Thanks to Trek

Loyal readers will know all site sponsors get a public message of thanks and here is the thanks to Trek for their sponsorship of the site this month. If you’re enjoying the daily previews then support from sponsors helps it happen.

Trek are promoting their new aero bike, the Madone 9 with it’s aero design and component integration. It’s currently being ridden by Bauke Mollema, Bob Jungels and company in the Tour de France with Mollema swapping between the Madone and the Emonda.

This site isn’t a business so sponsorship has a more personal and direct aspect. As well as bandwidth, photo accounts, coffee and more, the sponsorship has helped fund recons for many of the stage finishes from Le Havre to La Touissuire which in turn helps the daily stage previews. There’s many a good ride and pleasure weeks before typing any previews but it can mean riding some of the main roads enjoyed by the Tour de France instead of taking the more scenic side roads.

Recons help get a better feel of the finish, literally in the sense of the road surfaces. In June a lot of the Tour de France route seems to be redone ahead of the race. They say the British Queen must think the world smells of fresh paint because she dutifully opens so new buildings; do riders in the Tour think the countryside smells of bitumen? But checking out the route is more about the lay of the land rather than the state of the roads. Legendary L’Equipe writer and playwright Antoine Blondin said a race was first and foremost a matter of geography so knowing the terrain is useful. Closer detail helps sometimes, take tomorrow’s climb of La Toussuire which has a regular profile in the roadbook it’s much more irregular in reality. To borrow from mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot’s work, use the racebook or Google and it’s like looking at the map of an island but ride the route and you can walk along the shoreline. But it’s easy to get stuck on the detail, recons only go so far as a headwind on the day or another temporary factor can easily skew the impression of a climb. Spot a very difficult section of road and it’s not automatic that anything happens in a race.

Thanks to Trek and their UK office for the support, if you want to help check out their ad and the new Madone.

You can also support in other ways like buying kit, a new load of jerseys has just arrived while the socks and caps are in stock with Prendas and a generous share of the sales is split between the shop and this site.

16 thoughts on “Thanks to Trek”

  1. That’s a very cool looking bike!

    I love all the integration on the aero frames even if they present somewhat of a maintenance nightmare.

  2. Can I just say, for any firms thinking of sponsoring this site, that sites like this – with one subtle advert and a brief editorial each month saying ‘thanks’ – get far more click throughs from me than ones with really, really annoying pop-ups? And also tend not to get caught by ad-blockers, as it’s just another image instead of something served up from an easily identified ad server.

    And funnily enough, a Domane has just gone on the list of bikes that I ought to try when I finally get enough cash for a proper steed, because of following the link here, so perhaps the more targeted advertising works?

    Hope the business model for the site keeps working, Inrng – if clicking through helps, rest assured that I’m doing my bit.

  3. I echo the views of others here. The Madone is certainly a stunning frame with much to recommend it. Always a big thank you to INRNGs sponsors.

  4. My first carbon framed bike was a Trek 5500 which latter became the Madone 5.5. I loved it! A car cracked the frame in half. This new Madone 9 looks sweet. It certainly will be on the list when I’m ready for a new bike.

    • I’m on a 2010 5.5 Madone, its the business (for someone of my ability anyway).

      Kudos to Trek for sponsoring a well followed, and informative blog.

  5. I’ve been riding a Domane 5.2 for 2-1/2 years and love it. Well done Trek, and I’d buy another in a heartbeat ..if I didn’t have to go through the bizarro world of trying to work with Treks “Authorized Retailers”. I tried to work with 3 in my area and none appeared interested in making a deal. I have worked in bike shops and know well how customers, especially somewhat informed customers, can be a real turn-off. I did not want to be one of those, and got utter indifference in return.
    I bought my Domane in a private purchase on eBay, and am very happy with the bike, and thank you Trek for supporting inrng.com.

  6. I probably won’t buy a Trek, but I’ve been thinking of a Bontrager TLR Flash Charger pump for my MTB tubeless for a while now. This has convinced me to stop putting it off.

  7. Sponsorship like this creates a lot of goodwill as can be seen.

    Also as this is a Trek love in, Bontrager Hardcase tyres – most reliable puncture resistant all year tyres you can buy and they’re half the price of Gatorskins. You an have that one for free ..

  8. 2nd the comments regarding goodwill through manner of advertising. And another “love in” tip – Bontrager gel cork tape. Cheap and incredibly comfortable bar tape.

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