Up close with the new KTM Revelator Alto Team: B&B Hotels' Tour de France bike

Racing their first Tour de France, the Breton B&B Hotels p/b KTM team have a new bike to exploit. It's called the KTM Revelator Alto Team, and it hasn't yet been launched by KTM, so little is known about it. Naturally, then, we borrowed one of the team's bikes to get a closer look, and here we'll talk about what we can glean from its appearance.

One of the bike's most striking features is its paintwork, especially on the top tube, but more on that shortly. The rider of this particular example is Cyril Lemoine, who, at 39 is one of this Tour's older competitors. Currently placed 123rd on GC, he may not be setting the results alight, but is having a much better Tour than in 2021, when that crash - caused by the Opi Omi sign - on the opening stage saw him forced to abandon with a collapsed lung and broken ribs. Now in his 17th professional season, 2022 could be his Tour swansong.

Right at the start of its career, the Revelator Alto Team seems to tick the boxes of modern racers looking for a highly competent all-around machine. Judging it by looks, as well as considering the expectations of a professional cycling team and recent market trends, it is likely to be torsionally stiff, with decent seated comfort, aerodynamic features, precise handling and low weight. Of course, only a future in-depth test will reveal its true character.

The KTM's head tube is heavily buttressed, strengthening the junctions with the top and down tubes, but also creating more room for the bike's internal cable routing to travel smoothly within it. The FSA ACR stem's acronym stands for Aerodynamic Cable Routing, and it is designed for frames specifically designed with that in mind.

Although better known for motorcycles, KTM's bicycle business dates back to 1964, as celebrated on the Revelator Alto Team's head tube. In fact, despite still using the same logo, the motorcycle company has been a different company altogether since the four distinct parts of the business were sold in 1991. The KTM name comes from the names of its founding partners, Ernst Kronreif and Hans Trunkenpolz, plus the town where they began manufacturing bikes, Mattighofen in Austria.

The first KTM road bike was the 1986 Formula, which is the familial predecessor of today's Revelator lineup. KTM still develops, tests and builds its bikes in Mattighofen, and sells its vast range of bikes to 50 countries worldwide.

Lemoine has a 42cm FSA K-Force Compact carbon handlebar, and the Prologo bar tape has FSA stickers on the front, ready for any Tour de France TV time.

No information is currently available from KTM about the bike, but as happens with most bikes teased by brands at the Tour de France, we expect to hear something official about the new Revelator Alto Team fairly soon.

While dropped seat stays aren't new, and are almost expected on a new road bike, KTM's design sees them flare and blend into the seat tube, instead of creating a wider stance and an aerodynamic shape where they join. 

The internal seatpost clamp is integrated within the underside of the top tube and seat tube junction, leaving the top tube looking clean.

In case you're wondering what Glaz is, you're not alone. The B&B Hotels professional cycling team are from Brittany, and Glaz is a colour specific to Brittany, which has no equivalent in French or English. It’s a mix of green, blue and grey, and reflects the colour of the sea around the Breton coast. The team's jerseys and bikes have adopted the colour, hence the slogan.

The Revelator Alto Team's bottom bracket shell is an extensive structure, which not only anchors the crankset, but is the root of the KTM's giant chain stays, and the seat tube, which wraps around the rear tyre. It provides another handy 'Men In Glaz' slogan opportunity too.

In true pro fashion, Lemoine's FSA ACR stem is slammed, and it matches the accompanying integrated headset perfectly. The intentionally fully closed gap between the stem and faceplate may also please a certain group of bike detail obsessives.

The new KTM has a Ritchey D-shaped, aero-profiled, carbon seatpost, with a slimmed dorsal top section that should provide some vibration damping. Note the carbon fibre race number clamp. Lemoine rides Prologo's popular Scratch M5 carbon saddle.

The B&B Hotels team race on DT Swiss wheels, and Continental tyres. Lemoine's bike is fitted with 62mm DT Swiss ARC 1100 wheels, with hidden nipples, and Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR tubeless tyres.

The B&B Hotels team are sponsored by FSA, and mostly use Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9200 groupset components. The crankset is FSA's SL-K Light ABS 386EVO with hollow UD carbon arms and a 4-arm spider. The cassette is an 11-30, and the rear brake has a 140mm disc rotor. Note the heel rub marks on the crank arm.

Cyril Lemoine is 181cm or 5'11" tall, and rides 175mm cranks, with Look Keo Blade Carbon pedals. The team are sponsored by Elite, and choose the popular Vico Carbon bottle cages for great bottle security.