by Tim McBirney
Young Belgian Quinten Hermans of the Telenet-Fidea Lions cycling team is enjoying a strong season with top 10 rides at both the Crossvegas and Jungle Cross World Cups followed up by a third in the U23 race at the Valkenburg World Cup and another third in the U23 World Cup race this past weekend in Zeven.
This past Sunday, Hermans took the win at the 2016 Flandriencross in Hamme, and his current form confirms the potential he showed winning the 2016 European U23 continental championships, placing him comfortably in the up and coming new wave of Belgian cyclocross racers.
https://twitter.com/Quintenhermans/status/802903079632900096
Hermans isn't just focused on results, but also on seizing opportunities to give back. On Sunday at Jingle Cross, although the whole team opted not to race the UCI C1 day, Hermans and a few teammates instead spent some time in the pit for their pit crew, who was racing the amateur events:
https://www.cxmagazine.com/telenet-fidea-turns-tables-pit-crew-jingle-cross-video-savery-daubert
The 2016-17 season is Herman’s third with the powerhouse Telenet Fidea Lions team. While his teams remains the same, change has come in the form of new management and sponsorships. Under the new management of retired cyclocross legend Sven Nys, Telenet Fidea as a team has been racking up impressive results this season, including Toon Aerts’ Elite Men’s European continental championship, aboard their Trek Boone bikes and Shimano components (a shift from the SRAM-equipped Ridley bikes which they were aboard last year).
Quinten Hermans' Trek Boone cyclocross bike as seen at CrossVegas. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
The move to Trek comes with Sven Nys, who helped to develop the bike in collaboration with Trek and raced it in the final two seasons of his professional career. The bike incorporates a number of features from Trek’s endurance-focused Domane Road bike such as the integrated seat post and the Isospeed Decoupler around the seat tube which provide a modest amount of flex when seated.
For 2017, the Trek Boone is not offered in the full team spec the frame which Hermans is using, although his frame is an off-the-shelf model with no special modifications or custom geometry, with a thru axle front fork and rear quick release. Hermans’ bike is fairly standard issue and nearly indistinguishable from the bikes used by his teammates (the entire Telenet-Fidea Lions team is riding disc brakes for all races this season), although one might guess that rear thru axle frames are in the works and being tested.
The Boone is fully decked out in a Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2 components paired with Shimano R785 hydraulic STI levers and RS785 hydraulic calipers. Bontrager, Trek’s own component brand, takes care of the wheels, saddle, seatpost, and cockpit. Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Herman’s opts to use the Bontrager Isocore carbon bar which has built-in padding for extra comfort and is a bar more commonly seen in use by Trek’s road racers during the spring cobbled classics.
Quinten Hermans' Trek Boone cyclocross bike features custom Dura-Ace 46-39 chainrings, with cosmetic caps to mate smoothly with the 4-arm crankset. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
The pedals of choice were an unbranded Shimano SPD simply marked “prototype.” The pedal looks very similar to the older style Shimano XTR and 959 pedals which have been a longtime favorite of cyclocross racers for their mud clearance, and are essentially identical to the prototypes used by Sven Nys on his Trek Boone and Colnago Prestige in years past.
Quinten Hermans' Trek Boone cyclocross bike featured Shimano prototype SPD pedals optimized for mud clearance, not shoe stability. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Hermans also opts for an aluminum Bontrager stem on his Boone, presumably for durability reasons. The build is finished off with the widely used Dugast Typhoon tubulars in 33c width.
Overall, it's a fairly standard build on a common frameset, unlike Sophie de Boer's World Cup-winning mystery bike, or Katie Compton's Wick Werks and KMC-dressed Trek Boone.
See the full photo gallery below the specs. Can't get enough of these pro bikes? See more pro cyclocross bike profiles here.
Quinten Hermans' Trek Boone Bike Specs:
Frame: Trek Boone Disc
Fork: Trek, Carbon
Shifter/Brake Levers: Shimano R785 Hydraulic di2 disc brake
Brake Calipers: Shimano R785 Hydraulic road, flat mount
Rotors: Shimano Ice Tech 140mm centerlock
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2
Front Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2
Crankset: Shimano Dura Ace 9000
Chainring(s): Shimano Dura-Ace custom 46/39 chainrings
Cassette: Shimano Dura Ace 11-28
Stem: Bontrager Elite Aluminum
Handlebar: Bontrager Isocore carbon
Seatpost: Bontrager proprietary integrated seatpost for Trek Boone
Saddle: Bontrager Montrose Pro
Pedals: Shimano Prototype SPD
Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus 3 Disc Tubular
Hubs: Bontrager Aeolus
Tires: Andre Dugast Typhoon 700x33c tubulars
Quinten Hermans' Trek Boone Cyclocross Bike Photo Gallery:
Quinten Hermans’ Telenet Fidea team does not ride one brand of tires exclusively, but Hermans rides Dugast tubulars, including the Typhoon. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
