Jonathan Page is the USA’s European cyclo-cross stalwart. In Belgium, where he lives with his wife and three kids, the sport is all business, the courses are extreme and the racing is cutthroat. His Blue Competition Cycles Norcross SL race bikes reflect the environment they’re used in – they’re built with practicality in mind and to excel in the worst conditions.
Page brought three Norcross SL bikes from Belgium to Wisconsin for this weekend's 2012 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, but only one set of wheels. “This year I’ve been lucky enough to use Planet Bike’s, well Bob Downs’ [owner of Planet Bike and Page’s personal sponsor], wheels,” Page told BikeRadar. “So I flew with only one set of wheels but three bikes; I figured it might be a little nasty [weather wise], and thankfully it is.”
Downs handed his expansive quiver of ENVE Composites wheels to Page for the championship race. They're built with ENVE’s 25mm carbon tubular rims and mostly DT Swiss 190 hubs, and shod in FMB rubber, with tread options ranging from the new Super Mud to Challenge’s Grifo tread (on the FMB casing, of course). The one set of wheels Page brought from Europe has the new, and still exclusive, Dugast ‘33’ 33mm tire with the Typhoon tread pattern.
Dugast's new 33mm Typhoon – read our separate news story for more on this tire
Page’s Blue Norcross bikes are built with Shimano’s Di2 electronic transmissions, TRP EuroX Mag brakes and ENVE carbon cockpit components. Page’s Dura-Ace 7900 crankset has 172.5mm arms and sports a Dura-Ace 7800 46-tooth outer ring and Shimano’s prototype chainring nuts, which match the outer profile of the crank.
Pedals are Shimano's pedestrian PD-540s, which are said to clear mud better than the newly styled XTR and XT models. Another personal touch is Page’s super-thin, super-grippy Belgian handlebar tape. “I couldn’t tell you who makes the tape, it’s the cheapest stuff, it’s from Frankie, my mechanic’s, shop,” he told us. “It’s nothing special but it’s amazingly good; it’s the best I’ve found.”
Page's ENVE carbon cockpit and super-grippy Belgian bar tape
Complete bike specification
- Frame: Blue Competition Cycles Norcross SL
- Fork: Blue Competition Cycles Norcross SL
- Headset: FSA Orbit Z-CX
- Stem: ENVE carbon, 110mm, 6°
- Handlebar: ENVE compact, 42cm
- Bar tape: Belgian special
- Front brake: TRP EuroX Mag with TRP pad
- Rear brake: TRP EuroX Mag with TRP pad
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, braze-on with K-Edge chain watcher
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
- Shifter: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
- Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace 7900, 11-28 tooth
- Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace 7900
- Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace 7900, 172.5mm, 39/46 compact
- Bottom bracket: Shimano Dura-Ace 7900
- Pedals: Shimano PD-540
- Wheelset: Shimano ENVE 25 with DT Swiss or White Industries hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes (20F/24R)
- Front tire: FMB or Dugast; Page buys his tires, thus not tied to a specific brand
- Rear tire: FMB or Dugast; Page buys his tires, thus not tied to a specific brand
- Saddle: Fi’zi:k Gobi XM
- Seatpost: ENVE, inline
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.78m (5ft 10in)
- Rider's weight: 65.7kg/145lb
- Saddle height from BB, c-t: 73.5cm
- Seat tube length, c-c: 51cm
- Tip of saddle to center of bar: 50.5cm
- Saddle-to-bar drop: 4.5cm
- Head tube length: 135cm
- Top tube length (virtual): 52cm
- Total bicycle weight: 7.41kg/16.33lb with FMB Super Muds; 7.29kg/16.07lb with 33mm Dugast Typhoons