Bauke Mollema's Trek Madone: Lidl-Trek pro bike

Jumbo-Visma are catching the headlines for their 1x use, but Lidl-Trek are also testing the set-up

13:00, Monday 25th September 2023

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

Bauke Mollema's Trek Madone

Lidl-Trek
- Nationality United States of America
- Founded 2011
- Team Principal Luca Guercilena
- UCI Code LTK
- Bike Sponsor Trek
Jumbo-Visma
- Nationality Netherlands
- Founded 1984
- Team Principal Richard Plugge
- UCI Code TJV
- Bike Sponsor Cervélo
Bauke Mollema
- Team Lidl-Trek
- Nationality Netherlands
- Age 37
- UCI Wins 22
- Height 1.81m
Vuelta a España
- Dates 26 Aug - 17 Sept
- Race Length 3,133 kms
- Race Category Elite Men
Trek
Trek is a bicycle manufacturer based in Wisconsin, USA. The company produces a range of bikes, as well as clothing, equipment and tools.
Bontrager
One of Trek’s in-house brands, Bontrager is a cycling manufacturer based in Wisconsin, USA. From wheelsets to handlebars, it produces a range of high-quality components, clothing and accessories.
SRAM
SRAM is a components manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company mainly produces drivetrains, for a wide variety of disciplines, alongside many other components. SRAM’s has acquired other brands within the industry such as Zipp, RockShox and Quarq.

A lot has changed in cycling since Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) first made the jump up to WorldTour level in 2009 with Rabobank, especially in the world of tech.

Technology has always been a key part of the performance equation but that’s accelerated over the last 10 years, leading to ever-changing bike designs and new tech trends as teams hunt for any marginal gains. The results of these trends were on full display on Mollema’s Trek Madone at the 2023 Vuelta a España; a bike with unique aerodynamic tube designs and a now on-trend 1x set-up.

Trek goes all-out aero with IsoFlow technology

The Madone has been around for a while now, first launched in 2003. It’s the American brand’s pure aero bike, sitting alongside the climbing-focussed Emonda, with Trek continuing to favour dedicated bikes instead of the one-bike solution followed by other brands like Specialized.

Read more: Specialized releases Tarmac SL8

There have been plenty of variations over its 20-year history, but none garnered as much attention as the latest iteration. Released in 2022, it introduced IsoFlow technology which, to those unfamiliar with bike tech (and even those who are), looks like a hole at the top of the seat tube. It essentially is, leaving the seatpost hovering above, defying gravity.

IsoFlow technology gives the Madone a unique look

Of course, the radical design has an aerodynamic goal, changing airflow by channelling it into a lower-pressure area at the rear of the bike. Ticking off the double-whammy of cycling marketing jargon, it also reduces weight. Not to mention provides extra flex for a comfort boost.

It’s one of the latest examples of a bike brand playing around with radical tube shapes to increase the aerodynamic performance of a bike.

Trek join the 1x trend

It’s official: 1x is back. First used by Aqua Blue Sport in 2018, it went under a slight sabbatical, until Jumbo-Visma brought it back into the mainstream in 2023. Except, that’s a little unfair on Lidl-Trek who have also been using it throughout the season alongside their all-conquering rivals - the American brand doesn’t boast the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España champions, making it a little harder to catch the 1x headlines.

The team started using the set-up as early as 2019, when Mads Pedersen went 1x at Omloop het Nieuwsblad. Heading into 2023, the Dane has been at the forefront of the team’s 1x use, opting for the set-up at Paris-Roubaix and for multiple stages of the Tour de France.

Mollema's 54t 1x set-up

He’s not the only one, though, and Mollema also went 1x for his Trek Madone. We encountered his bike ahead of stage 4, a relatively flat day barring some minor climbs in the middle - nothing to make anyone sweat as the day ended in a bunch sprint.

For it, Mollema used a fairly regular 54t chainring. While 54t maximum rings were the norm, we encountered a few bikes with even large chainrings for the same stage, including 56t chainrings on Filippo Ganna and Rui Costa’s bikes.

Read more:

The set-up is only currently viable for SRAM-sponsored teams. With Shimano dominating the current peloton, it’s unlikely that 1x will become widespread anytime soon. The Japanese brand doesn’t currently offer a 1x road option, although it is possible to adopt a set-up by swapping to a 1x chainset, but that would mean swapping to non-sponsor equipment, something most teams are reluctant to do.

It’s the same story for Campagnolo too. As SRAM currently only sponsors a handful of teams at WorldTour level, Lidl-Trek and Jumbo-Visma are likely to remain as the are few who use the set-up.

Check out the full finishing kit and component build below.