Mark Cavendish and British Prime Minister Visit New McLaren Facility

WOKING, England—World Champion and Tour de France green jersey winner Mark Cavendish joined British Prime Minister David Cameron for the grand opening of the new McLaren Production Centre last Thursday. McLaren, a cutting edge automotive maker with a powerhouse Formula 1 team, partnered with Specialized to co-develop and hone the S-Works + McLaren Venge, which Cavendish rode to glory with the HTC-Highroad team this year.

While Prime Minister Cameron was eager to celebrate the inspiring and positive economic implications of McLaren’s new Centre, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ Formula 1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button, took the opportunity to also talk bikes with Cavendish. Hamilton asked what McLaren brought to the table with the S-Works + McLaren Venge.

“Attention to detail, I think,” Cavendish said. “Look at Formula 1, you look at all the little details that go into everything. To bring McLaren in is incredible.”

Hamilton and Button each ride Specialized bikes and admired the S-Works + McLaren Venge, which was produced after a long partnership between Specialized and McLaren Applied Technologies and is exhibited at McLaren’s Technology Centre. Outside the Formula 1 circuit, Button in particular is a cycling enthusiast and competes in triathlons around the world whenever his schedule permits.

Above and beyond the advanced carbon fiber lay-ups in the S-Works + McLaren Venge, Cavendish pointed out some of the design details, such as hiding the battery of the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting group in the frame.

“It's quite embarrassing for me to stand here and say little things like that are big for aerodynamics on a bike,” Cavendish said. “It was never thought of before, and it has been incredible working here with the (McLaren) guys and the guys at Specialized and seeing how this bike's evolved. And obviously, I won the green jersey in the Tour de France this year, and the world championships on it. So the results can just speak for themselves about this new bike. So it was a really great time, actually.”