Evenepoel wants the yellow jersey on the first day, and Specialized seems to be preparing something to help him

The rumors about new developments from Specialized continue regarding the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team. It has now been revealed that the American brand is working on a new time trial bike that could debut in the coming weeks with a very specific goal: to win the team time trial at the upcoming Tour de France.

    Specialized seeks more speed for Evenepoel with a new time trial bike

The information came to light through statements from Dario Kloeck reported by Sporza during the Wattage Festival held in Ostend. However, the article containing these statements was removed from the Belgian website just a few hours after its publication.

Kloeck is not just any voice within the German team's environment. In addition to being Remco Evenepoel's mechanic, he is his cousin and one of the most trusted people of the Belgian Olympic champion, so he is well aware of the projects being developed within the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe structure.

RECOMENDADO

New Decathlon gels 1:0.8: WorldTour nutrition at affordable prices

End of an era at Lidl-Trek: Guercilena leaves the team after 16 years at the helm

Wahoo brings professional sports physiology in real-time to its GPS with a simple update

Would the UCI have expelled Evenepoel for 20 grams? The founder of Specialized criticizes the disqualification of Lorena Wiebes

INEOS continues to transform: the CEO is leaving and Brailsford takes control

Shock in the gravel community after the death of Stéphane Goyard during an event in France

According to him, the German team has been preparing the 19-kilometer team time trial that will open significant gaps in the Tour de France starting in Barcelona. A stage that the team considers key in the fight for the general classification.

“The whole team has been working on this for a while,” Kloeck pointed out. “It’s an important opening. If you can get the yellow jersey there, it’s always something nice.”

And the project is not limited solely to the preparation work of the riders. Specialized is developing a new specific time trial bike intended for the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe cyclists.

“Specialized has worked hard to build a new time trial bike. It should be practically ready,” Kloeck stated.

Even so, it would not be a complete revolution compared to the current model. He explained: “The position remains the same; only the frame will change. Obviously, the intention is to gain back some watts,” he added.

In a discipline where differences are measured in seconds and where aerodynamics plays a decisive role, small efficiency improvements can be crucial in a high-level team time trial.

It also seems that the bike Kloeck is talking about is not related to the unidentified black bike we have seen during the team's training camp in Sierra Nevada. Everything points to that bike belonging to the new generation of the Tarmac, which will replace the current road bike of the team.

With the Tour de France getting closer, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe seems determined not to leave any detail to chance in their attempt to dress one of their leaders in yellow from the first days of the race.