Rapha (sportswear)

Sportswear and lifestyle brand

Rapha

Traded as

| Rapha Performance Roadwear
Industry| Sporting goods
Founded| 2004
Founders|

* Simon Mottram
* Luke Scheybeler

Headquarters|

London

England

Area served

| Worldwide
Products| Clothing, accessories, skin care, cafés, Books, Travel and experiences
Website| rapha.cc

Rapha Performance Roadwear is a cycling lifestyle brand focused on road bicycle racing and mountain biking clothing and accessories. Rapha has its headquarters in London and a United States office in Bentonville, Arkansas.[1][2]

## History

[edit]

The company was started in London in early 2004 by Simon Mottram[3] and Luke Scheybeler.[4] Its first products were launched in July of the same year. The name Rapha was taken from the 1960s cycling team Rapha, itself named after the apéritif drink company Saint-Raphaël [fr].[5]

In 2007, Rapha partnered with British designer Paul Smith to create a range of cycle clothing and accessories.[6] In 2016, it collaborated with bikepacking designer Apidura on a range of cycling luggage.[7]

In August 2017, RZC Investments, a company set up by Steuart Walton, announced that it would buy Rapha for £200m.[8][9]

In February 2020, Rapha announced that it would move its North American headquarters from Portland, Oregon to Bentonville, Arkansas.[2]

In the same year, Rapha collaborated with Palace Skateboards on a cycling kit for professional cycling team EF Education–EasyPost at the 2020 Giro d'Italia.[10]

In 2021, Rapha entered the mountain bike market, launching its first range of mountain biking clothing in collaboration with Smith on a line of helmets.[11]

## Organizations and venues

[edit]

In 2015, Rapha developed an international cycling club called the Rapha Cycling Club (RCC), whose members get benefits with the company. Today, it has over 20,000 members.[12]

Rapha has about 21 international stores throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. They are called "clubhouses."[13]

The Rapha Foundation was created in 2019 by Rapha co-founder Simon Mottram and shareholders Tom and Steuart Walton to fund various non-profit cycling organizations, and to introduce cycling to a wider audience. It provides $1.5 million a year in funding, and supports non-profits in the UK, United States, Germany, Australia and Japan.[14]

## Sponsorships

[edit]

In August 2012, Rapha announced that from 2013 it would be producing the clothing for the British cycling team, Team Sky.[15] On 3 November 2015 it announced that its Team Sky sponsorship would end after the 2016 season.[16]

In 2015, Rapha announced it would begin supplying clothing to the UCI Women's WorldTour team Canyon-SRAM.[17] However, in 2022, Canyon-SRAM said it would drop Rapha as its clothing outfitters.[18] EF Education First started wearing Rapha clothing in the 2019 race season,[19] alongside UCI Men's WorldTour team EF Education–EasyPost.[20]

In 2022, Rapha became a supporter of the UCI Women's WorldTour team EF Education–Tibco–SVB.[21][22]

Rapha also sponsors UCI Continental cycling teams L39ION of Los Angeles[23][24] and Roxsolt Liv SRAM,[25][26] and professional cyclists Lael Wilcox, Maghalie Rochette, and Sarah Sturm.[27][28]

## See also

[edit]

* Sports portal
* Fashion portal

* Sportswear (activewear)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ MacMichael, Simon (22 September 2021). "Rapha to move to new headquarters in north London". road.cc. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
2. ^ a b "Rapha moves NA office to Arkansas". 2 March 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
3. ^ Penn, Rob (28 January 2010). "Pedalling fashion: the rise of cycle style". Design Week.
4. ^ Green, Lucie. "New sportswear line". Financial Times.
5. ^ "The Original Rapha". The Inner Ring. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
6. ^ "Rapha + Paul Smith collection unveiled". Road Cycling UK. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
7. ^ "Rapha partners Apidura for bar and saddlebag line". Cycling Industry News. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
8. ^ "Walmart heirs' fund wins £200m race for cycling brand Rapha". 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
9. ^ "Our Investments – RZC Investments". RZC Investments. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
10. ^ Stanley, Jack (5 October 2020). "An Official Look at Palace's Upcoming Rapha Collaboration". Hypebeast. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
11. ^ Broudy, Berne (7 June 2021). "Rapha Launches Mountain Bike Collection, With Commitment to Support Trail Access". GearJunkie. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
12. ^ Faithfull, Mark. "New Rapha Clubhouse London Set to Ride the Cycling Boom". Forbes. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
13. ^ "Clubhouses". Rapha. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
14. ^ Robinson, Joe (29 May 2019). "Rapha to give $1.5m to grassroots with new charity foundation". Cyclist. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
15. ^ Merrill, Jamie (3 September 2012). "Sky's the limit for cult clothing brand Rapha". The Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
16. ^ Scott, George (3 November 2015). "Rapha and Team Sky to end partnership after 2016 season". Road Cycling UK. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
17. ^ "Rapha, Canyon and SRAM sponsor major new women's road team". Bicycle Retailer. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
18. ^ Becket, Adam (19 January 2022). "Canyon-SRAM unveil bold new kit as they depart from purple and Rapha". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
19. ^ Ballinger, Alex (11 January 2019). "EF Education First unveil stylish new tie-dye Rapha kit on eve of Tour Down Under". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
20. ^ "Rapha | EF Education–EasyPost". Ef Pro Cycling. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
21. ^ "Team EF Education-TIBCO-SVB unveil their 2022 kit". Voxwomen. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
22. ^ "EF Education–Tibco–SVB". Rapha. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
23. ^ Becket, Adam (20 January 2022). "Rapha release L39ION of Los Angeles kit for 2022 season". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
24. ^ "Legion of Los Angeles". Rapha. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
25. ^ Mullens, Peta. "Sponsors". Peta Mullens. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
26. ^ "Roxsolt Liv SRAM". Rapha. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
27. ^ Hansen-Gillis, Lily (29 January 2021). "Rapha expands women's roster as part of commitment to promote women's cycling". Canadian Cycling Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
28. ^ "Rapha furthers support of women's cycling with new signings". endurance.biz. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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