Canyon has a new Canadian connection
German brand acquired by group partly controlled by Canada’s Desmarais family
by Kevin Mackinnon
It began in founder Roman Arnold’s garage in the early 90s, but things really took off for the German bike manufacturer in 2002 when the company was renamed “Canyon.” Now, with a change in ownership, the brand new ties to Canada.
Canyon has enjoyed widespread success internationally across disciplines. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot won two of her three elite women’s mountain bike world championships while she was still with Canyon-SRAM. That team has had significant success on the road as part of the Women’s World Tour. Mathieu van der Poel has won everything from cyclocross world championships to mountain bike World Cups and road monuments on Canyon bikes. Canada’s own Mark Wallace and Jake Jewett race for the brand’s high profile gravity team, Canyon CLLCTV, which added Tahnée and Kaos Seagrave to its roster at the start of 2020.
RELATED: Pauline Ferrand-Prevot leaves Canyon-SRAM as reigning world champion
That expansion is looking all the more likely now with the announcement that Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) will become the company’s largest stakeholder by acquiring 60 per cent of the company’s shares. Arnold will retain 40 per cent of the company, according to news reports.
RELATED: Adidas releases aptly named ‘Road Cycling Shoe’
GBL is based in Brussels and is controlled by the Desmarais family from Canada and the Frère family from Belgium. The company owns 20 per cent of Adidas. One of the developers of the iPod, former Apple senior vice president Tony Fadell, is also one of the investors. According to Canyon, Fadell is an avid cyclist.
A version of this article originally appeared on Triathalon Magazine Canada
