Marcel Kittel has confirmed he will use disc brakes at the Dubai Tour, convinced that disc brakes offer a "very strong improvement" compared to traditional rim brakes. He does not seem concerned by the weight of the bike, which is close to 8kg, but no doubt enjoys the aerodynamics of the frame despite the disc reducing part of the gains.
Tom Boonen used a Specialized Venge ViAS disc brake bike last week in the Vuelta a San Juan and Peter Sagan went training on a similar bike before the Tour Down Under in Australia. Specialized seems keen for their big-name sponsored riders to use disc brake bikes, while rival brands have so far held off supplying their professional teams and riders with disc brake bikes.
Boonen described the disc brake bike to Cyclingnews as "the biggest improvement I've seen in my career on bikes," adding "it would be stupid not to use it."
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Kittel described the switch to disc brakes from rim brakes as an improvement when he confirmed he would use the bike in this week's Dubai Tour, even if he reservations about a mixed peloton in more extreme weather conditions.
"What I can say from all the training sessions I did already in training camps now is that it's a very strong improvement. It improves a lot of your steering of your bike; you can handle it really well – so I think it's a good choice," he said.
We got a closer look at Kittel's bike as the Quick-Step Floors mechanics carried out the final touch to the team bikes the evening before the start of the Dubai Tour.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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