Earlier this week we reported on the news that the Cannondale-Drapac team have been training through the winter aboard disc-equipped race bikes. And yesterday Tom Boonen, who enters his final season with QuickStep in 2017, has raved about the unbelievable performance of his Specialized Venge ViAS Disc race bike.
“Best bike I ever had, unbelievable performance!’ says Boonen in a caption accompanying a photograph he posted to Instagram. The post has had quite a reaction, with nearly 9k likes and scores of comments, most asking about the disc brakes.
- Could Cannondale-Drapac be the first team to adopt disc brakes
Now, of course, critics will be quick to point out that that obviously, Specialized has paid him to say that, but the spontaneous nature of the photo sharing app suggests to us that he’s voiced his own personal views on the bike, rather than being forced. We might be wrong, though, and a fat cheque might be just out of shot…
Tom Boonen has been involved in the development of the new disc-equipped Roubaix as well and was at the worldwide launch earlier this year. And it’s clear from this photo he’s one of a growing number of professionals using the winter to get familiar with disc brakes.
Review: Specialized Venge ViAS Expert Disc
Whether he uses disc brakes when the race season kicks off is another thing. Will we see him racing a disc-equipped race bike when it comes to competing in his favourite races, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, for the final time in his storied career?
- Everything you need to know about disc brakes
I'm a man, and a feminist. You could be a TERF if you wanted to be I think.
This came up on my Facebook. Always had a slight soft spot for DEB 123 and 456 LOU, etc - easier to remember.
But the name "Blinder", it's slightly worse than Marauder, Barbarian, Defender and the like.
I've given Police Scotland HD video of close passes, and other instances of careless driving ... and had excuses ranging from "log book...
Coincidentally, this just popped up on fb:
If BC are happy to tinker with race categories, as demonstrated, then they could have created an Open category alongside Women and Men, that anyone...
I think you may be crossing boundaries there into a different type of discrimination......
Top marks Granny. Great work
I have an F Moser, rescued from a tip by a friend of a friend. It was setup as a single speed, have found a 9 speed Campgnolo groupset to use...
Another vote for C38s here.