His torso newly-wrapped in rainbow stripes for the second year running, Peter Sagan is about to begin a new season with his new team, Bora Hansgrohe, the german outfit which was upgraded to World Tour status for 2017 (thanks largely to the UCI points Sagan brought with him). The team will be riding top of the range Specialized bikes throughout the season: Roubaix for the cobbled classics, Tarmac for the hilly stages and riders who favour a light bike, and the Venge Vias aero bike for when speed is key. The bikes will match the team’s livery, painted in gloss black with subtle turquoise highlights and sponsor decals. Peter Sagan however, was gifted with a very different bike just before Christmas.
As if last year’s bike wasn’t cool enough with it’s subtle black iridescent paint, the Specialized designers have excelled themselves this year. The World Champ’s new S-Works Venge Vias looks silver at first glance but the prismatic paint shimmers with the colours of the rainbow stripes, without making them an obvious feature on the bike. To contrast against the bulk of the shining frame, the fork and stays are wrapped in gloss black and embellished with team and sponsor decals, a smart addition on a very grown-up bike.
In the pictures Sagan shared on social media on Christmas Eve, his early Christmas present is set up with Roval CLX60 wheels decked in Specialized Turbo tyres and full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2. As World Champion, Sagan was able to bring most of his existing sponsors from Tinkoff with him to his new team. Why mess with a winning combination, right? The only thing that is missing from the bike is the power meter, which at Tinkoff would have been provided by SRM, but with Bora, the new integrated Shimano Dura Ace power metre is expected to arrive imminently.
Also visible in his photos is his own personal logo on the inside of the seat tube. Notably, the bike has been provided in a rim brake setup as opposed to disc brakes which have been seen on bikes provided to other riders like Tom Boonen’s prized new S-Works Roubaix.
Joining Sagan in the new livery of Bora Hansgrohe are a healthy mix of incumbent riders from Bora-Argon18, including Irishman Sam Bennett, who showed huge strength and guts at the Tour de France last year, sprinkled liberally with riders from now defunct World Tour teams IAM Cycling and Tinkoff. Polish rider Rafal Majka is tipped to lead the team in the hunt for general classification gongs, wearing his Polish national champion jersey. Also representing their countries as National Champions will be Juraj Sagan (Peter’s younger brother) of Slovakia, and Czech Time Trial Champion Leopold König, also a promising GC talent, who has made the move from Team Sky.
Bora Hansgrohe may be newcomers to the World Tour level of cycling, but to say they are lining up for the new season bright-eyed and bushy-tailed would not do this stellar outfit the justice it deserves. As long as the team has had enough time to gel in the off season, the boys in black and turquoise are the ones to watch this year.
Take a look at our Venge Range here
