Cervélo TestTeam's slick machines top poll for fifth year running
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Felt was an early adopter of aero road bike technology as put to use by Garmin-Slipstream rider David Zabriskie in 2009.(Image credit: James Huang)
BH debuted its new G5 under the AG2R team this season.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bbox-Bouygues Telecom used Time's striking RXR Ulteam this season.(Image credit: James Huang)
Caisse d'Epargne saddled up on the curvaceous Pinarello Prince.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bulbous chain stays help maintain rear-end stiffness.(Image credit: James Huang)
Integrated bottom bracket bearings maintain a clean look and provide extra real estate for the down tube and chain stays.(Image credit: James Huang)
Astana's Trek Madones featured integrated pockets in the chain stays for wireless speed and cadence sensors.(Image credit: James Huang)
Trek's latest Madone again uses a tapered steerer tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
Alberto Contador and his Astana team rode their Trek Madone 6-Series machines to another Tour de France victory in 2009.(Image credit: James Huang)
Rabobank switched from Colnago to Giant last year, thus gaining access to the company's new TCR Advanced SL.(Image credit: James Huang)
Scott's ultralight Addict power Columbia-HTC's Mark Cavendish to six stage wins in the 2009 Tour de France.(Image credit: James Huang)
Lampre's Alessandro Ballan campaigned the 2009 on board Wilier's brand-new Cento 1 SL.(Image credit: James Huang)
The big-boned carbon Cannondale SuperSix Hi-Mod frames of the Liquigas team were resplendent in bright green in 2009.(Image credit: James Huang)
Milram used Focus's flagship Izalco Team frames in 2009.(Image credit: James Huang)
Chain stays on the SL3 grew even bigger relative to the SL2.(Image credit: James Huang)
Specialized says the full-length triangulated twin stays on the SL3 are lighter and more resistant to rear-end flex than monostay designs.(Image credit: James Huang)
Team bikes even got matching Rotor cranks this season.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cervélo takes top honors in the 'Best Team Bike' category for a fifth straight year, this time with its revamped S3 aero road machine.(Image credit: James Huang)
Chain stays have beefed up but the seat stays have slimmed down relative to the SLC-SL, adding comfort to the aerodynamic package.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cervélo has again taken the prize for 'Best Team Bike' in the 2009 Cyclingnews Reader Poll. The Canadian company has won the category for an unprecedented fifth straight year, and yet again with a bike that prioritizes aerodynamics over low weight, the Cervélo TestTeam S3.
If the S3 looks familiar, it should: it's a direct descendent of the SLC-SL (last year's 'Best Team Bike' winner) and aside from more cleanly concealed cable routing, uses a virtually identical front triangle. Major changes come out back, though, as Cervélo aimed to temper the SLC-SL's somewhat rough ride by infusing some of the design traits of the lighter and more comfortable R3-SL.
The SLC-SL's already-bulbous chain stays grew substantially as a result but the seat stays got far smaller, thus preserving bottom-end stiffness but gaining rear-end comfort that even managed to convert long-time R3-SL holdout Carlos Sastre – at least for a while.
Frame weight changed only negligibly, too, and the new frame even retains the old model's good looks.
Updated models from major brands Trek and Specialized continue to make inroads up the ranks, though, now occupying the second and third-place positions (up from last year's third and fifth, respectively).
Trek's latest Madone 6-Series veers further into the pure race bike territory with an all-new chassis that is lighter, edgier, and markedly more rigid than before. Front triangle stiffness is now more in keeping with its demanding competition while still retaining very good overall levels of comfort, not to mention the previous Madone's superb handling characteristics.
Also carried over is the slick Net Molded carbon fiber bottom bracket shell with drop-in bearings, the no-cut semi-integrated seatmast, tapered front end, and ultra-wide down tube and chain stays for a decidedly tech-laden package.
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Add in nine Tour de France overall victories with Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador since 1999 and Trek is easily the most dominant brand of the last decade on cycling's biggest stage.
Updates to Specialized's S-Works Tarmac SL2 were more subtle from a visual perspective but still comprehensive when it comes to what lies beneath its sleek carbon skin. The new SL3 sports an entirely different construction process with newly added internal stiffening ribs, extra-rigid pitch carbon fibers in key areas, trick hollow aluminum dropouts, bigger chain stays, smaller seat stays, and lighter press-fit carbon bits in lieu of heavier alloy cups in the head tube.
In total, the new model is – you guessed it – lighter and stiffer than the SL2 (by 153g and 18 per cent, according to Specialized), making it even more of a well-honed race machine than before. Sponsored teams for 2010 will shake up a bit with Saxo Bank carrying over but Quick Step being replaced by Astana.
