As early as 2001, long before Cervelo’s affiliation with Team CSC, they initiated a project called FM28, which ultimately became the Cervelo Soloist Carbon. Yet this model probably shows better than any other the fruits of their labor Team CSC. 

The first years of the project were earmarked for aerodynamic testing. With the aero features settled on, focus switched to the structural design of the frame. Developments in carbon fiber frame design go very rapidly at Cervelo, so the design goals were adjusted several times along the way. Around that same time, they had started to supply frames to Team CSC and in their discussions with Bjarne Riis it became apparent that their ultimate frame closely matched what Cervelo was working on for FM28. 

This greatly helped Cervelo to get buy-in from the team to set up an extensive testing program with them, where the original 2001 plan would have called for local road testing, now Cervelo could use the world-class riders of Team CSC to perform the road testing for them. Of course, the best testing is in races when the pressure and the demands are highest, but this is also the time the teams do not want any distractions. By 2005 their relationship with the team was so close that they were comfortable enough to test the first FM28 prototypes in one of the biggest races of the year, the 2005 Giro d'Italia. So Co-Founder, Gerard Vroomen, flew off to Reggio Calabria with the first prototypes, and returned a few days later with feedback from several riders and Bjarne Riis himself. 

Six iterations later, Cervelo’s customer service point man Chris Bastie flew to the Dauphiné-Libéré and the Tour de Suisse with what they thought was the ultimate version, V7. Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt confirmed everything was good to go, but in parallel to the team testing Cervelo had made and tested five more lay-ups. In the end, lay-up seven was picked for pilot production (nine frames of which went to the Team for the Tour) and feedback from the Tour was so positive that Cervelo went into full production without any further changes. 

Jens Voigt put his Cervelo Soloist Carbon to good use in his stage 9 breakaway at the Tour, perfectly showcasing his and his bike's strengths. The yellow jersey was the deserved reward. Since then, The Cervelo Soloist Carbon has won race after race, with the 2006 Amstel Gold Race win by Fränk Schleck and the 2006 Tour stage win by again Jens Voigt as the highlights. 2007 has once again seen a plethora of wins for the Cervelo Soloist Carbon and its popularity is still increasing. No wonder as it is still the only truly aero road bike in the world. 

HIGHLIGHTS

No compromise - Extremely aerodynamic yet among the lightest frames in the ProTour and with excellent stiffness & compliance properties. 

New profile downtube - Cervelo's work into improving the downtube and headtube on the Cervelo P3C has directly benefited the Cervelo Soloist Carbon. 

Horizontal teardrop-shaped sloping toptube - Since the toptube has a slope to it, the aerodynamics can be improved by giving it the proper airfoil cross section in the direction of the airflow. 

Stealth aero headtube – While the headtube may look round at the front, this is an optical illusion. The headtube is ultra thin and only 1mm wider than the P3C headtube. Although the leading edge is kept straight, the sides neck down in the center section, resulting in a very good airfoil shape around the headtube in combination with a classic side profile. 

Oversized bottom bracket area – The increased volume of the bottom bracket area provides even greater bb stiffness so that Jens can continue to power away from the competition. The smooth contours of the BB volume help both for this BB stiffness and also for its strength as the fibers have a much more continuous path to transfer the loads better. 

Wolf seatstays – The seatstays have an asymmetric design from the Cervelo Wolf family of airfoil shapes, designed for optimal airflow around a thin frame member interacting with a spinning wheel. 

ICS Internal Cable Stops - The best internal cable stop system available. Easy to install, easy to service, easy to keep clean and improved aerodynamics.