2004 - Specialized

With Alberto Contador’s recent win at the Giro d’Italia, we proudly add another monument to our list of incredible
accomplishments in the pro peloton. But it’s easy to forget that when we first jumped into the professional road
game, over 10 years ago, we were seen as an American mountain bike brand that had no place trying to shake
things up.
Soon after Specialized started racing in Europe, I was out on one of my long “thinking rides.” It was this ride
where I first came up with the Tarmac name and concept. We built several prototypes, which culminated in Italian
racing legend Mario Cipollini racing the original S-Works Tarmac E5 in the 2003 Giro d’Italia, Tour de Georgia,
and Vuelta a España. Game on!
In 2005, the first full-carbon Tarmac was born and raced by Team Gerolsteiner to victory in Stage 14 of the Tour
de France and the San Francisco Grand Prix. I worked on that bike, and I’ve worked on every Tarmac since: the
Tarmac SL, SL2, SL3, and now the all-new Tarmac SL4–our lightest and stiffest Tarmac ever. During these
years, I’ve watched, sometimes from the team car, as the Tarmac has collected an astonishing number of wins,
including four-straight Tours of Flanders, a World Championship, a dominant 1-2 finish at last year’s Tour de
France… and now the Giro d’Italia. I’ve personally worked with riders, ridden with them, and incorporated their
feedback into each new iteration of the Tarmac.
Our new Tarmac SL4 is truly remarkable in its stiffness-to-weight ratio—a critical factor in racing performance—
with a 19% improvement over last year’s industry-leading frame. With features like the King Cobra tapered head
tube, one-piece BB/chainstay, and internal cable routing, we’ve distilled this machine down to the purest expression
of racing performance.
The new Tarmac SL4 is the pinnacle of our road racing program. Alongside the Roubaix, Shiv, and Venge, we
offer the most dominant and complete race collection in the industry. While we know we’re still not always welcomed
by traditionalists, we stopped listening to them a long time ago. In fact, I don’t think we ever did. We’re
only interested in listening to the riders, so we can keep making the best and fastest bikes.
Sincerely,
Chris D’Aluisio