Ribble cycles has today launched a new project, known as the Ribble Collective, with the aim of providing support and backing to a group of various British privateer riders across all cycling disciplines.
According to the bike manufacturer, the all-new Ribble Collective will provide a home to a group of “like-minded riders all sharing a true love of cycling”.
With the support of the brand, the aim of the new project is for Ribble Collective riders to be able to set out and achieve their own cycling goals across a diverse range of events. So far, riding plans include UK based races, as well as Unbound in the USA and the Rift gravel race in Iceland.
Head of brand marketing at Ribble, Neil Pinkawa said the idea came about from looking at the cycling landscape “creatively.”
“For 2023, we had the vision to look at the cycling landscape creatively and introduce this new model, allowing us to work in close collaboration with each individual rider and support them to achieve their own riding goals as well as telling their own unique story on two wheels,” he said.
“We are really excited about the future of the Ribble Collective and we feel we have built a strong, diverse and varied roster of riders for the 2023 season.”
The roster includes Cam Jeffers, a rider formally of the now defunct Ribble Weldtite team, along with Joe Laverick, Tom Couzens and Maddy Nutt amongst others.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Jeffers said that after the collapse of Ribble Weldtite, the opportunity to be part of the Ribble Collective and to have the freedom to race around his own calendar was too good to miss.
“When the team [Ribble Weldtite] folded, it wasn’t a great time for the UK scene as a whole so it felt to me like a natural time to call an end to my career if you want to call it that,” Jeffers said.
“I’ve been involved with Ribble now for a few years, and this gives me the opportunity to continue racing my bike for some sort of a team, but also having the freedom to race around my own calendar, and race as and when I want to, not when a team wants me too.”
Jeffers explained that being involved with a group not solely tied to the road scene was something that particularly interested him in Ribble’s new idea.
“Being able to potentially try out some other types of races as well really interested me,” he said. “Within the collective we’ve got some gravel riders, some triathletes, so it really allows me to tap into other people's knowledge and skill sets, and maybe try out some other forms of competitive cycling too.”
The Ribble Collective will be racing on a variety of Ribble bikes in 2023, including bikes from the brands Ultra SLR, Endurance SLR, Gravel SL and Ultra tri ranges. Jeffers highlighted the British brand's ongoing support for the UK domestic scene as something which should be celebrated during recent financial uncertainty.
Jeffers said: “When the team folded at the back end of last year, Ribble always wanted to still be involved in racing. They’ve supported the UK scene for such a long time now, and I know they want to continue to do that.
“It’s brilliant that they’ve managed to pull this out the bag during times of economic uncertainty and committed to supporting the British scene for at least another year.”
