Newly-crowned world road race champion Michal Kwiatkowski was recently furnished with a custom Specialized S-Works Tarmac to celebrate his victory in Spain.
The new S-Works Tarmac SL5 frame features a white metallic gloss base daubed with splatters of the iconic rainbow colours along with new decals and finished with a satin treatment.
Speaking to Cyclingnews, graphic designer Ron Jones, said: “I wanted to create an artistic interpretation of the rainbow colours. I looked to the American expressionist painter Jackson Pollock who created many abstract paintings using his drip technique. I felt that using a similar look on the frame but with the rainbow colours could be a new and exciting approach to creating this bike graphic. I felt the energy of the drip pattern used directly tied to the energy Kwiatkowski needed in order to win the World Championships."
From front to back, Zipp Service Course SL bars are wrapped in Specialized’s own tape and finished with matching white big-S end plugs. SRAM Red 22 shifters sit proudly atop the drops. The Zipp Service Course SL stem is ultra stiff under the power Kwiatkowski put down to secure the win, and is topped by a narrow carbon spacer.
Behind the stem is the first flourish of the blue, red, black, yellow and green that epitomise the world championships, the jumble of abstract colour kept in line with sharply stencilled edges. The rear of the fork features a matching design, fading to black towards the dropouts.
The down tube bears the usual S-Works decals while the rear of the top tube features a new name decal complete with rainbow banner and Kwiatkowski’s twitter handle. Zipp takes care of seatpost duties, the S-Works Toupe saddle giving lightweight comfort for the world champ’s backside.
The front of the seat tube features the normal UCI-legal decal as well as the Polish coat of arms, rainbow flag and '2014 World Champion' lettering. The rear of the seat tube is coloured with splashes of paint, again with a crisp edge.
The S-Works chainset incorporates Quarq for Specialized to log each of Kwiatkowski’s rides and give second-by-second power feedback. The colours on the underside of the Look KEO Blade 2 pedals match the world champion vibe nicely.
The chainstays are also drizzled in rainbow colours, while the Zipp 404 wheels have also been given the striped treatment to pull the whole, gorgeous design together.
Specialized is calling the frameset the "Kwaito" and describe it as a Rider First Engineered bike rather than an off-the-peg model. Specialized will be selling 500 limited edition bikes based on this commemorative design, which Kwiatkowski will be using throughout 2015.
Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL5 specification
- Frameset: Specialized S-Works FACT 11r carbon
- Stem: Zipp Service Course SL
- Handlebars: Zipp Service Course SL
- Brakes: SRAM Red
- Shift/brake levers: SRAM Red 22
- Front derailleur: SRAM Red 22
- Rear derailleur: SRAM Red 22
- Cassette: SRAM Red 11-speed
- Chain: SRAM Red 22
- Crankset: Specialized S-Works with Quarq for Specialized
- Chainrings: SRAM
- Pedals: Look KEO Blade 2
- Wheels: Zipp Firecrest 404 tubulars
- Saddle: Specialized Toupe
- Seatpost: Zipp SL Speed
- Bottle cages: Tacx Deva
Check out the gallery above for all the details and leave your comments below!