Hutchinson Returns To The UCI WorldTour As Official Technical Partner To Intermarché-Wanty
- Partnership marks Hutchinson's return to the top level of elite cycling
- The collaboration will focus on co-developing new tyre technology. Leveraging insights from riders to refine Hutchinson's performance road tyre range.
- Team to race new prototype tyres at the Tour Down Under
9th January, Paris - Hutchinson, the French pioneer of cycling tyre technology has today announced a return to the top tier of professional cycling through a multi-year partnership with Belgian WorldTour team Intermarché-Wanty.
As the team’s official tyre supplier, Hutchinson will equip both the Intermarché-Wanty team and the U23 Development team’s riders with its state-of-the-art road tyres. Ensuring they have the performance needed to excel in the world's toughest races, from the challenging conditions of the one day classics to the high-altitude climbs of the three Grand Tours.
The partnership goes well beyond race day, with Hutchinson and Intermarché-Wanty already working hand-in-hand on research and development, with insights from the team’s riders set to be instrumental in further developing upcoming additions to Hutchinson’s range of performance road tyres.
This technological partnership has begun in earnest with the team already riding prototypes of the next generation of race specific tyres from the French brand. Specifically designed for the challenges of elite cycling, these new tyres further enhance the speed and grip of Hutchinson’s performance road tyre, the Blackbird, returning Hutchinson to its place as a world leader in tyre performance. Set to debut unofficially at the Tour Down Under, in time these cutting edge developments will be made available to riders worldwide as an official Hutchinson product.
Intermarché-Wanty has emerged as one of the most exciting teams in the peloton, earning notable victories and podiums across WorldTour events in recent seasons. Known for their attacking style of racing and diverse roster of talent including Biniam Girmay, one of the world’s leading sprinters, the team sees the partnership with Hutchinson as a key step in their 2025 campaign.
Mikey van Kruiningen (Head of Equipment Intermarché-Wanty) said of the partnership:
"When we switched to tubeless tyres years ago as one of the first teams, we gained a significant advantage in speed. Now that all teams are riding tubeless, we were looking for a way to regain our technological edge. With Hutchinson, we found a new partner who wanted to work with us on a tyre with good grip, which has been the Achilles' heel of the tubeless system so far, especially in wet conditions.
Building on the knowledge gained during the development of the Blackbird tyre, we are now developing new Hutchinson Racing Lab tubeless tyres. These new wide tyres combine a super-light weight with top rolling resistance and exceptional grip – our riders don't call it the 'MotoGP tyre' for nothing.
We started extensive testing of the prototypes early on, both in the mountains and on the cobblestones, with excellent results. We are very happy with this new partnership with Hutchinson and our full setup for 2025. The equipment with which the Intermarché-Wanty riders race is of absolute top quality, and we continue to work on improvements continuously, in close contact with all our technical partners.”
The collaboration is set to build on Hutchinson’s rich palmares at the top tier of professional cycling, with multiple Tour de France stage and overall victories throughout the brand’s 170 year history. Returning to the WorldTour through partnering with Intermarché-Wanty marks an important statement as Hutchinson continues to develop some of the world’s leading performance tyres.
Sylvie Woroniecki, Global Communications & Brand Manager of Hutchinson Tyres said:
“We are thrilled to partner with Intermarché-Wanty, a team that has consistently demonstrated resilience, ambition, and incredible team spirit on the global stage. Their unfaltering approach to performance and thirst for victory at the highest level will help push development of our products even further than before. We’re confident that this partnership will play a pivotal role in helping the team achieve new heights in 2025.”
Riders can get the latest news from Hutchinson at https://cycling.hutchinson.com/ and Intermarché-Wanty at https://intermarche-wanty.eu/.
A selection of images of the team and their new race bike can be found here
About Hutchinson
Hutchinson is a pioneering French brand with over 130 years of expertise in cycling innovation. Founded in 1853, it remains the only manufacturer of "made in France" bicycle tyres, embodying unmatched craftsmanship and premium material expertise.
From Raymond Poulidor to Thomas Voeckler, Hutchinson boasts a rich palmarès at the top tier of professional cycling, with multiple Tour de France stage and overall victories throughout its history. As a leader in tubeless technology, Hutchinson played a key role in its development, setting a global benchmark. Its meticulously crafted, high-performance products are trusted by professional athletes and cycling enthusiasts alike, reinforcing Hutchinson's reputation as a driving force in cycling innovation.
About Intermarché-Wanty
Intermarché-Wanty is a Belgian professional cycling team with 28 riders of nine different nationalities, among whom Belgian riders and Frenchmen, but also riders from Eritrea or New Zealand. Founded in 1974 as an amateur team, the structure gradually climbed the ladder in the cycling world. Thanks to remarkable teamwork and fighting spirit in all races, Intermarché-Wanty is part of UCI World Tour, the highest division of international cycling.
As a World Team since 2021, Intermarché-Wanty participates in the World’s biggest races on four continents (Europe, Asia, North-America, Oceania) such as the Tour de France or one day races like Paris-Roubaix or Liège-Bastogne-Liège and offers a broad European program. Since then, more than 60 victories have been achieved and several important milestones reached, until climbing to the first position in the UCI World Ranking in January 2023. These successes include three stage wins, the green jersey and a seventh place in the final classification of the Tour de France, six other Grand Tour stage wins or a historical victory in Ghent-Wevelgem.
By focusing on what’s essential for performance and by embracing the typical Belgian cycling culture and the values of living together, Intermarché-Wanty aims to become a fixed value among the ten best teams in the world.
The structure of Intermarché-Wanty also includes a Continental Development team with twelve U23 riders named Wanty-ReUz-Technord and a UCI Cyclocross Team with five professional riders named Charles Liégeois Roastery CX.
For more information please contact:
Chris Terry