Meet the 2026 Tour 21 Team! 🚴♂️ 🌟
Rob Gitelis 🇺🇸, Founder of @FactorBikes
"Every year I try to give myself one cycling challenge keeping in mind that I am 58 years old and collecting these experiences will look different in the coming years. Last year it was Unbound Gravel and the year before Migration Gravel. These events are not nearly as daunting as riding the Tour one week ahead of the race. But I am excited to put in the work to get ready for the event and the opportunity to help raise funds and awareness for a very worthy cause."
Join Rob and the 2026 team next summer. Head to our website to apply!
I have known Sir Paul Smith for twenty years, it’s a long story, yet it starts with a suit, and most recently, ends with a bike. The suit was in 2005, the bike is the Factor OSTRO VAM Paul Smith Edition.
It was during one of my visits to Paul’s legendary office at his HQ in London that we got talking about bikes and racing… as we always do. I was telling him that he really needed a modern bike, his latest was one from Bradley Wiggin’s 2012 Tour de France win. I told him it was already so dated, he needed a Factor, because in my opinion they were the most modern, and most beautifully crafted.
I video called Rob Gitelis there and then and introduced him to Paul, and well, the rest is history. Paul and Rob decided to take it a step further and collaborate on making a Factor Paul Smith.
Once Paul understood the technology, and in particular the craftsmanship, that goes into every bike we make he truly understood how similar we are. He brought his iconic flare for design to life on the OSTRO VAM, turning the beautiful machine into a work of art. It is a match made in heaven, well, Covent Garden actually.
Available on factorbikes.com - link in bio.
#factorbikes #blackinc #paulsmith
