Van Rysel seems to have quietly launched a brand new aero bike forward of the 2025 season, with the brand new machine set to type a part of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale arsenal in WorldTour occasions subsequent 12 months.
The announcement was hidden away in a press launch from the model and French professional staff beneath the sub-heading of “RCR-F, a brand new bike to dominate the dash” with little different element offered. Maybe this was a sneak preview, so as to perk up the curiosity of tech geeks throughout the trade. No matter it was, it labored, and the brand new bike immediately generated quite a lot of curiosity throughout social media.
The bike appears suspiciously just like the prototype aero race bike seen raced on the Tour de France earlier this 12 months; rider Sam Bennett’s carried the wording ‘Aero24 Venture – Pattern 06’ on the fork.
Van Rysel made a reputation for itself final season with the introduction of the RCR Professional, the most-affordable WorldTour bike in the marketplace, and seems set to proceed the pattern of being one of the talked about manufacturers within the trade with its newest providing.
The highest-end RCR Professional nonetheless is available in at £9,000, nevertheless, that is £3,000 cheaper than comparable specification elsewhere; the financial savings do drop off on decrease outfitted fashions.
A short description of the brand new machine reads: “From this season, the RCR and XCR shall be joined on the roads by the RCR-F, an much more highly effective machine that can propel traditional riders and sprinters to an unprecedented degree. Designed to slice by the air with pace, the RCR-F redefines the requirements of aero bikes.”
Oliver Naesen, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s resident Classics king, shall be licking his lips after studying that description, significantly as he couldn’t rain within the superlatives when describing the RCR after getting his arms on it final 12 months.
“If you happen to ask me, this bike goes to flip the market upside-down,” the Belgian rider mentioned.
“It’s actually glorious. A brutal machine, by far the very best I’ve had,” Naesen added. “Mild as a feather too. On different bicycles they use shallow wheels and lighter pedals to restrict the load. Mine has heavier, deeper wheels and normal pedals fitted, and it weighs solely 100 grams over the restrict.”
Based on data offered on the model’s web site, the brand new RCR-F was designed in collaboration with the wheel producer Swiss Facet and achieves aerodynamic financial savings of greater than 13 watts in comparison with its sister mannequin, the RCR Professional.
Apart from that just about nothing else is formally recognized in regards to the mysterious new aero bike as issues stand. Nonetheless, mechanics on the staff instructed Biking Weekly that riders have been “very” impressed with the protoype mannequin raced earlier this 12 months.
