Released with great hype and fanfare before the 2011 Tour de France, the radical design embodied all the race tested lessons that the power cycling brand had taken in. Critics panned the looks, calling it harsh and lacking refinement, but when it came to test drive and racing, nothing could touch the performance. Stiff and aerodynamic the bike excelled at hill climbing, was nimble and straight on sprints, and tracked clean and sharp on descents…basically doing everything exceptionally well that a high end bicycle should.