Bike celebrates Italian's victories in all three Grand Tours
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A special edition Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL5 Nibali Celebration bike on eBay(Image credit: tinooftheyear / eBay)
Matching yellow decals adorn the Roval wheels, while the three stripes on the forks – yellow, pink and red – represents Nibali’s overall victories at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España (Image credit: tinooftheyear / eBay)
The bike features special FSA Tour de France/Nibali handlebars and stem...(Image credit: tinooftheyear / eBay)
... and matching seatpost(Image credit: tinooftheyear / eBay)
Vincenzo Nibali – then with Astana – rode a very similar Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL5 on his way to a first Tour de France title in 2014 to the one available here on eBay(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
In 2014, Nibali broke Team Sky's stranglehold on the Tour, setting out his stall on stage 2 from York to Sheffield by winning the stage and taking the yellow jersey during the race's UK Grand Départ. Just a few days later, defending champion Chris Froome crashed out of the race, and it became clear once the Tour hit the mountains that the 2014 edition was Nibali's for the taking. Sure enough, he finished in Paris almost eight minutes clear of second-placed Jean-Christophe Péraud (AG2r La Mondiale), with FDJ's Thibaut Pinot taking third place.
This special edition of Specialized's Tarmac SL5 frame was seemingly released to the public to buy in the aftermath of that 2014 Tour victory, and Nibali's then Astana team's equipment supplier, FSA, also released some specially badged products to celebrate the Italian's Tour win. His nickname is 'Lo Squalo di Messina – 'The Shark of Messina' – hailing, as he does, from the Sicilian city, and shark-shaped graphics containing his surname adorn the special FSA handlebars, stem and seatpost, which serve to finish off this stunning Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-equipped bike nicely.
The frame would have been released well ahead of Nibali's second Giro victory in 2016 – judging by the single pink, yellow and red lines on the frame that signify his wins in each of the Grand Tours – and certainly before Nibali moved away from his then Specialized-sponsored Astana squad at the end of the 2016 season to join the new Bahrain-Merida team, and ride on Merida bikes.
These days, Nibali rides Trek bicycles, having joined the US WorldTour team Trek-Segafredo this season, while Specialized moved on to create first a Tarmac SL6 and then has this week released the new Tarmac SL7, which makes this bike even more of a collector's item for Specialized aficionados.
Vincenzo Nibali – then with Astana – rode a very similar Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL5 on his way to a first Tour de France title in 2014 to the one available here on eBay (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The US-based seller is looking for $4,499.99 (£3,470) for the complete bike, and you can see the rest of their bike-build choices for this very special frame – which is a size 54cm – in their listing on eBay.
We're constantly on the lookout for unique and rare cycling relics on eBay. If you have any suggestions or leads, please send them to cyclingnews@cyclingnews.com with 'eBay Finds' in the subject line.
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