The Olympic Champion has a new bike for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Jolanda Neff rode to a gold medal in the Olympic mountain bike race in Tokyo last month, and now she has a golden Trek Supercaliber that uses bamboo and Japanese iconography to invoke the setting of her victory.
The bike, designed by Trek's Katy Steudel, combines flashy gold paint with more subdued shades of white.
The downtube, seat tube, and chainstay all feature a bamboo leaf pattern, which was reportedly inspired by a folding fan found by Neff. There is also a Japanese beetle hidden among the leaves.
“I looked at Japanese art forms, did some concepts, and Jolanda chose from them and we took it away,” Steudel explained.
There are also multiple references to Neff's native Switzerland, one of the most dominant mountain biking nations. In addition to Neff's gold medal, Switzerland took the other two podium spots in the women's Olympic mountain bike race as well as a silver medal in the men's race.
A Swiss name badge on the inside of the downtube plus a Swiss stem cap will match Neff's Switzerland national team kit for the short track and XCO races at the World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy this week.
The custom-painted frame is a Trek Supercaliber, which is instantly recognizable thanks to its IsoStrut rear suspension design that offers 60mm of rear travel. Most of the best full-suspension mountain bikes on the World Cup circuit use 100mm of travel, but Trek's unique blend between a traditional full-suspension design and a hardtail is evidently enough for the top XC pros.
The bike is complemented by parts from SRAM, RockShox, and Bontrager. Neff uses a SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain as well as a RockShox Reverb dropper post, both of which are controlled wirelessly by the AXS system. Upfront there's a RockShox SID Ultimate fork, which aids in tackling the toughest XC courses.
Tacked to the front of the bike is an integrated handlebar and stem combo, which is likely the new Bontrager RSL MTB. Bontrager's lightweight Kovee wheelset rolls on the brand's XR1 Team Issue tires.
Neff is considered one of the top contenders for this weekend's World Championship race, where she'll battle rivals like France's Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. After Thursday's short track race, the main event XCO race will take place on Saturday.
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Tech Specs: Jolanda Neff's Trek Supercaliber
- Frame: Trek Supercaliber
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate
- Handlebar: Bontrager RSL MTB Bar/Stem
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS
- Dropper post: RockShox Reverb AXS
- Wheels: Bontrager Kovee
- Tires: Bontrager XR1 Team Issue
