The new Specialized Shiv TT prototype ridden by Evenepoel resurfaces just before the World Championships

In recent days, Red Bull has published several images of Remco Evenepoel training on a  Specialized Shiv TT, but that may not be the bike he uses to defend the rainbow jersey next Sunday. Evenepoel has been in Canada for a few weeks now, and in the videos of his training, he is seen riding the time trial prototype that he debuted a few months ago and with which he already won at the Tour de France.

Evenepoel recovers the Specialized Shiv TT prototype for Montreal

Specialized has not yet presented this bike, and we do not even know its final name. Its first major appearance was during the last Tour, when Evenepoel won the time trial of stage 16 between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains. Now it has reappeared just a few days before the World Championship.

The videos recorded during Evenepoel's training in Canada allow us to recognize the same frame he used in the Tour. Its dark aesthetic is quite different from the Shiv TT with rainbow and gold decoration that has been shown in the official photographs released by Red Bull these days, but the changes go further.

 

 

 

 

 

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As we already analyzed during the Tour, the most evident difference is around the rear wheel. The seat tube fits much more to its shape and significantly reduces the gap between tire and frame. Additionally, the frame itself extends backward above the wheel, beyond the point where the stays join, forming a kind of fin.

The saddle area also changes. Specialized has eliminated the visible conventional clamp and has integrated the entire system much more into the seat post.

At the front, the differences are harder to identify, although changes in the shapes of the frame can also be seen. Evenepoel's position, on the other hand, remains recognizable and does not seem to have undergone major modifications.

Another of the novelties we saw in the Tour was in the front wheel. Evenepoel used a Roval with a very high profile, which we then estimated to be close to 90 mm, with carbon spokes similar to those of the new Rapide CLX Sprint. We will see if he mounts this same wheel again in Canada.

All of this is part of Project Black, the program that Specialized uses to test in competition material that is still in development, and for now, this prototype remains a practically exclusive bike for Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian is currently the top specialist in the discipline and also signed a lifetime agreement with Specialized a few months ago, so it is not surprising that the brand invests more resources in him.

Evenepoel will defend the rainbow jersey at the Montreal Time Trial World Championship next Sunday, and it will be then that we will know if Specialized can also add a World Championship to its palmarès even before officially presenting the bike.