Cannondale Pro Cycling Team is a United States-registered professional cycling team founded in 2003, making its debut in the UCI’s World Tour in 2009. The team is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, but maintains an equipment and training facility at its second home in Girona, Spain. Various title sponsors have been affiliated with the team since its inception, along with several brands of bicycles. For 2015 and beyond, Cannondale is the bike supplier and title sponsor.
The Cannondale SuperSix EVO Hi-Mod frameset for 2016 may appear outwardly similar to the superseded SuperSix EVO, but the newest model has been completely redesigned. Cannondale’s proprietary BallisTec technology features at the heart of the new frame. Relying on high-strength and high-stiffness carbon construction, ride feel and stiffness is tuned by adding ultra-high modulus fibers to key locations on the frameset. To maintain ride consistency and feel across all sizes of the SuperSix EVO, carbon layup is different for each frame size. This Cannondale Supersix EVO Hi-Mod is the team bike of Alberto Bettiol, a 22 year old, second year professional cyclist whose career began with the Cannondale team. Check it out…
Shimano is the groupset supplier of Cannondale Pro Cycling, and like the other Shimano equipped teams in attendance at the 2016 Tour Down Under, all of the team’s bikes were fitted with the company’s Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting system.
Cassette ratios on most of the team’s bikes are 11-28, such is the flexibility of an 11-speed drivetrain. Gone are the days of large gaps between cogs when lower gears are used. A cassette like an 11-28 offers a nice spread of gear ratios.
SRM supplies the team with their crank-based power measurement system, mounted to Cannondale’s SiSL2 crankset. Because Garmin is a presenting sponsor to the team, SRM’s head units are substituted by computers such as the Garmin 520, etc. Of interest in the photo above are the Garmin branded pedals and 46 tooth inner chainring. Unfortunately, we don’t know if Alberto switched to a smaller chainring when racing began.
Cannondale Pro Cycling uses Mavic wheels and tires, and the Cosmic Carbon SSC 40 T (Tubular) with 16 spokes front and 20 spokes rear was the universal choice among team riders at the 2016 Tour Down Under.
Mavic Yksion SSC tubular tires with Grip Link (in reality, these are rebadged Veloflex tires) compliment the team’s wheels, but at 22mm wide, were the narrowest of tubular tires we spotted at the race.
While the new SuperSix EVO features aerodynamic TAP tube shapes (Cannondale’s truncated aero profile), the frame’s design does not go to extremes. However, Alberto prefers the integrated carbon / kevlar monocoque design of FSA’s Plasma integrated bar and stem – in team only colors.
Cannondale mechanics stick with the external Di2 junction A box, and use heat shrink tubing to guide the wiring along the rear brake housing until it enters right and alongside the headtube. Simplicity and accessibility keep mechanics happy when they are on the road.
Brake and derailleur cables are fully internalized on the SuperSix EVO HiMod, but brakes are kept external, a feature appreciated by professional and home mechanics alike.
Cannondale do a nice job of internally routing the rear brake cable on the EVO Hi-Mod.
Alberto sits atop a slightly crash damaged Fizik Antares saddle, attached to a FSA carbon setback seatpost.
Water bottle carrying duties are handled by Kinetic’s Twenty20 bottle cage.
Unfortunately, we really weren’t allowed to photograph these team-only issue, all-green SuperSix EVO HiMods up close. We got the impression that was only because they’d rather direct your attention to that nice, shiny silver bike that you can actually buy. Some riders were astride these, while riders like Alberto were riding bikes in the regular team livery.
Alberto Bettiol finished the 2016 Tour Down Under in 74th place overall, 18:15 down on the overall winner, Simon Gerrans. As a young rider and all-rounder on the team, we hope to see Alberto climb higher in the results as time progresses.
Photos and article by Gravel Cyclist. Jayson O’Mahoney is the Gravel Cyclist: A website about the Gravel Cycling Experience.
