With World Tour teams dipping their toes into gravel racing for the 2019 season, Trek has painted up a couple of custom bikes for US pros Kiel Reijnen and Peter Stetina, who are set to ride the Dirty Kanza this weekend (1 June).
Both frames are Treks Checkpoint SLs, made with 500 series OCLV carbon tubing and feature the IsoSpeed decoupler at the back. According to Trek, both riders will also run Bontrager Aeolus Pro3V carbon wheels and the brand's new GR1 gravel tire.
Reijnen and Stetina will be spinning the new SRAM AXS 1x drivetrains on their bikes too, so there are no shift wires or cables, however it appears Stetina has opted for a 48t aero front chainring with and a 10-33t cassette and Red AXS rear mech
Reijnen's bike is spec’d with what looks to be a smaller 46t ring and Eagle AXS rear derailleur paired with a 10-50 cassette. Given that Stetina chose to ride his Madone for the Belgian Waffle ride earlier this year, it’s not too much of a surprise to see him prioritize aerodynamics here either.
Reijnen’s bike is painted to pay homage to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, which he is a member and his roots are in the Pacific Northwest. The bike features an image of a salmon on the fork and seat tube, a culturally significant symbol to the Cowlitz people, and the top tube features the tribe’s embroidery pattern.
Stetina’s Checkpoint features Tibetan prayer flags, with each coloured flag adorned with a different symbol representing an aspect of the American rider's life; the Colorado and California flags, which represent his hometown and adopted home; an outline of Lake Tahoe for his chosen training ground; a hop flower because he loves a good brew; and a phoenix to represent the town of Santa Rosa,which is still recovering from the 2017 wildfires, and his own recovery from what many thought was a career-ending injury.
Trek Segafredo is not the only World Tour team sending riders to the dirt, with EF Education First entering Taylor Phinney, Lachlan Morton and Alex Howes to duke it out in the grasslands of Kansas.