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The Giro d’Italia frequently features the most mountainous parcours of the three grand tours. For the climbing stages at this year’s edition, two-time Giro stage winner Pello Bilbao has been seeking to add to that tally aboard a Merida Scultura Team. The rest of his Bahrain-Victorious team has been racing this bike as well, with Santiago Buitrago striking pay dirt on stage 17.
We took a closer look at Bilbao’s climbing bike, which features a 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrain, FSA components, and Vision wheels.
Bilbao’s bike features a 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrain, FSA components, and Vision Metron wheels.
Bilbao is riding a 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace power meter crank. For this stage he was running 54/40 chainrings.
Bahrain-Victorious stays with the stock Merida Team SL 1P one-piece cockpit.
The Merida Team SL 1P one-piece cockpit keeps the front end simple — at least visually, not so much for the mechanics routing the brake lines.
Despite being a lightweight bike focused on a more compliant ride than Merida’s aero bike, the Scultura Team still features a very aero front end with internal cable routing and cockpit integration.
Bilbao’s saddle of choice is a Prologo Nago Evo.
A size medium Scultura Team frame weighs about 860 grams and features the same geometry as Merida’s Reacto aero bike.
A carbon race number holder affixed to the FSA seat post is a detail you won’t find on a stock model. Note the handwritten “PELLO” at the top.
In case you were still wondering who rides this bike…
The Continental Grand Prix 5000 S tubeless ready tires are faster than the brand’s previous top of the line tubeless rubber, while being lighter and offering more sidewall protection to boot.