Back in August, Lotte Kopecky ended a somewhat unbelievable 50-year drought for the Belgian nation in the Women’s World Championship Road Race, stealing victory by mere seconds on a course that can only be described as brutal.
But as well as wearing the infamous rainbow jersey, Kopecky will also stand out with her brand new custom-painted Specialized S-works Tarmac SL8. We think this custom colourway will be filling our screens in the 2024 racing scene, so let's take a look at the World Champion's new bike.
Specialized hasn’t gone overly ostentatious with its latest custom design. The main frameset is striped with different white and silver gradients, made up of tiny digital camo dots. The only bold rainbow stripes can be found on the front fork, where you’ll find coloured bands wrapped around the front portion of both fork blades.
Customization doesn’t stop there, however. On the top tube, Specialized has added 2023 World Champion graphics, alongside Kopecky’s name all in a fitting digital style font.
Groupset sponsor of SD Worx, Sram has also gotten in on the rainbow celebrations, issuing Kopecky with an oil slick chain and cassette. Unlike the brand’s gold groupsets, you can buy oil-slick parts off the shelf, but in the pro ranks, Sram reserves this drivetrain bling only for current World Champions.
Kopecky rides 48/35 chainrings up front, coupled with a 10-33 cassette at the rear.
Inhouse Specialized brand Roval handles pretty much all of the finishing kit, with Kopecky using the Roval CLX 50mm wheelset and 28mm tan walled Specialized Turbo Cotton tyres.
Up front, you will find a new Roval Rapide cockpit that is said to be four watts faster than the outgoing two-piece design seen on the Tarmac SL7. Interestingly, Kopecky opts for slightly turned-in hoods, to help narrow her position on the bike - perfect for the solo victories she is synonymous with.
Although it's not even 2024 yet, we think this bike could just be one of the best looking bikes in next year's women's peloton. We can say too, that it is a stellar bike to ride - more on that soon with our full review of the Specialized S-works Tarmac SL8 coming in up...
