Giro d'Italia pro bike: Mads Pedersen's stage winning Trek Madone SLR

Now in his sixth year with Trek-Segafredo, Mads Pedersen isn’t showing any signs of slowing down when it comes to his win tally. Ever since his World Championship victory in 2019, the Danish rider has been establishing himself as one of the best sprinters and puncheurs in the WorldTour peloton.

Such a fast rider needs a suitably fast bike, and Pedersen’s seventh-generation Trek Madone SLR which he is currently riding at the 2023 Giro d'Italia certainly fits this bill. It’s the American brand’s aero-focussed model, with striking truncated square end tube shapes that employ the advantages of airfoils with aim at reducing weight while increasing stiffness and stability. 

When it comes to frame design and shaping, perhaps the most striking elements of the Trek Madone SLR are the chunky down tube and tall bottom bracket, as well as the hole in the seat tube which Trek describes as ‘Isoflow.’ Isoflow aims to accelerate the air coming from the head tube and since the seat tube junction area of the bike is where a lot of turbulence is generated by the airflow, Isoflow should greatly improve the aerodynamics of the Madone SLR. It also is said to reduce the overall weight of the bike and make it more compliant too, as well as giving the Madone an undeniably spaceship-like look.

Read more: Giro d'Italia pro bike: Mark Cavendish's Wilier Filante SLR

At the front of the bike, Pedersen is using Bontrager’s integrated bar and stem system which is also supposed to aid aerodynamics. Bontrager improved the aero cockpit when this version of the Madone was released in 2022 – it features a shallow reach and a different width between hoods and drops, The resulting position is narrower and more TT-like, a common trend in the WorldTour peloton. Pedersen opts for a very low slammed stem and aggressive position, as well as no bar tape along the tops of the handlebars, presumably for added aerodynamic gains.

When it comes to the hoops to support the Madone, Pedersen has been using the Bontrager Aeolus RSL in 62mm rim depth, a common rim depth choice among the modern peloton when a race is likely to come down to a sprint finish. They feature ceramic Kogel Bearings. The Aeolus RSL wheels are paired with 28mm Pirelli P Zero Race tyres which are set up tubeless. 

The bike features SRAM’s Red eTap AXS groupset with a pretty baller custom gold cassette and chain – a rider of Pedersen’s pedigree can definitely get away with this. He is using a monster 56/43T chainring combination at the front, allowing the Dane to push out huge watts in sprint finishes. He looks like he could be running either a 10-28 or 10-30 cassette at the rear. Interestingly, the colour of Pedersen’s integrated chainrings at the front of the bike come in a black finish rather than the silver available to buy for the general public, this could be because they are made from a different or stronger material. Pedersen’s bike also features a Quarq crank-based power meter – you can see where the paint has worn away slightly on Pedersen’s crank arm due to some heel rub. He is also using Time pedals this year, a move the team made when Time was acquired by SRAM in 2021.

Pedersen’s bike featured a Bontrager Verse Pro Saddle and Enervit water bottles – Enervit is Trek-Segafredo’s nutrition sponsor. Pedersen was using a K-Edge computer mount with a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt head unit. Despite SRAM’s acquisition of Hammerhead, Trek-Segafredo are still sponsored by Wahoo. He looks to be using Bontrager Bat water bottle cages with added bits of rubber at the end of the arms to help aid grip and keep bottles in place over rough terrain.