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Canadian bike brand Argon 18 announce they have signed a deal with a Tour de France team

There's soon to be a new bike brand in the professional peloton, but which team will it be?

Canadian bike brand Argon 18 have revealed on their website today the news they have signed a three-year deal with one of the professional teams currently participating in the Tour de France,  but they won't be revealing the identity of the team until the end of the race.

“This is a historic announcement for our brand and for our team, the Tour de France is the undisputed benchmark,” says Argon 18 founder  Gervais Rioux. “It’s an important step for us, since it secures Argon 18’s position among the world’s top brands.”

“We were excited to announce that we had reached an agreement with a team that is currently participating in the Tour de France, adds Martin Rioux, co-owner and president of Argon 18. “Unfortunately, we can’t disclose which team it is at this point because of contractual questions. We’ll have to wait until the end of the Tour to do so, but I can assure you that we’ll be following the team closely until then!” adds Martin Rioux, co-owner and president of Argon 18.”

Argon 18 aren't the most well known bicycle brand in the UK, though they do enjoy more popularity in the triathlon world. They're based out of Montreal, Canada  and have been going for 25 years. We were certainly impressed when we tested their then top-end Gallium Pro road bike, though it's since been superseded with a lighter version. So they've certainly got the necessary lightweight carbon fibre race bike that a professional cycling race team requires these days.

You can see the full statement here. We're not sure what team Argon 18 might be partnering with at this stage. Cannondale Pro Cycling is reportedly being wound up at the end of this season and the thinking is they're going to partner with what is currently Garmin-Sharp under a name yet to be decided, but if that isn't a done deal could Argon 18 replace Cervelo as bike supplier? It'll certainly be interesting to find out what team they have signed a deal with, but we'll just have to wait two weeks before that news is announced. 

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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13 comments

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stealth | 9 years ago
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Europcar....

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Jimmy Ray Will | 9 years ago
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As to the thread... I agree with the whole Pro-Continental wild card team.

1. I am not sure Argon 18 have the financial clout to outbid the industry giants
2. You would say 'world tour teams riding the tour de france' if you could...

Looking at the wild cards, I'd discount Bretagne Seche as they are too small... so its either IAM or indeed Bora.

I am going to say Bora as they are the team that are on the ascendancy.

I also think Focus and Canyon are tied in with current World Tour teams, and unlikely to drop those for a Pro-Continental team.

However, I accept that this is all wild speculation and it could well be Garmin.

However, I am more than willing to bet a fiver that it won't be Trek!

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Dlow | 9 years ago
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To me it seems like it is a well-established team. I think Bora, given the German roots are likely to look to Germany to supply their bikes (Focus and Canyon come to mind). Trek is impossible, hard to see a Trek-owned team riding anything but Trek  1 The company also pointed to a team that is currently racing in the Tour de France and "doing well" by their standards, so no I don't see it as being a ProContinental team either. My gut tells me its Garmin (Garmin not dumping Cervelo, contract was up this year). IAM Cycling is Swiss-based so Scott is a natural fit....even BMC.

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James Warrener | 9 years ago
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Team Bora...

There's my bet.

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boardmanrider | 9 years ago
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I can't imagine that Garmin would dump Cervelo for Argon18, both are Canadian. More likely that they'll go, if they do, with Cannondale.

I was thinking it might be the new BORA team announced yesterday.

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andylul | 9 years ago
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Bertie's looking for a new bike...

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Atgani rider | 9 years ago
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I have no inside information or any insight, but feel compelled to speculate

Trek Factory Racing is my bet

(As valid as any other comment)

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to Atgani rider | 9 years ago
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Atgani rider wrote:

I have no inside information or any insight, but feel compelled to speculate

Trek Factory Racing is my bet

(As valid as any other comment)

As has been mentioned many, many times before... the whole point of online forums is to share baseless assumptions, uneducated opinions, and wild speculation.

The sentiment behind your comment is akin to saying 'football, its nothing more than grown men kicking a ball around a field'.

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pedalpowerDC | 9 years ago
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Hmmmm . . . I think Bretange is most likely since they currently ride on Kemo bikes (how hard could it be to outbid them?) and the team is French with Argon being a Quebecois company.

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Notsofast | 9 years ago
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read between the lines, look to the Pro Continental Wild Cards...

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DavidC replied to Notsofast | 9 years ago
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Notsofast wrote:

read between the lines, look to the Pro Continental Wild Cards...

Yes, if it were a ProTour team, then surely they'd use those words to add an extra bit of hype to their hype.

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Gkam84 | 9 years ago
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I think it could be a team currently riding on Scott at the moment  3  3

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Karbon Kev | 9 years ago
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It's about time, Argon 18 make good frames, quality for far eastern. I've still got my Platinum after 11 years, still excellent feel and handling, good luck to them!

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