Van Rysel: A Whole Village Dedicated to Development

Does Decathlon need an introduction? I'm sure not, or at least it certainly doesn't here in Europe, and most definitely not in France, where I live and where the sporting goods giant was founded. Decathlon's hanger-sized stores are scattered over mainland Europe and the wider world, totalling 2,082 stores in 79 countries. Decathlon isn't new to the road scene or sponsoring pro cycling teams. Twenty-three years ago, it sponsored AG2R with bikes under the Decathlon name (admittedly, these alloy offerings were probably built by bespoke hand builders and rebadged like many back then), but the brand was involved in the pro side of our sport; Decathlon also sponsored Cofidis Team from 2002, back in "them" days. And since then, the brand has dipped its toes in and out of the pro sport. Back then, though, it always felt like a marketing move rather than an actual investment into developing and producing bikes and components that went toe-to-toe with what was already on offer. Decathlon's relatively new venture with Van Rysel is a whole different ball game, though; this time around, the brand certainly looks serious, or that's definitely the impression I took away from my recent visit to its cycling headquarters in Lille.