Alberto Contador’s (Saxo-Tinkoff Bank) principal 2013 Tour de France bike was this custom painted Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4(Image credit: Sean Estes/Specialized)
The red, yellow and pink mean only one thing: Contador’s status as winner of the three Grand Tours of Italy, France and Spain(Image credit: Sean Estes/Specialized)
Contador used SRAM Red WiFLi for the mountains: a longer rear derailleur arm means the bike can take an 11-28 cassette. Zipp 202 Firecrests are Saxo-Tinkoff Bank’s mountain wheel choice(Image credit: Sean Estes/Specialized)
Contador is known as 'El Pistolero' for his trademark pistol shot salute after stage wins and on the podium(Image credit: Sean Estes/Specialized)
Contador’s signature is embossed on the fork(Image credit: Sean Estes/Specialized)
Alberto Contador’s (Saxo-Tinkoff Bank) principal 2013 Tour de France bike was this custom painted Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4(Image credit: Sean Estes/Specialized)
No one can deny Alberto Contador’s (Saxo-Tinkoff) attacking flair during the 2013 Tour de France. First he fought Chris Froome (Team Sky) for the yellow jersey and then, in the Alps, tried for a spot on the podium.
The Spaniard eventually finished fourth in the final general classification, slipping down in the rankings in the last few stages after some determined riding by Froome, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).
The machine that saw him through the 2013 Tour was a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4. Contador rode a custom painted Tarmac SL4 at the start of the Tour, the simple three-colour design drawing on his status as winner of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España. Unfortunately, the bike was damaged in a crash on stage 16, and the 30-year-old swapped back to this identical – save for the paintwork – spare for the remainder of the mountain stages.
Contador has already secured one Grand Tour victory on a Specialized – the 2012 Vuelta a España.
In this video, Sean Estes from Specialized takes us through the bike, which was set up for the mountain stages at the time:
Complete bike specifications
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Frame: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 (54cm) Fork: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 Headset: Specialized S-Works Stem: Zipp Service Course SL Handlebar: Zipp Service Course SL (classic bend 44cm outside-outside) Tape: Specialized Roubaix Front brake: SRAM Red Rear brake: SRAM Red Levers: SRAM Red DoubleTap Front derailleur: SRAM Red yaw Rear derailleur: SRAM Red mid cage Cassette: SRAM Red XG1090 11-28 Chain: SRAM Red PC1091 Crankset: Specialized S-Works (172.5mm) Bottom bracket: Ceramic Speed Pedals: Look Keo Blade Wheelset: Zipp 202 Firecrest Rear tire: Specialized tubular Saddle: Prologo Seatpost: Zipp SL Speed Carbon Bottle cages: Tacx Deva Carbon (2)
Critical measurements
Rider's height: 1.76m (5ft 9in) Rider's weight: 62kg (136lb) Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 74.1cm Tip of saddle nose to c of bar: 576mm Head tube length: 140mm Top tube length: 548mm Total bicycle weight: 6.91kg (15.23lb)
Sam started as a trainee reporter on daily newspapers in the UK before moving to South Africa where he contributed to national cycling magazine Ride for three years. After moving back to the UK he joined Procycling as a staff writer in November 2010.
