To dyed in the wool cyclists, there is only one side to Roubaix. The famous cobblestones, the race, and the outdoor velodrome - officially Vélodrome André-Pétrieux - this is Roubaix. However, there is another side to the northern French town, a hotbed of the textile industry during the industrial revolution.
The former glory of Roubaix is seen in the town’s art gallery, La Piscine, hosted in what was once a stunning art deco swimming pool, built to provide the town’s workers with futuristic sanitation. Turned into a museum in 2000, the venue provided the setting for the launch of Van Rysel-Roubaix last week, the French Continental team from the region.
The men’s squad are very proud of their Roubaix heritage, with their new kit paying homage to the museum, through the inclusion of the former swimming pool’s Soleil Levant - Soleil Couchant stained glass window on the back, and the team’s partners are displayed as stickers, which refers to the custom of leaving stickers on the museum’s main entrance door.
There’s more to Roubaix than cycling, but through the squad, the kit, and the launch, Van Rysel-Roubaix are trying to show how much a part of the region they are, a region famous for bikes. The team have Roubaix in the name, along with Van Rysel, the premium bike brand whose name literally means ‘From Lille’, just down the road, who came aboard in 2023. It’s a local affair.
“When you say Roubaix in the cycling world, everyone thinks about Paris-Roubaix,” Baptiste Planckaert, the team’s most senior rider, explained. “The [team’s] service course is right next to the velodrome. You see it every day, and there are tourists coming there. The other side is this museum, and a town with a lot of people, but in cycling it's one of the most famous places. It's really nice to have Roubaix on the kit, everyone knows where it is, there's no need for an introduction.”
The team do not have a rider from Roubaix this year, although this is a long term goal of Oliver Robinet, the president of the squad, but six riders hail from the north of France or south of Belgium just over the border, and it is clear how much the area means for the team. The iconic pink kit stands out, and is recognisable to all.
“The region is important because of Roubaix,” Robinet said. “It is the most iconic place in cycling. The most beautiful race in the world takes place here, there are two velodromes. They have the showers [at the velodrome] there is the history. There are very deep roots of cycling here. This is why one day, they want to ride in Paris-Roubaix. It's so important.”
The other long term goal of the third division squad is to make it onto the start list of Paris-Roubaix one day, something that would require it to become at least a ProTeam. This dream is not out of the question, however, especially with the backing of Van Rysel, which continues until 2029, and sees the team use top-of-the-range Van Rysel RCR Pro and XCR bikes, RCR, RCR-F and XCR helmets, and PERF900 sunglasses. All in pink, of course.
“We wanted to continue the theme, so we kept the pink, which is also found in the city colour,” Nicolas Pierron, the CEO of Van Rysel explained of the kit, himself sporting pink hair for the occasion. “We're going to have a very artistic approach, especially street art. We have some iconic elements which come through street art. Each bicycle is unique because each bicycle is painted by hand. We have the luck today to tell a story rather than invent it. We have the perfect alignment between Van Rysel and Roubaix.”
The team, which has a calendar across France and northern Europe, and rode the Tour of Britain last year, will aim to continue to grow this season, in an attempt to continue to put Roubaix on the map.
“Roubaix is cycling, Roubaix is art. Cycling is an art,” Pierron concluded, proving the synergy between the town, the region, and cycling as an art. There’s more to cycling in Roubaix, but the sport is central.
