Golden Champions
Isabeau, Jérôme, Cassandre, Thomas, Grace.
Our golden nuggets. Cassandre, Jérôme, Isabeau, Thomas and Grace were decorated with the most precious metal in 2024. In the Olympic Games or World Championships, they have built their own sporting legend by becoming queens and kings of their respective disciplines. Lapierre has decided to translate the story of each of these athletes by offering them a customised bike - Aerostorm, Xelius DRS, Spicy CF and GLP III. Five is the golden number!
« Golden Grace » Brown
A gear ratio that would make any cyclist quiver, exceptionally powerful muscular thighs and an unbeatable, aggressive stance. If you see Grace Brown on a time trial bike, you will understand that a machine can become an extension of the athlete when ultimate mastery is achieved. Grace Brown is a purist. Speed first, then extreme effort, and finally aerodynamics: she plays with air flows and endures to perfection the "egg" position that crushes the lumbar vertebrae and compresses the lungs. Through relentless and specific work (particularly in the wind tunnel) and boundless dedication to the discipline, she has become one of (if not THE) the best cyclists in the history of time trials.
Her three gold medals picked up in 2024 confirm this: Olympic Champion, World Champion and World Team Champion. The taste of blood in her mouth and the burning of her lungs have revealed their final secrets this year: by officially retiring from sport, the Australian has forever put her name to the summits. This could even have been the purpose of her customised Aerostrom. However, for her total domination, we preferred an all-gold decoration and a more sober "Golden Grace". Thank you and well done Madam!
Jérôme Gilloux, the e-Cannibal
Merckx had better watch out! It's not only road biking that crowns exceptional champions, but track biking too, which has its own share of physical and technical virtuosos with a thirst for victory. One of them (almost) never loses: Jérôme Gilloux. In his discipline, e-XC mountain biking, where he is the undisputed king, Jérôme wins everything. And it's been that way for a long time! 2024 has been no exception to the rule. He even says it's "his best season", and that's an understatement: He has clocked up six World Cup, World Championship and France Championship wins, leaving nothing but leftovers for the others.
The rider from Nice, who comes straight from trials, has a GLP III bike which he handles to perfection: turning in the singles, at ease on steep slopes and scree, on two wheels he goes places that would even intimidate runners. Precision in his riding, rainbow colours on his jersey, and now gold on his bike. That's the very least Lapierre could propose for the GLP III customised for the rider who has won everything in his discipline. Should the e-Cannibal title be added to the frame?
Isabeau Courdurier, we can't wait to see what's next!
Some athletes make their mark on a brand. Through their character, their performances and their personality. This story of "Isa" and Lapierre began in 2020 with the belief that women's endurance racing had huge development potential. In four years of collaboration, the woman nicknamed the unicorn has won numerous titles (French championships, overall World Cup standings, etc.). The nickname comes from something that happened in 2022: a branch across the path on which she was riding pierced her foot. She quickly played down her impressive wound: the piece of wood stuck in her cartilage reminded her of the mythical horned creature. A unicorn was born, and in 2024 she won the rainbow jersey thanks to a superb victory in the discipline's very first World Championships!
"Forever First" is written on the down tube of her Spicy CF, customised as a curtsey to the queen of the discipline. The rider, who is taking a break from her professional career, will therefore be riding a tribute bike, the top tube of which features the locations of her 23 Endurance World Cup victories. We can't wait to see what's next for Isa!
Thomas Peyroton-Dartet, a golden adventure
A noble-sounding name and a frenzied quest for gold: on paper, Thomas Peyroton-Dartet foretells a thrilling adventure. In reality, the story became epic in Paris on 4 September 2024 thanks to a supersonic time trial completed at an average speed of over 44 kph! On his Aerostrom, the rider from the south-west of France won an (almost unexpected) Olympic title in para-cycling. A feat. A triumph. Unimaginable for the athlete who had to switch to disabled sport after a serious fall in the able-bodied peleton in 2017.
But the police officer has maintained an unshakeable serenity and faith: in the C3 category (coordination affected at a low level), he returned to top-level cycling with continental road titles in 2022 and 2023, including a time trial podium. In September, he achieved the ultimate victory. Olympic gold. On home territory. The reward for his dedication to his sport. His future timekeeping adventures will now be ridden on an Aerostrom Gold edition subtly combining white with gold leaf.
Cassandre Beaugrand, the golden age
Wednesday 31 July 2024, Paris. Cassandre Beaugrand dives into the Seine to compete and then gets out of the water to mount her Xelius DRS SO Edition. 1 hour and 54 minutes of effort later, she triumphs on the Pont Alexandre III, bringing France its first gold medal in the history of the Olympic triathlon. A few weeks later, she repeats the feat, becoming the first French female triathlon World Champion at the age of 27. The world of triple effort is hers. Gold flows. Especially on her special edition bike, "my first customised bike", designed to celebrate her reign, which has only just begun.
In her prime, the (real) gold leaf that decorates the marble effect on her new Xelius DRS is a reminder of the forthcoming victories that will join her list of achievements. "Queen Cass" - which appears close to the cockpit - has only just begun: in four years' time and at the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles, how many gold medals will join her collection?