There are four historic cycling-related brands I absolutely love, and 3T is one of them. So when I had the chance to become an owner of this company together with its CEO Rene Wiertz, it was a dream come true.

In more than half a century, 3T has accumulated an impressive list of ‘firsts’: first to introduce many modern alloys to cycling, first to produce a dedicated aerobar, first to win an ID design award, first to produce a super-light saddle, etc, etc.

However, we also knew the component market would significantly shrink, as all large bike manufacturers started to make house-brand components. So 3T needed a new direction and that is where I came in. Since 3T already made great components, the decision was to also start producing frames and thus offer complete bikes as well, 3T head to toe.

We’re not suggesting the frame is just a small part of a bike of course! But given my background, this made a lot of sense for 3T. In about 4 years, we changed 3T from 100% parts to 5% parts and 95% bikes in revenue.

We made history with the first aero gravel bike, made a great line-up of Exploro, Exploro Racemax, Exploro Ultra and Exploro Extrema bikes and associated accessories.

Most interestingly, we decided to bring production back to Italy. THM and Racormance were acquired to obtain the production technologies we needed for cost-effective production in Europe. With a great team of young dogs and experienced old cats, the Jazz Composites factory became a reality and as of 2024,  very large part of the 3T frame production happens in Italy.

With that, it came time for me to bow out and let the next generation run 3T. It allows me to focus 100% on OPEN. That’s not only a brand I love, but also a company that is structured exactly as I love it, making it the perfect “vehicle” for my new ideas.