The newly named team arrived at the Tour de France with a new look to their S-Works Tarmac SL8 bikes
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Coming into this year's Tour de France, Primož Roglič was considered one-quarter of the ‘big four’ GC riders of this era of cycling. Along with Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogačar and two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, they have won 10 out of the last 14 Grand Tours.
For 2024, Roglič made the move away from the Grand Tour juggernaut of Visma Lease a Bike in favour of pastures new at Bora-Hansgrohe. The move brought with it a complete change of equipment and the Slovenian star switched from Cervélo to Specialized.
It was only just before the Tour de France got underway that the Bora-Hansgrohe team officially revealed its new name and kit, becoming Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe. The move saw the Austria-based energy drink manufacturer become a majority stakeholder in the team, bringing with it its eye-catching branding.
This move not only brought with it a new kit for the riders, but also a new paint scheme for the bikes. During the opening stages of this year's Tour de France, we got our hands on Roglič’s bike to take a closer look at the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 that he will be hoping to give him wings when the race heads into the mountains.
Weighing a mere 30 grams over the UCI’s minimum weight limit of 6.8 kilos, the bike certainly won’t be holding Roglič back. The bike is also fitted with Specialized’s latest and greatest Roval Rapide CLX II Team wheels that upon their release the brand said were, “the fastest race wheels in the world.”
With only one mountain test under his belt so far at this year’s Tour, the form of Roglič is still somewhat unclear. Even though he took the overall victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné, he did falter on the final stage, and like Evenepoel and Vingegaard, he lost time to Pogačar on stage 4 when the Tour de France took a brief trip to the Alps on the way out of Italy.
Much like Evenepoel and Vingegaard, Roglič is returning to his best after the horror crash at Itulia Basque Country that saw him abandon the race, albeit fortunately without any broken bones.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is one of two WorldTour teams sponsored by Specialized, who calls the new white paint scheme 'sticker slap' (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The new colour scheme is a distant throw from the team's usual dark green. Aside from the blue, red and yellow of the Red Bull logo, the bike is a rather more modest grey. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
SRAM provides Roglič with the latest generation of its flagship wireless Red AXS groupset. When it was launched it was claimed to be the lightest electronic groupset on the market. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Roglič was running a close ratio 10-30 tooth cassette that was paired with a 54/44 chainset. It is safe to assume that both the chainset and cassette will likely be swapped out for the mountain stages to come. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
At 177cm in height, Roglič is certainly not a giant amongst the peloton as such he prefers to use a 170mm crank length. Not quite as short as Pogacar's 165mm but still at the shorter end of the spectrum. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
When the new Roval Rapide integrated bars were released Specialized claimed that they were four watts faster than the previous iteration. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
SRAM owns Hammerhead, as such Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe use Hammerhead's new Karoo 3 head unit (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Roglič is using Specialized Turbo Cotton tyres in a 28mm width. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Roglič is rolling on Roval's latest flagship wheelset, the Rapide CLX II Team. These wheels boast the same aerodynamics as the CLX II but managed to save 130 grams bringing them in under 1400 grams for a 51/60mm deep wheelset. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The new low-flange hubs were designed to save weight and increase aerodynamic efficiency. The bare silver finish also saves weight while looking seriously cool. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Roglič chooses to use the S-Works Phemon saddle from Specialized however opts for the regular model rather than the new 3D-printed option. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Roglič holds his bottles in place with Specialized S-Works Rib Cage III carbon bottle cages. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
On the seatpost of the bike is a small 3D-printed race number holder. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
SRAM's flat-top chains have a nice aesthetic, the Red AXS chain has additional chain plate cutouts to save weight. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
With Red Bull coming in as a majority owner of the team, the Bora-Hansgrohe branding is now only found on the top tube and seat tube. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
In case anyone needed reminding whose bike this is, Roglič has his name sticker positioned just in front of the seatpost. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Even with 51/60mm wheels fitted the bike hits the scales at 6.83kg, only 30 grams over the UCI's minimum weight limit. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
