‘The ultimate validation’ - Van Rysel unveils the bike Paul Seixas rode to Il Lombardia victory

Paul Seixas has called his Il Lombardia win “the ultimate validation” of the new Van Rysel RCR-R PRO, which the French brand officially unveiled this week. Seixas raced a prototype of the bike through the second half of 2026 before soloing to his first Monument in Como in October.

The RCR-R PRO frame weighs a claimed 705g in a size medium, the lightest Van Rysel has made. A cheaper RCR-R uses the same design in a heavier carbon lay-up at 883g. Both were shown at Rouleur Live in London on Thursday and go on sale on 5 January 2027.

Launch reports put the starting price at €3,299, with full pricing and availability by country due on launch day. The lightest complete build, the RCR-R PRO with SRAM Red AXS, comes in at a claimed 6.6kg.

Seixas first raced the prototype at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June, having trained on it at an altitude camp in the Sierra Nevada, and rode it at the Tour de France. He had already won races on the first-generation bike.

“I had already raced the first-generation RCR-R PRO and won several races on it. But from my first ride on the new prototype, at a training camp at the start of this year, I understood straight away how much progress Van Rysel had made,” Seixas said in Van Rysel’s launch material.

He singled out the bike’s handling on descents.

“The bike is lighter, more aerodynamic and, above all, more stable on descents. When you’re travelling at over 100km/h, confidence in your kit is paramount,” he said.

That stability counted at Lombardia, where Seixas attacked on the Civiglio with 18km to go and rode alone over San Fermo della Battaglia to the finish. He set a climbing record on the Civiglio, beating Tadej Pogačar’s time, and won by 48 seconds from Enric Mas.

“Winning a Monument on this bike is the ultimate validation, with the bike responding instantly when I attack, whilst maintaining speed on the flat and on technical descents,” he said.

The new frame is 85g lighter than its predecessor, and the frame and fork together save a claimed 240g. That earlier bike arrived in 2023 as the RCR Pro, before the team switched to Van Rysel the following season, and Van Rysel says it won 50 professional races.

Van Rysel makes no aerodynamic claim for the frame itself. It says a new aero bottle and cage, sold separately, save up to 6.3 watts at 45km/h over the previous generation.

Two Decathlon CMA CGM climbers, Nicolas Prodhomme and Matthew Riccitello, also tested prototypes in the Sierra Nevada. Riccitello said weight had been the priority for him.

“As a climber, lightness is a key factor for me. Right from the first test rides, I was impressed by the weight of this new RCR-R PRO, without any compromise on aerodynamics, efficiency or stability,” he said.

Prodhomme said the handling stood out more than the weight savings.

“There’s a real improvement in terms of lightness and aerodynamics, but it’s the bike’s overall handling that impresses me most,” he said.

Seixas was 20 years and 16 days old when he won in Como. That made him the youngest winner in Il Lombardia’s history, breaking a record held by Giovanni Gerbi since the first edition in 1905, and gave Decathlon CMA CGM its first Monument.