Tour de France bikes: Who's riding what in 2021

The Tour de France is widely accepted as the most prestigious bike race in the world. The bikes in use at the Tour de France are up there with the very best that money can buy. 

All of the bikes used in the 2021 Tour de France are made from carbon fibre. That includes their frames, wheels and most of the components such as handlebars and seatposts. 

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) won the 2020 Tour de France riding a Colnago - for the Italian brand's first-ever Tour win, no less - but there are plenty of other manufacturers in the race. In terms of bike frames, there are 19 different brands in the 2021 race, with three different manufacturers of groupsets and 15 different wheel brands. Each of these brands is continually innovating and improving in a bid to improve their products and outdo their competitors. To do this, they look at the various barriers that a rider needs to overcome in order to go faster. Aerodynamics is a big focus, but rolling resistance, friction and of course weight are key areas of attention. 

Tour de France bike weight

Cycling's governing body, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), has long imposed a minimum weight limit of 6.8kg for the bikes in any of its sanctioned races - the Tour de France included. 

It was first introduced in the year 2000 to ensure manufacturers didn't cut corners on safety in a race for the lightest bike possible, and while the weight limit has been contested many times in the years since, the UCI has remained steadfast. 

In terms of the rule book, there is no upper limit on the weight of a Tour de France bike, but of course the lighter a bike is, the faster it will be when the gradient of the road starts to rise. All else being equal, a lighter bike will also accelerate more quickly and be easier to handle, so teams will do everything they can to get their bikes down to this 6.8kg limit, usually allowing 100 grams or so, to account for the discrepancy between their scales and the UCI's. 

The introduction of disc brakes on road bikes made this a tougher task, since the disc braking system is heavier overall, and the introduction of aerodynamic tube shapes has also yielded heavier frames, but even so, the weight of most bikes in the peloton will hover between 6.8kg and around 7.2kg. Some of the heaviest bikes will push closer to 8kg, but these will be aero bikes and will typically only be used on the flatter days, where weight is less of an issue. 

Moreover, time trial bikes, with their deep tube shapes, rear disc wheels and deep section front wheels will weigh even more again. It's not uncommon for a time trial bike in the Tour de France to weigh in the region of 8-9kg, with the heavier time trial bikes nudging closer to 10kg. 

As a result of this minimum weight limit, manufacturers are no longer racing to make the lightest bike possible, and brands have instead focussed on the other areas for innovation. The result is a host of ongoing debates that continually simmer away, such as the rim vs disc brakes debate, the inner tube vs tubeless tyres debate, and more. 

Disc brakes vs rim brakes

The first of these debates doesn't centre around technology that speeds you up, but tech that slows you down: brakes. 

Disc brakes have been popular in mountain biking for well over a decade and over the past few years finally made their way onto the road. As of the start of this season, all but one of the major teams is using disc brakes. Most teams and their bike sponsors are wholly committed to the technology, while a few teams still have rim brake bikes in their fleet. 

Ineos Grenadiers are the sole representatives of #savetherimbrake and their talents continue to prove that the now out of favour technology is far from futile, but the fact remains that disc brakes are taking over. 

Many riders have an opinion on the matter, and former Ineos leader Chris Froome has made his point clear, but it's likely only a matter of time before the whole peloton is stopping with discs, perhaps as soon as next season.

Tubular vs tubeless vs clincher

Tyre technology came into the mainstream during last year's delayed Tour de France, when Specialized sponsored teams Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora Hansgrohe took to the roads with a surprising choice of clincher tyres fitted with inner tubes inside.

For years, tubular tyres have been the favoured son in the peloton because they feature tyres that are glued to the rim. That means when they puncture, the tyre stays on the rim and allows a rider to continue until it is safe (or tactically preferable) to stop for a wheel or bike change.

Over recent years, tubeless tyres have been gaining popularity, since they promise to automatically repair any punctures, meaning that a rider doesn't need to stop at all. However, in the grass roots of cycling, from amateur racers to cycle commuters, the humble inner tube has reigned supreme for decades. 

With the improvement in tyre technology, rim design and the interface between the two, as well as the performance of tyres when fitted with latex inner tubes, the choice of clincher tyres was deemed the fastest option by Deceuninck-QuickStep and their wheel sponsors Roval. 

As for which technology will be most widely adopted in this year's race, only time will tell.

New bikes at the Tour de France

The Tour de France is the biggest bike race in the world and so is a global veritable shop window for cycling brands and team sponsors. Racing also makes for a thorough testbed for the durability of new tech and is often used by brands to test out prototypes prior to launch. 

Here at Cyclingnews, we'll be keeping our beady eyes on the race to seek out any of these prototypes and share what we find.

New Dura-Ace

One such new piece of technology that has already broken cover is the new Dura-Ace groupset from Shimano. Expected to be known as Dura-Ace R9200, the groupset was spotted on the bikes of Team DSM's riders at the Baloise Belgium Tour and is expected to be more widely adopted at the Tour de France. 

New bikes

With the aforementioned shop window effect of the Tour de France, the biggest new tech releases we tend to spot at any edition of the race are new bikes. Last year, two brands (Factor and Canyon) used the race to test out their respective impending bike launches, and we expect it to be no different this year. 

After a recent sighting, the most widely anticipated is a new Pinarello Dogma, expected to be ridden by Pinarello-sponsored Ineos Grenadiers, but there are new bikes aplenty in the time trial scene, with a new Factor Slick spotted at the end of the Giro d'Italia and a new Trek Speed Concept used at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

In addition to the bikes, the summer so far has been a hotbed for new wheel launches. Almost all top-tier wheel brands have announced new wheels already, so we'll be keeping an eye on the rolling stock of teams' bikes to ensure nothing passes us by. 

AG2R Citröen Team

Road bikes: BMC Teammachine SLR01

Time trial bikes: BMC Warp TT 

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS

Wheels: Campagnolo

Clothing: Rosti

Saddles: Fizik

Finishing Kit: BMC

Computers: Wahoo

Alpecin-Fenix

Road bikes: Canyon Aeroad, Canyon Ultimate

Time trial bikes: Canyon Speedmax 

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Shimano (Aerocoach & Princeton Carbonworks are non-sponsor additions)

Clothing: Kalas Sportswear

Saddles: Fizik

Finishing Kit: Canyon

Computers: Wahoo

Astana-Premier Tech

Road bikes: Wilier Zero SLR, Wilier Filante

Time trial bikes: Wilier Turbine TT

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Corima

Clothing: Giordana

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: Wilier

Computers: Garmin

B&B Hotels p/b KTM

Road bikes: KTM Revelator Lisse, KTM Revelator Alto

Time trial bikes: KTM Solus

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: DT Swiss

Clothing: Gobik

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: FSA

Computers: Bryton

Bahrain Victorious

Road bikes: Merida Reacto, Merida Scultura

Time trial bikes: Merida Warp TT

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels:  Vision

Clothing: Ale

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: FSA, Vision, Prologo

Computers: Garmin

Bora-Hansgrohe

Road bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7

Time trial bikes: Specialized S-Works Shiv

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Roval

Clothing: Sportful

Saddles: Specialized

Finishing Kit: PRO, Specialized

Computers: Wahoo

Cofidis

Road bikes: De Rosa Merak, De Rosa Pininfarina SK

Time trial bikes: De Rosa TT-03

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS

Wheels: Fulcrum

Clothing: Nalini

Saddles: Selle Italia

Finishing Kit: Errea

Computers: Wahoo

Deceuninck-QuickStep

Road bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7, Specialized Aethos

Time trial bikes: Specialized S-Works Shiv

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Roval

Clothing: Vermarc

Saddles: Specialized

Finishing Kit: PRO, Specialized

Computers: Wahoo

EF Education-Nippo

Road bikes: Cannondale SuperSix Evo, Cannondale SystemSix

Time trial bikes: Cannondale SuperSlice

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Vision

Clothing: Rapha

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: FSA, Vision

Computers: Garmin

Groupama-FDJ

Road bikes: Lapierre Aircode DRS, Lapierre Xelius SL

Time trial bikes: Lapierre Aerostorm DRS

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Shimano

Clothing: Ale

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: PRO

Computers: Garmin

Ineos Grenadiers

Road bikes: Pinarello Dogma F12 rim

Time trial bikes: Pinarello Bolide TT

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 rim

Wheels: Shimano (Lightweight, Princeton Carbonworks & Aerocoach are non-sponsored additions)

Clothing: Castelli

Saddles: Fizik

Finishing Kit: MOST

Computers: Garmin

Intermarché-Wanty Gobert

Road bikes: Cube Litening C:68X

Time trial bikes: Cube Aerium C:68 TT

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Newmen

Clothing: Santic, NoPinz

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: Cube

Computers: Bryton

Israel Start-Up Nation

Road bikes: Factor OSTRO V.A.M

Time trial bikes: Factor Slick

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Black Inc, (Lightweight is a non-sponsor addition)

Clothing: Jinga

Saddles: Selle Italie

Finishing Kit: Black Inc

Computers: Hammerhead

Jumbo–Visma

Road bikes: Cervelo R5, Cervelo S5, Cervelo Caledonia

Time trial bikes: Cervelo P5

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2

Wheels: Shimano (Vision & Aerocoach are non-sponsor additions)

Clothing: Agu

Saddles: Fizik

Finishing Kit: FSA

Computers: Garmin

Lotto Soudal

Road bikes: Ridley Helium, Ridley Noah Fast

Time trial bikes: Ridley Dean TT

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS, C-Bear ceramic bearings

Wheels: Campagnolo

Clothing: Vermarc

Saddles: Selle Italia

Finishing Kit: Deda

Computers: Garmin

Movistar Team

Road bikes: Canyon Ultimate, Canyon Aeroad

Time trial bikes: Canyon Speedmax

Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS

Wheels: Zipp

Clothing: Ale

Saddles: Fizik

Finishing Kit: Canyon

Computers: Garmin

Qhubeka Assos

Road bikes: BMC Teammachine SLR, BMC Timemachine Road

Time trial bikes: BMC Timemachine 

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc, Rotor crankset

Wheels: Hunt

Clothing: Assos

Saddles: Selle Italia

Finishing Kit: BMC

Computers: Garmin

Arkéa Samsic

Road bikes: Canyon Aeroad, Canyon Ultimate

Time trial bikes: Canyon Speedmax

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Shimano

Clothing: Craft

Saddles: Selle Italia

Finishing Kit: Canyon

Computers: Wahoo

Team BikeExchange

Image 1 of 3

Road bikes: Bianchi Specialissima, Bianchi Oltre XR4

Time trial bikes: Bianchi Aquila TT 

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Shimano, Vision

Clothing: Giordana

Saddles: Fizik

Finishing Kit: FSA, Vision

Computers: Garmin

Team DSM

Road bikes: Scott Addict RC, Scott Foil RC

Time trial bikes: Scott Plasma

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Shimano

Clothing: Team's own (Keep Challenging)

Saddles: PRO

Finishing Kit: Syncros

Computers: Wahoo

Total Direct Energie

Road bikes: Wilier Cento10Air, Wilier Zero SLR

Time trial bikes: Wilier Turbine

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Wheels: Ursus

Clothing: Nalini

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: Wilier

Computers: Garmin

Trek–Segafredo

Road bikes: Trek Madone, Trek Emonda

Time trial bikes: Trek Speed Concept

Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS

Wheels: Bontrager

Clothing: Santini

Saddles: Bontrager

Finishing Kit: Bontrager

Computers: Wahoo

UAE Team Emirates

Road bikes: Colnago V3Rs, Colnago Concept, Colnago C64

Time trial bikes: Colnago K-One

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS

Wheels: Campagnolo

Clothing: Gobik

Saddles: Prologo

Finishing Kit: Deda

Computers: SRM