This article first appeared on Cyclingnews.
British bike brand Factor Bikes has announced partnerships with the Pro Continental Roompot-Charles men's team and the Parkhotel Valkenburg UCI women's team for the 2019 season.
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Factor's two-year contract with AG2R La Mondiale came to a close at the end of the 2018 season — after an initial foray into professional cycling with the now-defunct ONE Pro Cycling team. The 2019 Factor Bikes partnerships also extend to two professional triathletes and the Panaracer/Factor p/b Bicycle X-Change Professional Gravel Racing Team, alongside Roompot-Charles and Parkhotel Valkenburg.
In a press release, Factor Bikes announced that the Dutch Pro Continental team will be another professional squad to exclusively use disc brakes this season with the Factor O2 Disc, as well as wheels and finishing kit from Factor's component company Black Inc.
Both Roompot-Charles and Parkhotel Valkenburg look to be running Shimano drivetrains, with Roompot-Charles' marquee rider Lars Boom running a CeramicSpeed OSPW rear derailleur upgrade and an SRM Origin power meter-equipped crankset.
Roompot-Charles merged with the Veranda's Willems-Crelan during the off-season and hoped to have three-time cyclocross world champion and promising Classics rider Wout van Aert as its headline name for the 2019 road season. However, contract disputes following the merger led Van Aert to leave the team for Jumbo-Visma, so Boom will now be its main Classics contender.
The press release from Factor also says that Roompot-Charles will likely ride a Grand Tour in 2019.