Cosmic revival

After a turbulent few years, the iconic French brand Mavic is back and aiming to return to the top

- EMMA COLE

In the world of cycling, it’s hard to find a brand quite as emblematic as Mavic. With its trademark yellow and black logo, Mavic is synonymous with the sport and has been at its heart, both as innovator and benefactor, for well over a century.

Formed in 1889 by two Frenchmen, Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel, the brand lays claim to a host of firsts for the cycling industry: the first aluminium rim, the first disc wheel, the first electronic groupset, the Dura alloy rims that weighed only 750g, and the tri-spoked 3G wheel that helped take Chris Boardman to Olympic individual pursuit gold in 1992.

Then there’s the neutral service, which arguably cemented the brand in cycle sport legend. It was 1972 when Bruno Gormand, then chairman of Mavic, proposed providing technical assistance to riders regardless of their teams, and it was 1973 when Paris-Nice became the first race to have neutral support.

Mavic went on to support the Tour de France for over 40 years, its yellow and black motorbikes and cars a constant sight, whizzing alongside the peloton, laden with extra bikes and wheels.

But three years ago, everything changed. Mavic no longer provides neutral support for the Tour or for any other ASO race for that matter.

‘The contract with ASO came up for renewal at the time of our difficulties and so we weren’t able to pay,’ explains Michel Lethenet, a former mountain bike journalist who is now Mavic’s global PR manager. ‘But it is also true that ASO raised the price dramatically. Perhaps it is for the best and we can see it as an opportunity that we are no longer tied to that contract.’

Survival of the fittest