Wahoo, the American turbo trainer and GPS computer manufacturer, has taken another step in its aim of upsetting the market dominance of Garmin. WorldTour team Bora-Hansgrohe will be using the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt aero-profiled GPS computer from the start of the 2018 season.
The brand already had a presence in the WorldTour with its supply of Kickr turbo trainers to Team Sky, who would be seen warming up and cooling down on the direct-drive machines before and after races.
The focus on handlebar-mounted head units should open up a much larger market for Wahoo as, in the age of Strava, most of us are more likely to want to track a ride out on the open roads than be stuck indoors on a trainer.
Of course, the growth of virtual racing platforms such as Zwift goes some way to question this theory but even those rides can be tracked and uploaded.
'Product ecosystem'
Paired with the Elemnt Bolt computer, World Champion Peter Sagan and his teammates will also have use of the Wahoo Tickr heart rate monitor, which are, as Wahoo puts it, 'for measuring critical race-winning efforts.'
Wahoo refers to its range as a product ecosystem, but there is no indication that Bora will also be using the Kickr trainers.
'I think the Wahoo bike computers stand out not only for the technology, performance, and features they offer but also for their cool design and user-friendliness,' team leader Sagan said of the new partnership.
'They are easy to use and can be fully-customised, and for me, this is very important,' he added.
With Wahoo making strides in professional and amateur cycling, don't be surprised to see more WorldTour teams announcing new partnerships ahead of the first races of 2018.