Meet the team – Julien & Simon, Ambassadors
TIME isn’t simply a brand that makes some of the best carbon bikes in the world. It is a brand built on the philosophy of our founder, Roland Cattin, guided by his lifelong motto: le Défi—the challenge.
For us, cycling is about innovation, seeking out the path less travelled, and searching for the ultimate ride through precision carbon engineering. It is about the individual challenges each of us sets in pursuit of that goal. These are the exact qualities we look for in our global brand ambassadors.
Recently, adventure seekers Simon and Julien joined us on this journey—Simon from his home in Marseille, and Julien from France’s Atlantic coast. These two have been partners in exploration for ten years, ever since a chance meeting on the cold, legendary summit of Mont Seris in the Italian Alps during a violent thunderstorm. Both were racing solo in the same event, and they bonded over a shared fear of the extreme conditions, riding down the mountain together for safety.
"We were doing the same race, in the same category, and then a huge thunderstorm just threw everything at us," Julien recalls, reliving the moment with natural passion. "The mutual fear of death brings people closer together! So, we got along through that shared fear, I guess, and we finished the race together. Since then, it’s been the beginning of a cool story."
On reaching the valley floor, they celebrated life and survival with spritz, pizza, and pasta. Their cycling journey has continued together ever since, carried by that same timeless spirit of adventure: the spirit of le Défi.
The Ultimate Test: Tackling the Transcontinental Race
In 2025, Simon and Julien took this spirit to the absolute limit. Riding our TIME ADHX45 all-road bike, they took on the famed Transcontinental Race (TCR).
The TCR is widely regarded as one of the most gruelling ultra-endurance races on the planet. It is a massive 5,000-kilometre self-supported bikepacking race across 11 countries on mixed European roads. Unlike traditional staged races, the clock never stops. Riders must navigate a mix of mandatory tarmac and gravel parcours while entirely self-mapping their own routes between checkpoints. There is no backup crew, no tech vehicle, and no guaranteed hotels—athletes must find their own food, fix their own mechanical issues, and sleep on the side of the road when exhaustion takes over.
Simon and Julien went into the event aiming to win, and they successfully held a spectacular second place until past the halfway mark. However, ultra-endurance racing tests the human body to its absolute breaking point. Julien had undergone surgery shortly before the race, and severe knee pain eventually forced the duo to ease their relentless pace on the final leg.
Refusing to quit, they rode deep into the wild mountains and dense forests of Romania, crossing the finish line in a phenomenal fourth place out of 38 pairs, and placing between 60th and 70th out of more than 400 riders overall.
Throughout this punishing journey, the ADHX45 performed superbly on every terrain. Just as our unique braided carbon structure weaves individual threads together to create unmatched structural
strength and resilience, these two inspiring riders continue to weave their own tapestry of life on two wheels. Every mile of gravel, every steep alpine pass, and every shared hardship becomes a thread in a larger story of human endurance—reinforced by a frame built to survive the exact same forces. The bike delivered the responsiveness, ride quality, and structural integrity required to pass the ultimate test with flying colours.
TIME Travelling into the Future
For 2026, as part of our global ambassador programme, Simon and Julien have taken on our brand-new TIME NXR. Their custom, individual builds are currently in the final stages of preparation, and they already have a calendar full of epic rides planned. You’ll be able to see their bikes soon, across our social media channels.
Their main objective for the future, is the Bright Midnight race in Norway—a punishing 1,200-kilometre trek ridden in continuous daylight under the midnight sun. But before they head north, there is the small matter of a journey through Turkey. In the coming weeks, they will set out to test the NXR in the unrelenting hills and wild landscapes of that magical country, crossing the historic border between Europe and Asia to find their cycling souls once again.
40 Years of le Défi
Ambassadors like Julien and Simon allow us to test the true limits of our carbon engineering, inspiring cyclists worldwide to set out on challenges of their own. They embody the uncompromising quality that has become our trademark, sharing the deep passion that only these raw adventures can create as they keep seeking the path less travelled.
As we approach our 40th anniversary, we are incredibly excited about what the future holds. From our humble beginnings in Nevers, France, in 1987, we have grown to help cyclists all over the world find their own perfect ride, just as Roland Cattin originally set out to do. To celebrate this milestone, we are planning a series of anniversary events and celebrations across France and Europe, bringing together the global community that shares our obsession with the ride.
As we look to the next chapter, ambassadors such as Julien and Simon will help us carry forward the founding message and principles formed by Roland—the very values that built the foundation for the iconic brand TIME is today. We cannot wait to see where these two inspiring French cyclists go next—on which mountain tops they'll meet and inspire others! With TIME by their side, of course.
