Mathieu's modern racer
Mathieu wanted a modern, efficient bike for his sporty outings. A native of Auvergne, he approached us as a neighbor to design a machine to accompany him on his outings to tackle the hilly roads of our beautiful region, as well as the toughest passes in the Alps and the rest of France. We designed the Victoire n°560 for him, light and agile enough to tackle any asphalt road in Auvergne and beyond.
For a racing bike, we strive to find the perfect harmony between performance and rider comfort. In order to deploy good pedaling power, but also to offer less wind resistance, it's necessary to have a forward-leaning position. However, this same position can compress the ribcage, hindering breathing and causing back and forearm pain. Any aerodynamic or power benefits are lost due to the fatigue created by discomfort.
It's to find this balance that we take the time with each of our customers to discuss their needs, their experience, and above all to spend a day together for a postural study. This analysis of the cyclist, both static (body measurements) and dynamic (study of movements on a bike specially designed for postural studies) is essential to define the ideal geometry. It will then guide the choice of components, according to their specific qualities and characteristics.
The frame of Victoire n°560 is made of steel, using Life and Spirit tubes offered by Colombus. These are made from Omnicrom steel, the origin of which goes back to a collaboration with the Institut de Soudure in Paris. This alloy offers an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio: the thinnest tubes can be less than 0.4mm thick!
They offer a pleasant elasticity that softens road irregularities. Subjected to considerable stress during dynamic pedaling, the frame follows the rider's movements, which limits fatigue compared with other, stiffer materials such as carbon.
Victoire n°560 is equipped with the Campagnolo Super Record EPS groupset, the lightest of the Campagnolo groupsets, in an electronic version. While we like mechanical groupsets at Victoire, that doesn't mean we can't appreciate the precision and shifting speed offered by electronic groupsets.
The Super Record is the ideal drivetrain for a sporty, modern configuration with a resolutely Italian aesthetic.
We often offer rim brake configurations on our sportiest bikes, despite the current trend in the professional peloton to only pick disc brakes. However, rim brakes offer undeniable advantages: they're lightweight, easy to maintain and provide pleasant braking, particularly on top-of-the-range groupsets. Their braking power is not to be discarded either: before 2018, the entire peloton was equipped with them, and did everybody forget that Pogacar won the 2021 Tour de France with this very same groupset with rim brakes?
The red of the brake pads, the symbol of Campagnolo's Record range, discreetly recalls the bright red of the frame.
To complete this sporty configuration, we fitted the Victoire n°560 with Campagnolo Bora WTO wheels. These low-profile carbon wheels are a perfect choice for outings in hilly terrain, thanks to their lightness and agility.
The groupset charging system is discreetly and conveniently integrated into the handlebars.
The position is really very comfortable, much better than on my old bikes. I can't thank you enough for the postural study and the right choice of frame dimensions. I feel really good in the pedaling position. I even tried the “race” position, which is perfect. I feel great transmitting power to the pedals.
