Helle Frederiksen’s new Trek Speed Concept

April 9, 2019

Danish pro triathlete Helle Frederiksen is now on the Trek Factory Racing team and thus races on a Trek Speed Concept with SRAM AXS components. We took a closer look at that ride when she got ready for Challenge Salou. The 5'7" Frederiksen rides a medium sized Speed Concept and visited the gebioMized Fit Lab earlier this year to get some final touches on her fit. According to her husband Ben Powell the focus was on relieving Helle’s lower back issues, some micro adjustment in the cleats and arm pad height adjustment.

Frederiksen with her bike before the 2019 Challenge Salou, race ready, but the race did not go as planned. She ended up with an aggravated nerve on the left side which showed itself very early on the bike, and she pulled out while in 3rd place 50km into the bike segment.

Frederiksen rides a Zipp Sub-9 Disc in the back and a Bontrager Aeolus 7 front wheel both running CeramicSpeed bearings, and both laced with Continental Pro Ltd 25mm tubular tires. Her seat height (BB to saddle surface through seat clamp) is 708mm, the setback +2mm in front of BB and saddle to pad drop is 91mm. Saddle tilt is -5,3°, extension length measured from the back edge of pad is 387mm, and extension tilt is 12,5°.

The double pad setup is relatively new for Frederiksen. According to Ben Powell it enables her to relax more in the neck and shoulders and surprisingly has not effected her head position. An XLab Gorilla cage holds the BTA bottle in place.

The view of the cockpit from the front. The aero extensions are from Trek’s Race Shop – a program that that caters to their pro athletes. These extensions were initially produced by Trek for Alberto Contador.

The SRAM shift button is within easy reach here too.

In the rear Trek Speed Concept Draft Box Frederiksen has 2 x co2 cartridges and a foam sealant injector. 1 of the co2 cartridges is preloaded into an inflator with a Silca Presta Adapter. The front bento box holds her race nutrition. 5 gels in a flask plus 1 more emergency gel. And the XLab Aero TT bottle cage holds liquid nutrition.

A Bontrager cage is zip tied tightly under the Bontrager Hilo XXX saddle. Since this saddle is no longer made, Frederiksen made sure she has some stock.