eBay Finds: Rick Flens' 2015 LottoNL-Jumbo Bianchi time trial bike
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-equipped speed machine to suit a taller rider
Here for sale on eBay is a 2015 LottoNL-Jumbo Bianchi time trial bike that belonged to now-retired Dutch pro Rick Flens.
Jumbo-Visma – as the LottoNL-Jumbo team is now called – are still on either very similar black or more tradition celeste-coloured Bianchis this current season, and this aero Bianchi frame comes complete with a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic groupset, deep-section Dura-Ace wheels and a Vision aero-bar cockpit.
It's a 56cm-sized frame, and so, the UK-based seller suggests, suitable for riders around 6 feet tall. At 1.87 metres tall (6'2"), former owner Flens was one of the taller riders in the bunch, and made a career as a domestique, although he did take two victories – a stage at the 2006 Tour du Poitou Charentes and the individual time trial stage, appropriately enough, at the following year's Danmark Rundt – and was second at the 2010 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, behind Bobbie Traksel.
Now 37, the Dutchman retired after the 2015 season, having spent his entire professional career with the Rabobank team and its subsequent iterations as Belkin and LottoNL-Jumbo in his final year.
Neither we, nor the seller seem to know the exact model of bike for sale here, although it appears to be the forerunner to Bianchi's Aquila CV time trial bike, which pictures show that Flens and the LottoNL-Jumbo also used during the 2015 season. This could be Flens's training TT bike, or simply a bike he used before receiving the newer Bianchi model.
The Jumbo-Visma team still uses the Aquila against the clock, although there have been rumblings in the Dutch media that the WorldTour team – which is home to Primoz Roglic and Tom Dumoulin – could be making the switch to Cervélo bikes for 2021.
The seller is looking for £3,550 ($4,765) for what would make an excellent time trial or triathlon bike for taller riders, and is offering free delivery if the buyer is also based in the UK.
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