Designing Neff’s World Championship Supercaliber allowed creativity to soar for Steudel. ‘Where most production bikes have a time limit for paint and a budget to stick to, we were given free rein on design. Time was still of the essence, since we wanted to début the bike at Val di Sole,’ Steudel explains, ‘but we were able to give three times as much time and labour to perfect its design and paint as we do on our typical Project One bikes. At the end of the day, the paint scheme got the same attention to detail as our P1 Ultimate bikes.’

Steudel put in hours conceptualising and designing Neff’s Supercaliber and partnered up with painter, Kyle Doney – who has a knack for design and hosts a wealth of painting knowledge – to make her ideas a reality. Doney, a designer himself, worked closely with Steudel, providing a thoughtful sounding board for new ideas, and helping perfect techniques for shading the clouds that transcend from wispy dark mist through the bamboo forest at the bottom of the bike, to airy and bright cumulus puffs as you transition to the chroma sky.

Steudel says that they wanted to have plenty of gold on the bike, ‘but not too much gold.’ It certainly catches the eye, but without overwhelming it. According to Steudel: ‘I’d say the design is refined but still kind of playful and celebratory in the stylized clouds, brilliant colours and loud bamboo pattern.’

The paint job took a group effort among Steudel and several other product designers and Project One painters. It was a labour of love to get every detail just right for one of Trek Factory Racing’s most decorated and beloved athletes.

With Neff’s busy schedule, Steudel hasn’t yet had a chance to catch up and hear her opinion in person, but it’s safe to say that Jolanda appears to be very stoked.

Want to see Jolanda’s bike in action? Tune in to World Championships cross country action this week, and be sure to follow Trek Factory Racing XC on Instagram.