Pro Bike Gallery: Philippe Gilbert’s BMC Teammachine SLR01

Philippe Gilbert's BMC Teammachine SLR01 was outfitted with the world champ stripes for January's Santos Tour Down Under —€” except for his stem, which sponsor 3T was still preparing. By his next race Gilbert had a white one with the requisite stripes. BMC Racing made the switch to Shimano wheels from Easton this year, and Gilbert was riding the versatile C50 set for most of the week. He's on 10-speed Dura-Ace Di2 with a 3T cockpit. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Stripes for the world champ at the Santos Tour Down Under. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

The advantage of having only a single major sponsor: a very clean, simple, and classy world champ kit at the Santos Tour Down Under. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

BMC Racing made another major sponsor switch for 2013, from Hincapie Sportswear to Pearl Izumi clothing. PI's proprietary fabrics are clearly visible in the shoulders and back of the team's thin summer jersey. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Gilbert rides round-drop bars. When he first walked out to his newly-built bike at the Santos Tour Down Under, he honed in on the black stem, directing an incredulous "what is this? Black?" (with a smile) at his mechanics. Head mechanic Ian Sherburne assured him that a white version was on its way. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

BMC Racing riders were all on 25mm Continental tubulars, which match up well with the new Shimano C50 rims. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Neat internal routing throughout the SLR01. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Gilbert's SRM power meter hadn't been mounted before his first training ride on the new bike (when this photo was taken), but it was put on before race time. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Gilbert rides Shimano's carbon-bodied Dura-Ace pedals. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Attached to those pedals are these custom DMT shoes. Gilbert rides with Shimano's red, zero-float cleats. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

No detail left un-striped. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

At the Santos Tour Down Under, the 5-foot-10 Gilbert rode a 50cm SLR01 with 58cm of reach (saddle tip to bars) and a saddle height of 75cm. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Gilbert was quite pleased with the move to Shimano wheels, posting on Twitter: "Shimano wheels are so good! it's like 100 years evolution to last year." Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

How long was it before SRM sent over a computer with world champ stripes? By next race, we guessed. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

3T had the custom-painted bars ready, but not the stem quite yet at the Santos Tour Down Under. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Di2 sprint shifters. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

The battery is not internal, but is still hidden away quite well. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

In case the stripes weren't a big enough hint, Gilbert's signature sits on the seat tube. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Yet more stripes, on the fork blades. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Ready for its maiden voyage at the Santos Tour Down Under. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com