Belgium - On Saturday 26 September, Bioracer celebrated its 40th anniversary with the Bioracer 40 Years Ride. Starting and finishing at Bioracer HQ in Tessenderlo-Ham, riders could join free of charge and share the road with former pro rider Guy Nulens, TV maker Wouter Deboot and newly crowned world champion Tim Celen.
40 years, but still accelerating
The ride drew 183 riders in total, 132 of them from Limburg. Some clipped in a little earlier or pedalled a little faster than others, but what really counted was the love for cycling, and perhaps of Bioracer too. Between 8:30 and 10:00, Bioracer HQ filled up just like the coffee cups, as riders were welcomed with a fresh pastry, coffee and an energy bar.
The most important guest of the day was undoubtedly founder Raymond Vanstraelen, who clearly enjoyed the warm company. With his Bioracer blowing out 40 candles this year, the celebration took the form of a social ride, where riders set off in small groups at their own time and their own pace.
The 40 Years Ride was a moment to look back and say thank you, but also a reminder of why the work goes on. There are new kilometres to ride and new ideas to test. 40 years in, but still accelerating.
Our home roads
The 40 Years Ride started where the story continues today, at Bioracer HQ in Tessenderlo. From there, the route headed towards the canal, with 3.8 km alongside the water, before continuing to Beringen. Between Beringen and Heusden-Zolder, we passed the first Bioracer building on Beringersteenweg, a place that played an important role in our early years. The route then continued via Heusden-Zolder and Helchteren towards the edge of Hechtel-Eksel, before turning back through Koersel and Beringen-Mijn.
Even in the final kilometres, our past was never far away. On the industrial estate, we passed another former Bioracer location before eventually finishing back where we started.
In total, the ride covered 61.6 km, with just 93 metres of elevation. The route went through 5 different towns in Limburg while conditions could hardly have been better, around 15°C during the ride, rising to 20°C later in the day, with barely any wind.
It was a route that felt unmistakably Limburg: flat and fast, with long straight roads, quiet local lanes, canal-side kilometres, villages, open countryside and the mining heritage along the way. More than just a loop through the region, it was a ride through the landscapes we call home, and through some of the places that helped shape 40 years of Bioracer.
Bioracer community
The day began at Bioracer HQ in Tessenderlo-Ham. Between 8:30 and 10:00, riders arrived in their own time and found a table full of different pastries and fresh coffee waiting for them. Before heading out, there was time to fill bidons with sports drink or water and choose from several flavours of energy bars. Riders chatted and rolled out in small groups whenever they were ready.
Then came the ride itself, a route made for riding together rather than racing each other. The flat, quiet roads of Limburg left plenty of room to ride side by side and chat along the way.
Back at the finish, the second half of the celebration was waiting. Every rider received a goodie bag, and there was more coffee, drinks, chips and nuts, and of course waffles. The Foodmaker served pasta and wraps for those who had worked up an appetite on the road.
“There's only one way to celebrate 40 years of Bioracer: together with our cycling community on the bike. Coffee at the start and kilometres together. Pasta and drinks at the finish. And above all, stories shared between old and new friends.” — Milan Vossen, Event Manager at Bioracer
What stood out most was how long people stayed. Riders who had arrived alone were soon deep in conversation with new faces, and stories from the road were passed around the tables. For a few hours, Bioracer HQ became a meeting place for the cycling community that has grown around the brand over forty years. Simply, the home of the Bioracer community.
Familiar faces
Among the riders were three familiar faces, each with a very different story. A former professional rider, a television maker and a world champion: three different paths in and around cycling, but all part of the same Bioracer story.
Guy Nulens
Guy Nulens knows the roads of Limburg better than most. Born in Hasselt in 1957, he turned professional in 1979 and spent a large part of his career in the teams of Peter Post, including nine seasons with Panasonic. He was never a prolific winner, but he was one of the most valued domestiques of his generation. He rode the Tour de France fifteen times.
His path crossed with Raymond Vanstraelen's early on. Nulens was one of the talents at Suport, the cycling school Raymond opened in 1979, and later one of the pros racing in Raymond's blue cycling shoe. In 1989, the connection reached the top of the sport. Nulens' Panasonic team appeared on the biggest stages in Raymond's clothing, including the IsoFilm rain jacket: waterproof, breathable, light and elastic, at a time when nothing like it existed.
Decades later, Guy Nulens and Raymond Vanstraelen met again at the Bioracer 40 Years Ride, sharing memories of the early days.
Wouter Deboot
Wouter Deboot is a television maker and is best known as VRT’s cycling reporter. For the programme "Met de wind mee", he spends a month quite literally letting the wind decide where the road takes him. For Wouter, the bike is more than a means of transport. It is his way of discovering new places and finding remarkable stories along the way.
His love for cycling is also a recurring theme in his work, and that same passion connects him to Bioracer. During our 40 Years Ride, Wouter joined us in the Origin Blueprint Capsule kit, a design that refers directly to the origins of Bioracer 40 years ago.
A cycling storyteller wearing a jersey that tells the story of where Bioracer began.
Tim Celen
Tim Celen has been competing at the very highest level of para-cycling for years. At the beginning of September, he was once again crowned road world champion in the T2 class in Huntsville. It marked his sixth world title, four on the road and two in the time trial. Over the years, he has also collected multiple medals at the Paralympic Games and previous World Championships.
For Bioracer, that success carries an extra meaning. Celen won his world title in the apparel we develop for Belgian Cycling and joined our 40 Years Ride wearing his brand-new rainbow jersey. It was a fitting image of a partnership that goes back much further. Throughout his career, he has stepped onto international podiums several times in Bioracer apparel.
As a resident of Tessenderlo-Ham, he also shares the same home base as Bioracer. During the 40 Years Ride, we therefore rode together on roads that feel like home to both of us.
