JLT Condor, a British UCI Continental team, have just revealed their new look kit and race bikes for the upcoming season. With Rapha ending their involvement with the team at the end of last year (a team which they helped launch in 2006), Mavic have stepped up as clothing and equipment supplier.

The biggest change to the team since that launch sees a fresh new look to the bikes and kit. The design still retains the black colour that the team first launched with way back in 2006 (when they were then known as Rapha Condor), but Mavic’s yellow corporate colour is used on the sleeves and collar of the new jersey, and on the shorts too, along with yellow shoes and black helmets. It's a good look.

There’s a splash of Mavic yellow on the new look Condor bikes, with the London-based bike shop of 60-years continuing to back the team. The team will have a choice of three bikes; the regular Leggero, the new Leggero SL, and the Super Acciaio. The Leggero above belongs to under-23 development rider Ed Laverack.

The team will race the Leggero, Condor’s flagship race bike. While the name is the same, the frame has changed a lot in the last nine years. The Leggero is an Italian made carbon frame, using a tube-to-tube construction process, with a combination of unidirectional and directional high modulus carbon fibre. The latest version features internal cable routing and is fully Di2 and EPS compatible. 

The Leggero will be painted in the familiar gloss black with grey fork tips and white and grey rear stays, and yellow flashes on the inside face of the fork and stays, and a panel on the seat tube. Fizik will supply colour matched saddles to complement the frame finish.

Once again the team will ride Campagnolo groupsets, with the latest Record 11-speed mechanical groupset being used. Wheels will also come from the Italian brand with the Bora One, a 50mm carbon fibre tubular wheelset, pictured in the released photos. They’ll use Continental years and Fizik handlebars, stems and seatposts.

Revealed at the Cycle Show last year was the Leggero SL, a new lightweight version of the frame with a claimed 900g frame weight. Some of the team were using it last year already, at the US Pro Challenge and Tour of Britain. The Leggero SL is naturally suited to hilly and mountainous race courses, and for any rider who prefers the lightest possible bike between their legs.

The Leggero SL is the result of 18 months development with the team involved – Kristian House was racing a development mule last season and even used it at the USA Pro Challenge race in Colorado. It has all the hallmarks of the regular Leggero, such as the BB30 bottom bracket, tapered head tube and internal cable routing, but they’ve utilised more advanced carbon fibre to make the claimed weight savings. Now on sale, the Leggero SL will cost £2,999.99 with a Columbus carbon fork, headset and seat clamp).

The team will be able to choose which bike they ride, and another bike from Condor’s range they’ll have at their disposal will be the UCI approved Super Acciaio. First launched in 2012 – but tested in races since 2010 – its release prompted a surge of interest in performance racing steel bikes. A Columbus tubeset in the latest version,  featuring oversize tube profiles and a BB30 bottom bracket and 44mm head tube provides race-ready stiffness. And with a circa 1600g frame weight, a light build is a realistic option.

Okay, so maybe not the first choice in a race through the mountains, but on a flat and demanding criterium circuit, the Super Acciaio has proven itself a worthy choice. In fact, a development model of the latest version of the frame was raced through the 2013 Tour Series by James McCallum.

The team made their 2015 racing debut at the recent Mitchelton Bay Classic in Australia, and will be targeting races that have brought the team success in the past.

Team manager John Herety said: “We will be targeting both the domestic calendar, which is gradually strengthening year-on-year, as well as international stage races, like the Tour of Normandy and the Tour of Korea, where we have enjoyed success in the past.”

www.teamjltcondor.com