Lenny Martinez raced to victory at the Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes yesterday on what appears to be an as-yet-unknown Wilier race bike.
The French rider triumphed against his breakaway partner Clément Berthet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) aboard a largely black Wilier frame we don't recognise, with plenty of white graphics. The bike is clearly different when compared to the other Groupama-FDJ team bikes.
The case for this being a brand new bike was heavily strengthened thanks to a Wilier Triestina Instagram post citing a 25th of June 'drop' date. As well as a Twitter / X post with a few more pictures of the bike.
On the basis of this post from the brand, we feel fairly confident we can expect a brand new road model to be announced by Wilier toward the end of June; just in time for the Tour de France.
The run-up to the Tour de France and Dauphine has been a prime time for new bikes and equipment to appear over the last several years. We will be snooping at the Critérium du Dauphiné which commences on Sunday and will cover as much new tech as we can find.
What could the new bike be?
Team riders have the Wilier Zero SLR and Filante SLR road models to choose from. The Filante is the more aero-focused bike whilst the Zero SLR focuses on lightweight.
From what we can tell from the limited pictures, this new bike doesn't look hyper aero and appears to look like a bit more of an all-rounder or lightweight-focused bike. We expect it to replace the Zero SLR, but it may even sit alongside it.
One of the most obvious points is the lack of the top tube/seat tube 'step' that is present on the Zero model. The new bike also seems to have wider fork legs, slightly dropped seatstays and differently profiled chain stays and top tube, when compared to the Zero. All told it looks fairly 'normal' compared to some of the more outlandish designs on the market.
Aside from some of the frame design differences, Martinez was riding the bike built up with a seemingly stock team build of Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and wheel build, Continental GP5000 tyres, Prologo saddle and bar tape and what looks to be the Wilier Fialnte integrated handlebar and stem unit.
The frame features Wilier logos, but there is plenty of white detailing present on the black frame, similar to the design BMC used to draw the eyes away from key features on its then-unreleased bike last year, which turned out to be the Teammachine R.
We will update this story with more news and info when we receive it.
