ZFS-5

Flat bars, suspension, Cervelo?? World Cup season is here, and we’re all-in. The Z bikes—the ZHT-5 and the ZFS-5, our hardtail and full-suspension, respectively—will make their race debut at the Nove Mesto World Cup. The pilots? World Cup veteran and former Dutch National XCO Champion Milan Vader alongside reigning Cyclocross World Champion Fem van Empel.

ZFS-5 will be available Summer 2023. Build, pricing, and final spec will be published at that time. And yes, it has a threaded bottom bracket.

PROGRESSIVE BUT RACY

ZFS-5 was built for today’s evolving XCO courses—it has to pedal well and handle quickly, but also take on the chunks, jumps, and drops littering the circuit. ZFS-5’s 67.8-degree head tube angle delivers the precision required for elbow-to-elbow hole shot sprints, and the confidence to let off the brakes when the track gets rough. Paired with the pedaling-efficient 76-degree seat tube angle, the result is a fast, efficient, and poised ride.

CALL IT A COMEBACK

Milan Vader is a veteran XC racer and former Dutch National Champion. He was set to race the Z bikes in 2022, but a life-changing crash at Itzulia Basque Country meant his priorities were re-learning to walk and ride. He’s recovered phenomenally well and much faster than the doctors expected, and will be racing the entire World Cup circuit this year.

DOUBLE DUTCH

Fem van Empel is one of Team Jumbo-Visma’s most recent signings, and she’s already made the rainbow connection. Following a decisive World Cyclocross Championships win in Hoogerheide, she traded knobbies for slicks this Spring, and has now set her sights on improving her best-ever World Cup results and landing on the podium.