The last Pinarello to carry the Prince mantle was the 2005 alloy SL. Pinarello Labs partners and engineers worked with gravitas to reintroduce the fabled Prince ever since. This time, it is the ultimate expression of carbon-fiber wonderment. It is partly based on the amazing Montello TT bike, and also incorporates the best features of the carbon-fiber Paris FP (our Editor’s Choice winner this year in the Race category). The Prince you see here was one of two in existence at the time of this test (the other belongs to ’06 ProTour overall winner Alejandro Valverde). The bike is debuting now under a few of his Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears teammates in the Tour de France and will be released in limited supply in August.

For the new Prince, Pinarello snatched basic design shapes from its stunning Montello time-trial bike. A full monocoque front triangle was first created with CAD to increase stiffness without compromising comfort. The CAD unit told Pinarello Lab engineers how and where to lay up the carbon to achieve both stiffness and comfort - something we immediately felt from the first pedal stroke. The bike's ability to respond to rider input nearly reached perfection. It accelerated with certainty and sliced around corners with a sense of rapidity that nearly eliminated the physical, relying only on the mental.

The frame uses a combination of Torayca 40HM and 50HM1K carbon. The 50HM1K carbon has a tensile strength of 50 tons per square centimeter. HM stands for high modulus; 1K refers to 1,000 threads per crossing of the outer weave. By mixing in 40HM carbon in key areas, engineers say they were able to maintain the buttery ride of one of our favorites, the Pinarello Paris, while surpassing the Paris's stiffness and lightweight. Punch the frame into an aggressive sprint or throttle the crank on a long climb and you'll feel the ultimate pro-level platform without a hint of twist or windup. Part of that instant acceleration is helped by the oversized M.O.st Croxove bottom bracket shell, which acts as a springboard when you turn the cranks in aggression. It adds incredible stiffness without sacrificing ride quality.

Hit rough roads though and the comfort level is superior to what you'd expect from any pro-level racer. That, of course, comes from the highly unique Onda S-wave fork and stay design, created in 2002 by Pinarello to improve stability under hard braking as well as to add compliance. In fact, according to Pinerallo USA's marketing director Sandy Nicholls, the original idea was to replicate qualities of an old-style flat-crown fork's ability to deliver a more comfortable ride thanks to longer blades with increased deflection. The '08 generation of forks and stays, called FPX, features slightly more surface area, but with a narrower profile, and is designed to absorb more road shock without affecting the bike's overall rigidity.

Whenever curious onlookers eyeballed our bike the subject of the beautifully sculpted head tube arose. According to Nicholls, the official stance is that the Prince's shaped head tube is only about aesthetics-the UCI forbids aerodynamic enhancement in this area. To increase overall stiffness from the front of the bike, the head tube uses a standard 1.125-inch upper headset bearing and an oversized, 1.25-inch lower. Descend and you'll realize practically goes into autopilot even on the most devious of S-turns.

The wait is over, the Prince has returned to claim his rightful crown.

WEIGHT: 14.98 lb. (54cm, as tested)
SIZES: 50 51,52 53 54 (tested) 55 56 57.5 59cm
FRAME: 50HM1K monocoque carbon
FORK: ONDA FPX Carbon
COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS: (as tested) Campagnolo Record ErgoPower shift/brake levers, front derailleur, rear derailleur, brakes, Shamal Ultra wheels; Pinarello Tank FP Limited Edition crank; FSA MegaExo ceramic bottom bracket; Continental Attack Grand Prix tires; Pinarello M.O.st Lion Air carbon handlebar, stem, seatpost, XLR XP saddle