McLaren launches Specialized pro road bike

McLaren, most famous for its top formula one team, has developed a racing road bicycle in collaboration with American manufacturer Specialized.

Briton Mark Cavendish, who rides for HTC-Highroad, will attempt to take the carbon-fibre S-Works McLaren Venge - launched at McLaren’s Woking headquarters on Thursday - to victory in Saturday’s Milan-San Remo race.

Riders for the Astana and Saxo Bank-Sungard teams will also debut the carbon bike, whose frame weighs less than one kilogram and has an electronic gearshift.

"We can optimise a bike to levels that have never been achieved before," claimed McLaren Applied Technologies’ design director Duncan Bradley.

The bike will be available from about $9,000 later this year.