The custom bike may never be ridden in anger due to COVID-disrupted season
Chloe Dygert (USA) and her Felt DA(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
This time last year, Chloe Dygertstormed to time trial victory at the World Championships in Yorkshire. The then-22-year-old dominated the race, completing the 30.3-kilometre course in a time of 42:11.57 and beating Anna van der Breggen into second place by 1:32. Annemiek van Vleuten, a renowned time triallist and former two-time world champion, was third at 1:53.
More impressively, the young American, who already has seven world titles on the track, chose to ride the undulating 30.3-kilometre course without a power meter.
Dygert plies her trade for Twenty20 Pro Cycling, a women’s domestic elite team under USA Cycling, run by Nicola Cranmer, which is named as such due to its focus on the 2020 Olympics. The team's bike sponsor, Felt, celebrated her success by gifting her with a custom bike - as is customary in the upper echelons of professional cycling.
Like her team, Dygert's next big goal after Worlds was the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which for reasons we're all aware, has unfortunately been pushed back to 2021. Because of this, the custom-painted Felt DA time trial bike, resplendent in its rainbow stripes, has yet to be ridden in anger by Dygert.
The UCI cycling regulations don't specifically state whether or not Dygert would be permitted to use her world champion's edition bike on Thursday's time trial, however, rule number 1.3.063 does make mention that the rainbow jersey can only be worn until the "day before the world championship of the following year," suggesting the same rule would apply to equipment.
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(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Chloe Dygert's Felt DA time trial bike(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Resplendent in the rainbow stripes(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
An all-round view of Dygert's bike(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Complete with SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Chloe's name is written on the top tube in the rainbow colours(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
The cockpit comes courtest of Zipp's Vuka range(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
The aero chainring features 52 teeth and is part of a 1X setup(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Unsurprisingly, the cassette is also part of the SRAM Red groupset(Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Dygert's view from the saddle (Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
Dygert's saddle is a Special edition Velo Angel TT (Image credit: Barbara Kreisle Photography)
UCI Equipment Regulations, 1.3.063: Until the day before the world championship of the following year, the world champions must wear their jersey in all events in the discipline, speciality and category in which they won their title, and in no other event.
Upon receipt, Dygert expressed pride in 'earning' her new bike. "Felt Bicycles, Sram and Zipp have carried me to 10 World Championship titles on the track and road," she explained. "I always love new bike day. But what makes this new Felt day so special is that it’s not just another bike. It’s a bike that I feel confident on and a bike that I’ve worked so hard for and I will get to keep it for the rest of my life.
"Everything I did to earn this bike is what makes it so special and to ride it and own it is a privilege."
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Dygert enters the 2020 UCI World Time Trial Championships in Imola as the hot favourite, so unless Felt has another new TT bike in the works already, there's still hope yet that the bike will get its chance to shine.
Chloe Dygert's Felt AR: Full time trial bike specifications
Frame: Felt DA. Felt Defined Aero TT/Tri UHC Ultimate + TeXtreme carbon fiber, MMC with InsideOut construction, threaded bottom bracket shell, horizontal dropouts with integrated dropout adjusters, fully integrated proprietary braking system, internal mechanical or electronic cable routing
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
