Nico Vouilloz on a Lapierre Spicy

Lapierre has a high profile in its native France, a profile in no way hindered by being the bike of choice for multiple World Champion Nico Vouilloz (who's enjoying one of those Ned Overend-style "retirements" that doesn't appear to involve giving up bike racing). We've encountered Lapierre at trade shows but its expanding export portfolio hadn't reached the UK. Until now - Hotlines Europe has stepped up the plate with a distribution deal that will begin with the 2008 range to be launched at Eurobike.

Lapierre has a long history, having been founded in 1946 by Gaston Lapierre in Dijon, France. The company's production and R&D is still based there. Obviously it wasn't doing MTBs in 1946, but today there's a full range of mountain and road bikes.

Illy Anastasi, General Manager at Hotlines, said: "We welcome Lapierre into our stable of brands and we are 100% confident that the sheer quality and the advanced technical aspects of Lapierre products will be a great benefit to any independent bike dealer in the United Kingdom."

Have a gander at www.lapierrebikes.com or www.hotlines-uk.com for more.