In a press release that is heavy on symbolism and poetic language, but sadly a little light on details, Lotto Dstny have revealed their new team bikes for the 2024 season, in partnership with Orbea, the storied Basque brand who can also boast long-term sponsorship of the Basque Euskatel-Euskadi cycling team.
The release is keen to highlight the collective racing history of the brands, 38 years in the Peloton for Lotto, and 183 years of making bicycles for Orbea.
"Lotto Dstny finds in Orbea an ideal ally to continue improving the performance of our entire structure. The adaptation to the new bikes has been quick and the willingness to continue working on their development is always there. Together, I am certain we can achieve great things," says Stéphane Heulot, CEO of Lotto Dstny.
This all follows a rather high-profile split, mid-contract, from the team's long-standing partnership with Ridley, and subsequent pushback from Ridley's CEO.
While the official photographs provided only included one vague teaser of the team bikes, there was also a link to a launch video which shows Lotto's rising star Arnaud De Lie riding the bike amongst others, from which we have been able to piece together what the team will be running for the 2024 season.
The only bike featured under multiple riders, across both men's and women's teams, is an all-black Orbea Orca Aero. Given this is an aero frame, and therefore heavier, all black has likely been chosen to save some grams; an assumption on our part, but one that would be in keeping with our 2024 tech predictions that we'd see more boring paint jobs in the peloton.
It's expected that the team will also use the standard (lighter) Orbea Orca which received an update back in July, as we've seen from the Ceratizit-WNT team, but for now, all we have is this monochrome aero machine. Cyclingnews understands more information on the team's bikes will be shared in the coming weeks.
The wheels are from Oquo, also a Basque brand and subsidiary borne out of the Orbea name.
Tyres are Vittoria models, likely the Corsa Pro, both in black and tan sidewalls, and the drivetrain is predominantly a Shimano Dura-Ace affair, save for the crankset, which is an FSA situation. This means no Shimano Power Meter, instead the FSA Powerbox (made by Power2Max) is being utilised.
The cockpit, a mix of one-piece and two-piece setups, is supplied by Vision.
