Visma | Lease a Bike lose their secret weapon for Paris-Roubaix

It seemed as though Visma | Lease a Bike have stumbled upon a gamechanger for Paris-Roubaix when they joined forces with Gravaa. The Dutch company brought onto the cycling scene a technical innovation that could revolutionize tactical approach to the French Monument as well as other cobbled Classics. However Gravaa may not exist anymore in 2026 as the tire pressure system maker filed for bankruptcy.

When the KAPS tire pressure system finally appeared in the road peloton last year, it was far from an unknown quantity. The technology had already undergone extensive testing and had become a familiar sight in gravel racing, where Marianne Vos claimed the 2024 gravel world title using the system. That triumph helped trigger broader adoption within the Visma | Lease a Bike setup.

Its transition to road racing quickly paid off. Team leader Wout van Aert spoke highly of the system after trying it. "I tested it this winter and I'm impressed with how it works and continues to work," he said last year. His confidence was later validated when Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rode the system to victory at Paris-Roubaix in 2025.

Yet despite these high-profile WorldTour results, Gravaa’s finances told a very different story. At the company’s headquarters in Eindhoven, revenue failed to follow success. The explanation was straightforward: with costs stretching into the thousands of euros, the KAPS system was simply out of reach for general public. While it represented a remarkable technical achievement for professionals, it remained unrealistic for the broader cycling public.

That tension - between serving an elite niche and achieving commercial viability - ultimately proved fatal. This week, the court in East Brabant officially declared Gravaa BV bankrupt, casting serious doubt over the future of the technology.

Attention now turns to the implications for Visma | Lease a Bike. Speaking to In de Leiderstrui, Head of Performance Equipment Jenco Drost confirmed that the team still plans to use the tire pressure system this season. "It's a really big advantage, especially in Paris-Roubaix," he said. However, with the manufacturer now out of business, questions remain about how much of that edge can be maintained without the technical know-how and support that originally came with it.