Decathlon will return to the professional peloton as the official partner of Cofidis cycling team from the beginning of 2022.
The French sporting goods retailer's cycling brand, Van Rysel, has penned a two-year deal to be the official apparel partner for Cofidis, supplying the Cofidis men, women and Paralympic cycling teams.
Both Decathlon and Cofidis cycling team are based in Lille, helping the relationship to develop closely and produce the best quality activewear possible, they said.
Over the past six months, Van Rysel has been designing and prototyping the textiles that will be incorporated into the cycling apparel for the Cofidis teams, while their proximity to one another made the partnership a natural fit, the team said.
Vasseur Cedric, General Manager of the Cofidis Team, said: “We are very happy with this new partnership; all the riders and staff are ready to mobilise alongside the brand which has the will to be a major player in its market. This collaboration makes all the more sense since we are two French companies, from the same Hauts de France region.
“This geographic proximity is a major asset of this new partnership and will help bring our two entities closer together. Van Rysel has a strong ability to develop and design the best products to allow it to shine in the most prestigious competitions on the calendar. It is therefore a winning partnership on all fronts that will contribute to the expansion and future success of the Cofidis Team.”
Decathlon last participated in professional cycling 17-years-ago with Cofidis cycling team, but return for 2022 with their own kit brand Van Rysel.
Pierron Nicolas, Van Rysel leader, said: “We were won over by the team’s, both cyclists and the support staff, willingness to invest in the co-creation of our future products. The aim of this partnership is to take another step forward in the excellence of our products, excellence that our customers will find in future Van Rysel product collections.”
Working with elite-level cyclists will also help develop better products for Decathlon's consumers too. Consequently, both parties will benefit each other over the contracted two-year period.
“This partnership helps us to be in constant contact with the most demanding cyclists," said Guillaume Pichot, textile product manager at Van Rysel. "All this allows us to continuously improve the technicality of our equipment by providing cyclists with products benefiting from the latest technologies, as well as to our customers."
