When a legend is retiring from the sport, sponsors will typically put together some special gear to commemorate the occasion. In cyclocross, legends don’t get much bigger than Sven Nys, which meant Trek had the honor of creating the laatste ronde, or last ride for Nys. Sven recently scored his 50th World Cup win and will retire in March after the season ends. He won’t be going far though, as he is said to have purchased the Telenet-Fidea team and will stay on as director sportive…
Layered onto the screaming yellow paint job are numerous references to Sven, his Crelan AA Drink team, and his last ride. The carbon Trek Boone frame was the one used for his 50th World Cup victory and includes the Trek IsoSpeed Decoupler.
When you’re at this level, you also get custom tires stamped with your name like these Dugast Rhino 33mm tubulars.
Now on disc brakes, Sven runs Shimano RS 785 hydraulic discs with 140mm Ice Tech rotors front and rear (with Freeza tech in the front.) The well worn thru axle bolt is stamped with SVEN VTH, out back it’s still quick release for the Race Shop Limited Boone.
Making use of the Bontrager XXX one piece bar and stem, Sven runs a 110mm stem length with 44cm bar to hold the Shimano ST-R785 Di2 hydraulic brake lever/shifters. A Bontrager Serano RXL saddle props Sven up on the Boone’s seat mast cap.
The Dura Ace Di2 drivetrain includes a 172.5mm Dura Ace crank fitted with a 39/46 chainring set with the larger 46t ring stamped as a Shimano Prototype. The bike is also running prototype Shimano SPD pedals which look very similar to the current XTR M9000 Race pedal. Cassette is an 11-28 11 speed Dura Ace model.
As Tom Price, put it – this is the real deal and has been through “pressure washer hell.” That explains the missing letters on the Bontrager aeolus D3 wheels.
Enjoy your retirement, Sven (after the rest of the season)!
