The Cervélo prototype with which Simon Yates has won the Giro

Although the Giro d'Italia was decided in a high mountain stage, the high speed at which cycling is competed today makes aerodynamics also play an essential role in these stages, and brands like Cervélo are paying more and more attention to this parameter in their climbing bikes.

Simon Yates' bike on the Finestre: mix of models or preview of a new Cervélo?

Most likely, Simon Yates' Cervélo went completely unnoticed by those who were captivated by the spectacle of the decisive stage 20. However, upon closer inspection, several details have caught the attention of bike enthusiasts and professionals.

We are so used to seeing the typical Y-shaped handlebar of the Cervélo S5, the brand's aerodynamic bike, that it seems completely normal to us. What is not normal is to see that handlebar on the bike of one of the world's best climbers like Simon Yates in a high mountain stage.

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While in recent weeks images have been leaked of Jonas Vingegaard training on a bike that appears to be a prototype of a future S5, the most striking feature being the redesigned handlebar, it is not the same bike used by Simon Yates during stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia, nor is it the R5, the usual climbing bike used by the Visma-Lease a Bike cyclists.

In a somewhat atypical decision, probably influenced by a very fast first part of the stage and the peculiarities of the Colle delle Finestre and its last 8 kilometers of gravel, Simon Yates opted for a frame that appears to be a new Cervélo Soloist, the bike with which Cervélo seeks to balance the aerodynamic qualities of the S5 with the tremendous stiffness and lightness of the R5.

Although from the front it looks like an identical bike to the Soloist found in the catalog, the rear triangle with the curve of the seat tube following the wheel circumference line, more pronounced than in the catalog model, suggests that we are facing a new bike. Also noteworthy is the use of a Y-shaped handlebar like the S5, but its good integration into the bike's design indicates that it does not seem like they simply placed the cockpit of an S5 on a Soloist. In fact, this handlebar is designed to integrate perfectly into the S5's stem, following the lines of the horizontal tube and the bayonet fork used by Cervélo's most aerodynamic model, but not into a more conventional stem like the one used by the Soloist, so it would be a specific development.

This would mean that we are facing an imminent renewal of the Soloist model to gain aerodynamics on one hand, and on the other hand, to deepen its lightness as evidenced by the sleek rear triangle seen in the images, following the trend of current aerolight bikes. Remember that the Soloist is a legendary bike in Cervélo's catalog, one of the pioneers in considering aerodynamics in a road bike, but has somewhat gone unnoticed compared to its highly efficient S5. Therefore, Cervélo would seek to give a new boost to this iconic model.

And speaking of the S5, the customization of this bike that the brand prepared for Simon Yates for his triumphant ride through Rome in the last stage of the Giro was spectacular, with a completely pink decoration, Simon's name on the horizontal tube, and the number 1 on the seat tube with the legend "Winner of the Giro d'Italia".