A custom bike at the 2023 Tour de France for the greatest sprinter of all time
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Mark Cavendish is the greatest sprinter of all time, that's not really up for debate. He's won more sprint stages at the Tour de France than anyone else in history, and is the joint record holder for the most stage wins overall. Our Tech Editor, Josh, managed to grab his custom Wilier Filante SLR during the opening week of the race to get the low down on the bike, the spec, and the commemorative paint job created as a tribute to the Briton’s storied career.
While the rest of his Astana Qazaqstan teammates ride about the easily identifiable ice-blue Wilier bikes, Cavendish has been given a slightly less visible, but much more unique Filante SLR to ride what will be his final Tour de France. If you're into pro bikes (of course you are, or you wouldn't be here...), then we've also shot a slew of others from the opening stages, including the ultra bling Trek Madone of Mads Pederson, Mathieu van der Poel's Canyon Aeroad, Ben O'Connor's prototype Red Bull BMC, and (current) yellow jersey holder Jonas Vingegaard's Cervelo. For now, though, let's dig into Cav's bike.
The Filante SLR is the aero bike in Wilier's range, though it isn't nearly so radical in its form as others in the segment. The tube shapes are moderate, not deep, so it has the look of what we might collectively think of as a 'normal' road bike. One thing that's notweworthy and increasingly uncommon is the classic drop of his bars. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
At 1.75m Cavendish isn't the tallest of the sprint cohort, meaning he has a smaller, more aero frontal profile. It also means he can use a smaller frame size, too. Note the short head tube, for a very low front end; useful for his sprinting style where he's very much over the front of the bike. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
No chain catcher is fitted on the inside. Cavendish clearly trusts his mechanics to set up his Di2 front derailleur properly. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Older model, tubular Vittoria Corsa tyres glued to deep Corima wheels. This setup was mostly for the photos though, as we've seen Cavendish using HED wheels and new Corsa Pro tyres following the team's swap to HED as wheel sponsor. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The shape of this Prologo saddle looks like a Nago or a Zero, but there isn't one in this colourway on the brand's website, so it may be an upcoming model, as yet unreleased. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Textured paint ties in with the rest of the team bikes, but instead of a crystalline, ice-homage, Cavendish gets more of a marble texture over the majority of his frame and forks. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
As per the rest of the team bikes, the integrated bar-stem cockpit also gets the custom paint treatment, something we rarely see in the peloton as it does add grams. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Thanks to the new equipment registration rules we now see every bike with a scannable chip stuck somewhere inconspicuous. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Where have all the vowels gone? In his defence, Mrk Cvndsh was one of the first to delete the vowels from his name to same some grams. Marginal gains don't come much more marginal that that. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Tacx Deva bottle cages take care of his hydration stations (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
This custom SLF derailleur cage in full God Save The King mode also didn't seem to feature on his bike once the racing started, but it's clearly a custom touch nonetheless. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
170mm cranks for the Manxman, along with Look Keo 2 Max Carbon pedals (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
An 11-30 cassette should help once the mountains loom large and, inevitably, Cavendish settles into the Grupetto with the other sprinters as they try and make the time cut. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
54-40 Chainrings, with an integrated power meter, is standard fare, but still larger than most of us would be comfortable turning on a regular basis, especially when things get hilly. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
