Roel Paulissen, Jakob Fuglsang and Kashi Leuchs of the Cannondale-Vredestein Mountain Bike Racing Team will all line up for the Olympic Cross Country event aboard this special superlight Olympic Edition Scalpel. Already 2008 has been a great season with Roel Paulissen winning the Marathon World Championships and a medal is a realistic possibility for the team.

Cannondale’s engineers and there technical partners worked in conjunction with the Cannondale-Vredestein racers to deliver these highly optimized bicycles in support of their Olympic dreams.

Rivaling Specialized’s new Epic this full suspension wonder is a svelte 8.8 kg (19lb 6oz) making it one of the lightest full suspension bikes available. Weight saving features include:

• the Scalpel’s Zero Pivot optimized chainstay
• high modulous carbon layers
• raw carbon finish (no paint) and lightweight personalized national decal kits
• HeadShok Lefty, ride tuned and race optimized by 88+
• Cannondale’s Si SL 2×9 mountain crankset with ceramic bearings
• Vredestein prototype Black Panther tubular tires
• Mavic’s prototype tubular wheelset

Cannondale/Vredestein are supported by a team of technical sponsors: Vredestein, SRAM, Mavic, Avid, FSA, fi:zi’k and Crank Brothers. No news yet on whether this light weight steed will be available commercially but stay tuned.

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