Current Tour de France yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara is no stranger to cobbles and neither is his go-to bike. He has a few custom Trek Domanes for this year's Tour de France. Here is the machine Trek created as his primary bike for every road stage of the Tour save stage 4 — where the former Paris-Roubaix winner will mount a slightly different version with thicker tubulars for the cobbles of that stage.
The custom paint jobs of the Swiss rider’s bikes have become almost as famous as Cancellara’s ruggedly handsome visage, sheer leg power and attacking style. For 2015, the Trek’s Project One team once again came up with a beautiful design based around the rider’s nickname Spartacus.
The striking glossy white frame is covered with intricate silver detailing that depicts Cancellara’s trademark Greek Hoplite helmet design, the Spartacus name on the top tube and a swathe of free-flowing floral shapes that blossom over most of the frame.
Related: Cancellara’s custom geometry
Cancellara has altered his traditional classics spec a little, sticking with mechanical Dura-Ace as usual but including the SRM usually left at home for the rider’s one-day races – the Swiss star prefers to race these by feel.
Cancellara (left) throws his Domane for third place on stage 2 to take over the race lead
The SRM is built into the Dura-Ace crankset, which has the standard 53/39t chainrings paired to an 11-28t cassette at the rear, which appears to be the most prevalent ratio selection at this year’s Tour. Dura-Ace pedals finish the all-Shimano groupset.
Trek’s clever IsoSpeed Decoupler gives the bike its cobble-happy suspension, separating the seat tube from the top tube / seatstay junction to dissipate vibrations.
Bontrager Aeolus 5 aero wheels might are decorated with a delicate gold foil fleur-de-lis on the front hub. The carbon rims are wrapped in 23mm wide Veloflex Criterium tubulars.
Cancellara uses 44cm bars wrapped in a single layer of tape for better feel. The 140mm stem is longer than average for the peloton, but certainly not out of place. Riders generally opt for the smallest frame they can get away with, prioritising stiffness and lightness over factory-spec handling. Where the stem is unique is in the golden plate that sits atop it. A prominent fleur-de-lis, a quiver’s worth of arrows, playing card symbols and a pair of rolling dice could be just the reminder, if ever Cancellara needed it, of the rewards of a gambler’s attack.
The Spartacus seat mast is topped with Bontrager’s expensive but simple looking Team issue saddle.
Complete bike specifications
- Frame: Trek Domane Classics, 58cm
- Fork: Trek IsoSpeed carbon
- Stem: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, 140mm
- Handlebar: Bontrager RL Anatomic, 44cm width
- Tape: Bontrager cork
- Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Brake levers / shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace, 11-28T
- Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace with SRM power meter, 175mm, 53/39T
- Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Wheelset: Bontrager Aeolus 5
- Tubulars: Veloflex Criterium, 23mm
- Saddle: Bontrager Team Issue
- Bottle cages: Trek BAT Cage
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 186cm (6ft 1in)
- Rider's weight: 80kg (176lb)
- Saddle height from BB, c-t: 782mm
- Tip of saddle to centre of bar: 620mm
- Saddle-to-bar drop: 111mm
Check out more Tour de France tech coverage at our Tour de France 2015 homepage.
