BikeExchange-Jayco using Giant-branded GPS computer that isn't* a new Stages Dash

Dylan Groenewegen, Teniel Campbell, and a few other riders from Team BikeExchange-Jayco have recently been spotted using what at first glance appears to be a new cycling computer from the team's bike sponsor, Giant. However, after a little digging, things aren't what they first seem. 

Over the past month of racing, riders from the team have been using various computers from market leaders Garmin, but with the peloton's old faithful black tape hiding the branding. More recently, however, riders have been spotted using computers with a large Giant logo on the front for all the world to see. 

Our first thoughts were that of intrigue about Giant's intentions and direction. Giant already has a couple of cycling computers in its portfolio, the Axact and the Neos, but they're aimed at the budget end of the market at £19.99 and £49.99 respectively. The computer used by the BikeExchange Jayco team looks like neither of the above - and would undoubtedly be of higher specifications - so it initially appears that Giant is taking the fight to Garmin and Wahoo in the market for the best cycling computers. 

But as mentioned above, there's a twist. Thanks to the sharp-shooting photographers at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, we can see that this new Giant computer's model name is Dash M200.

'Dash' is the nomenclature used by Stages for its cycling computers, and a brand as large as Giant wouldn't just rip off a competitor's branding so blatantly - though ironically the brand's e-bike computer displays are given the similar name of RideDash. 

We're wondering whether this Giant computer is a Stages in disguise, and subsequently, whether the Dash M200 is an as-yet-unreleased replacement for the existing Stages Dash M50. It certainly seems plausible, and when you check out the design of the new computer, the likelihood only grows.

Giant doesn't currently advertise the Dash M200 on its website, but Googling the term brings up the image above, left, which we've laid next to the existing Stages Dash M50, right. 

The similarities are obvious. The four buttons that sit side-by-side at the bottom of the display, the small icons above them, and the layout of the display are all design cues that further suggest that this is a Stages in disguise, rather than a Giant computer. 

We actually mused the possibility that Stages would make a return to the WorldTour with Giant when we wrote our WorldTour Bikes guide. The brand was the supplier to the UAE Team Emirates team back in 2020 but went without a team in 2021. When asked in December, BikeExchange Jayco staff remained tightlipped about the team's sponsor for 2022, and when the new bikes were unveiled on January 1, riders were actually using Garmin computers. However, now that racing has begun in earnest and with less than a week to go until Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Opening Weekend, the new computers are a near-permanent sight on the front of the team's bikes. 

Of course, assuming our predictions are correct, there's nothing here to suggest that Giant won't also sell this computer branded as its own. Bontrager does exactly this with the Garmin Edge 1030 computer, which it also supplies to the Trek Segafredo team. 

However, given Stages doesn't currently sell - or publicly acknowledge - the existence of the Dash M200 computer, we think it's more likely that Stages wants to keep an as-yet-unreleased computer under the radar.