Kylian Mbappé and his compatriots would possibly presently be recoiling on the sight of Buenos Aires’s largest ever events, however this is one thing for French sports activities followers to cheer about.
French bike model Look (opens in new tab)and French WorldTour staff Cofidis (opens in new tab)have introduced a multi-year sponsorship deal beginning in 2023. And the wheels might be from Corima (opens in new tab)– additionally French.
It is not the primary time Cofidis and Look have joined forces: the staff rode Look bikes from 2009 to 2014 – take a look at the traditional Mondrian-liveried 695 Aerolight pictured beneath – earlier than switching to Orbea and most lately De Rosa in 2020.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Within the interim, Look was the bike sponsor of French Professional Continental wildcard staff Fortuneo from 2014 till 2018.
Throughout that point it launched the unique rim-brake model of the 785 Huez RS in 2017 (opens in new tab), which weighed a ridiculous 5.9kg with a SRAM Crimson construct, and needed to be ballasted by Fortuneo’s mechanics to hit the 6.8kg UCI authorized minimal weight.
In March 2022 each Look and Corima withdrew their partnership and technical help from the Gazprom-RusVelo staff after the Ukraine invasion and have correctly determined to speculate nearer to dwelling.
Now, with each manufacturers equipping Cofidis, we’re about to see a really French setup in motion – and we predict these might be a number of the most fascinating bikes within the professional peloton.
For the time being the groupset provider has not been confirmed: Cofidis used Campagnolo (opens in new tab)elements with their De Rosa bikes and it’s anticipated that this deal will proceed into 2023.
(Picture credit score: Look)
The bikes Cofidis can have at their disposal would be the light-weight 785 Huez RS (now with discs), the 795 Blade RS aero bike (the one in the principle image on the prime), and for TTs the awesome-looking 796 Monoblade RS (above).
Look most lately launched a brand new 765 Optimum (opens in new tab), updating its endurance platform, and we’re anticipating {that a} new race bike or two might be developed with the Cofidis staff within the subsequent couple of years. Who is aware of, one might nicely be in improvement already (we now have requested Look however we’re not anticipating to given an unique).
The brand new partnership is to cowl the Cofidis males’s WorldTeam in addition to the ladies’s Continental Professional staff and the UCI Paracycling staff.
Look may even provide its Keo Blade Ti pedals, as used repeatedly by Cofidis since 2010.
As for the Corima wheels, these would be the carbon MCC DX (beneath), WS Black DX and WS TT DX – all of which had been deployed all through 2022 with the De Rosa bikes.
(Picture credit score: Ben Becker)
Look acquired a majority stake in fellow French model Corima in 2016, however each manufacturers retain their separate identities, and each have lengthy histories in biking.
Look’s clipless pedal revolutionised highway biking, first ridden to a professional victory by Bernard Hinault in 1984. Then in 1986 Greg LeMond was the primary to win the Tour de France on a carbon-fibre body – the Look KG86.
Luc Leblanc received the world highway title for Look in 1994 on the KG171.
(Picture credit score: Paul Norman)
Later within the Nineties, the golden period for aerodynamic bikes, Look’s progressive TT machines grew to become the envy of the biking world. There was most memorably the 1997 KG296 CLM (above) with its sail-like fairings that was ridden by Alex Zulle within the ONCE interval, full with the enduring hinged head tube and the gamechanging Look Ergostem.
Look grew to become related to Chris Boardman as bike sponsor of Credit score Agricole within the last years of the last decade.
(Picture credit score: Ben Becker)
British bike followers additionally affiliate Boardman with Corima from the times earlier than the British rider turned professional on the highway: he broke the world Hour file in Bordeaux in 1993 on a swoopy Corima Cougar body with the model’s four-spoke wheels.
CW’s Stefan Abram visited Corima’s manufacturing unit (opens in new tab) simply outdoors Loriol within the Rhone valley, the place its carbon wheels are nonetheless made by hand and the place the bike Boardman rode is proudly displayed.
So with two of the most effective liked and most honored manufacturers in biking again within the WorldTour – collectively – we are able to sit up for some really stunning bikes this season.