Italian manufacturer Miche enters the WorldTour for the first time
(Image credit: Miche)
The Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team and Italian brand Miche have today announced a new partnership that will see the brand supply the team with wheels and other components for the season ahead.
The 2025 race season is now just days away, and as the calendar ticked over from 2024, new contracts came into force and plenty of teams are now announcing new sponsors and technical partners. You can use our Men's 2025 WorldTour bike guide to stay on top of all the equipment changes in the men's peloton, and there's a full guide to the women's 2025 WorldTour bikes too.
The French team will use Miche wheelsets for road racing and time trials as well as the brand's chainrings, thru-axles and even the bike computer mounts. Groupama-FDJ previously raced on full Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets and wheelsets as part of a longstanding technical partnership which has now ended. While most of the Dura-Ace groupset remains, the inclusion of Miche chainrings suggests the team might be purchasing its equipment from the Japanese giant, rather than receiving it for free.
The team will race on wheels from the Miche Kleos range (Image credit: Miche)
The new partnership will mark the first time Miche wheels have been used in cycling's premier division, although Astana-Qazaqstan have been spotted using Miche chainrings in recent years.
Miche General Manager, Gregory Girard, highlighted the brand's goal to elevate both its standing and product.
"This is a crucial milestone for the Miche brand: for the first time, our wheels will be used by a WorldTour team, a goal we’ve achieved by dedicating many resources to improving the product, through several wind tunnel testing sessions and numerous on-road tests carried out with professional riders.
"However, this is just the first step: our goal, in addition to raising the prestige of the Miche brand, is to further elevate the level of our product."
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Miche wheels are manufactured in Italy at the brand's San Vendemiano facility. The brand's press material explains that Miche controls every aspect of the manufacturing process. A strength which both parties claim will enable rider-specific tailoring of components as well as the co-development of new equipment for the team.
Groupama-FDJ will use wheels from the brand's 'Race Division' category, specifically the Kleos wheel range. Three wheelsets are available for road racing; Kleos 36, 50 and 62mm deep options which all retail for €2,200.00.
For time trials the team will use the Kleos RD Crono disc wheel and RD SPX3 Tri-Spoke which retail for €2,800 and €2,300 respectively.
Spec-wise, the hooked rim road Kleos wheelsets use Toray carbon fibre, titanium freehub bodies and CeramicSpeed hub bearings. The 50mm Kleos wheelset weighs a claimed 1455 grams.
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
