Specialized last year celebrated Remco Evenepoel's victories in both the Olympic road race and time trial with a gold S-Works Tarmac SL8. Quite serendipitously, 2024 also happened to be the brand's 50th anniversary. But, as everyone in cycling – and business – knows, a win for today means nothing tomorrow. So, in time for the 2025 Tour de France, Specialized has unveiled a new super-lightweight climbing shoe, the S-Works Torch Remco, that it developed with the Belgian and which it says is the lightest in the peloton by three grams at 148.2 grams in a size 41 (Evenepoel’s size).
Although they're only launching now, Evenepoel was using a prototype version of the shoes in last year's Tour, and the original request for a lighter shoe came back in 2023, according to Specialized. Ashley Sult, manager of footwear, says in the press release: “Remco came to us in October of 2023 with a specific ask – to provide him with a tool to add to his toolbox for the Tour. The tool he was looking for was a shoe that can be used in races with long, sustained climbs. He was clear that he felt a lightweight shoe would make a big difference in the mountain stages of the Tour. Ironically, 18 months before Remco came to us, we started work on a super lightweight shoe with a balanced foothold which is exactly what Remco was asking for. So we took this development shoe and engineered it around Remco’s needs and feedback with the design philosophy of ‘everything you need, and nothing that you don’t’.”
In order to have a final prototype ready to be tested at the 2024 Tour de France, the team had only eight months for development, testing and production. According to Specialized, the shoe team got straight to work, putting less material to more efficient use. Before the Tour, Evenepoel had tested three prototypes; the third and final prototype was the shoe he used for five mountain stages in the Tour, and he finished third on GC winning the white jersey and a time trial stage in his debut Tour.
According to Specialized, overall the size 41 saves a claimed 65.1 grams compared to the standard S-Works Torch. The bulk of the weight savings (51.1 grams) came via a simplified upper, with a single layer of TPU and mesh deployed with a Velcro strap to complement a single Boa Li2 dial. The remaining 14 grams were saved via the smaller outsole, explains Specialized: “For the first time ever, the Specialized shoe team considered carbon to be too heavy. Yeah, you heard that right.” However, the streamlined outsole design is still able to harness Remco’s superhuman power output, says Specialized. In an accompanying quote by Todd Carver, Specialized’s human performance manager, “Most cycling shoes on the market are overbuilt when it comes to stiffness, adding unnecessary weight without improving performance.”
After six years of research, Carver and his and team found the exact level of stiffness needed for maximum power transfer – no more, no less. Specialized says it can’t reveal exactly what its stiffness target was… “but if your FTP is less than Remco’s and your peak watts are south of 2,000, it’s more than stiff enough for you”.
Weight aside, the S-Works Torch Remco is engineered using the brand’s now-familiar Body Geometry methodology (varus wedge, metatarsal button, longitudinal arch) around a new Body Geometry last. Specialized says the new last with its wider toebox reduces forefoot pressure by 44% compared to a conventional last while offering a balanced foot hold and optimized stiffness for uncompromising comfort and power.
The latest S-Works Ares 2 is built around the same last but, according to Specialized, the fit of the S-Works Torch Remco has a little less structure and hold than the Ares due to its lightweight nature and focus, whereas the S-Works Ares 2 is designed for a secure, locked-in hold as a sprinter’s shoe.
And finally, why the orange strap? A reference to Rabobank reentering professional cycling in July as a Visma-Lease a Bike jersey sponsor? Absolutely not. “It is a colour that stuck around simply because it was the fabric our factory had on hand at the time when we created Remco’s prototypes for testing – but it became something more. A nod to the time, effort, and talent that went into creating a shoe worthy of the Tour.”
The unit of currency per gram increases significantly. The Remco Torch’s SRP will be £549 compared to £350 for the regular S-Works Torch and £479 for the S-Works Ares 2, making it Specialized’s most expensive shoe by some margin. We have a pair in for testing and we’ll report our findings – keep an eye out for our review.
All the details at Specialized’s website.
