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Company type | Aktiengesellschaft |
---|---|
Industry | Bicycles |
Founded | 1986 |
Headquarters | , Switzerland |
Products | Bicycles, cycling accessories |
Website | www |
BMC Switzerland AG (abbreviation of "Bicycle Manufacturing Company") is a Swiss bicycle and cycling product manufacturer based in Grenchen. [1] BMC designs, builds and distributes road bikes, mountain bikes, and commuter bikes primarily for sale to dealers in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, East Asia and the United Arab Emirates. [2]
In 1986, American Bob Bigelow founded BMC as an assembler and wholesale distributor of Raleigh bicycles (then owned by Derby Cycle). [3] After losing his distributor's license, Bigelow began building bikes under a new BMC label, but it remained a niche brand. In 2001, the company shifted their strategy, turning to greater investment in engineering and design.
BMC's relationship to performance cycling began when BMC began supplying the Swiss professional road racing team Phonak with bikes. The team's patron was Andy Rihs, owner of the world-leading hearing-aid company of the same name. Andy Rihs took over BMC in 2000 with the vision of building a carbon production facility in Grenchen, Switzerland to produce the ‘Porsche of race bikes’ and the Impec road bike was created. Having a carbon production facility at its disposal has heavily influenced how BMC approaches bike manufacturing. The facility is now called the Impec Advanced R&D Lab, and it is primarily used for research and development by the company's design and engineering teams.
Professional cycling teams and athletes riding BMC's bikes have won the Tour de France, [4] the Tour de Romandie, [5] the Tirreno–Adriatico, [6] the Tour de Wallonie, [7] the Paris–Tours, [8] Critérium International, [9] Paris–Roubaix, and many other high-profile events. In 2014 and 2015 the BMC Racing Team won the UCI Team Time Trial World Championships. In 2015, Australian rider Rohan Dennis broke the hour record on a BMC.
At the end of the 2018 season, BMC withdrew support of the BMC Racing Team, whose former leader, Cadel Evans won the 2011 Tour de France, the BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team [ permanent dead link ] as well as the BMC Factory Trailcrew [ permanent dead link ]. From 2019, BMC is a bicycle supplier for Team Dimension Data. Beside that, BMC is also co-sponsoring the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team as well as many other athletes. As of 2023, BMC is a sponsor and supplier of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team which was founded and is run by Swiss professional road racing cyclist Fabian Cancellara.
Thor Hushovd is a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer. He is known for sprinting and time trialing; Hushovd is a three-time Norwegian national road race champion, and was the winner of the 2010 World Road Race Championships. He was the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France, and first Scandinavian to win the road race in cycling world road championship. He is also the Scandinavian with the most stage wins in Grand Tours. He is widely considered the greatest Norwegian cyclist of all time. He retired in September 2014.
Cadel Lee Evans is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with Greg LeMond and Egan Bernal – to have won the Tour de France, winning the race in 2011.
George Anthony Hincapie is an American former racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 and for Cadel Evans in 2011, when both men won the Tour de France. He was the owner and general manager of UCI Professional Continental team Hincapie–Leomo p/b BMC until it folded at the end of the 2020 season.
Tom Boonen is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the U.S. Postal Service and Quick-Step Floors teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Boonen won the 2005 UCI World Road Race Championships, and was a single-day road specialist with a strong finishing sprint. He won the cycling monuments Paris–Roubaix 4 times and the Tour of Flanders 3 times, among many other prestigious victories, such as prevailing 5 times in the E3 Harelbeke, winning 6 stages of the Tour de France and winning the Overall title of the Tour of Qatar 4 times.
Jens Voigt is a German former professional road bicycle racer and, upon retirement, became a cycling sports broadcast commentator. During his cycling career, Voigt raced for several teams, the last one being UCI ProTeam Trek Factory Racing. Voigt wore the yellow jersey of the Tour de France twice, though he was never a contender for the overall title owing to the mountainous nature of the stages of the race being better suited to climbing specialists. His career achievements include winning the Critérium International a record-tying five times and a number of one-week stage races, as well as two Tour de France stage victories. In September 2014, he set a new hour record.
Simon Gerrans is an Australian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018, for the AG2R Prévoyance, Crédit Agricole, Cervélo TestTeam, Team Sky, Orica–Scott and BMC Racing Team squads. Post-retirement he initially worked as an athlete intern at Goldman Sachs in London, then joined The Service Course, in which he is an investor, as COO and now CEO, in early 2020. He can also be heard commentating road cycling for ASO and SBS.
Cervélo Cycles is a manufacturer of racing and track bicycles. Cervélo uses CAD, computational fluid dynamics, and wind tunnel testing at a variety of facilities including the San Diego Air and Space Technology Center, in California, US, to aid its designs. Frame materials include carbon fibre. Cervélo currently makes 5 series of bikes: the C series and R series of road bikes, the latter featuring multi-shaped, "Squoval" frame tubes; the S series of road bikes and P series of triathlon/time trial bikes, both of which feature airfoil shaped down tubes; and the T series of track bikes. In professional competition, cyclists have ridden Cervélo bicycles to victory in all three of road cycling's grand tours: the Tour de France; the Giro d'Italia; and the Vuelta a España.
Philippe Gilbert is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three Ardennes classics – the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – in a single season, which he accomplished in 2011. Gilbert also finished the 2011 season as the overall winner of the UCI World Tour.
Greg Van Avermaet is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet was a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general classification in stage races, particularly when run on a hilly terrain, such as the 2016 Tirreno–Adriatico, and the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire. His strong sprint finish enabled him to win sprints of small lead groups, but he has also won races after solo breakaways.
CCC Pro Team was a UCI WorldTeam co-owned and managed by American cyclist Jim Ochowicz, who founded the 7-Eleven Cycling Team. After its last title sponsor, CCC, a Polish shoe retailer, pulled out due to financial difficulties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ochowicz was unable to find another major sponsor, so the team disbanded at the end of the 2020 season. In its place, Belgian UCI ProTeam Circus–Wanty Gobert took over the team's license and was promoted to a UCI WorldTeam.
Lars Petter Nordhaug is a Norwegian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2017 for the Joker–Bianchi, Belkin Pro Cycling, Team Sky and Aqua Blue Sport teams.
Tejay van Garderen is an American former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2021 for the Rabobank Continental Team, HTC–Highroad, BMC Racing Team and EF Education–Nippo. Following his retirement as a cyclist, van Garderen became a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost.
The 2011 season for the BMC Racing Team began in January with the Tour Down Under and ended in October at the Giro di Lombardia. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
The 2011 season for Quick-Step began in January at the Tour Down Under and ended in October at the Giro di Lombardia. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
The 2013 season for the BMC Racing Team began in January with the Tour Down Under. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
Jasper Stuyven is a Belgian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lidl–Trek. He is considered to be a classics specialist, and has won several major races including the 2021 Milan–San Remo, one of cycling's monuments, the 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the 2016 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. He has also had success in stage races, winning the overall classification of the 2019 Deutschland Tour as well as a stage of the 2015 Vuelta a España. Stuyven has also competed in six editions of the Tour de France, finishing on the podium several times on different stages.
The 2015 Paris–Roubaix was the 113th edition of the Paris–Roubaix one-day race. It took place on 12 April and was the tenth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. It was won by John Degenkolb in a sprint ahead of Zdeněk Štybar and Greg Van Avermaet. Degenkolb became only the second German to win the race, after Josef Fischer's victory at the first edition 119 years earlier.
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Andy Rihs was a Swiss businessperson primarily in Medtech and Sports.