Whether Bianchi’s Celeste green is the result of love for a member of the royal family, or some left-over military paint, it still makes a top story. But we had plenty to chat about with these guys – including checking out the actual bike that got Lars Boom over the line first in this year’s Tour de France stage five epic cobblestones and a 135th anniversary.
Bianchi Aquila CV
The brand's latest Time Trial bike - engineered for superior aerodynamic performance and ride control. A real stand-out feature to this bike is the Countervail 'viscoelastic' material, which has been seen also in NASA applications. Bianchi has actually built Countervail's vibration cancelling technology into the carbon itself. They estimate this has reduced shock by up to some 80 per cent, resulting in less muscle fatigue for riders. The clean frame comes without cables, wiring, screws etc and rear and front brakes are completely covered to keep this as sleek and fast a weapon as possible.
This bike was introduced during the penultimate stage of the 2014 Tour de France, where it was used by two of Team Belkin's riders in the Individual Time Trial.
Bianchi Infinito CV
Lars Boom from Belkin rode this bike to victory in stage 5 of this year's Tour de France - the infamous cobblestone day. Also engineered with Countervail material, this bike is all about shock absorption, making it the ultimate bike of choice to take Boom and his team over those pebbles (not to mention crossing the line third in the Tour of Flanders and fourth in the Paris-Roubaix). A great bike for tough terrain and/or Gran Fondo events.
Bianchi Oltre XR
Made for extreme racing! With its aggressive frame design the Oltre XR is aerodynamic, light and rigid. This was the bike Belkin used for most of this year's Tour de France and is ideal for sprinting as well as climbing.
