Pro bike: Elisa Longo Borghini’s Trek Émonda SLR

Elisa Longo Borghini started her 2024 season at the UAE Tour Women finishing 7th in the general classification with her best result coming on testing slopes of Jebel Hafeet. Stage 3 saw her finish 7th on the summit finish. With the climb the decisive feature of the day Longo Borghini opted to use the lightweight bike available to the team, the Trek Émonda.

We got our hands on the Italian's bike during the UAE Tour and took a closer look at the lightweight offering from the American brand.

Trek's lightweight bike

Lidl-Trek has the choice of three road bikes across the road season, all of which are anagrams of each other in a fun marketing quirk from Trek. For fast flat races, the Madone is the bike of choice, for the rough roads of the Spring Classics the Domane fits the bill, and for races where climbing is on the cards, the Émonda is the natural choice.

© GCN

The Émonda is Trek's lightweight bike aimed at being as fast as possible on testing mountain climbs

The Émonda is due an update with this being the fourth year that this model has been in circulation. With this being said, the current generation saw Trek take a fresh approach with their design strategy around the platform. Instead of just aiming for the lightest possible bike they could produce, Trek opted to make it the fastest climbing bike with a blend of lightweight and aerodynamic optimisation. Redsigns to the fork profile and the chain- and seatstays all nod towards its more holistic approach to climbing performance.

• Read more: Has Giulio Ciccone been spotted on an unreleased Trek Emonda?

Wide gear ratios

As a SRAM-sponsored team, Lidl-Trek has the option to use SRAM’s Red AXS groupset in either a one-by or two-by configuration. With the climb of Jabel Hafeet on her mind, Longo Borghini opted to stick to the better-suited two-by setup matching her 52/39 chainrings to a 10-28 tooth cassette.

© GCN

A 52/39 crankset has been paired with a 10-28 cassette

On a day with a profile resembling that of a hockey stick, the two-by gear range gives the best range of gears for both the high-speed run into the climb and the actual climb itself. The 10-28 tooth cassette is the narrowest in the Red AXS road line up with the steps between the gears minimal thanks to the 12 sprockets it comprises.

• Read more: Hottest bikes in the Women's WorldTour: New brands and colourways in action at UAE Tour

Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51 wheels

Although the Émonda is a climbing-specific bike, Longo Borghini has opted to run the mid-section Bontrager Aeolus RSL wheels. These perfectly strike the blend of aerodynamic efficiency and weight with the wheelset coming in at a total weight of 1,410 grams.

© GCN

The Aeolus RSL 51 wheels are a mid-depth wheel balancing climbing performance with aerodynamics

The 51mm-deep profile offers aerodynamic efficiency without sacrificing stability in the crosswinds of the desert. The rims themselves are bang up to date with a 31mm external rim width and a 23mm internal width making them ideal for the latest trend of wider 28mm race tyres.

• Read more: How are carbon fibre wheels designed and tested?

Time pedals

Since SRAM’s acquisition of Time in 2021 we have started to see the pedals becoming a more popular sight amongst pro riders. As a SRAM-sponsored team Lidl-Trek naturally uses Time pedals with Longo Borghini using the X-Pro model.

© GCN

Time pedals are becoming more popular within the professional peloton

Something we are seeing with a lot of pros that use the X-Pro range of pedals is that they use the X-Pro 10 model. This is the third model in the range with both the X-Pro 12 and 15 superceding the 10.

Bike Specification