Ridley Helium
Completely wrong! Did you know that the Helium has been around for 11 years? The bike was developed with Cadel Evans in 2008. Dive into the history of Ridley cycling and discover the Helium's most beautiful moments, its evolution, and its greatest victories.
The Helium was designed 11 years ago as a climber's bike for Cadel Evans. Evans had a clear message for our engineers: "Make me a bike on which I can win the Tour de France, and do me a favour: Bring it as close as possible to the 6.8 kg limit, but if in doubt: weight should never be at the expense of stiffness."
His will was done. The Helium ISP was officially launched a few weeks before the Tour de France. Cadel Evans had his Tour Bike and we almost achieved the impossible. Evans rode a legendary Tour de France and came second in the final classification. Did you know that that year, he did not even fall out of the top nine in the rankings?
That was the first important milestone of the Helium. Discover its other awesome milestones!
Vuelta a Espana
The Helium was actually only a few months old when it achieved its first sprint victory. Although the bike was really made for climbers at the time, it was already showing more qualities than just "useful for uphill". Van Avermaet used it for a full Vuelta and was able to crown his super form in the ninth stage with victory after a long flight. He beat Davide Rebbellin in the sprint.
Paris-Nice
Thomas De Gendt gave his first impressive performance in the World Tour. In the first stage of Paris-Nice, he went on an adventure with Jens Voigt and Jérémy Roy. The peloton completely miscalculated and could never close the last gap again. Thomas accelerated on 200 m from the finish line and was able to cheer for the first time that year. After a few months Thomas repeated this trick during the Tour of Switzerland, this time keeping top climbers like Schleck behind him.
Launch of Helium SL
This was a huge step forward in the evolution of the Helium family. We made the frame lighter, but our focus was mainly on making the bottom bracket stiffer and more responsive.
Germany Nationals
Greipel started the German championship with little hope. Controlling a peloton on a hilly course with only one helper (Sieberg) is not possible. The race was also hyper-offensive. There was not a moment of peace. Still, Greipel and Sibi managed to move along with the final breakaway at 30 km from the finish line. Sieberg kept the peloton together, after which Greipel won in the pouring rain with his famous power sprint.
Vuelta a Espana
Iron Man Hansen took an excellent stage win in the Giro of 2013, but this victory deep into the Vuelta was highly impressive. With only 5 km to go, the peloton was back at the front and Peter Kennaugh thought his time had come to attack. With the entire peloton in his wake Adam Hansen crawled into Kennaugh's wheel, but Hansen immediately persisted. Nobody could keep his wheel. The peloton rode an Olympic Pursuit but was stranded at the wheel of the cheering Hansen.
Launch of Helium SLX
We then developed the next generation: Helium SLX. It became that little bit lighter and steered even more aggressively. It also became even more responsive, without losing that comfortable feeling.
Strade Bianche
Racing isn't only against others, it's also against the elements of nature. This is what makes a victory that little bit more special. From the start, all course radios reported that the tricky and dangerous gravel sections were even more difficult than ever. Then we suddenly saw Tiesj Benoot making a break for it. Wout Van Aert and Romain Bardet were still ahead, but Tiesj closed the gap on Sector 10 and then relentlessly demoted them on the last sector, Sector 11. Tiesj's finish must have been an incredible feeling.
Tour de France
What a phenomenal victory. A whole day of attacking with three other fellow sufferers. At 55 km from the finish line, they just devoured the fifth climb of the day and the clock still gave them a four-minute lead. Just before the last climb of the day (13 km to go), the lead dropped to under a minute and with an attack by Alaphilippe, it seemed like the attack would not have a happy end. It was during this period that De Gendt showed why he was the best attacker in this peloton. For kilometres on end, Alaphilippe and Pinot tried to sneak closer, but De Gendt never dropped the pace. Even at the last hill they barely got any closer, which sealed the win for Thomas. It was such a phenomenal stunt that he could hardly believe it himself.
Today we are taking the bike to the next level. The bicycle now has disc brakes. With its integrated cables, it has become a lot more aerodynamic. It still has the same responsiveness. It still has the same stiffness. And it still has the same level of comfort. The new darling of the pro riders is born.
