While the majority of the WorldTour peloton races on Shimano or Campagnolo, Katusha-Alpecin is the one notable team running SRAM components. German and world time trial champion Tony Martin raced Canyon’s Aeroad frame for the fourth stage of this year's Tour de France, equipped with a SRAM Red eTap HRD disc groupset and Zipp’s latest wheelset, the 454 NSW.
Martin’s compatriot Marcel Kittel became the first rider in history to win a Tour stage on disc brakes on stage 2 of the race. Kittel's Quick-Step and other Shimano-sponsored teams are running 140mm rotors when using disc brakes, but the SRAM-sponsored Katusha-Alpecin has 160mm rotors.
The UCI standard is 160mm rotors and thus the disc wheel spares available on Mavic neutral service are 160mm. This puts Mavic in a strange position, and the wheel company's brand manager Chad Moore said Mavic may bring 140mm wheels inside the cars, just in case.
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In any event, the complexity of disc wheel changes was one reason behind Mavic's decision to prioritise complete bike changes this year, and the inclusion of dropper seatposts on neutral bikes to adjust to a rider's saddle height on the fly.
The Zipp 454 NSW wheelset on which Martin's brakes are mounted launched in clincher form last year and features a rim design inspired by the distinctive shape of a pectoral fin on a humpback whale.
The unique shape of the fins generates a close vortex, allowing the water flow to stay attached to the fin and perform extreme manoeuvres in a small area at high speeds due to reduced turbulence.
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