Mark Cavendish has received a custom Specialized McLaren Venge to celebrate his 100th professional win during the Giro d’Italia.
The Manx Missile secured his centenary victory on stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia, outsprinting Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) and Luka Mekgec (Argos-Shimano) to claim his third win of the 2013 race.
Specialized say the frame’s paintjob has been designed by Cavendish himself and Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s mechanics built up the bike overnight ahead of stage 13 (update – which Cavendish also won, to take his tally to 101).
The frame has a matte black base coat with gloss decals and metal flake finish, with flashes of green throughout – a nod to the green jersey Cavendish won at the Tour de France in 2011 – and subtle Cavendish decals on the fork.
Cavendish’s autograph is also reproduced on the bottom bracket, while green stripes on the toptube commemorate the 27-year-old’s biggest victories, including his 23 Tour stage wins.
The Venge was designed in conjunction with McLaren and unveiled in 2011. The frame aims to combine the stiffness of the Tarmac SL4, used by most Omega Pharma-QuickStep riders, and the Shiv time trial machine on which Cavendish’s team-mate, Tony Martin, won his two World Championship titles.
Cavendish has secured some of his most famous wins on Specialized’s flagship aero bike, including the Tour de France green jersey and World Championship as a HTC-Highroad rider in 2011.
Now, back aboard a Specialized at Omega Pharma-QuickStep after a year at Pinarello-sponsored Team Sky, Cavendish shows no signs of slowing.
Cavendish’s 52cm machine is equipped with a SRAM Red groupset and, for the Giro’s flat stages at least, Zipp’s super-deep 808 Firecrest wheels wrapped in Specialized Turbo Tubular Team tyres. Zipp, a subsidiary of SRAM, also provide the finishing kit.
The frame will be available to buy in “extremely limited quantities” at select Specialized dealers. How much? If you need to ask…