Trek have taken over title sponsorship of the team formerly known as Radioshack-Leopard and with it the squad’s bikes have had a new lick of paint ahead of the 2014 season.
Trek have been the team’s bike sponsor since its inception in 2011 but the American brand announced midway through the 2013 campaign they would take over the squad’s WorldTour licence for 2014.
Fabian Cancellara, Andy Schleck and Jens Voigt remain on the roster and the team’s riders have three bikes at their disposal for the forthcoming season: the super-light Madone 7-Series, the Domane ‘endurance’ bike and the Speed Concept time trial machine.
The team’s bikes were unveiled at the Velodrome de Roubaix, where Cancellara last year sealed the third of his three Paris-Roubaix victories on the Trek Domane.
The bike, which uses Trek’s IsoSpeed decoupler to isolate the toptube from the seattube and improve comfort over cobbles and rough roads, was developed in conjunction with the Swiss rider.
The IsoSpeed decoupler features across Trek’s Domane range, from the top-of-the-range team issue machine to the aluminium Domane 2-Series, while the new Boone cyclo-cross bike also uses the American firm’s innovative comfort-boosting technology.
Cancellara rides the Domane for most of the year, not just at the Classics, but the majority of Trek Factory Racing’s riders will choose the Madone away from the cobbles.
The Madone is a long-standing fixture in Trek’s range but the frame has undergone significant changes over the years. The latest 7-Series frame, first unveiled ahead of the 2013 Tour de France, is the top-of-the-range model and combines aerodynamic Kammtail tube profiles and integrated brakes with a featherweight frame weight of just 725g. Each 7-Series frame is handbuilt at Trek’s HQ in Waterloo, Wisconsin.
The Madone’s Kammtail tube profiles were inspired by those originally found on Trek’s Speed Concept time trial bike. It’s all about aero as far as the Speed Concept is concerned and the latest edition of the bike has a super-sleek integrated stem and handlebar.
That integrated setup reduces the frontal area by 30 per cent (thereby reducing the area exposed to the wind) over the previous Speed Concept, according to Trek. Cancellara first rode the bike to victory in the 2013 Tour of Austria’s prologue and all Trek Factory Racing riders will have the new Speed Concept in their armoury for the 2014 season.
Shimano will continue to supply the team with groupset components, with the Domane, Madone and Speed Concept all equipped with the Japanese firm’s top-of-the-range, 11-speed Dura-Ace setup, while Bontrager, Trek’s in-house component brand, provides the team with wheels, finishing kit and saddles, and Schwalbe supply the tyres.
Bontrager have also designed the team’s new kit, which continues the peloton’s penchant for black, with a pinstripe design, a white arm and the Trek Factory Racing, Bontrager and Shimano logos on the front.
