Use
Many riders in recent years have used Specialized bicycles in the North American and European professional cycling circuits. In 2010, Specialized is the bike supplier to Team Saxo Bank and Team Astana on the UCI ProTour, the latter deal being announced in January 2010 as a result of team leader Alberto Contador's demands. Specialized has previously supplied teams including Quick Step and Festina. Until 2008 the disbanded Team Gerolsteiner was using Specialized. Specialized bikes also sponsors the University of Georgia and Colorado State University Collegiate Cycling. Three-time world downhill champion, Sam Hill, Australian rider rides for Monster Energy Specialized.
On October 17, 2010 Specialized announced a tie up with Team Columbia-HTC for 2011 and beyond. Specialized will supply the team‘s frames, forks, and helmets. The men will race the S-Works Tarmac for most road races, the S-Works Roubaix for cobbled classics, as well as the new Venge and the Shiv TT in time trials. The all-new S-Works Prevail and TT3 helmets will protect the riders in road and TT applications, respectively. The women will race on Amira road bikes and Shiv TT bikes for the time trials.
Specialized also has various athletes in various disciplines of cycling utilizing their equipment. Martin Sörderström, a Swedish professional mountain biker and winner of the 2010 Eurobike Dirt Jump Contest, utilizes the less traditional P.Bike series from Specialized in free ride mountain bike events.
Specialized bikes have also been used for long distance touring expeditions. In 2004-2007 TV adventurer Rob Lilwall rode a Specialized Rockhopper (nicknamed Alanis) over 50,000 km from the city of Magadan in North-East Siberia, back to his home in London, via Australia and Afghanistan. Along the way, he rode his bike through the minus 40 tundra of Russia, carried it through rivers and jungles in Papua New Guinea, and dodged through military checkpoints in the Tibet. Lilwall later wrote a book "Cycling Home From Siberia" about the expedition (Simon & Schuster/Hodder & Stoughton), and National Geographic made a six-part TV documentary using Lilwall's self-filmed footage. After all the adventures, the ten-year-old steel-framed bicycle made it home in one piece and is still in use in London.
Read more about this topic: Specialized Bicycle Components
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