Four-time Tour champ will ride a custom Pinarello F12 X-Light on his return to racing this weekend at Saitama Criterium
(Image credit: Pinarello)
Pinarello has released a custom painted, limited-edition version of its Dogma F12 X-Light for Chris Froome's return to racing at the Saitama Criterium in Japan this weekend.
Just 14 weeks after Froome's horror crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné that left him in intensive care, the Kenyan-born Briton will once again pin on a number, and to commemorate, Pinarello has provided him with a shiny new bike with a personalised paint-job.
The headtube of the Dogma F12 X-Light is adorned by the trademark Froome rhino, a tribute to his Kenyan roots, along with his support for Unite for Wildlife - a charity that works to tackle illegal wildlife trade. His nickname 'Froomey' joins the rhino, along with a subtle nod to all of Froome’s grand tour victories. The letters are painted accordingly, with four yellow, remembering Froome's four Tour de France victories, two red, representing his Vuelta successes and the Y resplendent in Giro d'Italia Pink.
(Image credit: Pinarello)
This special-edition Dogma F12 is the X-Light version, which is essentially a lighter version of the regular F12 thanks to the use of Torayca T1100G unidirectional carbon fibre, rather than the T1000 1K used in the regular bike. Pinarello has also upgraded the use of resin, and uses different frame moulds with greater focus on quality control. The result: a 60g weight saving, in a frame that weighs a claimed 720g.
Besides the extra-premium carbon, the remainder of the bike sees the traditional Dogma F12's asymmetric frame design, aero shaped tubing with the Pinarello 'Flatback' down tube, a tapered head tube, internal cable routing, threaded bottom bracket, and although Pinarello does make the F12 X-Light with disc brakes, Froome's bike will feature rim brakes.
(Image credit: Pinarello)
There is no pricing or availability for this special-edition bike, and although Pinarello says it will be available in 11 different sizes, we'd be surprised to see any of these hit your local bike shop. However, you can view the Dogma F12 X-Light, along with the rest of the range in our Pinarello range overview.
Given the price of the standard F12 X-Light frameset is £6,000, you're going to need deep pockets for this one.
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Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
