Jumbo-Visma won 3 Grand Tours with 3 different riders in 2023. All of them were wearing these shoes: the Nimbl Ultimate reviewed

The Nimbl Ultimate looks fast even when standing still. But how does it fit and perform?

Nimble Ultimate cycling shoes
(Image credit: Tyler Boucher)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

A top-end shoe with an innovative sole design that is exceptionally light, stiff and efficient, and looks fast even while standing still. But, the fit won’t work for everyone, and the price is astonishingly high.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Very light

  • +

    Impressive size range

  • +

    Innovative sole design

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Expensive

  • -

    Only one available width

  • -

    Difficult to find in North America

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Nimbl is not a large company—as of early 2024 it had fewer than 20 employees. Its size has not limited its impact, however: the company sponsors over 100 riders in the men’s and women’s World Tours. This is in part due to its relationship with team Visma-Lease a Bike, which began in 2022 and peaked in 2023 when the team won the men’s Tour, Giro and Vuelta with three different riders, all wearing Nimbl shoes.

How did this partnership come to be? We spoke with Nimbl’s sales director, Wietske Zwart, to find out more. Nimbl was founded in 2019 by Francesco Sergio, an industry veteran, who was previously head of sports marketing for Cervelo. As a result of his relationships with riders, he was able to quickly start outfitting pros with Nimbl footwear. This put Nimbl on Team Jumbo-Visma’s radar (now Visma-Lease a bike). The team reached out to say that “they were interested, as Nimbl came out of multiple tests as the best shoes for the team (in stiffness, durability, weight, delivery, flexibility of the company). Ultimately they made an agreement to support the team with Nimbl shoes [with] full support and exclusivity.”

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