Updated bike has increased mud clearance, semi-integrated cable routing, and its very quick. Complete bike prices start at 3,000

Cervlo has unveiled the latest iteration of its spero gravel race bike, sporting a raft of evolutionary updates including a slimmer down tube and significantly dropped seatstays.Since its 2019 debut, the spero (meaning rough roads) has existed at the racier end of the wide gravel bikes spectrum, with a stripped-back frame and fork, and minimal bikepacking-friendly fixtures.Continuing that approach, the new spero features tube shapes culled from Cervlos extensive library, with plenty of the frames elements drawing inspiration from its road-going siblings most obviously the Soloist.Unlike most new bikes, Cervlo has reduced the speros frame stiffness in some areas, which it claims improves performance.Also unlike the plethora of new gravel bikes for 2024 including the Merida Silex, GT Grade, Santa Cruz Stigmata and Canyon Grail geometry has been left largely alone.The focus is instead on improved clearance for mud and chainrings, along with frame-shape tweaks designed to make the spero a more agile racer.Warren Rossiter has spent some time riding the new Cervlo spero Rival XPLR AXS and you can read his review here.Frameset evolutionIt's evolution rather than revolution for the new spero. - CerveloThe new spero frame has seen subtle changes rather than a radical redesign. It now has a lower standover height across all sizes, while both chainstays have been dropped further to improve chainring clearance.Cervlo has looked at the carbon and layup schedule, too, introducing more compliance to the frame and fork.Most noticeable is the slimmer down tube, along with seatstays that are dropped much further down the seat tube.Cervlo has decreased the head-tube stiffness to 95Nm/deg from the 110Nm/deg of the original and 112Nm/deg of the premium spero 5. However, bottom-bracket stiffness is up on the original 228Nm/deg versus 220, but less than the spero 5s ultra-stiff 240Nm/deg.Improving compliance without compromising the bike's handling was the priority. - CerveloThe goal for the new bike was to maintain the speros performance-oriented handling, but improve compliance through the saddle and bar, while retaining drivetrain efficiency.Also outgoing is Crvelos long-standing press-fit BBRight bottom bracket, in favour of a threaded BBRight T47-A. Its the same unit used on the Soloist and its not the only tech borrowed from the brands all-rounder aero road bike.Up-front, the new spero shares the ST36 system, where the hoses are semi-integrated into the frame using a D-shaped fork steerer.For bikes with mechanical drivetrains, Cervlo offers a new cable-management system called the clippy clip. Here, a split bearing cap (available in 14mm and 30mm depths) enables the cables to be channelled, along with the hoses, through the head tube.The cables and hoses dont run fully internally through the stem, making servicing and transporting the bike easier.Cervelo has stuck with the geometry formula on the new spero. - CerveloA lot of Cervlos rivals have moved closer to MTB-inspired geometry, with long front-centres, longer forks and slacker head angles.However, Cervlo has stuck to its steeper, road-oriented head angle (72 degrees on sizes 54, 56, 58 and 61cm; 71/71.5 on 48 and 51cm respectively). Its similarly steep at the rear 73 degrees (56, 58, 61cm), 73.5 (54cm), 74 (51cm) and 74.5 (48cm).The new frame offers 7.4mm of mud clearance with a 700x42c tyre, thanks to chainstays that have increased to 425mm from 420mm. The wheelbase is only a millimetre longer in a size 56cm.The fork offers the same clearance and Cervlo has kept the switchable dropout it calls the Trail Mixer.Chainstays have increased to 425mm from 420mm, while the down tube has slimmed and the seatstays have dropped further. - CerveloCervlos fork dropout insert alters the position of the fork offset fore and aft by 5mm horizontally. It claims this means the bike will feel the same running a relatively slender tyre on a 700c wheel, compared to a maxed-out 42mm gravel tyre.The forks chin has a much cleaner integration into the head tube, which is reminiscent of the Soloist. Like the original spero, the new bike retains its three bottle boss sets, down tube protector and bento box mounts on the top tube.Mud clearance on the drivetrain is also improved. With a 46-tooth chainring, theres 2.7mm clearance, 1.8mm with a 48-tooth ring and 3.2mm for a 52-tooth ring.The dropped seatstays influence a revised seat-tube shape with a much more prominent wheel cut-out. The seatpost has a standard 27.2mm diameter and is compatible with gravel dropper posts, while the rear dropout is now SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger compliant. 485154565861 Seat tube angle (degrees)74.57473.5737373 Head tube angle (degrees)7171.572727272 Chainstay (mm)420420420420420420 Top tube (mm)512532553575591608 Head tube (mm)83107133159188214 Fork offset (mm)534946464646 Trail (mm)58.658.658.658.658.658.6 Bottom bracket drop (mm)78.578.5767673.573.5 Wheelbase (mm)99010001010102710461063 Standover (mm)690732764788814838 Stack (mm)505530555580605630 Reach (mm)370379388397406415 Edit Table 2024 Cervlo spero range detailsThe spero makes up the Experiential range with the Caledonia, Soloist and Rouvida. - CerveloThe spero is part of Cervlos Experiential range, alongside the Caledonia, Soloist and Rouvida e-road bike.Dont expect any superbike builds, as found on the S5 and R5, because the range tops out with a SRAM Rival AXS XPLR model that gets Reserve 40/44 gravel wheels, at 5,200.The UK range opens with a Shimano GRX610 2x 12-speed model, with Alexrims Boondocks wheels, at 3,100. International buyers will find both a GRX400 model for $2,400 and a mechanical Apex XPLR 1 model at $3,500.The premium spero 5, with its lighter, stiffer frameset and D-shaped seatpost, remains in the range.spero Rival XPLR AXSspero Rival XPLR AXS. - CerveloGroupset: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS, 12-speedRear wheel: Reserve 44Front wheel: Reserve 40Tyres: WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40cHandlebar: Cervlo AB09 CarbonStem: Cervlo ST36 AlloySaddle: Prologo Dimension STNSeatpost: Cervlo SP19 Carbon 27.2RRP: 5,200 / $5,500 / CA$7,400 / 5,799 / AU$8,000spero GRX RX820spero GRX RX820. - CerveloGroupset: Shimano GRX 820 12-speedWheels: Fulcrum Rapid Red 300Tyres: WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40cHandlebar: Cervlo AB09 CarbonStem: Cervlo ST36 AlloySaddle: Prologo Dimension NDR T4.0Seatpost: Cervlo SP19 Carbon 27.2RRP: 4,400 / $4,000 / CA$5,700 / 4,899 / AU$5,300spero Apex XPLR AXSspero Apex XPLR AXS. - CerveloGroupset: SRAM Apex 1Wheels: Fulcrum Rapid Red 300Tyres: WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40cHandlebar: Cervlo AB09 CarbonStem: Cervlo ST36 AlloySaddle: Prologo Dimension STNSeatpost: Cervlo SP19 Carbon 27.2RRP: 4,200 / $4,300 / CA$3,500 / 4,899 / AU$5,500spero APEX XPLR 1spero APEX XPLR 1. - CerveloGroupset: SRAM Apex Rear wheel: Alexrims Boondocks 7DFront wheel: Alexrims Boondocks 7DTyres: WTB Vulpine TCS Light Fast Rolling Dual DNA 60tpi 700x40cHandlebar: Zipp Service Course 70 XPLR AlloySaddle: Cervlo SaddleSeatpost: Cervlo Alloy 27.2 15mm offsetStem: Cervlo ST36 AlloyRRP: N/A / $3,500 / $4,350 / 3,599 / AU$4,400spero GRX RX610spero GRX RX610. - CerveloGroupset: Shimano GRX 610Rear wheel: Alexrims Boondocks 7DFront wheel: Alexrims Boondocks 7DTyres: WTB Vulpine TCS LightHandlebar: Zipp Service Course 70 XPLR AlloyStem: Cervlo ST36 AlloySaddle: Cervlo SaddleSeatpost: Cervlo Alloy 27.2 15mm offsetRRP: 3,100 / $3,600 / CA$4,650 / 3,699 / AU$4,500spero GRX RX610 1xspero GRX RX610 1x. - CerveloGroupset: Shimano GRX 610Rear wheel: Alexrims Boondocks 7DFront wheel: Alexrims Boondocks 7DTyres: WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40cHandlebar: Zipp Service Course 70 XPLR AlloyStem: Cervlo ST36 AlloySaddle: Cervlo SaddleSeatpost: Cervlo Alloy 27.2 15mm offsetRRP: 3,100 / $3,600 / CA$4,650.00 / 3,699 / AU$4,500spero GRX RX400RRP: $2,500 / CA$3,700 / 3,599spero FramesetCervelo Aspero frame. - CerveloRRP: $2,500 / CA$3,500 / 2,799

Mongoose, a sports and entertainment integrated marketing agency, has been appointed by cyclist Mark Cavendish and his management agency, Aret to oversee the PR aspect of his dernire Tour de France, where he will have his final attempt on rewriting the history."After a competitive pitch process, w...

Eddie Dunbar has not had the smoothest ride to this weekends Giro dItalia start, where the Irishman will need to be on his toes from the outset. Outright favourite for the final maglia rosa this year, Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates), is expected to come out swinging. The Slovenian could inflict fatal damage to the []The post Dunbar says he aims to repeat, if not improve on last years Giro appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

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Tudor Pro Cycling Team are the newest team in the professional peloton to race a Grand Tour. The Swiss team was completely changed in 2022, and two seasons later they make their debut in the Giro d'Italia where they have very realistic ambitions of snatching a stage win in multiple types of stages.T...

Embed from Getty ImagesThe Tour de Romandie has been and gone and first some notes from the race starting with the winner Carlos Rodriguez.Romandie is often a race where teams give young riders leadership, its not quite the purpose of the race but it suits many given the slot on the calendar: post Ardennes, pre Giro. The almost retro course design helps with set-piece strategic points such as two time trials and two summit finishes, a course with no traps or surprises. The paradox is a race that isnt necessarily gripping to watch but whose outcome can be significant.Embed from Getty ImagesIn 2018 Egan Bernal was the Big Thing in cycling having just signed for Team Sky after winning the Tour de lAvenir the previous year and Romandie was his first World Tour test and he thrived, taking the mountain time trial stage and duelling with Primo Rogli on the mountain stage, although they marked each other and Jakob Fuglsang beat them for the stage win. This year he was playing domestique for Rodriguez but late in the mountain train and making moves he could not a year ago and now seems within touching distance of the performances he made before.Embed from Getty ImagesRodriguez gets his first stage race win and presumably not the last as Romandie winners tend to go on to greater things. If he can ride high in the mountains and time trials alike then he can build this into grand tour success. No revelation given his performance in the Tour last summer and more of course but still a step up. He was due to go to Movistar only for Ineos to realise the mess theyd made in recruitment and bid to retain him. Hes the winner from this, presumably well-paid but with the kind team in his service that Enric Mas doesnt have, Carlos Rodriguez was riding the Ineos mountain train with a first class ticket and with Bernal. Ineos will take a lot of delight from this.Embed from Getty ImagesThe loser of Romandie if we can call him that was Juan Ayuso, in the yellow jersey for the last mountain stage but then deposed, falling to fifth place overall. Relative of course as he had more than a solid race and one bad day is just that. Local newspaper Le Temps wrote that UAE were conscious of putting all their eggs in the basket marked Pogaar and using Romandie as a dress rehearsal for his deputy or even co-leader this July.Ayuso and Rodriguez make for natural rivals as two Spaniards chasing stage race success. Like many rivalries of the past the media can try to expand differences and form caricatures but so far theres no clash and the pair are friendly and spurring each other on.Embed from Getty ImagesThe surprise of the race was Dorian Godon winning two stages although the lack of sprinters meant he had a good chance and he was fourth in the prologue, a sign of his form. Hes an interesting character. He moved to Girona, not for the sunshine but because he could study to become a physio at the same time as being a pro cyclist. Its helped Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale move up to third on the UCI team rankings as of this morning. Godon was asked what the difference is for this year and hes been at pains to play down any big changes. He could have cited the new bike but not really, more talking of a virtuous cycle with riders coming good although after some reflection last winter on their poor results with more work done by team staff on nutrition and other organisational work. In other words the team under-performed last year and is now over-performing.Watching Romandie on local Swiss channel RTS all week was instructive. Local channels on the ground have lots of info and gossip:No scoop but they reminded viewers how teams stay in the same hotel all week. This means daily transfers for the stages but a base and no need to pack up the suitcase every morningEach stage has decentralised organisation, one day could be organised by a local cycling club, the next by town council committee; presumably with plenty of central input but a different modelThe events future was in doubt because of financial difficulties and race director Richard Chassot was making public appeals for support a year ago. He seems to have got more than an audience and the event is secure thanks to sponsors and donorsThe womens race is later this year, but next years route for the men was also mentioned on TV, its rare for a stage race to have the course in place a year out but 2025 will start in the watch-making village of Saint-Imier and finish with a time trial in the watch-selling city of GenevaThe slow motion summit finish of Thyon 2000 will be back as wellAs well as English, Carlos Rodriguez also speaks French. Its not fluent but he gets by alright and maybe itll come in handy this summer?Embed from Getty ImagesThe revelation of the race was Florian Lipowitz who finished third overall. The 23 year old German rider was all over the race, looking strong in the mountains and almost too much as he could have raced more precisely at times. But he has only been cycling since 2020 after switching from biathlon where he was on the German national team. He won the Czech tour last year but this was a step up, he was making moves when the likes of Ayuso and Yates were dropped. Bora-hansgrohe could field their own winter sports team with Lipowitz, Palzer and of course Rogli. Lipowitz rides the Giro next.Elsewhere now and one person who isnt doing the Giro is Emanuel Buchmann. After Bora-hansgrohe published their roster he went public with frustration at being told earlier this month he wasnt going to be picked. Its rare to see public criticism like this and more so from Buchmann who is by many accounts polite and shy. One thing to note is that if a rider is moving teams then their current team often sees them as an ex-rider even if they have months or the best part of the season left on the books. Plans together, investment in training it all goes out the window. So by extrapolation a fancy word for guessing Buchmann could be signing elsewhere for 2025. Its tempting to see this in the light of Lipowitzs recent results but again Buchmann was told weeks ago and presumably the decision goes back further.To the opposite story now and Isaac Del Toro has a contract with UAE through to the end of 2029, the longest deal in pro cycling. They, like everyone else, have been impressed by what they have seen from the 20 year old. Indeed the only concern here is how much he is racing, hes done 32 days already including World Tour events like Tirreno and Itzulia but hes handled it all well of course. So far UAE have handled their busy team well, outwardly everyone is getting a chance.Finally Cofidis and Total Energies look to be jostling to sign Julian Alaphilippe. Both have obvious reasons, Total Energies is struggling for results and visibility and in a vicious cycle where invites are drying up so they have fewer chances to score points which might qualify them for invites. The Total CEO himself has said aloud hed break the piggybank to sign Alaphilippe, the team wants popularity as much as results. Alaphilippe could swing some invitations and by extension keep the team on the road because otherwise their chances of being at the Tour are drying up. Cofidis would be a good match but perhaps not for the reasons you think, the sponsor does consumer credit and payday loans, its customer base are by definition those struggling to get by so signing a rider down on his luck hoping to turn things around it fits. What team suits him is another issue though, more should be interested and well see how the Giro goes, a stage win is within reach although the course doesnt present abundant chances for a rider best in the mid-mountains. For French speakers LEquipe now have a monthly cycling podcast called Echappes and so its excellent, the second episode covers Alaphilippes career path and outlook plus mentions in passing he used to be able to do 1,000 push-ups.The post Tuesday Shorts first appeared on The Inner Ring.

Its Tuesday and Ryan Mallons back with more cycling news and views on the live blog in between tinkering with his Giro fantasy league team