Cycling Van Rysel

Lille, France

A golden jersey 
for all? 

Van Rysel, the Decathlon brand for road cycling, is getting ready to enter the peloton of professional cycling. Its highest Challenge: to be affordable and offer the quality of competition gear.

« The brand is young and has great ambition » says Nicolas Pierron. The manager of Van Rysel brand is very passionate. Since its first appearance in January 2019, the brand has had great success, its frames, jerseys and unique style. Next year, Van Rysel will be part of “la Grande Boucle” in the professional peloton of the Tour de France and in the schedule of the World Tour. « We are willing to get to the highest level, very quickly.” Working with professionals is a great way to achieve great stages. And to prove our products are affordable and have a high competition level. »

Before this, Decathlon had a long cycling history. Decathlon was a cycling partner of AG2R and Cofidis with many victories, with labelled jerseys and affordable bikes. « The competition bike was available in Decathlon stores ». Few members of this team are part of the Van Rysel team created to imagine the future: « Those members are very proud and still have a lot of emotion remembering this heroic time. When we watched the Tour de France, some professionals wore our gear, you can’t forget this. We worked in a special way to fulfill the needs of the professional teams. We had to switch from aluminium to carbon, cycling competitors wanted to cycle carbon bikes. Our first carbon frame was created in less than 6 months. »

Van Rysel is preparing for its comeback with the same precise concentration. The outfit, the helmet, the bike. « The professional challenge is a great motivation. We will win seconds, at the highest level, this becomes a success, » adds Nicolas Pierron. Cycling is a sport of endurance, Decathlon has created different steps to achieve success. The first step : to create a cycling short and a jersey. Van Rysel has maximised its collaboration with the elite of cycling : The U19 team of AG2R; in the last ten years with “FDJ” and Marc Madiot (2013-16).

The Van Rysel products are developed and tested outdoors on the velodrome next to Roubaix or in the BTwin village lab. The Decathlon customers are the first winners. They wear quality and affordable clothes: between 35 to 110 euros for a short and a jersey.

« Tomorrow, we will be able to work with a pro team, this will make us grow. Today, jerseys are tighter, we play on aerodynamics, composite material, and the morphology of the athlete. We will adapt our product to the highest level of technicity ». Action. « We launched a program to develop products for professionals ». Tests in climate chambers or a wind tunnel, digital simulators that help recreate the real race conditions, research on composite materials. The race is back on. Pros aim for victory thanks to their great gear, and as non-professionals, they need products to be affordable. Van Rysel offers both professional and affordable quality.

June 2021

VAN RYSEL

Van Rysel is the Decathlon road bikes Performance brand. Born in January 2019, its name means: “Originally from Lille”. It is indeed at the Btwin Village, in Lille, that we create our products and put together our bikes.