Spotted: New Lapierre Aircode Disc at Opening Weekend

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. 

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Josh Croxton
Tech Editor

As the Tech Editor here at Cyclingnews, Josh leads on content relating to all-things tech, including bikes, kit and components in order to cover product launches and curate our world-class buying guides, reviews and deals. Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too. 


On the bike, 30-year-old Josh has been riding and racing since his early teens. He started out racing cross country when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s and has never looked back. He's always training for the next big event and is keen to get his hands on the newest tech to help. He enjoys a good long ride on road or gravel, but he's most alive when he's elbow-to-elbow in a local criterium.