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, as the tech that the pros
03:55get eventually trickles down to the bikes we get to buy in the shops. And number four,
04:01it's teamed up with some very interesting partners, including the likes of Swiss Side,
04:06Data Elementi and French Aerospace Research Laboratory, Oneira. Now, Oneira is based around
04:13the corner from Van Riesel's headquarters in Lille, so I can imagine having such an amazing facility
04:19nearby will mean Van Riesel are in the best position possible to make good on their claim of
04:24making the fastest and cheapest bikes possible. In terms of who I think should consider buying a
04:35Van Riesel bike? Well, in this video, I'm riding the mid-range Van Riesel RCR, which features SRAM's
04:41Force Axis groupset equipped with a power meter. This is exactly the same frame shape and geometry
04:48as raced by the pros, albeit with a marginally heavier carbon layup, and we're only talking about
04:53a 40-gram difference, which is barely noticeable. Van Riesel says the RCR is in their lightweight aero
04:59category of bikes, coming in at £5,000 here in the UK. With this in mind, I think a bike like
05:06this would be ideal for the amateur racer, keen sportive rider, or just someone who likes to go
05:11fast and doesn't want to break the bank. It also features zip wheels and some pretty tasty
05:17Michelin power-cut tyres, so wouldn't need any upgrades to begin with. There are different models
05:23if you're looking to spend less than five grand, and as I've already mentioned, there's the all-singing,
05:28all-dancing pro replica model if you want to spend a little bit more. All this to say,
05:34if you're looking for a performance-focused bike that's ready to ride or race straight out of the
05:39shop, then Van Riesel should have something to suit your budget. At this stage, you may be wondering
05:47how to actually go out and buy Van Riesel products. As you'd expect, you can go over to the Decathlon
05:54website and find the bike I'm riding today, along with other products from the Van Riesel range.
05:59It's available in a range of sizes, and you can then arrange for it to be delivered to your closest
06:05Decathlon store, where you can go and pick it up. Or, if you're after a more bespoke retail experience,
06:11then you can head over to Van Riesel's own concept store in London, where you can access services like
06:16bike fits and hands-on experience with their full product range.
06:27Finally, let's get onto what Van Riesel's presence in the market means for the cycling industry
06:32and you, the viewers. As we're at such an early stage in the brand's development, I can only speculate for
06:39now. And things may change, but here are my takeaways. Number one, the fact that we have a
06:46World Tour team racing and winning on what are perceived to be more affordable bikes can only be
06:52a good thing. We're often sold the idea that the most expensive product is the best, so it's refreshing
06:58to know that you can buy the same performance at a more competitive price. At the time of filming,
07:04AG2R Decathlon were ranked sixth out of 21 World Tour teams, so I'd wager any concerns the riders had
07:11about racing bikes from Decathlon have long disappeared. Number two, in the future, we may
07:17see more brands leading with the affordability of their top-spec road bikes rather than their performance.
07:24Van Riesel created quite the buzz when they released the world's cheapest World Tour bike,
07:29and I'm sure that's one of the main reasons they sold out so quickly,
07:33rather than any performance claims. And number three, if Van Riesel continues to build on their
07:39success of selling high-performance bikes at more affordable prices, will we see more premium brands
07:46having to reduce their prices to keep up? Again, it's just speculation for now, but my instinct
07:52says probably not. Our buying decisions are based on far more than just price, with marketing, brand history,
07:59region, and after-sale support, and a whole host of other factors coming into play. In short,
08:06I don't think we can expect a sub 10 grand top-spec Pinarello or Carl Nargo any time in the near future.
08:13But hey, it's amazing to think that with Van Riesel we can now buy a World Tour winning race bike for
08:19well under £10,000. And in terms of change within cycling, I think that's one that we can all get behind.