The historic structure of Ghost and Lapierre will disappear from the XCO World Cup due to the Accell crisis

The crisis of Accell Group is beginning to have direct consequences in the competition. The Lapierre PXR Racing, formerly Ghost, one of the most emblematic teams of the XCO World Cup, will disappear at the end of the 2026 season. The news has just been revealed through the retirement announcement of Anne Terpstra, who explained that the structure will be canceled and that this situation has also hastened the end of her sports career.

The disappearance of the team comes just a few weeks after Accell Group, owner of Lapierre and other historic brands like Haibike, Ghost, Raleigh, Winora, or Batavus, entered into bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands after failing to find a solution that would guarantee the continuity of the group.

The Lapierre PXR Racing will not continue in 2027

Although it could be intuited, until now it had not been publicly communicated what the impact of the crisis would be on Lapierre's competition program, but Anne Terpstra revealed it by announcing the end of her professional career.

"With the cancellation of the Lapierre PXR Racing, I have a big change ahead, as I will end my career in the World Cup", explains the Dutch cyclist.

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Her message thus confirms that the XCO structure will not continue next season.

The news is particularly significant because the Lapierre PXR Racing had started 2026 as an apparently new project, although it actually maintained the structure that had competed for years under the name Ghost Factory Racing. The change from Ghost to Lapierre mainly represented a brand shift within Accell Group's own universe.

Terpstra is precisely the best example of that continuity. The Dutch cyclist was linked for almost a decade to the women's team of Ghost and this season she began competing with Lapierre, remaining within a structure she knew perfectly. The project will have barely completed one season under the colors of Lapierre before disappearing.

Another consequence of the fall of Accell Group

To understand the situation, we must go back to early August, when Accell Group entered into bankruptcy proceedings.

The Dutch giant had been trying for years to overcome the consequences of the cycle change suffered by the bicycle industry after the pandemic. Excess inventory, falling demand, and pressure on margins forced various financial restructurings. Even the One Accell reorganization program did not manage to stabilize the company definitively.

The situation had reached a particularly delicate point during 2026. Creditors took control of Accell in February and subsequently negotiated its sale to the Singaporean fund DuTech Group. The operation even surpassed various European regulatory procedures, but ultimately was not completed.

Without that exit, Accell acknowledged having exhausted the available alternatives and requested bankruptcy proceedings. Since then, the future of the different brands that made up the group has remained uncertain.

Lapierre tries to save the brand independently

The disappearance of the Lapierre PXR Racing does not mean, at least for now, the disappearance of Lapierre as a bicycle manufacturer.

In fact, the French company reacted quickly to the fall of its parent company and requested a judicial reorganization procedure in France with the aim of maintaining its activity while seeking a solution that guarantees its future.

Lapierre continues to be managed from Dijon and maintains its French direction and structure. The judicial reorganization allows the company to continue operating under supervision while exploring alternatives such as the entry of investors or the arrival of a new owner.

The brand itself insisted at that time that its activity continued and that its teams remained operational to serve customers and distributors.

Therefore, it is important to separate both processes: Lapierre continues to try to ensure its survival as a manufacturer, but its World Cup team, the Lapierre PXR Racing, will indeed disappear at the end of 2026.

An historic XCO structure comes to its end

Beyond the sponsor change made this season, what disappears is a structure with many years of presence in the elite of mountain biking.

For much of its recent history, it was associated with Ghost and especially with women's XCO, and from the team have emerged some of the best cyclists in the world, such as Sina Frei.

Anne Terpstra has just announced that with the closure of the team she will end her competitive career, but for the other members of the Lapierre PXR Racing, a period of uncertainty begins now as they look towards the next season.