A very special bike for a very special rider

After more than 20 years in the professional peloton, Marcel Sieberg has ended his career as the most successful 'Edelhelfer' (top end domestique) in road cycling. Over the last few years, Marcel has done outstanding work for Team Bahrain Victorious as one of the top lead-out riders, and it felt more than appropriate to thank him for his efforts by awarding him a very special bike. 

With 142 successful lead-outs, 14 participations in the classic Paris-Roubaix, eleven Grand Tours and an almost endless list of other high calibre racing achievements, Marcel can look back at a colourful and successful career but, as the saying goes, ‘every good thing has to come to an end’. 

To honour his unrivalled effort and undisputed commitment, we built a very special white, black and metallic bronze ‘Sibi’ REACTO, a bike that was not only his chosen model but also reflects his career milestones. With the help of MERIDA designer Michael Brenner, who spent several months creating this one-off design, we were able to hand over this very special REACTO TEAM to Marcel at a recent visit to our MERIDA EUROPE headquarters in Magstadt, Germany. 

Key areas of the bike, like the underside of the downtube, the front part of the top tube and the area behind the headtube, carry vital moments from Marcel’s career as well as his 'Edelhelfer' inscription and will be a lasting reminder of what he has achieved for Team Bahrain Victorious and for previous teams he has raced for. 

With his active racing career coming to an end, Marcel will share his experience and expertise with the younger racing generation, and we wish him all the best in his new endeavours. 

Thanks, Marcel; we were proud to see you on our bikes over the last few seasons.

To check out the BIKEblick (in German only) podcast from Marcel's visit at the headquarters, please click here for Spotify, here for Soundcloud, or here for the RSS feed.