Regular readers will remember our first encounter with the Mark Cavendish Specialized Edition of the S-Works Venge.
The first of a global run of 310 frames, the machine pictured was suspended behind the Manx Missile at the launch of his vowel-free logo in June.
It was taken out of stock by Specialized UK’s James Booth to build a replica of the machine the Manx Missile rides for the Specialized-backed Omega Pharma-QuickStep squad.
As a member of the team that worked on fits for a number of the Belgian WorldTour outfit’s riders, Booth was well placed to complete an accurate re-creation of Cavendish’s machine.
“We wanted to build as a replica of the bike that Cavendish races with the team,” said Booth, “so we had a bike as a representation of him, and a celebration of the victories he’s had on the bike”.
During our recent visit to Specialized HQ, we made a detailed examination of the machine, a replica of the bike presented by Specialized to Cavendish after stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia, to celebrate his hundredth victory as a professional.
Details include the Manx Missile’s signature at the bottom bracket, and the C V N D S H logo designed by Sam Hodgson and Tom Cutting on the fork and the Specialized S-Works Toupe saddle.
What was lost from our pictures of the bike at the logo’s launch, taken in a bar in Covent Garden, is the remarkable metal flake effect of the green paintwork, one carefully matched to a sample provided McLaren of the finish they had used for the Manx Missile’s MP4-12C.
The top tube pays tribute to a host of Cavendish’s victories, including the world madison title won with Bradley Wiggins at the Manchester velodrome in March 2008. The salute to 23 Tour de France victories is now out of date.
The 46cm bars, 170mm cranks, and the Cav-proof Zipp SL145 stem are all carefully matched. The frame, of course, is a 52cm, and the Specialized Toupe saddle (another item emblazoned with the C V N D S H logo) is set some 680mm above the centre of the bottom bracket.
More vital stats? The 5’9″ British champion runs a saddle to handlebar drop of 90mm and a saddle to ‘bar reach of 545mm. These were gained from our encounter on Corsica with the Manx Missile’s personal steed.
The wheels are Zipp Firecrest 404s, although, in common with most pro cyclists, Cavendish changes his hoops as the course demands, either to Firecrest 303s (as we witnessed in Kuurne) or occasionally a front-rear, 808-404 combination (last seen on the final stage of the hundredth Tour de France).
If you fancy adding an S-Works Venge Mark Cavendish Specialized Edition frameset to your collection, you’ll need £2,800 and an element of good fortune – Specialized UK have secured just 32 of them.
Website: Specialized UK
