Van Rysel leaves no stone unturned to empower Van Rysel-Roubaix and their lofty ambitions

Roubaix needs little introduction to cyclists. It is a cycling mecca just north of Lille that the world's best are drawn to one weekend each Spring, bidding to arrive at the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux first and without any company. Yet, there is more to Roubaix than the race first held in 1896.

A fine example is the musée La Piscine de Roubaix in the town's centre. A former indoor swimming bath closed in 1985 due to a crumbling roof, converted into an art museum that gives the feel of a building you'd more likely find in Rome than Roubaix.

After reopening eight years ago, the UCI continental squad Van Rysel-Roubaix saw it as not only the ideal location for a kit launch but also the perfect symbol of the area's heritage to feature on the kit itself.

The rear of the team's bold fluorescent pink jersey displays the “Soleil Levant - Soleil Couchant” stained glass windows located at the eastern and western ends of the legendary "La Piscine" museum's basin.

Subtle touches like the team’s partners featuring as stickers, referencing the custom of leaving stickers on the museum’s main entrance door, and a faint geometric pattern on the right front of the kit are additional nods to Van Rysel-Roubaix's regional ties.

It demonstrates the team's deep-rooted connection to their home of Roubaix, and it's a mantra that title partner Van Rysel follows too.

In Flemish, Van Rysel translates to "from Lille," making the Conti team's full name an emphatic callout for their local region—something they're eager and proud to do.

Team President Olivier Robinet grew up in Roubaix and swam in the pool before it closed down, while Van Rysel CEO Nicolas Pierron - who dyed his hair pink for the occasion, such is his commitment to the team's aims - grew up in Tourcoing, just three kilometres away.

They both know what cycling means to the area, and the necessity to continue this for the next generation.

That's why Van Rysel made the move early last year to extend their partnership with Van Rysel-Roubaix for a further five years, until the end of 2029.

The brand witnessed its most successful year to date in 2024, achieving a historic 14 victories and 17 podiums, including the first-ever UCI road race win for the RCR bike. 

Therefore, Van Rysel's long-term commitment to the UCI continental squad will aim to ensure that the team - which was verging on the edge of existence in 2023 when its previous sponsor departed - will not only continue to represent the region but also be helped to strengthen, whether that be through results, equipment, mentality, or global awareness.

"In 2023, the management and riders all thought that the team would close. Van Rysel arrived, and since then, it's been a totally new start for the team," admitted Robinet.

That security has allowed Van Rysel-Roubaix to set its sights on landmark targets before the decade is out, with one clear milestone that they're hoping to achieve together.

"With Van Rysel secured until [the end of] 2029, the dream goal of the team is to be part of Paris-Roubaix. But for now, we are [a] continental [team], and we need to be at least a ProTeam. New riders are also a goal but it would be amazing for the team called Van Rysel-Roubaix to be on the start line of Paris-Roubaix. 

While the team would love for a Roubaix-born rider to don the team's pink strip, they're confident that Van Rysel's commitment and WorldTour-level tech will make them an attractive proposition to a broader pool of riders.

"Because of the bikes mostly, you have good racers and good performances. The good performances and good racers also bring you good riders," Robinet added.

Continental team, WorldTour tech

The bike that Robinet refers to is Van Rysel's pro layup versions of the RCR Pro, a featherlight aero bike that is fitted with the SRAM Force 12-speed groupset and brakes, Look pedals, Deda handlebar and stem, and an Adaptive saddle from Fizik.

Zipp 404 Firecrest carbon wheels are combined with Michelin Power Cup 28mm tubeless tyres to complete the setup. 

The team got their hands on the RCR Pro last year, with each rider having three of the aero bikes, alongside two of the XCR TT bikes as well. In total, Van Rysel supplies the squad with approximately 60 bikes for the season.

"We've really focused on the aero work - frame, fork, cockpit, seat post as well, to make sure that within 6.8kg [minimum weight] we have the best aero results. We know in the aero light category, we are quite ahead, and riders can feel it during races, and that's why they've already won," explained Van Rysel Product Manager Jeremie Debeuf.

Discussing Van Rysel's development strategy, he explained the combination of areas they've looked at with laser focus to ensure the RCR Pro aero bike is world-beating.

"To combine the best of three worlds, ergonomy to make sure [riders] will find the right position on the hoods and in the drops. Of course aero, but also important [is] stiffness. To make sure during attacks and sprints [that] the bike does not bend and all the power is transformed into speed."

However, Van Rysel doesn't just stop at the bike in their support of Van Rysel-Roubaix. 

They're leaving no (cobble)stone unturned. 

As part of their "360 approach", the continental squad's riders will also be kitted out with several other pro-level items within the brand's range. 

Van Rysel-Roubaix riders will use either the RCR-F or RCR helmets depending on race conditions, one of two styles of Van Rysel sunglasses, and RCR shoes too. 

While Van Rysel supply this kit to the WorldTour too, their partnership with Van Rysel-Roubaix isn't looked on as any less important, and this is echoed throughout the equipment on offer.

Debeuf reinforced this point, adding: "So for these guys, they will have the full panoply, which is very important for us to mix and match. Of course, [it's] high performance, but also a nice style. 

"It's very important for us to not see this team as a continental team, but as a very high-level team who can help us to spread the Van Rysel word all across France, Belgium, the UK, Spain and China, with a different approach than a WorldTour team, a bit more fun."

Baptiste Planckaert is one of the team's riders who can vouch for their step up in quality since partnering with Van Rysel, having both ridden for the squad back in 2014/15 and having just spent four years with WorldTour outfit Intermarché-Wanty.

"In some ways, it's still a WorldTour team. I mean, like the bike, we go on two training camps. We're well organised. But like I said, on the other hand, it's a bit more fun," he revealed.

Assessing the Van Rysel bike he'll be riding in 2025, the Belgian added: "I think not only are the colours nice, but also when you ride it, it's a new feel. It's a real bike. It's ready to race, it's light but it's also aero. We have good wheels, [and] good materials. We can't complain about the bike." 

Planckaert's previous stint with the team allows him to really appreciate the leaps forward that Van Rysel-Roubaix have made, especially since their partnership with Van Rysel began.

"I think when I was young, well, I was in a small team. Everyone was complaining that 'the bike is not good, the time trial bike is not good,' I mean this [equipment], you cannot complain anymore." 

The 36-year-old sees the advances in equipment as an extra driving factor to help the younger riders progress and perform. 

"They ride with the big teams at the races, but they [now] also have the bike [to match]. So if they have the talents and they do what you need to do as a professional, there are no excuses anymore. This is it. This is a professional level and they have to perform like it."

Aged 24 and 23 respectively, Rémi Capron and Maximilien Juillard echo the feeling that Van Rysel-Roubaix feels like much more than you're standard UCI continental squad, and its showing on the road.

"The team [has] improved on several parts - everything more or less. The communication, it may sometimes [be] nothing, but the design of the kit [too]. It pushes us to be better. The equipment also, the bike, helmet and glasses, it feels like a different energy in the team," explained Capron, who won the final stage of last year's Tour de l'Ain in his debut season with the team.

Juillard also believes that the equipment not only delivers marginal gains in terms of performance but also for the squad's mindsets when racing.

"I think it's relevant when sometimes you feel like you have bad equipment, it will be a mental thing. You will think, 'Okay, I have bad equipment, so that's why I wasn't good in the race' and for sure, having good equipment is also a mental thing."

Juillard, the youngest rider in the squad, believes the positive energy around the squad, whether that be through Van Rysel's long-term commitment to the team, or their improved approach to training, communication, or nutrition, all add up to make for a bright future.

"The bikes are really a big, big, big thing for us. It's all positive. And even more, for the long-term, because they [agreed] a deal for five years. Everything's positive."

Van Rysel's partnership with Van Rysel-Roubaix is a commitment from the brand to not just provide equipment, but as the riders say, empower the team's entire approach to bike racing. 

Their WorldTour-winning tech enables this UCI continental squad to dream big, and perhaps someday see a rider in their iconic pink jersey, on board a Van Rysel bike, raising their arms aloft at the finish line of the Hell of the North.