Thibaut Pinot’s custom Lapierre Xelius SL Exclusive for the 2020 season

The privilege of champions, Thibaut Pinot will once again ride a custom bike in 2020. Discover in photos the new version of the Lapierre Xelius SL Exclusive for the rider from Franche-Comté. A little gem adorned with nods to the Groupama – FDJ rider, such as his favorite quote and the locations of his professional victories.

Photo credits: Lapierre

For several years now, Thibaut Pinot has benefited from a custom bike from Lapierre, the frame supplier to his Groupama-FDJ team since 2002. An exclusive bike, not found in the brand’s catalog, which equipment enthusiasts always scrutinize with a sense of wonder and admiration. However, a very limited quantity of the Xelius SL Ultimate Thibaut Pinot frameset is offered by Lapierre, but without the rider’s specific markings (available for €2,199 in disc or rim brake versions). “Thibaut is involved throughout the development process of our Race products, from design to testing phases,” explains the Dijon-based company. “Collaborating with a great champion like Thibaut is a real luxury for our team of engineers, who rely on his experience in the professional peloton to create competitive bikes. We like to think that our bikes have the winning spirit, just like the champions who ride them. With Thibaut, we also share the pride of being French and the desire to make our values shine on the international stage.“

The 2020 version of Thibaut Pinot’s Xelius SL Exclusive features a matte black varnished color that reveals the carbon fiber in reflection and some details related to his personality. His favorite quote, the one he had tattooed on the inside of his right arm, sololavittoriaèbella (“only victory is beautiful”), appears on the outside of the seatstay. And the top tube features a colorful list of the locations and altitudes of his professional victories… This allows for a quick scan to identify the rider’s profile and his climber’s palmarès!

Thibaut Pinot’s Lapierre Xelius SL Exclusive is equipped with a Shimano Dura Ace Di2 disc brake groupset. Depending on the terrain and elevation, Thibaut Pinot has a choice of Shimano Dura-Ace C60 and C40 wheelsets (or even the older Shimano Dura-Ace C50 in their rim brake version, which the Franche-Comté rider particularly favors and with which he won atop the Tourmalet in the last Tour de France). The wheels are fitted with Continental Competition Pro Ltd tubulars. The Prologo Nago Evo CPC saddle rests on a PRO seatpost (27.2 mm), and the cockpit consists of a PRO handlebar/stem combo.

It can be noted that Thibaut Pinot’s Groupama – FDJ team is gradually transitioning to the use of disc brakes in competition. And it is also likely that Thibault Pinot and his teammates will switch back to rim brakes during the mountain stages of the Tour de France for weight saving reasons. Thibaut Pinot has two versions of this Xelius SL Exclusive, one with rim brakes and one with disc brakes, and he chooses the bike he prefers depending on the course profile and weather conditions.

“The Xelius model is the climber, the king of the mountains, the bike on which I have won my most beautiful victories,” says Thibaut Pinot. I have a very special relationship with this bike; I would even go so far as to say it’s a bit of my alter-ego. Agile, dynamic, and light, its mission is to get me to the top in the lead group. It’s a very versatile bike with an exceptional weight-to-stiffness ratio. Even on steep climbs, the energy transfer during pedaling is optimal, which allows me to save strength for the final battle. “

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