We get up close with the Manx Missile’s final Tour de France bike
This is the custom-painted Wilier Filante SLR that Mark Cavendish is riding at the 2023 Tour de France.
Astana Qazaqstan’s bike sponsor, Wilier, presented Cavendish with a custom-painted Filante SLR ahead of the Manx Missile’s final Tour.
Cavendish is seeking a 35th career stage win that would see the 38-year-old break clear of Eddy Merckx as the most successful Tour de France rider of all time.
We got hands-on with Cavendish’s Filante SLR at the Grand Départ in Bilbao, so let’s take a look at all the details of the two-time green jersey winner’s setup – and how much it weighs.
A custom-painted frame and team-issue build
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The Filante is Wilier’s aero road bike, sitting alongside the lightweight 0 SLR at the top of the Italian firm’s road range.
However, while the Filante (in a size small) is Cavendish’s go-to option, it’s not as notably aero-styled as some of the more aggressive machines in the WorldTour peloton.
With a claimed frame weight of 870g (unspecified size), the Filante SLR is more in the mould of an aero-lightweight all-rounder.
Astana Qazaqstan’s bikes are, in our opinion, some of the best-looking in the peloton, with a blue marble paintjob, but Cavendish’s bike is a custom creation that applies a similar effect to a white and light grey finish.
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That’s offset by black and gold Wilier logos, plus the CVNDSH logo on the fork.
Paintjob aside, Cavendish’s bike sports a team-issue build.
The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset comprises of the now-standard 54-40t crankset, with an 11-34t cassette out back.
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Bigger chainrings are now commonplace in the peloton and, paired with a broad cassette (compared to the 11-25t or 11-28t versions of old), there’s no loss of range.
The Astana Qazaqstan team also uses SLF Motion Speed oversized pulley wheels.
SLF Motion is an Illinois-based company, not as well known as CeramicSpeed but with a similar range of derailleur upgrades (yours for $525).
Elsewhere, Cavendish’s bike is equipped with deep-section HED Vanquish RC6 Pro wheels.
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The team uses both Corima and HED wheels, after the latter came on board as an additional supplier earlier in the season.
The Vanquish RC Pro Series is described as HED’s “fastest ever” and comprises of three rim depths: 40mm, 61mm and 84mm, plus a disc option.
The 61mm-deep Vanquish RC6 Pro wheelset on Cavendish’s bike has an internal rim width of 21mm and is optimally designed, HED says, for a 28c tyre.
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And that’s exactly what Cavendish’s bike has, with the 28c Vittoria Corsa Pro. We measured Cavendish’s tyres at 27.4mm, so slightly narrow on the HED rims.
Otherwise, Cavendish uses the Wilier Zero Carbon integrated handlebar, with a classic bend.
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Cavendish opts for a 13mm stem length and 40mm handlebar width.
It’s not super-wide, by any stretch, but with most pro riders now on 36cm or 38cm bars, it’s a more traditional setup.
Finishing touches include a Prologo Zero II saddle, LOOK Keo 2 Max pedals, Shimano Dura-Ace power meter and K-Edge out-front mount.
How much does Mark Cavendish’s bike weigh?
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Like every bike we saw at the Tour de France – look out for a full round-up of Tour bike weights – we put Cavendish’s Filante SLR on the BikeRadar Scales of Truth.
And the result? 7.76kg.
It’s certainly not the lightest bike in the peloton, but about par for an aero bike with deep-section wheels and disc brakes.
Mark Cavendish’s custom Wilier Filante SLR | Specs
- Frameset: Wilier Filante SLR (size small)
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9270 (54/40t crankset, 11-34t cassette, SLF Motion Speed oversized pulley wheels)
- Wheelset: HED Vanquish RC6 Pro
- Power meter: Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9200-P
- Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR, tubeless, 28c (measured width 27.4mm)
- Handlebar: Wilier Zero Carbon (40cm handlebar width, 13cm stem length)
- Seatpost: Wilier Filante SLR
- Saddle: Prologo Zero II
- Bottle cages: Tacx Deva
- Pedals: LOOK Keo 2 Max
- Weight: 7.76kg
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