The 2021 season marks the end of a five-season partnership between Ineos Grenadiers and Castelli, which saw the team win a total of seven Grand Tours – including three victories at the Tour de France. At the forefront of the collaboration has been a drive for development, resulting in “countless innovations”.
But from 2022, Ineos Grenadiers will be racing instead in kit from the Belgian clothing manufacturer, Bioracer – highlighting the brand’s expertise in “both speedwear and custom fit” as especially exciting.
Although not currently clothing sponsor to any WorldTour teams, Bioracer does have pedigree for performance at the highest level. Supplier to the Belgian, Dutch, and German national cycling teams, they’ve won world titles with Tom Boonen, Tony Martin, Wout van Aert, Marianne Vos, and many others besides.
Clockwise: Tom Boonen (BEL) winning the men’s road race at the World Championships in Madrid 2005, Tony Martin (GER) celebrating after winning the Elite Men’s time trial at the UCI World Championships in Copenhagen 2011, Wout van Aert (BEL) crossing the line first at the cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder 2016, Marianne Vos (NED) winning the Elite Women’s road race at the World Championships in Florence 2013.
(Image credit: Clockwise: Tim de Waele, AFP, Bryn Lennon, and Yorick Jansens via Getty Images)
But not only does Bioracer have results to its name, it has the research to back this up. Back in 2013, the brand teamed up with Flanders Make, Laer Sport, Ridley Race Productions, and Voxdale to create an independent, low-speed wind tunnel designed specifically for cyclists. Bioracer claims that this can lead to “higher overall accuracy and repeatability than those built for aeronautics, aviation, motorsports or other scientific research.”
Although no longer with Ineos Grenadiers, we are still very likely to see Castelli kit gracing the top step of the podium through the 2022 season. According to a report on cycling.be Deceuninck – Quick-Step will be parting ways with their own long-term clothing sponsor, Vermarc, and switching over to Castelli as the team seeks to expand its budget for the coming season.
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After winning the 2019 National Single-Speed Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships and claiming the plushie unicorn (true story), Stefan swapped the flat-bars for drop-bars and has never looked back.
But his favourite rides are multiday bikepacking trips, with all the huge amount of cycling tech and long days spent exploring new roads and trails - as well as histories and cultures. Most recently, he’s spent two weeks riding from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia.
