Van Rysel

Van Rysel literally meaning 'from Lille' is the in-house premium cycling brand of French sports retailer Decathlon

Racing

Results

Race Results

Tour de Romandie stage 1: Dorian Godon wins in sprint 1-2 for Decathlon AG2R

 (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) continued his team’s fine start to the season with victory on stage 1 of the 

The Frenchman capitalised on a disorganised sprint into Fribourg to win ahead of his teammate 

 and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

The win also put Godon into the race leader’s jersey and netted Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s 11th victory of the year.

Godon now leads the race by six seconds over Vermeersch.

After Tuesday's prologue, the opening road stage saw a six-rider break jump clear in the early stages, featuring Fausto Masnada (Soudal Quick-Step), Juri Hollmann (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Patrick Gamper (Bora-Hansgrohe), Raúl García Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Wanty), and Joey Rosskopf (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team).

The group maintained a lead of around three minutes for most of the stage, and covered the early small climbs without major incident. On the second ascent of Arconciel, with around 50km to go, the break’s gap was down to 2:14 with EF-Education EasyPost doing most of the work and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling) dropped from the peloton.

By the time the race hit the cobbled climb of Lorette with 37km remaining the advantage remained at just over two minutes, as Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) attacked from the back with Richard Carapaz (EF-Education EasyPost) glued to his wheel. David Gaudu (Groupama FDJ) made it three leaders on the descent in the dangerous counterattack but a combination of Bora-Hansgrohe and Movistar brought the trio back with around 32km to go.

With the early break still up the road, Visma-Lease a Bike, and Robert Gesink in particular, put the hammer down and led the chase. With 15km to go the six riders in the break had just 30 seconds and on the rolling terrain before the final, several more attacks would follow. Former two-time world champion 

 (Soudal Quick-Step) attacked twice in the final 10km but was reeled in before a messy finale ensued. 

No team were able to assert any form of dominance in the closing stages, and Lidl-Trek and Alpecin appeared disjointed at times as the sprinters moved up and vyed for position. 

Godon and Vendrame left it late, coming from deep in the front group and surging through through decimated pack as several riders paid for making their efforts two soon. Godon hit the front with less than 50m to go, and with Vendrame on his wheel the result was in no doubt as the pair accelerated towards the line.

De Brabantse Pijl: Benoît Cosnefroy comes out on top

) emerged victorious from an open edition of De Brabantse Pijl, sprinting to victory from a seven-man group in Overijse.

The French puncheur was one of a number of riders to bridge to the lead group following the key climb of the Moskesstraat, and out-kicked his rivals in the home straight beyond the crest of the late S-Bocht climb.

) was forced to bow his head as Cosnefroy roared past, settling for second place after his teammate 

 had neutralised a dangerous late attack from the impressive 

 (UAE Team Emirates) clinched the final spot on the podium.

“I feel at home at this race,” said Cosnefroy, explaining his victory salute of pointing down towards the tarmac, having clinched his first victory after three previous podiums.

“I’m very very happy to win here. It’s never easy to win a race and this one was very hard to read. When I was able to get across to the group it was perfect, and I was confident in my sprint. I wanted to get in the wheel of Dylan and when he launched I thought it was maybe too late but with the headwind, I was able to gain speed and get around him.”

Cosnefroy remarked that when Van den Berg attacked, it was “perfect” for him. The Dutchman agreed, berating himself for being “stupid” and launching a move that ultimately negated his strongest suit: his sprint.

Van den Berg was part of an elite trio, with Teuns and Wellens, that formed on the second of the four ascents of the steep cobbled Moskesstraat climb, but while he’s known for his sprint wins, he proved himself to be a good deal more versatile than that. He piled the pressure on on the final ascent of Moskestraat and then when wheels were let go in the final 2.5km, he decided to press on in a do-or-die solo move.

Without the presence of Blackmore, who had bridged across shortly after Cosnefroy, he might have survived, given the lack of team numbers otherwise. But he “exploded” on the S-Bocht and was forced to drop away as the others contested the sprint he’ll feel he could have won.

In the end, Cosnefroy, who had been on the attack much earlier in the race before launching his impressively snappy bridge to the winning move, was a convincing winner in a big boost ahead of the Ardennes Classics.

Coming after Paris-Roubaix and ahead of Amstel Gold, De Brabantse Pijl forms a bridge between the true cobbled Classics and the true hilly Classics, taking elements of each and taking place on the border between Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium. 

The 64th edition of the race featured a slightly modified route, with the removal of the Hagaard climb from the 20km finishing circuit that was tackled four times. The slight reduction in climbing, plus the absence of the peloton's biggest star names, made for an open race, which constantly threatened to come back for a reduced bunch finish, like in the old days. 

It took a long time for a breakaway to form, with an eight-man group finally going clear on the first climb of the day. However, by the time they hit the finishing circuit, their advantage was tumbling, and it evaporated on the first ascent of Moskestraat, where the first big attacks came from the bunch. 

Nothing stuck on the climb itself but a new breakaway trio formed soon after, featuring Antoine Huby (Soudal Quick-Step), Alec Segaert (Lotto Dstny), and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X). On the subsequent lap, that group expanded when the attacks came again on Moskesstraat, and then again on the subsequent climb of Holstheide, where Cosnefroy would bridge for the first of two times that day. 

Antonio Morgado (UAE), Lawson Craddock (Jayco-AlUla) and the Alpecin-Deceuninck duo of Søren Kragh and Axel Laurance (ADC) were also part of a group that swelled to nine, but they were brought to heel soon into the penultimate lap. 

When the Moskesstraat rolled around again, the winning move started to take shape, with Teuns taking charge and gapping everyone over the top. Wellens and Van den Berg were the closest challengers and joined on the descent to form a trio that held off a chaotic reduced peloton, where there were numerous attacks but no cohesive chase. 

They crossed the finish line and took the bell with 25 seconds in hand, but Alpecin-Deceuninck, after some dilly-dallying, took responsibility and were later aided by Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale to bring it back to within bridging distance. 

On the final ascent of Moskesstraat it was Van den Berg, nominally the weakest climber, who looked the strongest, with Teuns fading slightly, while Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) succeeded in jumping across from the bunch. 

They descended to the Holstheide with a lead of 10 seconds, which Cosnefroy wiped out in the blink of an eye with a vicious acceleration. Beyond that climb, more riders from a disorganised and fragmented chase made the jump in ones and twos: Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), then Blackmore, with Laurance coming agonisingly close to joining before being spat.

The resulting group of seven worked together for a few kilometres and looked to be combining through to the finish until Cepeda let the wheel go behind Van den Berg, who carried on with his turn, looked around, and decided to try and press home the gap that he'd opened by accident. 

He made a good fist of it as the others looked at each other, but the presence of two riders from one team saw Blackmore sacrifice himself and the gap was down to a few seconds by the late ascent of the S-Bocht, at which point Van den Berg's legs "exploded" and he couldn't even hang on for the sprint. 

Blackmore continued to lead the way for Teuns, who was initially rivalled by Wellens, but it was Cosnefroy who showcased the best timing and finishing speed to finally take out the race that suits him so well.

For the latest news, interviews and analysis from the world of professional cycling, be sure to check out the 

 to stay up to date with all of the action from cycling's most exciting season.

Itzulia Basque Country stage 2: Paul Lapeira wins reduced sprint after late split

) claimed the biggest win of his young career on stage 2 of 

, triumphing in a draggy sprint from a reduced peloton in the rain.

Only 40 riders arrived in Kanbo for the uphill drag to the line, after the peloton split in the final kilometres, which saw a series of crashes on the wet roads.

A few big names missed the splits but the big pre-race favourites and top team leaders were all present and correct, with 

) not sprinting but safely defending his overall lead. 

Lapeira's victory was doubly impressive since he hadn't even banked on his sprint. With the bunch cut down by crashes at the 4km-to-go and 2km-to-go marks, the 23-year-old looked to take advantage of the confusion with an attack 1,500 metres from the line. 

He was quickly brought back, with Tour de France champion 

) up at the front of the reduced bunch, and just as well. After a strong lead-out from teammate 

, he kicked hard on the uphill drag and won by a comfortable margin.  

), jumped early but was soundly rounded by Lapeira and forced to accept second place, with 

) rounding out the day's top 3 in third. 

"The level in the WorldTour is so high, so I'm very happy to win," said Lapeira, who won two lower-level French one-day races earlier this month but has now made his breakthrough in a top-category race. 

"I tried to attack with 1.5km to go as it was a bit calm, but they were onto me straight away, so I sat up and started to think about the sprint. Bruno took me from 700 metres to 200 metres, then when it started to kick uphill I launched my sprint and it worked out."

Race leader Roglič declined to sprint on a stage you sense he possibly could have competed for on a different day, but he nevertheless survived a tricky day to retain the leader's yellow jersey following his time trial victory. 

) was caught up in the late split and lost 23 seconds, dropping to 14th overall. UAE, though, still had 

 finishing up front - and also taking two bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint - along with 

, who in fact accidentally won the intermediate sprint, finished alongside Vine. 

) trailed those two UAE riders at the intermediate sprint to collect a single bonus second and finished safely in the bunch to reduce his deficit to Roglič to 10 seconds. He's now tied for time with 

Aysuo has moved ahead of Vingegaard into fourth place, with the Tour de France champion rounding out the top five at 15 seconds. 

Along with Vine, those who lost time include Skjelmose's teammate, 

, the former Giro d'Italia champion, who went down in a crash with 4km to go and conceded nearly four minutes. 

Many big names, if not outright favourites, finished in a group at 23 seconds down: 

After the wind and the hailstorms on the opening time trial of the week-long WorldTour race in northern Spain, there was more bad weather on the first road stage, with rain coming down throughout the afternoon. 

The stage from Irun to Kanbo over the border in the French Basque Country featured over 2,000 metres of elevation gain in 160km, with constantly undulating roads but no obvious climbs, with a bunch sprint of sorts always the likeliest outcome.

Five riders made up the day's breakaway: 

 (Q36.5). Together, they built a lead of four minutes but were kept on a short leash throughout, as 

Cobo was dropped from the breakaway with 90km remaining after Bol had taken the points on the day's sole categorised climb and Vuillermoz the maximum points at the intermediate sprint. 

From there, it was a long waiting game in the rain, with the next flashpoint being the second intermediate sprint with 8.5km to go, which also carried bonus seconds. It was on the approach, with 13km to go, that the breakaway was finally put to an end, with UAE and Ineos leading the run-in to the sprint. 

There was a mad dash to the line, and in the end it was taken by someone who perhaps didn't mean to, with Isaac del Toro doing such a good lead-out for UAE teammate Juan Ayuso that he won it himself. Remco Evenepoel took second place, with Ayuso in third, as the trio took bonuses of 3-2-1 seconds respectively. 

The run-in to the sprint finish, however, was marred by a spate of crashes. With around 4km to go, Tao Geoghegan Hart came down in a crash with two other riders and only gingerly remounted his bike. Two kilometres further down the road, a Movistar rider in second position slipped out on a wet corner, triggering frustration in his teammate who was on the front. 

From there, it was a messy, reduced peloton, with Vingegaard deciding that it was worth spending the extra energy to stay right up front. Safety was the name of the game as Roglič and Evenepoel, who might have sprinted on another day, were content to come home in the pack. 

In the end it was Lapeira, who'd already tried to win the race in a different way, who had the best lead-out and the best legs on the kick to the line. 

News

Race News

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale terminate Franck Bonnamour's contract

Seven weeks after his initial suspension by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for an abnormal Biological Passport, 

 have terminated the contract of French rider, 

The 28-year-old has ridden for the team since the beginning of last season and did have a deal until the end of 2024, but the pair have now split ways as the investigation into Bonnamour's case continues.

Bonnamour is the first French rider to ever fail the Biological Passport, which was introduced to cycling as an anti-doping measure in January 2008. His now-former team released 

"On February 5, 2024, the team was informed by the International Cycling Union of the investigation and provisional suspension of Franck Bonnamour due to a violation of anti-doping rules," they wrote. "This suspension follows checks carried out before his arrival in the team on January 1, 2023.

"The team was forced to terminate Franck Bonnamour's employment contract early. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team advocates the practice of cycling in line with strong ethical rules."

Franck Bonnamour provisionally suspended for abnormal Biological Passport

As the French WorldTeam have been keen to point out since his initial suspension, the anti-doping violation was discovered in tests undertaken before he joined the outfit in January 2023. Bonnamour previously rode for B&B Hotels-KTM in 2021 and 2022. 

In his first season with the now-defunct team, Bonnamour won the award for being the most combative rider at the 

, in which he was constantly on the attack and was one of the race's most memorable characters. Prior to 2021, he spent many seasons with Arkéa Samsic - now 

On Tuesday, Bonnamour released a statement of his own via his social media channels, with the Frenchman indicating that he had been informed of his dismissal on Monday. 

"I am hereby free to communicate on my situation, following the decision of the International Cycliste Union dated February 5, to suspend me temporarily for alleged irregularities in my biological passport," he wrote.

"I have always done my job in compliance with the rules imposed by the International Cycling Union. I have always complied with, of course, the many anti-doping checks that this sport has asked me for for years. I have never resorted to banned products or any blood work.

"With the help of my lawyers and scientists, we are working on my defence. I have always been an honest, straight and clean racer and therefore can not be accused of cheating.

"Thank you for the many messages of support during this difficult time.
I will no longer communicate with regard to the ongoing procedure, which is confidential." 

It is not yet known when further information on Bonnamour's case will be made public by the UCI. His dismissal leaves Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale with 29 riders for the rest of the 2024 campaign, which has started off in fine fettle for the French WorldTeam. 

'The difference in level is quite shocking' – Resignation and realism among Classics riders

) is reducing some of the world’s best climbers to also-rans, and the same sense of resignation is washing over the Classics campaigners in northern Belgium.

 (Visma-Lease a Bike) were already the two leading cobbled one-day riders, by some distance, but this year that distance seems, from within the peloton, greater than ever. On Friday, the pair effectively reduced the 

E3 Saxo Classic: Mathieu van der Poel powers to victory as Wout van Aert crashes

 on Sunday, rider after rider was asked how they might manage to beat Van der Poel, who'd got the better of that tussle and recorded the biggest solo victory in the history of the race.

. “He’s pretty much unbeatable at the moment.”

 (Lidl-Trek), former world champion and one of the ‘best of the rest’. “We try but even there, at E3, we have four guys and he is still capable of beating us. This guy is just the best in the world and it’s not easy to deal with.”

Pedersen was one of the few riders still at least scratching their heads. For many on the rungs below, they’ve simply ceased to entertain the idea.

"Today, if you speak to Mathieu, he will say ‘I race for the win’. Anybody else who says that, they’re not really being 100% honest," Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's 

Naesen was reduced to a bit-part player at E3 due to a puncture on the crucial climb of the Taaienberg, but he was under no illusions that he could have got anywhere near Van der Poel, who won by a minute and half, or Van Aert, who recovered from a crash to catch and then leave behind everyone else on the Oude Kwaremont. 

"It’s quite shocking from within the race as well,” Naesen said of the difference in level between that pair and the rest.

"When the difference between the top guys and yourself is so high, it’s not demoralising at all actually, because there’s not much you can do. It’s natural. I’m just being honest actually. You can just do your best and finish where you finish. What else is there to do?”

Naesen has had a relatively fallow few years in the spring Classics, but he’s a former Belgian champion with podiums to his name at Milan-San Remo, E3, Gent-Wevelgem, plus a couple of top 10s at the Tour of Flanders.

But the level that netted him those results, and made him dream of bigger things, seems to count for very little in 2024.

"I often analyse my races afterwards, and many times on the climbs where I’ve done my best results and my best efforts, I see the times are getting beaten day in day out. There’s really not much you can do if that’s the case.

"Right now I’m in really good shape, even if it’s not the best ever. But my top shape today only allows me to aim for like… you know like in Omloop when I was fourth – that was a great result – or in E3 I’m certain I would have ridden for top 10 without my puncture.

"That’s where I’m at. I have a really high level, I’m really pleased with it, but to say I’m going for the win in these races. I will not forbid myself, of course, but I cannot say it’s realistic.”

 to stay up to date with all of the action from cycling's most exciting season. 

Tech

Tech News

How much does bike technology really boost performance? - GCN Tech Show

It feels like the WorldTour peloton is still in the early throes of the 2024 season but it has already reached May and the half-way mark in the road calendar. It’s been a season characterised by trends on the bike, namely 

 winning everything, and trends off the bike, with the use of 

. It’s also been a season that has delivered plenty of success for 

, who have taken 12 wins so far this season - the fastest they’ve reached that tally since 2005.

That success has obviously been delivered by its talented riders but, as 

 Tech Show, it could also be driven by the team’s 

. When looking at the team, most of the key elements have remained the same, including many of the riders, but the bikes stand out as being the key difference.

Decathlon joined the team as title sponsors

, bringing its new high-end range of Van Rysel bikes with it. They’ve caused quite the stir in the world of racing and away from it, with the 

bikes selling out hours of going on pre-sale

. It’s perhaps not surprising considering the much more friendly price tag compared to other WorldTour bikes, with the top-of-the-range model with SRAM Red AXS selling for €8,500.

That lower cost doesn’t appear to have come to the detriment of performance, with the bikes performing admirably in tests, so are they helping to drive the team’s success? Check out what Alex and Ollie think in the video at the top of this page and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Tech throwback: Remembering the Decathlon pro bikes of the 2000s

It’s been another busy week in the world of tech, with a new 

 Red groupset potentially breaking cover at the 

New SRAM Red on show at the Giro d’Italia

While there has been no official word yet, an unreleased version of SRAM’s top-tier Red AXS groupset has been in full show at the Giro d’Italia.

We won’t give away all the details here, but suffice to say there are some interesting developments across the groupset, with changes to the shifting levers and derailleurs. 

Check out a full breakdown of the changes we spotted at the Giro d’Italia.

Tadej Pogačar skinsuit divides opinions at Giro d’Italia

Having taken the race lead on stage 2, Tadej Pogačar took ownership of the maglia rosa. Except, in a move that has divided cycling, the UAE Team Emirates rider chose to wear a Castelli skinsuit on stage 3 that blended the usual pink on the top half with a granata on the bottom.

Featuring it in hot tech is controversial in itself, as it wasn’t to the liking of many. Including, as it turned out, the 

race’s commissaires who apparently threatened him with disqualification

 - not for crimes against fashion, but for breaking rules. The UCI has since dismissed such rumours and cleared the Slovenian to wear the mutli-coloured skinsuit in future stages, should he keep hold of the lead.

Tadej Pogačar cleared to use multi-coloured skinsuit at the Giro d’Italia

Forge+Bond bring recyclable rims to the road

Forge+Bond is a new company, only hitting the market in 2023, but it has already made a big impact through its carbon recyclable wheels. It previously only offered gravel and mountain bike wheelsets but has expanded the recycling capabilities to the road through the new CR wheels.

Like the other wheels in its line-up, they are created using FusionFiber technology which combines nylon and carbon fibre. When heated up, this takes on a liquid-like substance, hence why it is recyclable.

Forge+Bond brings FusionFiber technology to the tarmac through new CR all-road wheels

SLF Motion new oversized pulley wheels…kind of

Oversized pulley wheels are popular with many brands tapping into the market, including SLF Motion. The brand, which manufactures its products in the US, has done things a little differently though, developing slightly over-sized versions designed for sprinting.

They’re a lot less in your face compared to the giant wheels that are a regular sight on bikes, although the blue colour still helps them to stand out from the crowd.

Mountain bikers are seen as the cool kids of cycling, but it appears they’re now challenging their inner nerds by tapping into the world of aerodynamics. It’s previously been difficult to do so as the UCI has banned skinsuits in the sport - presumably to uphold its cool kid status - but Fox has come up with a solution through a two-piece aero jersey and bib shorts. Except, the bib shorts come all the way over the top of the shoulders and act like the top of the jersey.

If you want to see your bike critiqued by our presenters, don’t forget to submit images of it via 

Once submitted, your bike could earn a much coveted super nice vote, although it’ll need to meet our presenters’ high benchmark for presentation, like this Giant TCR Advanced.

For all the latest tech developments make sure to head over to

Is this the era of the all-round bike? – GCN Tech Show

 return to the studio for the latest edition of the GCN Tech Show, in a week that proved to be a little less bruising in the world of professional racing. 

The 2024 WorldTour season has been marred so far by some very high-profile crashes and, 

, this may be partly driven by the new tech which is leading to faster speeds. We received lots of comments on the subject, so Manon and Ollie decided to talk through some of them to dig a little deeper into the issue.

BMC caught the headlines recently when it unveiled the latest generation of the Roadmachine

, along with claims that it would “re-set the standard” for endurance bikes. While it packs in plenty of performance, it’s the versatility and practicality that caught our attention. 

The headline-stealing figure is the 40mm tyre clearance, which outstrips even some gravel bikes, providing the ability for the bike to shapeshift into an off-road form. Add in the down tube storage space and an integrated seatpost light, and BMC appears to have created a bike that stands out from the crowd.

 which is also home to 40mm tyre clearance, while 

 is said to offer performance “tailored for real riders, not pros”. It appears that there is a strong demand for versatile bikes rather than specialists, so are we in the era of all-rounder bikes?

Do you prefer an all-rounder bike or a specialised model? Let us know in the comments.

Alongside the three bike releases, lots of interesting new tech broke cover over the last week. Here’s a pick of the products that caught our eyes.

Van Rysel RCR available to buy… but sells out instantly

 entered the pro peloton for the first time in 2024 as it became bike sponsor of 

That partnership was accompanied by a host of new bikes, including the RCR Pro which went up for presale for the first time on 16 April. Anyone eager to get their hands on the bike will be disappointed to hear that they sold out in minutes, although we’re sure there are more in the offing.

Sold out already: Decathlon opens pre-order for Van Rysel RCR Pro Replica bike

Get your hands on GCN’s new water bottles

 headquarters, we’ve been busy working away on a new range of water bottles in collaboration with Camelbak, including the performance Podium option or a stainless steel model that is designed for extra longevity.

Shop the full range of GCN x Camelbak water bottles on the GCN website

British wheel manufacturer Reynolds has released new lightweight 25mm road wheels. Their shallow depths help to keep the weight to a minimum and are, impressively, dwarfed by the 30mm external width of the rims. This wide width is optimised for wider tyres, which are becoming increasingly popular.

We’re currently running a competition with the chance to win goodies from Topeak, including a PAKGO EX bike box.

Check out full details for the competition

After a few hiccups, the bike vault uploader is back up and running so you can submit pictures of your steed for our presenters to judge. If you’re unsure how the process works, check out our guide 

As always, we’ve had plenty of submissions this week, starting with Brett Barnett’s 

This morning, the pre-order opened for a replica of the bike used by the 

 RCR Pro Replica. The bike is already sold out in all sizes, and the product has since been removed from the Decathlon website. 

 has reached out to Van Rysel to find out how many bikes were made available in the pre-sale.

Decathlon announced its partnership as a co-title sponsor

 of the now, it not only financially backed the team until at least the end of the 2028 season but also brought with it a new range of cycling products. Chief among them were the bikes that the team have been using since the start of the season. 

The team's road bike, the RCR, is an aerodynamic all-rounder that had collaborative input from both Deda and Swiss Side to create a bike that already has 16 pro victories to its name so far this season.

A closer look at the Van Rysel bikes Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale will ride in 2024

The biggest talking point with the RCR Pro when it was first unveiled was its price; coming in at £9,000, the RCR Pro undercuts most of its WorldTour competition by thousands of pounds. In contrast, the likes of Trek, Specialized, Pinarello and plenty of other brands' top-tier bikes all come in north of the £12,000 mark.

It's no surprise, then that this bike has proved popular with consumers, who rushed to get in their pre-orders this morning.

Ahead of the pre-order window Jérémie Debeuf, Product Manager at Van Rysel said: “We are thrilled to announce the upcoming pre-order availability of the RCR PRO Replica. This bike has already proved its worth to the riders in the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team. The feedback has been excellent, and we know that this machine is ready to set the victory counter racing!”

Although the RCR Pro Replica is by no means a cheap bike, it does represent relative value. The bike comes with Shimano’s flagship Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 12-speed electronic groupset and Swiss Side Hadron 500 carbon wheels. With a claimed total weight of 6.9kg, the Pro Replica certainly isn’t carrying any unwanted weight.

A little bit further down the price range are the RCR Pro Shimano Ultegra Di2 and the RCR Pro Force AXS. Both of these models use the same frameset as the RCR Pro Replica but build on this with second-tier components. Both bikes also come fitted as standard with a power meter in the shape of a Stages left crank meter for the RCR Pro 

Shimano Ultegra Di2, and a Quarq Force AXS

 meter on the RCR Pro Force AXS. At £5,500, this model brings the RCR Pro to consumers at a more palatable price.

What do you make of the RCR Pro Replica, will you be rushing to the pre-order? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. For all the latest tech news make sure to head over to the 

Van Rysel

Van Rysel

Top Van Rysel Stories

How much does bike technology really boost performance? - GCN Tech Show

Is this the era of the all-round bike? – GCN Tech Show

Sold out already: Decathlon opens pre-order for Van Rysel RCR Pro Replica bike

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