This article first appeared on Cyclingnews.
Vitus Pro Cycling raced its inaugural season in 2018 under new headline sponsor Vitus following the end of Raleigh's eight-year sponsorship of the team.
The brand, which is owned by online retailer Wiggle/Chain Reaction Cycles, continues sponsorship for the 2019 season, and the team has also secured further support from Brother UK. It will officially be known as 'Vitus Pro Cycling Team, Powered By Brother UK'.
Vitus Pro Cycling's roster has been strengthened for 2019, with triple Olympic champion Ed Clancy, Graham Briggs, Joe Holt, Dylan Kerfoot-Robson and Red Walters among nine new signings.
Mikey Mottram, Frederik Scheske, Alistair Slater, and Chris Latham will also roll out in Vitus Pro Cycling Team colours next season, joining three riders retained from the 2018 squad: Adam Kenway, Tim Torrie, and Liam Davies.
The 12-rider team will race next season exclusively on Vitus ZX1 Team Aero Disc framesets. The carbon aero framesets are disc-brake only, with the team also opting to run tubeless Schwalbe tyres rather than the more traditional tubular options.
The bikes use SRAM Red eTap HRD wireless electronic groupsets, while Prime, another brand from Wiggle/Chain Reaction Cycles, provides the wheels, carbon aero handlebars and alloy stem.
Jodie Shann, Vitus's road product manager said in a press release: "We are fully behind the performance benefits disc brakes bring to road cycling, so much so that when we introduced our flagship ZX1 race bike in 2018 we released this as a disc-only platform.
"Our experience from countless hours of rider testing and feedback is that discs give the rider far greater braking control in all conditions, giving riders more time to focus on road position rather than worrying about braking performance."
Click through the gallery above for a closer look at the 2019 Vitus Pro Cycling ZX1 Aero Disc Team Edition.
Full specification
- Frameset: Vitus ZX1 Aero Disc Team Edition
- Front brake: SRAM Red HRD, 160mm rotor
- Rear brake: SRAM Red HRD, 140mm rotor
- Brake/shift levers: SRAM Red eTap HRD
- Front derailleur: SRAM Red eTap
- Rear derailleur: SRAM Red eTap
- Cassette: SRAM XG1190, 11-25
- Chain: SRAM Red
- Crankset: SRAM Red, 53/39
- Wheelset: Prime BlackEdition 50mm Carbon Disc, tubeless
- Tyres: Schwalbe Pro One, 25mm Tubeless
- Handlebars: Prime Primavera Carbon
- Stem: Prime Doyenne Alloy
- Tape/grips: Prime
- Saddle: Selle San Marco Aspide
- Bottle cages: Prime