Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) will start the Giro d’Italia looking to add a third Corsa Rosa title to his palmares and the Italian will ride this one-off Merida Scultura.

Except it’s not any old custom machine – Merida have used real gold to create the bike on which Nibali hopes to become only the eighth rider to win the Giro d’Italia three times.

The design is inspired by the Giro’s spiral-shaped trophy and, as a result, features a banderole made from real gold leaves, applied to the top layer of carbon and protected by a clear coat finish.