A look at the custom bikes of the race leaders from recent years
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Chris Froome raced on an all-pink Pinarello for the final stage of the 2018 Giro (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Contador's Specialized Tarmac for the final day of the 2015 Giro (Image credit: Sirotti)
Gilberto Simoni rides an all-pink Cannondale time trial bike in 2003 (Image credit: Sirotti)
Vincenzo Nibali received a pearlescent pink Specialized Tarmac following his 2016 victory (Image credit: BreakThrough Media)
David Arroyo went big on pink in 2010 but lost the race lead to Ivan Basso on stage 19 (Image credit: Sirotti)
Basso was more subtle than Arroyo when he took the maglia rosa (Image credit: Sirotti)
Nearly every component of Froome's bike was given the pink treatment for the final stage in Rome, with Fausto Pinarello signing Froome's top tube (Image credit: Russ Ellis/Team Sky)
Mario Cipollini's bike in 2002 (Image credit: Sirotti)
Rohan Dennis wore the pink jersey in the earlier stages of the race and BMC provided the Australian with an all-pink BMC Teammachine SLR01 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel went for the pink handlebar tape and shoe combination during his one-day stint in the Maglia Rosa in 2016 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Gilberto Simoni celebrates his 2001 victory with an all-pink Fondriest (Image credit: Sirotti)
Nibali's bike featured pink bottle cages (Image credit: BreakThrough Media)
Just the pink tape for Richard Carapaz as he sealed overall victory in the final-day time trial in 2019 (Image credit: Getty Images)
2014 Giro d'Italia winner Nairo Quintana shows off his pink Canyon (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Canyon commemorated the 2014 Corsa Rosa on the top tube (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
Quintana even had pink bottles in 2014 (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
Italian component brand Campagnolo issued Quintana with pink lever hoods in 2014 (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
Quintana's bike even featured pink tubular tyres (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
A pink perch for the Giro d'Italia winner, Nairo Quintana, in 2014 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mario Cipollini during the 2002 Giro d'Italia in Belgium (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Danilo Di Luca enjoyed a pink integrated FSA cockpit, as well as pink shoes, during the final stage of the 2007 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador opts for pink handlebar tape during the 2008 edition (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Pink wheel decals, handlebar tape and SRM headunit for Richie Porte in 2010 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Taylor Phinney enjoyed a stint in pink during the 2012 Giro d'Italia and had a custom BMC and Easton wheels to match (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Phinney also had an opportunity to ride a custom painted timetrial bike (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
For stage 20 of the 2018 race, Chris Froome had subtle pink decals on his Pinarello Dogma F10 X-Light and MOST cockpit (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Kruijswijk's Bianchi Oltre XR2 was a mix of the iconic Giro pink and Bianchi celeste colours (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
A look at Kruijswijk's pink head tube (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
A little too much Maglia Rosa for the Garmin team in 2012 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rodriguez rides a Canyon in 2012 with pink decals and on the inside of the forks and stays (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A similar design was seen on the Canyon TT bike (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Oleg Tinkov took customisation to the next level for Alberto Contador's win in 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Luca Paolini enjoyed the pink Canyon treatment in 2013 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michael Matthews enjoyed some subtle detailing on his Scott as Giro leader in 2014 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A closer look at Michael Matthews' Scott with pink wheel decals from the 2014 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cadel Evans opted for the pink handlebar tape approach in 2014 (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Alberto Contador's Giro d'Italia victory edition Specialized S-Works Tarmac from 2015 (Image credit: BreakThrough Media)
SRAM produced pink shifter hoods for Rigoberto Uran to match his handlebar tape in 2014 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Contador's Tarmac was a black and pink affair (Image credit: BreakThrough Media)
Cipollini was riding pink bikes back in 1997 (Image credit: Sirotti)
Pink tape and frame accents for Bob Jungels in 2017 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Steven Kruijswijk's mountain TT spec'ed Bianchi Specialissima as Giro d'Italia leader in 2016 (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
Esteban Chaves adopts the coloured handlebar tape approach in 2016 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quintana was in pink towards the end of the 2017 Giro but lost out to Tom Dumoulin (Image credit: Getty Images)
Pink forks for Valerio Conti during his stint in pink in 2019 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Danilo Di Luca had a semi-pink Canndonale in 2007 (Image credit: Sirotti)
Gianluca Brambilla had only a small amount of pink coverage for the timetrial in the 2016 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Tom Dumoulin was given a pink powermeter during his stint as leader in 2016 (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
A look at Dumoulin's pink cockpit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand / Immediate Media)
As custom bikes and equipment have become commonplace in the WorldTour peloton, race-specific customisation has also become the standard protocol for riders.
The Giro d'Italia is no exception, and the famous pink of the maglia rosa has been used to customise everything from tyres to bottle cages and of course, the frame itself.
Whilst some early race leaders opt for small and restrained customisations such as pink handlebar tape to match their pink jerseys, Steven Kruijswijk didn't hold back, opting for a hybrid pink and celeste Bianchi for his extended stint in pink during the 2016 edition of the race. Mario Cipollini and David Arroyo adopted the completely pink bike approach during their stints in the maglia rosa in 2002 and 2010 respectively.
Nairo Quintana's victory in 2014 took the customisation to the next level, a completely pink frameset, bottles, handlebar tape, shifter hoods and tyres left no component spared, bar his green Movistar computer mount.
Oleg Tinkov took the trend even further following Alberto Contador's victory the following year, dying his hair pink for the final stage and this has become an iconic image of the outspoken former team owner.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to take a closer look at the pink bikes, components and customisation from the Giro d'Italia in years gone by.
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