The Vuelta a España is heating up, with tired Tour de France contenders attempting to put the hurt on one another once again, and smaller teams vying for attention from the cameras. Pro Continental outfit Caja Rural-Seguros RGA is one of five wildcard entries to the race, and their leader on the road is one David Arroyo.
Related: Spanish mechanics relaxed as Vuelta draws nigh
35 year old Arroyo is a veteran of many Grand Tours, with career highlights including a spell in pink during the 2010 Giro d’Italia which led to a second place finish overall, and a stage win in the 2008 Vuelta. Caja Rural likely lacks the firepower to support a podium bid this year, but there’s plenty of scope for targeting individual stages, and the team has already been visible in breakaways.
Arroyo is one of four members of Caja Rural racing on the newly launched Fuji SL. The build is a fairly straightforward one with nothing too outlandish, but there’s quite a mixture of components on show, with only the shifters, derailleurs and cassette coming from the Shimano Dura-Ace groupset. Fuji has clearly put some effort into the aesthetics, with custom colour-matching of the cable outers and chain, and we think you’ll agree that the results look rather good.
The most interesting thing about this build is the weight. According to Caja Rural’s mechanics, the bike is just 6.65kg as pictured, too light to be race legal. (Bikes must weigh 6.8kg or more under UCI regulations.) When we shot the bike, they were discussing the best approach to adding weight – it’s a funny old world.
Complete bike specifications
- Frame: Fuji SL C15 carbon, 52cm
- Stem: Oval 713 alloy 110mm, -17 degree
- Handlebar: Oval 710 carbon, 41cm c-c
- Front brake: TRP 979 EQ, Reynolds blue pads
- Rear brake: TRP 979 EQ, Reynolds blue pads
- Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace 11-speed
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace 11-speed w/Rotor chain catcher
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace 11-speed
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace 11-28
- Chain: custom green KMC X11 DLC
- Crankset: Rotor 3D+ with INpower power meter, 53/38 NoQ chainrings
- Bottom bracket: Rotor PF30
- Pedals: Xpedo Thrust NXS
- Wheelset: Oval 932 carbon tubular
- Tyres: Vittoria Corsa CX 23mm tubular
- Saddle: Prologo Scratch Pro TR
- Seatpost: Oval 950 carbon 27.2mm
- Bottle cages: Elite Custom Race
- Other accessories: Standard Garmin mount, race number bracket
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.70m (5ft 7in)
- Rider's weight: 60kg
- Saddle height from BB, c-t: 72cm
- Seat tube length: 48cm
- Top tube length: 53cm
- Saddle-to-bar drop: 13cm (approx)
- Total bike weight: 6.65kg (before addition of weights)
