Want to win Thibaut Pinot's Vuelta bike? Groupama-FDJ auctions off tech and kit

Thibaut Pinot's personalised Lapierre Xelius SL3 from last year's Vuelta a España is one of 15 objects open for bids online auctioneers Catawiki.

The unique model, which contains the locations of the retiring Frenchman's most iconic wins on the top tube, has been put up for auction by his Groupama-FDJ team.

Bidding currently stands at €1,850, although the Dura-Ace equipped bike is expected to reach a much higher figure; the expert estimate assigned to the bike, is anywhere between €12,500 to €20,000. The new owner can collect the bike from Paris, and have their new bike adjusted by a team mechanic, but the buyer could also just leave it to Pinot's specifications.

The bike is just one of the items for sale. Tobias Ludvigsson's Lapierre from last year is also for sale, as is race-worn clothing from Pinot, Stefan Küng, David Gaudu and Arnaud Démare.

Bidders can also aim for a bottle of Prosecco won by Démare at the 2020 Giro d'Italia, one of Démare's signed ciclamino jerseys celebrating his record for wins by a Frenchman at the race, and a pink bottle produced for Attila Valter during his time in pink at the 2021 Giro.

Two leaders jerseys worn by Australian time trialist Bradley McGee at the Giro in 2004 and the Vuelta in 2005 are also up for sale.

It is not the end of FDJ's auctions, with three more coming in 2023 for "objects specifically celebrating the team's most legendary races including Paris-Roubaix, the Giro and the Tour de France". In a later auction, people can also bid on what could be the experience of a lifetime: "To spend a day with Groupama-FDJ team manager Marc Madiot during a live Tour de France stage as he interacts with the team, gaining intimate behind the scenes access to the race."

On 15 April, this coming Saturday, fans can visit the House of Catawiki, the platform's first event in Paris at 3537, in the Marais.

"We are very happy to start this new experience with Catawiki," Madiot said. "Through the objects we propose, we want to share with cycling lovers moments of our team's life, memories that are dear to our hearts. The closeness and the attachment with the followers, with those who accompany and support us every day, at home or on the side of the road, is what has been driving us for 27 years. 

"We hope that the lots offered at this sale, but also in all those to come, will please our supporters and allow them to take home a little of the soul of our team. Cycling is a popular sport, our victories, our defeats, our emotions are the heritage of passionate people, and we are proud today to be able to share it."

"I had some great moments, some great climbs on this bike in 2022, in the Tour de l'Ain and in the Vuelta," Pinot said of his former steed. "It will now have a second life. I like the idea that a bike or a kit that accompanied me during a season or a race can now make cycling enthusiasts happy."

The first auction runs from today until the 23rd April at 7pm.