Lapierre, one of France’s biggest cycling brands, will return to the top level of professional cycling next year as the new cycling partner of Picnic PostNL.
The team, formerly known as DSM Firmenig Post NL, is believed to have Scott under contract through 2025, but LaPierre appears on the front of the team’s new jerseys as the new partnership was announced on Thursday.
It follows news that several staff at the Dutch team’s base are openly discussing Lapierre joining the team as a cycling partner next year.
On Thursday, the team announced their new name, as well as new jerseys featuring LaPierre’s logo. The four-year deal will see the riders use new Xelius DRS performance bikes for all road events and Aerostorm DRS for time trials.
Although new Scott Addict bikes had arrived at the team’s service yard in the Netherlands, where up to 15 bikes were said to have been built for riders such as Romain Bardet and Warren Barguil, the switch was made to Lapierre. continuous wave Pictures of the new Addict being built have been seen, although it is understood the bikes are not being shipped to riders ahead of the new season.
This is the first time since 2011 that Scott has not raced on the World Tour, with the bike brand partnering with various GreenEDGE teams from 2012 to 2020. Scott has supplied bikes to DSM Firmenich PostNL for the past four seasons.
A spokesman for Lapierre’s parent company, Accell Group, did not deny links with DSM-firmenich PostNL when contacted. Cycling Weekly last month. The company’s chief operating officer, Jonas Nielsen, was also reported to have recently attended a meeting in the Netherlands.
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Accell CEO Tjeerd Jegen said on Thursday: “We believe this partnership will deliver exceptional success on and off-road, enhance our brand in the competitive world of professional cycling and inspire cycling around the world. Hands on. This is how we move the company forward and bring great innovation, and we look forward to achieving new milestones together.”
Iwan Spekenbrink, CEO of Picnic PostNL, said: “We are delighted to be working with Accell and Lapierre, we have been impressed by their recent developments and have become future proof in what has been a challenging few years for the bicycle manufacturing industry.
“We share a common philosophy of commitment to technology, innovation and performance. Our R&D experts look forward to working closely with their engineering and technical experts to integrate input and feedback into the development of the next generation of road bikes we will already be launching next year On the way.”
Since the end of the brand’s long-term partnership with Groupama-FDJ in 2023, Lapierre has never shied away from the desire to make a comeback with a big team. The two French companies have been working together for 22 years, although that partnership ended after Groupama’s acquisition. Moved to Willier Triestina on the eve of the 2024 season. However, the move seemed unexpected.
according to Cycling flash Last month, LaPierre partnered with Holland in part because the brand wanted to get rid of excess inventory.
