The 2006 Discovery Channel Team Bikes

Fresh from their most successful season ever (including wins at the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Tour of Georgia), the 2006 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team heads into the new year with high expectations. Although Lance Armstrong is no longer competing, the team remains stocked with the talent and dedication required to achieve another record setting season.

For Trek Bicycles, 2006 will bring more of the same: race winning R&D coupled with our made in America frames which have redefined the sport. Trek has been a pioneer in the development of carbon fiber bicycles since we first developed our proprietary OCLV Carbon technology in 1992. Just as we've done every January for the past few years, Trek used the team's annual training camp in Solvang, California to unveil the team's new race bike -- the Trek Madone SL 5.9.

Trek OCLV Carbon

In the thirty years that Trek has been hand building bikes at our Waterloo, Wisconsin factory, we have developed a variety of new technologies that have impacted the sport like few others. Of these, we are most proud of our pioneer status in the production of carbon fiber bicycles. Trek first began developing our carbon frames back in 1987 with a bike that used a bonded front triangle with three carbon tubes. A year later we produced a frame comprised of seven different carbon tubes.

However, as ground breaking as those original bonded carbon frames were, it wasn't until we developed our proprietary OCLV Carbon technology in 1992 that our future as a leader in carbon fiber production took hold. OCLV (Optimum Compaction Low Void) is a patented manufacturing process that allows us to make frames that exceed aerospace standards for quality. When most other brands were still developing their aluminum frames, Trek was already on course developing a frame that would eventually make Tour de France history.

During the last fourteen years, Trek has continually evolved its OCLV technology. From the material itself, to the variety of new applications, every OCLV Carbon component has been designed to meet the standards of the world's top road, mountain and triathlon cyclists. Beyond the frames, Trek's OCLV Carbon is also being used to build high performance forks, handlebars, seatposts, wheels and cranks. Every OCLV Carbon product is handmade at the Trek factory in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

The Bike: The Madone SL

Like the aero-enhanced Madone that preceded it, the Trek Madone SL is another bike that was born from a specific request by Lance. Lance first used the Madone SL to win the Tour de France in 2004. Last year, the Madone was the official "team bike" and the Madone SL was retained specifically for those riders designated as "climbers" who need the lightest bike available. The Madone SL differs from the aero-enhanced Madone by virtue of the round-shaped seat and down tubes. By using round tubes versus the aero-shaped tubes, the bike is almost 100 grams lighter. Besides the crucial role the Madone SL played in the mountains of France, it was also the bike used by Paolo Savoldelli to cement his overall win at the Giro d'Italia.

For 2006, the Madone SL has now become the official team bike of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Key features of the Madone SL include the OCLV 110 Carbon frame and signature one-piece top tube/head tube design that Lance and the team have continued to point to for much of the bike's proven ride quality.

Beyond our OCLV Carbon technology, we remain most proud of the fact that every Trek bike ridden in, and raced to victory at the Tour de France is pulled from the same production line as the bikes destined for the sales floor of your local Trek dealer. While few companies can boast of selling the same bikes that have won the Tour de France, fewer still can boast of having won the race seven consecutive times. In fact, only Trek can and it's another reason why we have become the number one name in cycling!

Discovery Channel Team Bike Spec:

Frame: .............Trek Madone SL 5.9

Components:.....Shimano Dura-Ace

Rims: ................Bontrager Aeolus 5.0

Tires:.................Hutchinson

Saddle:..............Bontrager (rider choice)

Fork:.................Bontrager Race XXX Lite

handlebar:.........Bontrager Race XXX Lite

Stem:.................Bontrager Race X Lite

Seatpost:...........Shimano Dura-Ace

Pedals:..............Shimano PD-7800

Headset...........Chris King

Bottle cages......Bontrager RXL

Handlebar tape..Bontrager Cork or Iso-Gel

Computer........Trek Incite 9i

Other: ............Bontrager Bzzzkill handlebar inserts

For more information, go to: www.trekbikes.com

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