Did Matej Mohorič win Gravel World Championships on an unreleased Merida bike?

Matej Mohorič (Slovenia) soared to his first senior world title on Sunday, winning the elite men’s race at the Gravel World Championships - and he did it atop what appears to be an as-yet unreleased Merida gravel bike.

The bike, which we spotted ahead of the race, appears to be a new version of the Silex - given away by the Silex branding. That’s the name for Merida’s adventure-orientated range of gravel bikes, but this was different to the existing models with some unique new tube shapes and a more aggressive geometry.

Read more: Matej Mohorič uses climbing strength to win rainbow jersey at Gravel World Championships

Alongside the Silex, Merida also has the race-orientated Scultura Endurance GR. Only released in June, it’s the brand’s dedicated gravel race bike and was expected to be Mohorič’s bike of choice. However, the Slovenian opted for the Silex bike which has broken cover for the first time, suggesting a new release may be imminent.

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Is this a new Merida gravel bike?

There are no official details on the bike as of yet, although Merida would have had to register it with the UCI 45 days prior to the race.

Despite this, there are some notable changes from the previous Silex.

Revamped seatstay junction and head tube

The overall style and geometry of the bike is similar to the existing Silex, although the geometry appears to be a little more aggressive, but there are some other subtle changes.

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The junction between the seatstays and seat tube has been revamped

Immediately catching the eye, the junction between the seat tube and seatstays is more bulbous. This has likely been incorporated to boost compliance and comfort, an important element of the performance equation for gravel. Deeper tubes are often more aerodynamic too and since Mohorič opted to use the new bike over the existing race-ready Scultura, it’s safe to assume that the bike is designed to be fast. In the world of cycling, speed and aerodynamics essentially go hand in hand, so some of the design choices have almost certainly been made with aerodynamics in mind.

This thinking is backed up by the head tube which also appears to be deeper and shorter. Many brands are now making head tubes deeper, like Specialized for its latest Tarmac SL8, as the profile is more aerodynamic - once again providing an indication of the bike’s shift to a more performance focus. Along with the aerodynamic design, the tube's shorter profile creates a more aggressive geometry.

Read more: Specialized releases new Tarmac SL8

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The head tube appears to be deeper and shorter

Sticking to the theme, the forks are deeper too and completely straight, unlike the previous model.

All of these changes suggest that the Silex has been given a performance makeover and we’ll provide any more details as soon as there’s any official word from Merida.

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