Exceptionally low weight, supreme stiffness and plenty of victories; improving our S-Works Tarmac was never going to be easy. However, we found a way and that way is called Ultralight; a super-fast and frighteningly-light machine that delivers the ultimate road experience and dispenses with a lot of the traditional wisdom in road bike design.

We've revolutionised the construction of the frameset to shave an impressive 20% off the weight of our previous model. Made from our brand new FACT 12r carbon, it troubles the scales at a mere 800 grams. It's by far the most advanced material we have ever used and that's thanks to our aerospace composite optimisation software. In building this lightweight beast, we never took the easy way out and even the paint job plays its part with a brand new process allowing a finish that weighs just 10 grams that's the same as nine gummy bears!

We further improved our brilliant Rider-First Engineered technology to give the 2018 Ultralight Frameset stiffness and compliance fit for a Grand Tour racer.

Even the geometry has been tweaked thanks to professional rider feedback and plenty of performance data from our Retl database. The Ultralight's geometry feels brilliant with a responsive front end paired with a short wheelbase, to give that sublime blend of superb handling and optimal power transfer.

Stiffness aids the aforementioned characteristics, but we also understand the importance of a smooth ride and that's why we designed a seat post that builds compliance into the upper 120mm (away from the clamp). Other changes we made to improve ride feel include dropping the seat stays and altering the seat tube shape. Lastly we added tyre clearance of 30mm, which translates to 28mm Turbo Cotton on a Roval CLX 32. This Tarmac is a true racer but it won't leave you broken when you occasionally ride it over awkward rougher roads.

We know aerodynamics remain the marker of performance and this year's lightweight Tarmac proved capable of saving 45 seconds over a 40km test. We understand the goals of our riders at Bora-Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors and set about searching for improvements that wouldn't detract from the features that made the Tarmac so beloved. The result of an iterative process was a new fork shape, dropped seat stays and a d-shaped seat post and seat tube. The bike came to life in our tests and it was then that we were finally satisfied. This is our best Tarmac to date.

• Featuring our Rider-First Engineeredâ„¢ design that ensures every frame size has the same legendary climbing responsiveness and descending prowess you'd expect from a Tarmac, the S-Works FACT 12r frameset is our highest quality carbon frame, offering the ideal blend of light overall weight and targeted stiffness. This Ultralight iteration also features our 10g paint finish that saves every possible gram.
• S-Works full FACT carbon fork with a tapered construction provides incredible front end stiffness and steering response for instantaneous accelerations and high-speed descents.
• With its high-modulus construction, the S-Works FACT carbon Tarmac seatpost provides impeccable power transfer, while still allowing for ample compliance for long days in the saddle.