Van Rysel has unveiled its first dedicated aero bike at the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team's 2025 presentation at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France.
We first spotted Van Rysel’s aero bike at the 2024 Tour de France, where it was ridden by Sam Bennet and Oliver Naesen.
At the time, it appeared to be called the FCR, but its official name is the RCR-F. This takes the name for Van Rysel’s all-round race bike, the RCR, and adds an ‘F’ for fast.
Leader of Van Rysel Nicolas Pierron explained the RCR-F is 13 watts faster than the RCR with a 7 per cent increase in stiffness at the front of the bike, before describing the bike as a “UFO for the next season.”
“We 3D-printed 15 frames, forks and cockpits to go into the wind tunnel”
Official details about the RCR-F are limited currently. The bike will be officially released in 2025, likely coinciding with the Classics season. But Van Rysel’s product manager for race bikes Jeremie Debeuf spoke to BikeRadar about the rationale behind the new aero bike.
“When we developed RCR, the first thing we did was to simulate most of the WorldTour races to check whether an aero-light bike or an aero bike would be the best.
“Based on this study, we clearly identified that an aero-light [bike] can be a great answer, but on some specific courses it was not enough – and especially on flat stages when the speed is above 45kph,” he says.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has had no problems racking up wins on the RCR-R – 30 in the 2024 season, alongside 70 podium places. However, Van Rysel believes an aero bike is beneficial for courses with less than 1,500m of elevation per 100km and Classics such as Paris-Roubaix or Tour de Flanders.
Debeuf says the first step after the study was to collaborate with SwissSide. Using CFD, Van Rysel and SwissSwide defined the main lines and potential options for the RCR-F.
“From that, I think we [3D-]printed around 15 frames, forks and cockpit to go into the wind tunnel,” Debeuf says.
Van Rysel used this process to determine the best tube shapes for its new aero bike. One of the main focuses was where the seat stays join the seat tube. This join is similar to the RCR, where the top of the seat stays twists into a horizontal plane.
The other focus was the head tube of the bike. This is particularly deep to smooth airflow. There is significant shaping to mould airflow from the fork to the downtube.
Debeuf says once Van Rysel determined the best shapes, “we simulated another version by combining elements to check whether or not they were okay altogether.
“Generally when you associate things, you don’t always get the benefits of what you wanted to have, so it's important to identify which solution [you want], and then put all the solutions together.”
He adds that decisions you make at the front of the bike can create turbulence, which can impact the rear, especially when a rider is pedalling the bike.
Debeuf points out where the one-piece cockpit – designed by Van Rysel but produced by Deda – joins the steerer tube. He says the length of the stem is extended back to save a claimed one watt.
Pro teams inform development
Debeuf says Van Rysel worked closely with riders to develop the RCR-F: “The aero part you can do with the science and data. The behaviour of the bike, of course, you can have numbers, but it's better to be in the field with the riders.”
Debeuf says Van Rysel worked with ten riders at first, including Benoit Cosnefroy, to tune the bike’s feel. Then, the bike was raced at the Tour de France, where Sam Bennett provided feedback from racing in sprints and the bunch which was used to fine-tune the ergonomics of the cockpit.
The RCR-F has the same geometry as the RCR. Debeuf says this is important for professional riders because they will use the RCR on a hilly stage before switching to the RCR-F.
“It was very important to make sure it wouldn’t take them a day to be used to the new one,” he says.
This is an approach Scott has taken with its new Addict RC, which has the same geometry as the Foil aero bike to make switching between the models familiar.
Cobble-friendly clearance
The RCR-F has an official maximum tyre clearance of 33mm. Debeuf says the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale riders will likely race with 32mm tyres at the Classics and that it might be possible to squeeze wider road bike tyres into the frame.
With Decathlon’s headquarters in Lille, Van Rysel is close to the cobblestones that animate the Spring Classics.
“We do all of tests in tricky situations like that,” Debeuf says, adding that a bike such as the RCR-F can play a huge role at the Classics.
“Flanders is now 45kph… for Roubaix now, if it's dry it’s almost 50K an hour,” he says.
“Riders are generally one by one or in a small group, so they take a lot wind. So of course, this kind of bike is made to help them to be stronger.”
Weight wasn’t an important factor in the development of the RCR-F, but Debeuf says the bike weighs roughly 7.5kg, with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and 65mm SwissSide wheels.
“We found the right balance between the weight and the aero benefits,” he says.
