Tour de France bikes: Mads Pedersen’s Trek Speed Concept TT
Trek-Segafredo’s Dane is looking to take the yellow jersey in his home country. Is this Trek Speed Concept the bike to win the opening TT?
Barely anyone gets to ride in the Tour de France. Even fewer get to wear the yellow jersey. A miniscule number get to wear the famous mailllot jaune on their home roads. And fewer still get to wear it on home roads not in France. Mads Pedersen has that opportunity this year.
He already made history with his World Championships Road Race victory in Harrogate in 2019, though he didn’t get to wear his rainbow stripes much thanks to the pandemic. Now he can do it again.
Wearing yellow in the Tour as it navigates his native Denmark for the first time has been Pedersen’s main target since the race route was announced, though starting with a time-trial against the likes of Filippo Ganna and Wout van Aert means actually doing so will be tricky.
But it’s not impossible and if he stays within a few seconds of the winner he could claim the jersey with bonus seconds on Stage 2.
As he warmed up for the opening test against the clock on his new Madone, Cyclist got to spend some time with the Dane’s Trek Speed Concept TT bike, which features, among other nice details, a 60-tooth 1× crankset and semi-custom Bontrager bars.
Mads Pedersen’s Trek Speed Concept spec
| Frameset | Trek Speed Concept SLR |
| Levers | SRAM S-900 Aero hydraulic |
| Brakes | SRAM Red hydraulic disc |
| Rear derailleur | SRAM Red eTap AXS |
| Shifters | SRAM Clics (extensions) and Blips (base bar) |
| Crankset | SRAM Red 1× 60t |
| Cassette | SRAM Red eTap AXS 10-26 |
| Chain | SRAM Flat-top |
| Wheels | Front: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 75, Zipp Super-9 rear (unbranded) |
| Tyres | Pirelli P Zero Race 26mm ft. yellow tubes |
| Bar | Bontrager with custom bridge width |
| Saddle | Bontrager Hilo |
| Pedals | Shimano Dura-Ace |
| Accessories | Kogel bearings; Quarq power meter |
| Measurements | |
| Rider height | 1.79m |
| Rider weight (approx) | 70kg |
| Complete bike weight | 8.4kg |
| Saddle height: BB to saddle (c-t) | 79.5cm |
I’m hoping for the Stage 20 TT the 00:00:00 will be updated.
Mads Pedersen will be pushing serious power through the streets of København. While his front wheel is a Bontrager, the rear appears to be an unbranded Zipp Super-9 disc, as the former doesn’t have a TT disc wheel in its range.
High and low, get it?
Tadej Pogačar was recently heard complaining about the grip of his Pirelli tyres, let’s hope Mads doesn’t have the same problem.
The Bontrager bars use a custom bridge to place the extensions just so.
Nifty taping, as a wise philosopher once said: every little helps.
Denmark will go mads if Pedersen gets a stage win here.
Evidence of a life lived.
The praying mantis position is all the way back.
There's a SRAM Blip satellite shifter hiding under that tape.
Paint chip or advanced aero feature? You decide.
Funnily enough, Daniel Merriweather’s iconic hit song ‘Red’ goes ‘I can’t do this by myself’, but this is an individual time-trial. So Mads will have to.
Kogel bearings is another team sponsor.
There was no sign of a computer mount – for such a short opening TT it’s very possible Mads just plans to go full gas.
Shimano on SRAM, funny.
Flat-top chains are a top tier aesthetic. Also, just look at those dimples.
The fans were out in force to watch Trek-Segafredo’s mechanics get the bikes set up.
For all our coverage, head to our Tour de France hub
Photos: Matthew Loveridge
