What appears to be the launch video of the brand new Trek Madone has been posted live on YouTube. Assuming the video is authentic, this is the bike that will be ridden in the Tour de France next month by the Lidl-Trek team.
At time of writing, the channel – WielerVerhaal – had just 186 subscribers and the 25 minute video had been viewed 1,600 times.
However, the frame tubes on the new machine are generally are far more slender – a departure from the muscular lines of the outgoing bike, and evidence of the Émonda’s DNA seeping in.
The seat stays and the down tube show the most obvious difference, with the slabby look of the latter completely gone. The head tube junction with top and down tubes is all much smaller, and now features sculpting for aerodynamics.
Expectation of a new race bike from Trek has been building for some months. In January, images surfaced – on the WeightWeenies forum – of Giulio Ciccone riding what appeared to be either a slimmed down Madone, or a more aero Émonda. In May, Cycling Weekly hypothesised that it would be the former.
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In recent years, we’ve seen a convergence of aero and climbing bikes. Trek’s competitor, Specialized, allowed its climbing bike – the Tarmac – to eclipse the aero ‘Venge’ back in 2020, with the arrival of the SL7.
The constant march of engineering progress means that aero bikes no longer have to be heavy and uncompliant, and lightweight bikes no longer suffer a watt wasting penalty for their slender tubes.
Cycling Weekly has reached out to Trek for comment on the video and will update this story should one become available. We also contacted WielerVerhaal to how they came to have this footage.
