Just a week after adding rising Canadian talent Tyler Orschel to the squad, the formerly KMC Ridley team has more big news. So does revived brand Nukeproof. The two are partnering up for a renamed KMC Nukeproof Racing team.
It’s big news for the team and for Nukeproof, for different reasons.
For the KMC squad, run by past Olympic champion and World Cup colour commentator Bart Brentjens, a new title sponsor is big news. Especially in these “trying times,” as is becoming about as cliché and overused a term as “unprecedented times” did a few years ago. The team had partnered with Ridley for a few years now. Bringing on a second title sponsor is always a feat for a World Cup team.
For Nukeproof, it’s a bold step into new territory. It’s a big hint that the brand is developing a cross country bike. That would be straying quite far from its very gravity-fed roots. Sponsoring a World Cup team isn’t exactly dipping toes in the water, it’s jumping in with both feet. It’s especially bold as it comes just days after news that the recently-revived brand will also be back to sponsoring a World Cup downhill team, stepping in where Intense stepped back.
A Nukeproof XC bike?
Both Ridley and, more recently, Nukeproof bikes are owned by BCF (Belgian Cycling Factory). The KMC Nukeproof team will leverage that connection, reportedly racing Nukeproof-branded Ridley frames while Nukeproof develops its own frame.
In the announcement, Nukeproof does hint the brand has a few irons in the fire in terms of developing its own bike.
“All will become clear at the Velofollies show in Belgium in a few weeks,” the Nukeproof account said in response to comments on the announcement. “We have been working on an XC bike for two years and it’s ready to go…problem is 32″ is coming so do we wait and see if 32″ is a thing, or press the button on a bike that could be DOA? In the meantime we have this bike already in the BCF stable and it’s race proven, so it’s a great solution for now.”