Check out Mark Cavendish's custom Wilier Filante SLR for his final Tour de France

Riding for Astana Qazaqstan in his final Tour de France, Mark Cavendish swaps his usual blue marble Wilier Filante SLR for this special edition, white marble and gold Wilier Filante SLR TDF23. Could this be the bike upon which Cav takes the outright record for the most Tour de France stage wins by an individual rider in history?

Cavendish missed out on selection for the Tour de France 2022, but equalled Eddy Merckx's record of 34 Tour de France stage wins in 2021 while riding for Deceuninck–Quick-Step (now known as Soudal Quick-Step).

Back for his final Tour this year and after winning the final stage of the 2023 Giro d'Italia, he could be riding this bike into the history books. 

> Read our Wilier Filante SLR review here 

The Wilier Zero SLR might not be the newest bike in the WorldTour – it’s now three years old – but there's no denying the blue marble colourway used by Astana Qazaqstan is a looker.

But, switching out this normal colourway, Cavendish is riding this special edition Filante SLR for his final Tour de France.

The marble effect hasn't gone far - a swirling white for the fork, one-piece handlebar/stem and the top of the frame, and black for the lower sections of the seat tube, downtube and seatstays. Not forgetting, the gold hues and CVNDSH finishing touches. 

Wilier says that this bike is "designed in celebration of Mark Cavendish's remarkable career." 

The Filante SLR is a disc brake aero road bike that takes electronic groupsets only. Brake hoses and any gear shift wires (SRAM eTap is wireless) are routed internally.

Like a lot of the best road bikes nowadays, this is another that is designed to be both aero and light, with Wilier claiming a frame weight of just 870g and 360g for the fork.

"This bike is designed for flat and sprint stages, perfect to support the Manx Missile’s seasonal (and career) goals,” says Wilier.

The Filante puts in a superb performance out on the road and in our review, we praised it as a “lightweight aero road bike that offers a reactive performance, quick handling, and a surprisingly comfortable ride.”

> Best road bike handlebars

Wilier specced a monocoque handlebar/stem with all brake hoses and shift wires running internally, and the stem section is designed to sit level with the ground to minimise the bike’s frontal area.

Wilier has used truncated NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronatics) airfoils as the basis for Filante SLR’s tube profiles, as it has done in the past for the Cento10Pro. The difference, though, is in the cutoff at the rear of the tube.

Wilier designed a more rounded cut on the Filante with the aim of making the boundary layer – the air particles closest to the frame – stick more to the profile in real-world conditions in order to reduce drag.

They also widened the fork legs on the Filante to reduce turbulence and to hide the rear triangle when viewed from the front. 

> Read our Shimano Dura-Ace groupset review  

Astana-Qasaqstan riders use Shimano Dura-Ace R9270 groupsets, like the majority of the pro peloton.

However, Astana bikes feature SLF Motion Speed System pulleys on the rear derailleur which are designed to reduce drivetrain friction. They use carbon fibre cages and a combination of 14-tooth and 18-tooth pulley wheels. SLF also provides the bottom bracket.

The wheels come from French brand Corima. Which wheels in the Corima range they use will depend on the terrain and conditions.

> Best road bike wheels

Wilier doesn’t offer the Filante in this precise build, but a Shimano Dura-Ace equipped model (with Wilier’s own SLR42KC wheels and a standard Dura-Ace chainset) is €11,300 (about £9,940).

And, for an extra €800 on the standard paint scheme, you could get your hands on this colourway too. 

Here’s the complete spec list for Mark Cavendish’s Wilier Filante SLR:

Frame: Filante SLR - Carbon monocoque HUS Mod + Crystal Liquid Polymer
Fork: Filante SLR - Carbon monocoque HUS Mod + Crystal Liquid Polymer
Handlebar: Filante Bar Integrated Carbon
Seatpost: Filante SLR Carbon, Wilier Custom Made
Groupset: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 9270 12S
Wheels: Corima 47WS Black
Headset: FSA
Shifters: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 ST-R9270
Brakes: Shimano: Dura Ace BR-R9270
Rotors: Shimano Dura Ace RT-MT900 CENTER LOCK 160 / 140
Front derailleur: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 FD-R9250
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 RD-R9250
Pulley: SLF Motion Speed System
Chainset: Shimano Dura Ace FC-R9200 + Shimano Powermeter
Bottom bracket: SLF Motion BB86
Cassette: Shimano Dura Ace CS-R9200 12S
Chain: Shimano Dura Ace CN-M9100 12S
Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Speed 700x28
Saddle: Prologo Scratch 2
Bar tape: Prologo
Bottle cage: Tacx
Pedals: Look KEO Blade carbon

Do you think Cav is going to take the record for most Tour de France stage wins? Let us know in the comments section below...

Check out more Bikes at Bedtime here.