Bahrain-Merida have issued each of their riders with national flag decals on the inside of the fork legs(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Trek-Segafredo's first choice race bikes feature a marbled red design from Trek custom paint program(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Several UAE Team Emirates riders continue to race on tubeless Vittoria tyres at the Tour de France(Image credit: Josh Evans)
A yellow band around the seat tube of Geraint Thomas' Pinarello denotes his Tour de France victory in 2018(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Several riders were seen using Garmin Edge 130 computers for stage 12, possibly in an effort to shave a few more grams for the climbing stages(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Wellens pairs his custom frameset with a super-aggressive Deda stem(Image credit: Josh Evans)
K-Edge have also provided the mid-point race leader with a special yellow out-front computer mount(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Prologo have issued a handful of riders with special edition saddles for the race(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Team Ineos leader also has a Welsh dragon on his head tube to celebrate his nationality(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Matteo Trentin runs satellite sprint shifters in a trigger position on his handlebar drops(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Richie Porte appears to be using SRAM RED 11-speed chainrings instead of the latest, 12-speed SRAM RED AXS components(Image credit: Josh Evans)
EF Education First denote their riders' first and second choice bikes with a simple number at the end of their name(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Tanel Kangert was another rider to receive a custom Prologo saddle in his EF Education First team colours(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Special bidons were also given to the riders for stage 12(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Barguil's bike features the French national colours on the top tube(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Rainbow stripes and gold trim along the top tube celebrate valverde's win(Image credit: Josh Evans)
A few Dimension Data riders run grip tape on the inside of their bottle cages to improve bottle security(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Mikel Landa and his Movistar teammates are leading the team classification at the mid-point of the race and are wearing yellow Abus helmets and jersey numbers(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Cofidis' Natnael Berhane uses the Token Shuriken oversized pulley wheel system to improve drivetrain efficiency(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Multiple national champion of South Africa Daryl Impey has a custom painted Scott Foil celebrating his title(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Peter Sagan's S-Works Tarmac is also in the special Sagan Collection finish(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Campagnolo's Bora WTO range of wheels have been used by UAE Team Emirates and now Movistar in a tubeless tyre setup(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Dimension Data's Steve Cummings raced stage 12 on ENVE's cyclo-cross specific wheels, which are lighter than the SES 2.2 wheelset(Image credit: Josh Evans)
World champion Alejandro Valverde was one of the Movistar riders testing the new tyres(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Alexey Lutsenko's custom painted Argon 18 Gallium Pro celebrates his Kazakh national champion's title(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet continues to race aboard his gold Giant TCR(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Spot the difference between Adam Yates' tyres versus the rest of his teammates' Pirelli tyres(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Movistar are also using tubeless tyres at the race and are the first to be seen by Cyclingnews using Continental's tubeless offerings(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Movistar are using a mix of traditional tubular tyres alongside the tubeless options(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Warren Barguil has a custom painted BH to celebrate his Franch national title(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Team Ineos have been racing on Lightweight wheels at the race alongside their usual Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 series wheels(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Several Bora-hansgrohe S-Works Tarmacs were unpainted, likely to contribute to lower weights(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Lilian Calmejane's Wilier Zero SLR(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Peter Sagan's bikes are finished in his limited edition Sagan Collection colourways(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Mitchelton-Scott raced stage 11 of the race on a mix of the new Scott Addict RC and older Foil RC framesets(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Unlike his Katusha-Alpecin teammates, Ilnur Zakarin is racing on an unpainted Canyon Ultimate(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Lightweight wheels save around 400 grams versus Shimano's Dura-Ace R9100 C40 wheels(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Dimension Data also celebrated Mandela Day with orange chains from KMC(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Team Ineos were back on their Lightweight wheels for stage 12 after using them earlier in the race(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Tim Wellens has held the polka dot jersey throughout the first part of the race, with Ridley rewarding him with a custom frameset(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Julian Alaphilippe's custom painted S-Works Tarmac Disc features special yellow accessories to celebrate his yellow jersey(Image credit: Josh Evans)
UAE Team Emirates are using a mix of tubeless and tubular tyres(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Alongside the 12 stages of racing at the 2019 Tour de France – with 12 different winners – there has been plenty of fascinating tech on show at this year’s race.
New tech including tubeless tyres, while 12-speed groupsets are making their official debut at this year’s Tour after being introduced over the past year into the WorldTour peloton. Custom frames, wheels, components and more are on display as each brand vies for attention as the world watches the biggest race in the sport.
Tubeless tyres
UAE Team Emirates’ Alexander Kristoff became the first rider to take a WorldTour victory on tubeless tyres earlier this year. Despite a less successful race with the tyres at Paris-Roubaix, the team have continued to race on the Vittoria Corsa tyres and at least half of the team have been racing with the tyres at this year’s Tour de France.
EF Education First, who again use Vittoria tyres, and the Specialized-sponsored teams Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-QuickStep have also been seen racing on the tyre technology during the season and at the Tour de France.
Continental tyres are used by several WorldTour teams but have yet to be seen being raced on the brand’s tubeless offerings. On stage 11, however, Movistar Team riders including current world champion Alejandro Valverde, were seen racing on Continental GP5000 tubeless tyres for the stage in conjunction with Campagnolo Bora WTO 45 wheels – the first time Cyclingnews has seen Continental’s tubeless offerings at a WorldTour race.
Sponsor correct?
Not always. Despite certain manufacturers paying seven-figure sums to support and provide equipment for some WorldTour teams, they often have the option to use other brands due to a 'performance first' clause in their sponsorship contracts.
Team Ineos made headlines earlier in the race by showing that a principle team partner in Shimano didn’t quite cut the mustard in terms of weight savings for wheels.
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The British WorldTour squad have at least 16 pairs of Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer carbon wheels, at around £5,000 per set, in an attempt to save a few hundred grams on their bikes. The question remains as to why the team, with by far the biggest budget in the sport, have to worry about the weight of their bikes when the majority of top-tier bikes can be built with disc brakes and come in under the UCI minimum weight limit of 6.8kg without a worry.
Several other teams aren't always sponsor-correct either, with Mitchelton-Scott’s Adam Yates opting for a marker pen on his preferred tyre brand over the options provided by team sponsor Pirelli, while Groupama-FDJ’s leader Thibaut Pinot runs Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 series wheels despite the updated R9100 series wheels being launched around three years ago.
New bikes
June and July are always saturated with new bike launches as manufacturers try to piggyback onto the biggest annual sporting event in the world. If truth be told, however, the sheer quantity of new bikes seems to get lost in the noise of the numerous launches, let alone the fact there is a race taking the headlines.
In the last month, we’ve seen a new Cannondale SuperSix Evo, Scott Addict RC, Specialized Shiv TT, Wilier Zero SLR, Cube Litening C:68X, Cannondale CAAD13 and Colnago V3Rs, before we even start mentioning the new wheels and finishing kit components.
All custom everything
The race also gives plenty of national champions, star riders and classification leaders the chance to race in custom kit, accessories, bikes and more, all of which were on display aplenty.
For stage 12, Team Dimension Data – who are registered in South Africa – celebrated Mandela Day with orange handlebar tape, bidons, KMC chains and special Giro Aether helmets to commemorate the occasion.
Click through the gallery above for a close look at some of the new tech on display at the 2019 Tour de France.
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