Tour de France bikes: Fabian Cancellara's Spartacus edition Trek Madone (video)

Watches, cheese, chocolate and cuckoo clocks may be Switzerland's biggest exports, but none of them have won Paris-Roubaix three times. Fabian Cancellara, affectionately known as Spartacus, is a rider who needs little introduction.

Of course Cancellara's prowess is not just limited to the cobbles, and the Swiss rider has picked up seven Tour de France stage wins and enjoyed 29 days in the yellow jersey. It's only right then that he is given a special bike to ride as he takes on his eleventh and final Grand Boucle.

Cancellara is no stranger to custom-painted bikes, with his Trek Speed Concept time trial bike being covered in gladiator helmets in reference to his Spartacus nickname. Although you get the same gladiator helmets here as well as Spartacus replacing 'Trek' on the down tube, this Trek Madone is more of an homage to Cancellara's illustrious career than just his nickname.

On top of the pearl white base paint (which is peppered with flecks of gold that illuminate when seen in the right light) are rainbows of colour that work their along the down tube, top tube, fork, and seatstays. These might seem random, but the colours are actually in reference to the various teams that Cancellara has ridden for since 2000, starting with the multi-coloured Mapei jersey, working through the blue and white of Fassa Bortolo and the white and red of CSC, all the way to the black pin stripes of his current Trek-Segafredo jersey.

Other details on the frame are there to remind Cancellara of the many successes of his sixteen year career. Along the top tube is his nickname and a reminder of the 100+ podiums that he has stood on, while the chainstays and seatstays are filled with some of his many victories, ranging from the junior time trial World Championships in 1998 to the numerous Classics victories that he has picked up.

We're not ones to throw stones in glass houses, but it seems that someone at Trek has been a bit sloppy with their fact checking, with the decals proclaiming Cancellara's two Paris-Roubaix victories (he's actually won three) and eight Tour de France stage wins (at the time of writing he's only on seven, although maybe the team were just feeling confident ahead of this year's race).

Beyond the paintjob, this bike has the same set up as the bike that Cancellara has been riding for the rest of the year, with a mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, Bontrager Aeolus wheels and Veloflex tyres.