Having changed bike suppliers for the 2014 season, the riders of Team Belkin have been familiarising themselves with their new Bianchi Oltre XR.2 bike in advance of the start of racing.
The carbon fibre frame is one of two road race bike choices the team will have, with the Infinito CV to follow later this month.
The Dutch squad had previously been using Giant for many years but Bianchi is now stepping in, moving across from the now defunct Vacansoleil DCM squad.
The partnership will see the team use Dura Ace Di2 electronic groupsets with the frames, plus a curious mix in frame colouring between the Belkin green and the Bianchi celeste.
The team’s top riders such as Bauke Mollema, Robert Gesink, Lars Boom and Theo Bos are amongst those who have been racking up the kilometres on the bikes and the feedback seems good.
“Since my very first ride, I've been really impressed by Oltre XR.2's handling and stability,” said Gesink who, like the other riders, started using the bikes at the team’s training camps in December. “I also had great confidence on the descents: it is very precise. I like also the colour and design.”
Bos said that he too was happy with what he has experienced. “The frame is rigid and light, with a perfect geometry. It's fast as I like to be.”
According to Bianchi, the frame mixes light weight, so-called Ultra Thin Seat Stays, an aero shape, a larger bottom bracket for rigidity plus a special X-Tex carbon weave structure moulded into the headtube and BB areas.
The team will make its racing debut at the Santos Tour Down Under and the preceding People’s Choice Classic. The Infinito CV bike will also be unveiled this month, and will feature what Bianchi terms Countervail Vibration Cancelling Technology.
The Italian company will also provide the team with a new aerodynamic time trial bike.
Click on the first image below to advance through a gallery of shots of the team plus the new bike.