Brand new bikes, special paintings and new product introductions. The Tour de France is something special. Not only in terms of the race, but also in the bikes and components the riders use. In the days leading up to the biggest bike race of the year, we visited all our 8 sponsored teams to check the bikes of their top riders. Scroll down to take a look at the beauties we come across in Düsseldorf. They look ready!
BMC Racing Team
One of this years’ big favorites for the overall win is the Australian, Richie Porte. He will ride mainly on the bike BMC introduced earlier this year, the teammachine SLR01 with direct mount DURA-ACE brakes and C40 wheels. Also, Olympic Champion and winner of this years Paris-Roubaix, Greg Van Avermaet, rides with the teammachine SLR01. His bike can be easily spotted with the golden decals.
TEAM SKY
Three-time Tour de France winner Chis Froome will be chasing his fourth Yellow Jersey. He rides the Pinarello F10 introduced last January and the new DURA-ACE R9150 group set including C40 wheels. Chris Froome also choses to ride with an integrated stem and handlebar combination. He opts for the PRO Stealth Evo.
TREK-SEGAFREDO
Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador chooses the Emonda out of Trek’s impressive bike line-up. This year he decided to go all-in on electronic shifting with Shimano Di2. After his move to Trek – Segafredo at the end of last year, Contador decided to only race with Di2. Also the Trek Emonda featured DURA-ACE direct mount brakes. Trek was actually the first manufacturer to move into the direction of direct mount brakes to have a better and more consistent brake performance.
BORA - HANSGRÖHE
Specialized introduced some big news right before this year's Tour de France with the announcement of the new Specialized Tarmac. World Champion Peter Sagan is one of the lucky ones to race this machine this year. The winner of the last 5 green jerseys is keen on bringing the new Tarmac it's first victory at the Tour de France this year. The DURA-ACE R9150 Di2 rear derailleur has a Shadow RD technology, something we adopted from our mountainbike group sets. This means that the rear derailleur sits nicely below the cassette which provides smoother shifting and protects the derailleur from impact during crashes for example.
TEAM LOTTO-JUMBO NL
Both sprinter Dylan Groenewegen and contender for the overall victory Primoz Roglic race on the Italian-beauty Bianchi Oltre XR4. This itself already shows the versatility of this bike, suiting the needs of a GC contender and sprinter. Dylan Groenewegen’s Oltre XR4 received a special paint job showing his Dutch pride. Besides that he races with sprint shifters to be able to shift while his hands are in the drops. He also chooses to race with the deeper DURA-ACE C60 wheels which are the best wheels for a sprinter as they are incredibly aerodynamic.
TEAM SUNWEB
After winning the Giro d’Italia last month, the big goal for Team Sunweb in the Tour de France is stage victories. At the sprint and hilly stages it’s Michael Matthews who will try to bring home the stage wins. To help him with that, we gave him a set of DURA-ACE C60 wheels… with discs! In some of the stages he might opt for the new super aero Giant Propel disc to launch him to victory. Besides the discs and C60 wheels, Michael Matthews also always races with sprint shifters.
ORICA-SCOTT
At Orica-Scott they have 2 ‘big’ contenders for the overall victory - Colombian Esteban Chaves and Brit Simon Yates. Both have to option to choose for the more aerodynamic Scott Foil or the super light Scott Addict. The Scott Foil has direct mount DURA-ACE brakes. Simon Yates races with our Di2 climbing switch so he’s able to shift gears while keeping his hands on the handlebar in climbing position.
FRANCAISE DES JEUX (FDJ)
Francaise des Jeux is led by French Champion Arnaud Demare who will join the sprinters party at the indicated stages along with GC favorite Thibaut Pinot. Their bike partner Lapierre facilitates the team with the aerodynamic Aircode and the super light Xelius. Obviously, Demare will likely chase victory with the Aircode while Pinot will challenge the other GC contenders on the Xelius. All riders at Lapierre race with PRO stems and handlebars. PRO offers all kinds of handlebars, from integrated stem and handlebar combinations to aero carbon and round aluminum bars.
