The Dauphine is often a proving ground for new technology ahead of its debut at the Tour de France in 3 weeks time. This year, along with a number of teams debuting Dura Ace 9000 groups, Trek has put several Radioshack Nissan riders on what appears to be the new Madone. Supposedly dubbed the 7 series, it's currently unknown if this aero offering will replace the current 6.9SSL or be an addition to the lineup.
in the name of aerodynamics
Early spy shots (taken by Caley Fretz from Velonews) seem to indicate that this production ready (and UCI compliant/registered) frame borrows heavily from the Speed Concept series of TT bikes. Featuring a Kamm Tail aero design, which relies on wide tubes, truncated tails and specifically sculpted surfaces to maintain rigidity while providing aerodynamic benefit. As seen in the photo above, the rear brake has been moved off the seat stay bridge to the bottom bracket (in fact, there is no seat stay bridge any more.) While providing aero benefit, one can't help but wonder why a brake would be put in the way of so much road debris. I can only guess this will be a fair weather frame, and they are touting their Domane as a “hardman's” bike.
As for the front end, the head tube and fork again features a Kamm Tail design. Integration looks fairly poor on the headtube/crown junction, but a second look reveals another direct mount DA9000 caliper tucked into the hollow left by the overhanging head tube. Cable routing seems to echo the Domane a bit, with electronic shifting cables entering the frame further down the downtube.
Interestingly enough, the bikes were not disguised much at all, suggesting that they may be ready for release in the next few months. Also of note is the concept of integration which many companies are jumping onto: while it does make for a very tidy package (bike, wheels, components) it ought to make building a bike from a frame a nightmare; in my experience, limiting the choices for components is a major pain in the ass.
