Last year 3T surprised the cycling industry when they introduced their new disc brake specific Strada road bike which also runs a dedicated 1x drivetrain. They further shocked the professional racing community when they partnered with the Aqua Blue Sport team. The sponsorship had many detractors, but it was a gutsy move made by 3T’s Gerard Vroomen to not only challenge the status quo, but also truly test if a 1x system could be used as option to the standard 2x front chainring system.

While the 1x system is now common in the mountain bike and cyclocross world, with growth spurts in the gravel scene, the traditional-minded road world has given a fair bit of push back with naysayers claiming there weren’t enough gear choices to be successful. Not.

Today though, the Aqua Blue Sport Team made history as Lesse Norman Hansen took the slight uphill sprint finish to claim victory during stage 1 of the Herald Sun Tour. With this victory Hansen is now in the yellow jersey as well.

Hansen used a 54 tooth front chain ring with an 11 – 36 rear cassette to claim the fairly flat rolling stage. The remaining stages of the Sun Tour do offer more climbing though that will further test of the 3T Strada’s capabilities.

Congratulations to 3T, Aqua Blue and of course Gerard Vroomen for planting the seed of tech evolution.

You can read more about the 3T Strada and how the Aqua Blue Sport team got their first victory here.

Photos: Aqua Blue Sport Team

Listen below to our podcast where we talked with GM of 3T Dave Koesel about the new 3T Strada and their partnership with the Aqua Blue Sport Team.