Update (06/08/23): Specialized has now officially launched the new Tarmac SL8. Read everything you need to know about the Specialized Tarmac SL8, then check out our senior technical editor Ashley Quinlan's initial ride impressions in our Specialized Tarmac SL8 review.
A fully integrated aero handlebar has been spotted on Lorena Wiebes’ new team bike, raising suspicion that a Tarmac SL8 could arrive in 2023.
When pro teams get together for pre-Christmas training camps, it gives new riders the chance to get fitted for a plethora of new bikes and clothing, meet future team-mates and rack up some base training miles in the southern Spanish sun.
With Lorena Wiebes joining Team SD Worx for 2023, bike sponsor Specialized and the team mechanics have been busy getting the two-time Tour de France Femmes stage winner’s setup dialled ahead of her first races.
Spotted in an Instagram post on the Dutch sprinter's account, equipment testing at the team’s December camp saw Wiebes using a bar with a far deeper cross-section on the tops than anything available in the Roval (a Specialized subsidiary) or Zipp ranges.
We believe the new bar could be from either brand, despite Zipp being the official component sponsor of SD Worx. Previously we’ve seen other teams, such as Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, use Roval components on their Specialized Tarmac SL7 WorldTour bikes, despite being sponsored by PRO.
While a new handlebar is always exciting, what we’re most intrigued by is what this could mean in terms of a new bike from Specialized, given the possibility that a new cockpit would accompany a new frame and what we know about Specialized's product lifecycle.
Could this be the first glimpse, in part, at the Specialized Tarmac SL8?
The Specialized Tarmac SL7 was first seen at a Bora-Hansgrohe training camp in October 2019. The bike was then launched in July 2020, so with the 2023 season fast approaching, and considering Specialized’s usual three-year design cycle, we’re certainly hoping for a new bike next year.
A new bike is most likely to be a Tarmac SL8, which given the UCI’s scrapping of its own 3:1 frame design rule, could be set to be a much more aero bike.
The 2023 rule changes for road bikes instead dictate a minimum and maximum tube cross-section of 10mm and 80mm respectively.
The latter figure certainly allows for some seriously deep tubes, creating a small glimmer of hope that Specialized might even bring back the Venge as an all-out aero road bike, having dropped it from the range upon the launch of the SL7 as a do-it-all race all-rounder.
More likely, we imagine, is the integration of more Venge-like features into the Tarmac.
When BikeRadar approached Specialized for comment, the Californian brand told us: “Specialized relies on feedback from professional athletes in both developing and testing advanced pre-production products in real-world applications.
"With this top-level feedback, some of these design elements and products eventually show up in future retail product offerings. We call this Project Black.”
