Classified x Ridley Factory Team

Classified x Ridley Factory Team unveiled as the first professional gravel race team at the Velofollies international bike show in Kortrijk.

The new Classified x Ridley Factory Team will consist of five riders who will contest the UCI Gravel World Series and Gravel Earth Series. Riding for the team are Dutchman Piotr Havik, Belgian Daan Grosemans and Brits Toby Perry, Annabel Fisher, and Freya Rawlins

Classified Cycling had previously sponsored Havik to race for them on his own. Now they have combined with Ridley to enable the team to compete across the developing gravel season. With Perry taking victory at Millau and Fisher taking the final classification of the Gravel Earth Series, the team has high ambitions. As the UCI’s gravel world championships are in Belgium for 2024, we can be sure that the Belgian sponsored team will be targeting that race in particular!

Classified Powershift hubs

We have reviewed Classified Cycling’s Powershift hub here on CycleTechReview and it seems a good fit for gravel bikes. You can run a 2x set-up, but with only one chainring. This will keep the front simple, but with the bonus of more gears. As part of this race team announcement, Classified is also bringing a major update to its Powershift system-equipped wheelsets. The new range of wheels consists of the R36, R50 and G42. The R36 is a lightweight climber’s wheel, while the R50 is your aero all-rounder, both are carbon road wheels. The G42 is Classified’s gravel wheel, which they say is suitable for “rough terrain adventures and high-speed competitive gravel races“.

Riding Ridley bikes

The Classified x Ridley Factory Team will be riding on Ridley’s bikes. Back in 2020, Ridley was the first bike brand to equip the Classified system, starting with their Kanzo Fast gravel bike. Ridley say the team will “have access to various gravel and all-road bikes from our range, allowing them to tailor their race bikes to the terrain“. Take a look at Ridley’s gravel range and you’ll get an idea of the bikes, but we imagine for one day races the Kanzo Fast might be the rider’s choice.

Classified’s cycling investors

Classified has a star-studded list of ex-pro investors such as Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert, Andre Greipel, Marcel Kittel and Anna van der Breggen. Boonen said of the new team: “Some big sponsors wanted to contribute their share to the Classified Factory Team, so we can now strengthen our one-man team and move up a gear with Classified x Ridley. We are at the beginning of a very nice story. We strongly believe in the gravel scene and will continue to support it in the long term.“

Mathias Plouvier, co-founder and CEO of Classified Cycling, is also ambitious: “Classified and Ridley have a heart for both gravel and innovation, and it’s great that our long-standing collaboration with the Belgian Cycling Factory is now taking on a new dimension. With nutritional specialist Foodmaker and bike rental company Cyclis also on board as co-sponsors, we will soon be sending a strong team to the first ever world championship on home soil.“