Cycling experience specialist LeBlanq has announced that Rapha has invested in the company and will be its exclusive apparel partner going forward. Further investment was also confirmed from ‘leaders in the premium cycling and events worlds – Simon Mottram, Simon Kimble and Tim Ashton.’
LeBlanq has also signed Specialized as its official bike partner for 2022 and has renewed partnerships from its launch 2021 season with brands including Laurent-Perrier, Michelin, Aston Martin, Cold Bath Brewing, Sigma Sports and Veloforte.
Founded in 2020 by Justin Clarke, and curated with cycling icon Sean Yates and culinary innovator Ashley Palmer-Watts, LeBlanq combines gastronomy and events… ‘as the ultimate luxury joyriding getaway, to create epic experiences of eating, drinking and riding.’
Justin Clarke, LeBlanq founder, said “To have secured investment from three industry leaders in cycling and events early in our development, is a clear indicator of the uniqueness of our proposition and the confidence in the market.
“As the founder and former CEO of Rapha, the brand that helped transform cycling from a humble sport into an experiential, lifestyle choice, we’re delighted to be working with Simon Mottram, the man responsible for the sport’s elevated repositioning in the market.”
Clarke continued, “Investment from Simon Kimble, the Exec Chairman and Founder of Clarion Events, and Tim Ashton, the Founder and Creative Director of Antidote, one of the UK’s leading creative agencies, is further endorsement that our brand sits as an experiential disrupter at the top end of the market.”
Tim Ashton said “I’ve watched LeBlanq from the beginning and, where others have tried and failed, this is the brand that has every component in place to offer something exceptional, for which there is strong consumer demand.
“Working with the best luxury hotels, each in stunning destinations, and alongside the world’s leading riders and chefs, LeBlanq breaks are set apart from anything else available on the market and I am delighted to be involved.”
As brand partners, Rapha has signed-on as official apparel partner and will be designing a limited edition kit for LeBlanq guests, while Specialized has signed as LeBlanq’s official bike partner, providing a fleet of brand new Aethos bikes for guests to trial at every experience.
The commercial announcements are made as LeBlanq launches its first 2022 ‘joyriding weekends’, with two UK breaks:
- 13-15 May 2022: Isle of Wight – lead riders Sir Bradley Wiggins & Johan Museeuw, with menus created by Angela Hartnett. From £2245pp for riding guests, and from £1995pp for a non-rider sharing a room, at The Royal Hotel, Ventnor.
- 8-10 July 2022: Scotland – lead rider Sir Chris Hoy, with lead chefs Tom Kitchin and Alan Murchison. From £2495pp for riding guests, and from £2195pp for a non-rider sharing a room at Dunskey Estate, Dumfries & Galloway (now sold out).
In addition, as part of the partnership with Rapha, LeBlanq has collaborated with the Rapha Cycling Club on a unique trip to Norway in September, hosted by World Champion Thor Hushovd, with Scandinavian open flame master Niklas Ekstedt as lead chef. Rapha Cycling Club members have exclusive first-access to places for this trip.
Two more European weekends in Champagne and Ibiza, as well as a summer programme of UK based day rides are due to be released in the coming weeks.
Riders and chefs for these experiences will be released soon, and waitlists offering subscribers early access to brand new rides are now available online.
