1986-2001 founding and early years In 1986,
American Bob Bigelow founded BMC as an assembler and wholesale distributor of
Raleigh bicycles (then owned by
Derby Cycle). After losing his distributor's license, Bigelow began building bikes under a new BMC label, but it remained a niche brand. In 2001, the company shifted their strategy, turning to greater investment in engineering and design.
2001-present BMC's relationship to performance cycling began when BMC began supplying the Swiss professional road racing team Phonak with bikes. The team's patron was Andy Rihs, owner of the world-leading hearing-aid company of the same name. Andy Rihs took over BMC in 2000 with the vision of building a carbon production facility in Grenchen, Switzerland to produce the ‘Porsche of race bikes’ and the Impec road bike was created. Having a carbon production facility at its disposal has heavily influenced how BMC approaches bike manufacturing. The facility is now called the Impec Advanced R&D Lab, and it is primarily used for research and development by the company's design and engineering teams. Professional cycling teams and athletes riding BMC's bikes have won the
Tour de France, the
Tour de Romandie, the
Tirreno–Adriatico, the
Tour de Wallonie, the
Paris–Tours,
Critérium International, Paris–Roubaix, and many other high-profile events. In 2014 and 2015 the BMC Racing Team won the UCI Team Time Trial World Championships. In 2015, Australian rider
Rohan Dennis broke the
hour record on a BMC. ==Sponsorship==