Decathlon’s new Van Rysel RCR is ready for the Tour
Words Laurence Kilpatrick Photography Tapestry
Anyone with access to an out-of-town megastore ‘village’ in the UK will be familiar with Decathlon. Its affordable lines of equipment and apparel have made it one of the biggest names in sporting goods, but it might not be the first name that springs to mind when reeling off WorldTour bike suppliers.
That has now changed because Van Rysel, Decathlon’s road bike brand created in 2019, has launched the RCR, an all-round performance bike that is being ridden by the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale WorldTour team in 2024 and beyond.
The name Van Rysel means ‘from Lille’ in Flemish, and the company’s HQ is – geographically at least – cheek by jowl with serious cycling stock. From the HQ you can be in Oudenaarde, finish town of the Tour of Flanders, in under an hour and come home via the Roubaix velodrome. According to Jérémie Debeuf, product manager at Van Rysel, ‘Flanders is in our DNA.’
‘Our founder was convinced there was space at the top end of the road bike market and we are 100% focussed on joining the elite producers,’ he says. Debeuf has been at Decathlon for 20 years, progressing from managing its Nottingham store to now leading product development for Van Rysel, which is rolling out dedicated sub-stores within existing Decathlon locations.
‘Being under the Decathlon umbrella gave us the confidence to enter a competitive new market and it has helped us make significant R&D investment. We want to be fair to our customers in terms of price without compromising on quality. Where some brands have bigger margins, we focus on bigger volume. That’s our model.’
Helping hands
Van Rysel isn’t going it alone. It has brought in French aerospace lab Onera, described as ‘The Nasa of France’ by Debeuf, to help with aerodynamics. Also involved is the Formula 1-educated SwissSide to provide aero-optimised wheelsets, and industry stalwart Deda, which has created a bespoke cockpit.
‘We aren’t afraid to collaborate with third parties if they can provide greater expertise,’ says Debeuf. ‘For optimising carbon layup and weight, we – Van Rysel – have the required skillset. We master our own carbon recipe, so to speak, in order to create the requisite dynamism and sti
