Concorde, once a famous Dutch bicycle brand

Anyone who has ever ridden a steel racing bike in Belgium or Holland in the 70s, 80s or 90s or is a fan of vintage steel racing bikes, will undoubtedly have already come across the Concorde bicycle brand.

This Dutch bicycle brand is, or rather was, a resounding name in the racing bicycle world. Especially the model in black and white with which the Dutch professional cycling team PDM rode is the best known.

Establishment of Concorde bicycle brand

The Concorde brand was launched in the early 1970s by the bicycle importer Veltec/Rentmeester, itself founded in 1965 as Rentmeester. The sale lasted until 2009 and the company that was now called Veltec went bankrupt in 2012. With the new owners Intersens Bikes & Parts BV, located in Almelo a new attempt was made in 2015 to relaunch Concorde, but in 2018 the brand disappeared from the market again.

Concorde's frames were made in Italy, namely by Ciöcc from Bergamo and Billato from Padova. Later also the Belgian Martelly supplied frames to Concorde.

The frames were painted and finished in the Concorde paint shop, which was located in Gavere in Belgium. Concorde had also developed a system (Cyclefit) that helped tailor a framework.

Ciöcc's frames were of higher quality, unlike those of Billato, which were used for the cheaper Concorde models. The frames even have an Italian flag engraved in the horizontal top tube, which is a guarantee for production in Italy.

In addition to racing bikes, Concorde also produced mountain bikes, cyclocross and trekking bikes.

Concorde sponsor of PDM team

The Concorde brand was also active in professional cycling for a while when it sponsored the Dutch cycling team PDM from 1986 to 1992, which included great cyclists such as Pedro Delgado, Greg Lemond and Sean Kelly. The other main riders were

• Peter Rooks
• Gert Jan Theunisse
• Erik Breukink
• Raul Alcala
• Gerry Kneteman
• Adrie van der Poel
• Jean Paul van Poppel
• Peter Van Petegem
• Rudy Dhaenens

The sponsorship was stopped when the PDM team was discredited for doping use in the Tour de France in 1991. After a bad day where the entire team could not follow the peloton, they got out of the stage and left the Tour in silence the same day. .

Supposedly due to food poisoning by Salmonella, but according to the French physician Jean Daniel Fleysakier, the symptoms (high fever, muscle and neck pain) were typical of an overdose of EPO.

This doping scandal received full attention and the letters PDM, which stand for Philips Dupont Magnetic, became the center of ridicule in the international press. For the Dutch press it became Prestaties Door Manipulatie (Performances by Manipulation), for the English press Pills, Drugs and Medecins and for the French press Plein de Manipulation de Dopage.

The following year, the then Tour boss Luc Leblanc also excluded the PDM team, which immediately meant the end of the cycling team and the end of the bicycle brand Concorde in the professional peloton.

Most important Concorde racing bikes

Since the Concorde frames came from Italy, most models were given an Italian name. Below the list:

• Concorde Squadra, the bikes of the PDM racing team
• Concorde Aquila
• Concorde Mistral
• Concorde Lombardia
• Concorde Stelvio
• Concorde Poggio
• Concorde Classic
• Concorde Capo Mele
• Concorde Gavina
• Concorde Astore
• Concorde Colombo
• Concorde Alura
• Concorde Alutech 903 en 905 STI
• Concorde Cromotech 902
• Concorde Prelude
• Concorde Olympic
• Concorde EL35
• Concorde Max
• Concorde Genius

The frames were mostly made of Columbus tubing, but Tange and Oria were also used. The final assembly could be done with Campagnolo, Miche or Shimano.

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Een bericht gedeeld door Oud vrouwtje (@oudvrouwtje) op 13 Jun 2019 om 7:59 (PDT)