Tour Down Under themed Allez Sprint for Bora–Hansgrohe riders at Schwalbe Classic criterium
Riders will hit the crit circuit with the tricked out Allez Sprint
Both of the Specialized sponsored men's teams taking on the Tour Down Under will ride the brand's celebratory Allez Sprint frame in the preceding Schwalbe Classic criterium.
The Adelaide crit, held on Sunday January 19, features six 90º turns, and riders on team's Bora–Hansgrohe and Deceuninck–Quick-Step will contest the race on the Allez complete with its limited edition paint job.
>>> Specialized Allez Sprint reviewed
Specialized modelled the green, blue and yellow hues on the Australian budgie, paying homage to the home country of the first World Tour race of the year.
With bushfires devastating animal habitats, the brand has accompanied the range with a $100,000 donation to WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation.
Volunteers from the charity attended over 3,300 rescues in December and 20,000 calls were made to the organisation.
Shots of 2020 Bora–Hansgrohe recruit Ide Schelling's bike show the chassis specced out with a pro stem, and a Specialized Romin Evo saddle.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
He'll be rolling on wheels from the American bike manufacturer's own brand, Roval, in this case the SLX 50mm carbon rims.
The hoops have been shod with the S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres which Cycling Weekly's testing team fell in love with back in 2018 - the rubber gained a 9/10 score and a place in the Editor's Choice awards.
The groupset is of course Shimano's best-of-the-best Dura Ace Di2, with hydraulic disc brake stoppers.
The Allez Sprint frame has been designed with hard, fast and agressive racing at front of mind - having been raced both in road crits as well as fixed-gear events.
It uses the brand's D'Aluisio Smartweld Technology to place more welding material where needed, in the pursuit of optimum stiffness.
'Rider First Engineering' means that the downtube, bottom bracket shell, head tube and fork are all created around frame size - so the tallest and smallest riders should get the same experience.
Any racer hoping to attack the field and ride away to the win in a crit wants agility and speedy handling, so the chainstays have been made short for manoeuvrability, also contributing to a rigid rear end.
Aerodynamics haven't been forgotten - as is apparent from the tube profiles, particularly at the seat tube and of course the super beefy seat post.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.
-
TrainingPeaks acquires virtual cycling platform indieVelo, aims to add ‘credible racing and realistic riding’ to its training offerings
Called TrainingPeaks Virtual it will be offered as part of TrainingPeaks Premium in March 2025, with a beta version available now
By Luke Friend Published
-
'In the summer I’ll also jump into a hot bath for 20 minutes after a ride': A week in training with a WorldTour rider
We caught up with Australian Chris Harper as he prepared for this summer's Vuelta a España
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published