Gallery: Domenico Pozzovivo’s Factor O2

WorldTour debut for British brand Factor

January 31, 2017 at 12:15 pm

After a season in the Pro-Continental ranks with ONE Pro Cycling, 2017 sees Factor make the step up to WorldTour with AG2R La Mondiale. The Tour Down Under was the first opportunity to take a look at the French team’s race bikes for the upcoming season and while many features were announced last October, there were a few distinct changes.

While the AG2R La Mondiale bike featured Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 shifting, Mavic wheels and SRM power meters, the bike didn’t feature eecycleworks brakes, unlike the initial announcement last autumn. Further to this, one of Factor’s owners, former Tour de France Green Jersey winner Baden Cooke, outlined the bikes would feature CeramicSpeed oversized jockey wheels on the rear derailleurs. However, regular Dura-Ace 9000 series brakes and standard Di2 rear derailleurs were in place of these items on the Factor, although CeramicSpeed did supply the headset and bottom bracket.

The bike is equipped with a SRM power meter

Colin Levitch / Immediate Media

The O2 was completed with finishing kit from Black Inc, including the seat post, handlebars and stem. Pozzovivo ran 53-39 chainrings and a Shimano Ultegra 11-28 cassette. The cables around the cockpit were tied together with a few pieces of electrical tape, which left a lot to be desired aesthetically. Fizik provided both the handlebar tape and the Arione saddle, which complemented the white and blue colour scheme.

Much like many other WorldTour teams, it is likely we will see AG2R La Mondiale switch to the latest Dura-Ace 9100 series groupsets come spring.

Domenico Pozzovivo raced the Factor O2 for the first time at the Tour Down Under. The Italian rides a size 49 frame and the complete bike weighed in just over the UCI minimum weight limit at 6.84kg.