Major innovations in frame design arrived between the Giro and Tour of 2000. The tube section varied, especially on the top tube, which took on a trapezoidal shape instead of the rounded shape of the early EV2 frames, and the sloping geometry was accentuated. The headset series became the integrated Cane Creek. The decision to integrate the headset into the frame, which took on a generous funnel shape, was the precursor to the birth of tapered forks. In this case, the fork steerer diameter was 1 and 1/8 inches, but the fork, the XL Carbon, remained 1 inch, which paired with the frame thanks to uncommon headset cups. At the Tour, the team and the bike abandoned the iconic yellow color and donned pink for a spectacular result, making it Pantani's most iconic bike, alongside the '98 model. The choice to switch from yellow to pink was said to avoid confusion with the yellow jersey, symbolizing the Tour leadership, but it was also perhaps to pick up a thread interrupted at Madonna di Campiglio in 1999. Legend has it that for the final parade stage in Milan at the Giro 1999, a special pink-black livery was prepared on a never-used XL Titanium, and somehow, this style was revisited here.
GALLERY