Spotted: New Lapierre Aircode Disc at Opening Weekend

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An all-new Lapierre Aircode Disc has been spotted at Opening Weekend. The disc brake-equipped aero bike was seen atop the roof of a Groupama-FDJ team car in Ninove, at the finish line of Saturday's Belgian Classic, and was then ridden by Stefan Küng on Sunday's Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. 

Despite having ridden the new bike at his recent outing at Volta ao Algarve, the Swiss rider returned to his team-issue Lapierre Xelius for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, however, Küng was back aboard the new bike for Sunday's 200km UCI 1.Pro race in Kuurne.

A new model called Aircode Disque has been present on the UCI's list of approved frames and forks since July 2019, and our initial assumptions were confirmed when cross-referencing the frame code LAP-AIR3-RD with the UCI sticker attached to the bike. 

The new bike, conspicuous by its absence of any logos or branding, is finished in a brilliant-white matt effect and is most noticeably equipped with disc brakes - something that was missing from the former Aircode's line-up. The new bike features updated aero tubing throughout, with a truncated head tube and what looks to be a compliance-boosting seatpost junction. 

There's also part-integrated cabling at the headset, so while this model is fitted with a Pro handlebar and stem, the shape of the spacers suggests there might be a proprietary integrated bar-stem combo when the bike is made available for purchase. 

Küng was tight-lipped about details, but told Cyclingnews that the bike is still unfinished and that he and his team were working with Lapierre to develop the new aero bike. Groupama-FDJ's press officer elaborated, stating they were hoping to have a finished product ahead of Paris-Nice, which starts on Sunday 8th March.