On the opening morning of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné, it wasn't a first battle of the season between Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel that grabbed the headlines, but the sighting of an unbranded, bare carbon, and extreme-design Factor bike parked outside the Israel-Premier Tech bus. A dedicated out-and-out aero machine with a wildly narrow leading edge, and super wide forks akin to the Hope HB.T track bike.
Four days later, it demonstrated its effectiveness as a high-speed weapon, as Jake Stewart triumphed on stage 5 – pointing to the then-prototype bike as he powered across the line. The squad continued to use it throughout the season, including at the Tour de France, but details on the bike remained scarce in the months following its debut.
