Trek Factory Racing's Markel Irizar: Disc brakes will be the future

The first test of a disc-equipped bike on a Grand Tour impressed its rider, but opens up a Pandora’s Box of complications

Markel Irizar's bicycle on stage eight of the 2015 Tour of Spain

(Image credit: Watson)

On Stage Eight of the Vuelta a España, Trek Factory Racing’s Markel Irizar rode a disc equipped Trek Domane. This was the first outing for a disc-equipped bike in a Grand Tour and with plenty of descents and high temperatures, a good opportunity to prove their efficacy.

>>> First sighting of disc brakes in the peloton at Eneco Tour

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Paul Norman

Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.

He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.