AG2R Citroën Team are rumoured to be parting ways with team sponsor and frame manufacturer BMC at the end of the year after three years of partnership.
According to a story published by French newspaper Ouest France, the French team are set to drop BMC at the end of the year and make the switch to Van Rysel bikes for the 2024 season.
Van Rysel is the performance road arm of the French chain Decathlon. Decathlon produces bikes, componentry and cycle clothing bearing the Van Rysel brand name.
Decathlon has a history of its bikes being ridden at the highest level of the sport by French teams. AG2R has competed on Decathlon's Penta and Btwin bikes in previous years and Cofidis have also raced on Decathlon bikes in the past.
Launched in 2018, Van Rysel is headed by Nicolas Pierron who stated in an earlier interview with Ouest France last year, "The desire is to return to the World Tour in 2023" signalling the brand's strong intentions to be represented in the WorldTour once more. Van Rysel currently supplies the Cofidis team with both cycling and casual wear.
The brand also released seven new bike models this year at the Velofollies show in Kortrijk, Belgium. The new models include a time trial bike, a gravel model and performance road machines. As well as a range of clothing, shoes and even a smart trainer.
A concept bike named the PNPL 3.0 was also displayed which showcases the brand's partnership with Autodesk, a company that specialises in Generative Design. This involves using artificial intelligence and 3D printing bikes or components. This could be useful in a WorldTour setting to produce custom time trial bar components for instance.
Campagnolo currently provides AG2R Citroën with groupsets and wheels, but we will be interested to see whether their equipment will feature on the Van Rysel bikes next year as an increasing number of teams have switched away from Campagnolo in recent years. If AG2R were to move to Sram or Shimano, it would see Campagnolo not feature on a single WorldTour bike in 2024.
That said, one of the new Van Rysel models, the RCR road bike looks set to feature Campagnolo equipment in its stock model, so perhaps the Italian manufacturer will remain on board.
We did recently report that a new wireless Campagnolo groupset may well be on the way, so Campagnolo may push hard for increased presence across the WorldTour to best showcase their new shifting technology.
Cyclingnews has reached out to AG2R Citroën for comment but for now, the team remain tight-lipped. We will provide more details on this story when we know more.
