Official: Factor to become Bahrain Victorious’ new bike sponsor in 2027 after split with Bianchi

Factor Bikes and Bahrain Victorious have confirmed their alliance for the 2027 season. The manufacturer will return to the WorldTour as the official supplier of the team, which will change bikes for the second time in just two years and will end its brief relationship with Bianchi.

The move confirms one of the operations we already anticipated in the review of professional teams that will change bike brands in 2027. The agreement will take effect on January 1 and will allow Factor to regain its presence in the top category of cycling after its departure from Israel-Premier Tech at the end of 2025.

Bahrain Victorious confirms its signing with Factor after just one season with Bianchi

The arrival of Factor ends a period of changes in the equipment of Bahrain Victorious. After nine seasons using Merida bikes, between 2017 and 2025, the team started 2026 with Bianchi. However, that collaboration, initially announced as multi-year, has ended after less than a year.

The break between Bianchi and Bahrain Victorious was made public on October 29 and, just a day later, Factor officially announced its incorporation as the new supplier.

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The new collaboration involves more than just the supply of bikes. Factor aims to leverage the experience of the riders and the technical team of Bahrain Victorious to continue developing its products, using competition as part of its engineering and validation processes.

Among the current competition bikes from Factor are the OSTRO VAM, the O2 VAM, and the HANZŌ time trial bike, although their incorporation into Bahrain Victorious' equipment has not yet been confirmed.

Factor returns to the WorldTour with the 2027 Tour de France as a major showcase

Factor, founded by former professional cyclist Rob Gitelis, will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2027 and will return to compete in the Tour de France precisely when the race starts in the United Kingdom, the country where the manufacturer was born.

Gitelis has highlighted the importance of this return:

"At Factor, we have always believed that competing at the highest level of this sport is fundamental to who we are. It is where our ideas are tested, where our engineering is evaluated, and where we continue to strive to advance."

The founder also explained that the collaboration aims to go beyond providing equipment to the team and become an opportunity to develop new solutions alongside the riders.

For his part, Milan Eržen, general director of Bahrain Victorious, has highlighted the alignment of goals between both organizations:

"We have found a fantastic partner in Factor, a brand that shares our performance philosophy and our ambition to be the best."

With this agreement, Factor joins the reorganization of suppliers that the professional peloton is experiencing ahead of 2027. Bahrain Victorious will be one of the teams debuting new bikes, alongside other confirmed moves, such as Soudal Quick-Step's switch from Specialized to Merida.

On January 1, 2027, the new era of Factor and Bahrain Victorious will officially begin, although the final configuration of the bikes and components with which their riders will compete is still to be determined.