The rider’s ride
Wilier 0 SLR, €11,200 (approx £9,400), wilier.com
The Wilier 0 SLR frame was designed for days like this, whether pedalled by amateurs or Worldtour pros – it’s the bike of choice of the Astana team. At 7.4kg with pedals, it’s a bike that loves to climb and is unflinching in the face of big efforts on steep grades. The house brand wheels feel a bit cheeky given the price, but they perform well. The fork does let the side down a bit, as I think it lacked torsional stiffness and precision, which compromised descending.
I was excited by the chance to try out Sram’s Red etap AXS groupset, but my first taste of 12-speed was underwhelming. For my pedalling style the 10-33t cassette produces jumps between sprockets that are too wide, albeit the gear range is much wider than a traditional double or compact chainset. That aside, I still love the shift logic of etap’s single buttons and the braking is fantastic. These are the disc brakes I’ve been waiting for.