A quick nose around the Trek Factory Racing mechanics’ truck at the Tour de France reveals the new flagship bike – the Émonda – of the team’s title sponsor is the machine favoured by squad’s riders.
We stopped by the team’s hotel ahead of the Grand Départ and five riders – Frank Schleck, Andy Schleck, Haimar Zubeldia, Matthew Busche and Markel Irizar – were ready to roll out on the new super-light frameset, with Jens Voigt (whose machine we profiled here) and Gregory Rast opting for the aero Madone, and Danny Van Poppel and Fabian Cancellara preferring the Domane ‘endurance’ bike.
We pulled Frank Schleck’s Émonda off the rack and, needless to say, there’s not much to it, with a 690g frame (claimed weight) and a team issue spec – though the team is of course restricted by the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit, and Trek Factory Racing’s mechanics have to add ballast to make the bike legal.
We first spotted the Émonda at the Critérium du Dauphiné but it was only officially unveiled ahead of the Grand Départ in Yorkshire, giving us a chance to take a closer look at Schleck’s machine. Otherwise, we brought you news of the complete 15-bike Émonda range from Trek World.
