'Pain is still the friend that always tells me the truth. There are days when it is overwhelming, where I push into the red so far I wonder if I will come back.”

Those words, from Tour de France winner Chris Froome, highlight the harsh punishments offered up to those willing to get into the saddle.

Italian Mario Cipollini, a winner of 12 Tour stages, took it further, claiming riders must acknowledge a bike’s soul to unlock the delights of two-wheel travel.

“If you succeed to love it, it will give you emotions that you will never forget”, he purred.

Cipollini’s view will resonate across the whole cycling spectrum, from his fellow elite stars, to the club riders and the Sunday afternoon enthusiasts.

But, to feel that mix of joy and pain, to experience that hardship and elation, cyclists need the right equipment, and a major source of that is Darlington-based Zyro.

The company, its workforce packed full of cycling enthusiasts, is all too aware of the gruelling nature of the sport.

A huge image dominates the wall of a meeting room, known as Sa Calobra.

In the picture, two cyclists are readying themselves to tackle the devilish twists and turns of the Majorcan climb, against a stunning mountainous backdrop.

An opposite room does the same, this time using the countless switchbacks of the Stelvio pass, in Northern Italy, to make its point.

Cycling is hard, the pictures, and many others, underline that fact, but Zyro is responsible for helping make it enjoyable.

The firm is the UK’s largest privately-owned bicycle parts and accessories distributor, employing about 150 people.

Like a peloton weaving along the Tour de France’s North Yorkshire route last year, the company has passed through a number of towns as it builds its reputation.

Sites in Harrogate, Boroughbridge and Thirsk have all played their part in its history.

However, bosses say its new home, on the Faverdale Industrial Estate, is the perfect platform to emphatically drive its growth further forward.

Zyro, run by Julie and Simon Ellison, has transformed the building.

What was once an empty cold storage base is now a 100,000sq ft home to a warehouse and associated offices.

From the outside, the base looks somewhat unassuming; a large orange logo, big enough to be spotted from the approaching road, the only visual symbol setting the site apart from neighbouring units.

However, go inside and that illusion is shattered.

Huge racking towers over workers, while on the ground, staff busily scoot around on forklifts, furiously picking up and dropping off products.

Machines whir as employees, in black uniforms, process orders alongside what appears to be a helter-skelter slide.

But, far from being an opportunity for a spot of workplace playtime, the twisting creation, is, in fact, another method of getting equipment from the vast storage units.

This sprawling space oversees about 400 orders a day, and uses specially designed areas that allow Zyro’s team to work in smaller spaces, so they can access goods far more quickly.

“We always have to be on top of our orders”, says Mrs Ellison.

“The retailers have up to 4pm, and we can do between 400 and 500 orders a day.

“We have people who live on a level in the warehouse for the day, who send down the products to be shipped.

“This space is a lot bigger than what we had before, so it works very well for us.”

It needs to.

Zyro has 30 brands available for cyclists, and is an exclusive distributor of well-known names across the UK and Ireland.

Back in 1998, when it was still working out of Boroughbridge, the company took on helmet firm Abus, as well as Camelbak, which is known for its water backpacks and bottles.

Those acquisitions have continued at as pace, including deals with energy snack supplier Torq, helmet maker Bell, and pump and mudguard firm SKS, which have helped push turnover to about £35m.

However, there’s another side to Zyro’s products range: Altura.

The firm launched its first Altura Nevis jacket back in 1998, and sales are now into the hundreds of thousands.

Acting as the company’s own cycling clothing brand, Altura was responsible for supplying the official jersey for the celebrations that marked the North Yorkshire Grand Depart at last year’s Tour de France.

A model of its garment for the showpiece event adorns a stand in Zyro’s reception.

It is positioned in front of an iconic shot of riders battling the Buttertubs Pass, in the Yorkshire Dales, during the event, which shows competitors navigating the tough climb as thousands of fans converge on the road to get closer to their idols.

Further inside the firm’s offices, its design team sit in front of computers, poring over the capabilities and colour schemes of potential products.

Some items are on show, but they are a closely guarded secret as the company seeks to hide them from rivals.

“It was the first real cycling jacket and was available for people at a really good price”, says Mrs Ellison, referring to the Nevis launch.

“Our designs are always about 18 months to two years in advance, and that is done in-house, with the products made elsewhere."

When Zyro began in 1995, in Harrogate’s Hookstone Business Park, its first year saw it employ six staff, who processed an average of 15 orders every day.

During that year, it began partnerships with tyre maker Panaracer and Cat Eye, which supplies speedometers and lights.

Zyro is still the exclusive distributor of both for the UK and Ireland, and Mrs Ellison says such relationship longevity is ingrained within the company.

Of its 150-strong workforce, 25 have been with the firm for more than five years, with a further 16 having been on board for at least the last ten.

That commitment will be needed in the future, should ambitious growth plans come to fruition.

The Northern Echo reported last week how Zyro has the capacity to expand, and Mrs Ellison said it has a very bright future in the town.

She added: “The perception of cycling is changing; it’s now being referred to as the new golf.

“The Tour de France and recent Tour de Yorkshire have helped that.

“We have gone from 80 people to 150 by coming here and our turnover is now at £35m.

“When you come into a new area, like Darlington, it is all about investing in that area and supporting it, be that through jobs or local businesses.

“We have people who have been with us for a long time and there are a lot who still travel a distance to work here.

“For us, it’s about the team and how we can develop them.

“We have a really good workforce; there is a real can-do attitude, and we can double the size of the business if we need to, which would mean more jobs.”

So, while cycling’s physical demands, so well-publicised by Chris Froome and his rivals, will never go away, riders can rest assured of one thing.

Zyro will always be there to help them on their way.