The first few months of the road season can be a confusing time for fans as they grapple with the multiple new kits and bikes on display in the professional peloton. Some teams make things a little easier by making subtle changes, while others, like Bahrain Victorious, go for a complete makeover.
Since its inception in 2017, the team has traditionally stuck to a red colorway, but for 2024 they’ve broken that script and switched to white. While at the Tour Down Under, we took a closer look at the new design of Jack Haig’s Merida bike and the setup he used to race.
Red out, white pearl in
Bahrain Victorious’ new look isn’t actually new. A similar design dubbed “Pearl White” debuted at the Tour de France as a one-off, or so we thought. It’s now back in full force, giving the team a whole new look for 2024.
The new look also extends to the bike, which has a simpler design. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, especially those who like a more pronounced look (if you’re interested in the EF Education-EasyPost bike, check it out here), but this subtle design I think you hit the right point.
The majority of it is made up of white spread across the seat and downtube, then broken up by pale blue and gold hues on the toptube and fork. It doesn’t scream “look at me” when it’s jostled with other bike designs on a pro peloton, but up close the design looks great.
The design may be new, but the bikes on display are very familiar. It’s either the lightweight Scultura for him or the Reacto for Jack Haig on Tour Down Under. This bike is popular for many reasons. First, it has been around since 2011, when the first model was released. Both Reacto and Scultura have been piloted by Bahrain Victorious since the team’s inception in 2017, and Merida quickly came on board as the bike’s sponsor. That partnership remains strong today.
shimano groupset
It turned out to be a solid but modest start to the season for Haig, as he finished 10th overall at the Tour Down Under, despite not finishing inside the top 10 at any stage. The Australian started the day in 28th place, but we got a glimpse of his bike before the stage.
With just under 2,000 meters of climbing, it wasn’t exactly a flat day, but as the sprint finish showed, it wasn’t too taxing either. To tackle parkour, Haig chose her 54/40t chainset paired with her 11-30t cassette as part of her Shimano Dura-Ace groupset.
While the former is a popular choice, the latter has become rarer in recent seasons as popular bets are pushed towards the wider 11-34t range. This used to mean large jumps between gears, but the advent of 12-speed groupsets has somewhat eliminated this problem. That’s why wider cassette sizes became so popular.
Vision grows in the World Tour peloton
The Vision is currently experiencing a boom in popularity in the World Tour peloton. The company will become wheel sponsor for two additional teams in 2024 in the form of Astana Kazakstan and Arkea B&B Hotels, adding to its existing partnerships with EF Education Easypost and Bahrain Victorious.
All of these teams will use Vision Metron series wheels in 2024, with Haig’s being the 40 SL tubular option. This stood out in the crowd as very few riders now ride tubular tyres, especially in this age of tubeless riding. The tire in question was another trend-busting 25mm wide Continental Competition Pro LTD ALX. The rise of tubeless technology has led riders to primarily use his 28mm width.
There was another Vision component in the form of a Metron integrated bar and stem, ensuring the front of the bike had a sleek look befitting an aero road machine.
At the rear of the bike, one of the most important decisions on a bike has to be made for rear comfort, and Haig chose a Pro Stealth Performance saddle.
This bike was fitted with an Elite Leggero bottle cage.