Wilier has unveiled two stunning paint schemes that will adorn the Astana Qazaqstan (opens in new tab) team bikes this season.
The team – which is rumoured to include Mark Cavendish (opens in new tab) but this is still unconfirmed – will have the Italian brand’s two top race machines at their disposal: the Wilier 0 SLR lightweight all-rounder and the Wilier Filante SLR aero bike.
The paint scheme is described as “a chrome plated graphite livery” and is designed to match the “iconic” blue of the Astana kit.
(Image credit: Wilier)
The Wilier (opens in new tab)0 SLR Astana Qazaqstan edition is finished in a metallic crystallised turquoise that’s shot through with with a darker shade, including the integrated cockpit, fading into deeper blue with black veins halfway down the main triangle, covering the bottom bracket shell and chainstays.
(Image credit: Wilier)
All the decals are a clean white, with the 0 getting a flash of red on the top of the tube tube with the ‘SLR’ logo.
(Image credit: Wilier)
Meanwhile the Astana edition Filante SLR’s metallic turquoise fades into silver at the same point on the frame.
(Image credit: Wilier)
Wilier says the finish is achieved via a “sophisticated hand painting process.”
The bikes themselves are not new models. The 0 SLR was launched in 2019 (opens in new tab) with the Direct Energie team and although that’s four years ago, it still cuts an incredibly modern silhouette with its super-clean lines and integration via Wilier’s own Alabarda bar/stem combo, now the 0-Bar, which was one of the original integrated cockpits when it first appeared three years earlier.
(Image credit: Wilier)
We went to the launch of the bike at Bassano del Grappa and concluded that it had “the characteristic Wilier feel, with excellent power transfer and a lively ride.”
Wilier claims 6.8kg for it, bang on the UCI weight limit of course – something that not all race bikes with discs achieve, even four years on.
Meanwhile, the Filante SLR was launched at the end of 2020 and we reviewed one in early 2021 (opens in new tab), calling it “a race bike you’ll want to ride all day.”
(Image credit: Wilier)
It features kammtail tubing and a fork that’s 7mm wider than before, mirroring the seatstays and designed to reduce turbulence according to Wilier. This design also mirrored the approach of the Hope/Lotus track bike (opens in new tab) used in the 2020 Olympics as well as boosting tyre clearance.