2014 WorldTour bikes: Elia Viviani’s Cannondale SuperSix Evo

The Italian Elia Viviani starts another season with the Cannondale Pro Cycling team - he joined the former Liquigas team in 2010 - and will be riding the company's flagship racer, the SuperSix Evo.   Here's a look at the bike he raced in the recent season opener Tour down Under. 

The team ride the same SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod that you or I can buy straight from the shop, with the exception of Peter Sagan who rides a custom frame with a unique geometry. The Evo, a successor to the previous SuperSix, was introduced in 2011, and the team have been riding the same frame and fork since then. Cannondale have since launched an even lighter version of the Evo frame, the Evo Black, which makes use of a ‘nano resin’ in the construction to chop about 40g from the weight, bringing it down to a claimed 655g.  

With a SRAM Red-equipped bike already getting easily down to the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit (they add steel ballast to the frame use a steel BB axle) there’s little incentive to switch to that lighter frame, so they stick with the hi-mod flavour. SRAM once again supplies the Cannondale team, they’ll be using the latest 11-speed Red groupset. We’ll see all the teams on 11-speed groupsets this season, the first time that has happened. SRAM doesn't yet have an electronic groupset to offer their teams, though one is rumoured to be in the pipeline, but it does hold the crown of lightest groupset in the pro peloton.

Again, the team will make use of Cannondale’s own  Hollowgram SISL2 crankset, which they claim is one of the lightest on the market, and they pair it with an SRM Powermeter and SRAM Red chainrings.

FSA is on board this year, continuing their partnership which extends back to the Liquigas days. The Italian parts company supplies a choice of stem, handlebars and seatpost, depending on fit and personal criteria. Viviani’s bike mirrors Peter Sagan’s with FSA’s Plasma fitted one-piece handlebar and stem fitted, with what appears to be a long 13cm stem. It’s slammed onto the headset with no spacers in sight.

FSA also supply the team with wheels through its Vision range, and the Metron 55 wheels, a carbon fibre tubular with a 50mm rim depth, are seen here. They wheel a claimed 1,400g. Kenda supply the tyres.

The team also get support from Fizik, with their choice of saddles available to the all riders, Viviani choosing an Arione.

You can buy a pretty close replica of the team bike, if you’ve got a spare £7,000 lying around. The frame is finished with the same paintjob, but swaps the tubular wheels for clincher versions of Vision Metron 55 wheels, and uses a complete Cannondale Hollowgram chainset. 

Photos reproduced with kind permission of SRAM. More at www.theroaddiaries.com