van Rysel's place in the market means for the entire cycling industry and more importantly, what it means for the consumers.
This video was created in partnership with Van Rysel / Decathlon. AD.
In this video Sam Gupta takes the Van Rysel RCR and explores what Van Rysel's place in the market means for the entire cycling industry and more importantly, what it means for the consumers.
This video was created in partnership with Van Rysel / Decathlon. AD.
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00:00In the world of bikes, and more specifically, world or proven road race bikes, the world's
00:12cheapest and fastest are rarely heard in the same sentence. But the bike brand that I have
00:17underneath me might be about to change things forever. I am, of course, talking about Van
00:22Riesel. Cast your minds back to the end of 2023 and French
00:30pro team AG2R made a splash in the cycling press when they announced they would be partnering
00:36with Decathlon for 2024. At the same time, they also announced they would
00:40be riding Decathlon's premium cycling brand, Van Riesel. Now, this had some people scratching
00:46their heads as surely a more budget-orientated retailer like Decathlon wouldn't be able to
00:51match the likes of Pinarello and Colnago when it came to out-and-out performance in the
00:56world tour. Well, if the 2024 road season is anything to go by, then it looks like Van
01:02Riesel and Decathlon have done just that. At the time of filming, the AG2R team have piloted
01:08their flagship Van Riesel RCRs to 26 victories at the highest level. But perhaps the most
01:14striking thing is that you can go into a shop and buy the exact same bike as the pros use
01:20for just £9,000. Of course, £9,000 is far from cheap, but when you consider that Colnago
01:27and Pinarello's world tour race bikes cost well north of £10,000, the RCR starts to look
01:33far more competitive on price. And cyclists bought into the hype, with the first batch
01:39of top-spec Van Riesel RCRs selling out within minutes when they went on sale in the UK. So,
01:47it seems like competitive pricing and high-end performance can be offered at the same time.
01:52But what could this mean for the entire bike industry? Well, you'll have to watch to the
01:57end of the video to find out. Before that, I'm going to tell you a little
02:02more about Van Riesel and why they are causing such a stir.
02:09At this stage, you may be wondering what Van Riesel is and where did they originate from? Well,
02:17Van Riesel, which incidentally translates to Made in Flanders, originated in 2019 and is Decathlon's
02:24premium bike brand. And while Van Riesel has only been in the World Tour since 2024, Decathlon has a
02:31strong history of making bikes for professional teams such as Cofidis and AG2R Provoyance in the
02:37early 2000s. It's worth mentioning that Van Riesels aren't just rebranded from other Decathlon models.
02:44They're a whole new line with a dedicated team of engineers striving to make the best performance
02:49road bikes possible. The marketing speak is all well and good, but why should you be excited about
02:55Van Riesel bikes? For me, I think there are four reasons. Number one, it's just great to see a
03:02relatively new brand on the scene that isn't afraid to shake things up and put their money where their
03:07mouth is. Sponsoring a World Tour team is not cheap and it's a huge risk for any new brand. So,
03:14to see Decathlon AG2R teams doing so well aboard Van Riesel bikes, well, can only put a smile on your face.
03:22Number two, and you're going to be hearing this a lot throughout this video, it's got to be the price.
03:27As we all know by now, bikes are seriously expensive in this day and age and that isn't going to change
03:32any time soon. The fact that Van Riesel are trying to offer something at a more competitive price
03:38can only be a good thing. Number three, they're in it for the long haul. Decathlon and Van Riesel have
03:44committed to a five-year partnership with AG2R, so I'm pretty sure this won't be a flash in the pan thing.
03:51Brands making long-term commitments is great for the likes of you and me,
03:54as the tech that the pros get eventually trickles down to the bikes we get to buy in the shops.
04:00And number four, it's teamed up with some very interesting partners, including the likes of
04:05SwissSide, Data Elementi and French Aerospace Research Laboratory, Oneira. Now, Oneira is based
04:13round the corner from Van Riesel's headquarters in Lille, so I can imagine having such an amazing
04:18facility nearby will mean Van Riesel are in the best position possible to make good on their claim
04:24of making the fastest and cheapest bikes possible.
04:32In terms of who I think should consider buying a Van Riesel bike, well, in this video I'm riding the
04:38mid-range Van Riesel RCR, which features SRAM's Force Axis groupset equipped with a power meter.
04:45This is exactly the same frame shape and geometry as raced by the pros, albeit with a marginally
04:51heavier carbon layup, and we're only talking about a 40g difference, which is barely noticeable.
04:56Van Riesel says the RCR is in their lightweight aero category of bikes, coming in at £5,000 here in the UK.
05:04With this in mind, I think a bike like this would be ideal for the amateur racer, keen sportive rider,
05:09or just someone who likes to go fast and doesn't want to break the bank. It also features zip wheels
05:16and some pretty tasty Michelin power-cut tyres, so wouldn't need any upgrades to begin with.
05:22There are different models if you're looking to spend less than £5,000, and as I've already mentioned,
05:27there's the all-singing, all-dancing pro replica model if you want to spend a little bit more.
05:33All this to say, if you're looking for a performance-focused bike that's ready to ride
05:37or race straight out of the shop, then Van Riesel should have something to suit your budget.
05:45At this stage, you may be wondering how to actually go out and buy Van Riesel products.
05:51As you'd expect, you can go over to the Decathlon website and find the bike I'm riding today,
05:56along with other products from the Van Riesel range. It's available in a range of sizes and
06:02you can then arrange for it to be delivered to your closest Decathlon store, where you can go and
06:07pick it up. Or, if you're after a more bespoke retail experience, then you can head over to Van
06:12Riesel's own concept store in London, where you can access services like bike fits and hands-on
06:17experience with their full product range. Finally, let's get onto what Van Riesel's presence in the
06:30market means for the cycling industry and you, the viewers. As we're at such an early stage in
06:36the brand's development, I can only speculate for now. And things may change, but here are my takeaways.
06:43Number one, the fact that we have a World Tour team racing and winning on what are perceived to
06:49be more affordable bikes can only be a good thing. We're often sold the idea that the most expensive
06:56product is the best, so it's refreshing to know that you can buy the same performance at a more
07:01competitive price. At the time of filming, AG2R Decathlon were ranked sixth out of 21 World Tour teams.
07:09So I'd wager any concerns the riders had about racing bikes from Decathlon
07:13have long disappeared. Number two, in the future, we may see more brands leading with the affordability
07:20of their top-spec road bikes rather than their performance. Van Riesel created quite the buzz when
07:26they released the world's cheapest World Tour bike, and I'm sure that's one of the main reasons they
07:32sold out so quickly, rather than any performance claims. And number three, if Van Riesel continues to
07:39build on their success of selling high-performance bikes at more affordable prices, will we see more
07:45premium brands having to reduce their prices to keep up? Again, it's just speculation for now,
07:51but my instinct says probably not. Our buying decisions are based on far more than just price,
07:57with marketing, brand history, region, and after-sales support, and a whole host of other factors
08:04coming into play. In short, I don't think we can expect a sub 10 grand top-spec Pinarello or Carl
08:10Nago any time in the near future. But hey, it's amazing to think that with Van Riesel we can now buy
08:17a World Tour winning race bike for well under £10,000. And in terms of change within cycling,
08:24I think that's one that we can all get behind.