IN BRIEF
Bahrain Victorious will ride Factor bikes from 1 January 2027. The WorldTour team announced it on 30 October, the day after its partnership with Bianchi ended by mutual agreement and with immediate effect after a single season. Factor will thus be the team’s third bike supplier in three years. For the brand, it marks a return to the men’s WorldTour, which it had left at the end of 2025.
The two announcements came twenty-four hours apart. On 29 October, from Treviglio, Bianchi and the team announced their split; the next day, Factor took its place.
Factor and Bahrain Victorious, partners from 1 January 2027
In its press release, the team presents Factor as its official bike partner from the 2027 season, with the partnership starting on 1 January. The 30 October release does not specify the length of the contract, the models the team will race, or the rest of the equipment.
“We have found a fantastic partner in Factor, a brand that shares our performance ethos and our ambition to be the best,” says Milan Eržen in the team’s press release.
On Factor’s side, the brand’s founder links this return to the 2027 Tour de France, which will start in Edinburgh:
“Personally, I find it fitting that Factor was born in the UK, and next year, in our tenth anniversary year, Factor will be back at the highest level of racing in the UK at the Tour de France.”
Rob Gitelis, founder of Factor
Three bike brands in three years
Bahrain Victorious rode Merida for nine years, then signed a multi-year partnership with Bianchi that began with the 2026 season. It lasted only one season: on 29 October, the two parties announced they were ending it by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.
Factor’s return to the WorldTour
Factor supplied Israel-Premier Tech from 2020 until the end of the 2025 season. The team, renamed NSN Cycling for 2026, then switched to Scott: Factor’s return therefore comes after a short absence. The brand had entered this level in 2017 with AG2R La Mondiale: Romain Bardet rode its bikes to the Tour podium that year.
