'I remain sceptical about the equipment supplier' - Ex pro Lilian Calmejane questions the competitiveness of the Van Rysel RCR

Paul Seixas rode to a highly impressive 3rd place finish in the mens European Road Race Championship on Sunday. The 19-year-old French rider, who also finished 19th in the World Road Race in Kigali a few weeks ago, was the best of the rest behind a rampaging Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel on home roads in France.

Seixas produced an impressive ride behind two of the greatest racers on the planet, and the young rider's future certainly looks bright.

However, retired French pro rider Lilian Calmejane fired up the comments section on X and voiced some doubts regarding the competitiveness of his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale trade team's Van Rysel race bikes.

In a series of posts on X, as reported by La Voix Du Nord, Calmejane outlined his doubts regarding the competitiveness of the Van Rysel RCR Pro bike Seixas rode compared to the competition, citing bikes like the Cervelo S5 along with other more premium brands as being faster, though no one racing on an S5 model finished in front of Seixas on the day.

"I dare to believe that he's in a "fairly" good structure to progress, even if I remain sceptical regarding his equipment supplier." Calmejane wrote.

"I remain convinced that at the level that Seixas is likely to reach, it will be a limiting factor when battling against guys who ride Cervélo, Spé [Specialized], Colnago, or even Trek."

As you might imagine, this led to a healthy exchange of views in the comments section, which you can read for yourselves, but Calmejane's tweets ultimately led to a seemingly amicable exchange.

Van Rysel itself responded, politely inviting Calmejane to test a bike for himself:

It said, "Ouch, tough blow for the equipment supplier. We're delighted to invite you up North to see how our bikes are made and tested! We hope you'll change your mind."

The Tour de France and Vuelta Espana stage winner accepted the French brand's offer:

"If the Van Rysel leaves me with a better impression, and it’s proven to me that it’s better and faster than a Cervélo S5, believe me, I’ll get down on my knees. Thank you for the invitation, with great pleasure."

This isn't the first time an ex-pro has openly criticised a brand. Classics legend Tom Boonen had a few things to say about Colnago bikes back in 2023, criticising the brand's aerodynamics and later releasing a statement apologising after much internet furore.

Van Rysel has made waves since its entry into cycling's top flight with its RCR Pro and aero RCR-F race bikes. It seems Seixas chose to ride the RCR Pro model on the hilly circuit at the weekend.

We tested the RCR Pro in our 2024 CN Labs WorldTour bike test, and found in our own testing that it was competitive - aerodynamically speaking - against models from more premium brands. It's also worth noting that the RCR-F, the brand's dedicated aero bike, was also in the mix against the best aero bikes in the world in our follow-up wind tunnel test of aero bikes this year.

Aerodynamics and competitive equipment are critical at the top of our sport, but you never see a bike racing on its own; the riders play a critical part, too. On Sunday, Seixas showed he has what it takes to compete against the world's best.