Special yellow and green touches for Alaphilippe and Sam Bennett's bikes extend to coloured chain wax
(Image credit: CeramicSpeed)
When Julian Alaphilippe stormed into the yellow jersey with victory on Stage 2 of the Tour de France, the Deceuninck-QuickStep mechanics quickly got to work preparing his bike for the following day. A profusion of yellow was added to the Frenchman's Specialized Tarmac, including bar tape, bottle cages and a chain. When Sam Bennett subsequently sprinted his way into the green jersey, the Irishman's bike was given the same treatment.
Coloured bar tape is far from new. Yellow tape has almost become a staple sight for the Tour de France's Stage 21 procession into Paris, with the GC winner's bike invariably dressed to match. The same could be said for bottle cages, too. Coloured chain wax is a little rarer though, so we wanted to find out what it was, where it came from, and where you can get one.
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Yellow highlights for Alaphilippe's time in the yellow jersey(Image credit: Wout Beel)
The same applies to Bennett, who leads the green jersey sprinter's competition(Image credit: Wout Beel)
We reached out to Deceuninck-QuickStep's chain sponsor for the lowdown.
"It is a UFO Racing Chain with the yellow colour added," explains Nadia Nørskov, Marketing Coordinator at CeramicSpeed.
The UFO (UltraFast Optimisation) Racing Chain is part of a collection of products from CeramicSpeed that claim to increase drivetrain efficiency and save watts. The chain itself is a typical Shimano Dura-Ace 11-speed road chain, which has an RRP of around €45 (£45 / $50). CeramicSpeed then applies an 'optimisation treatment', increasing the sale price to €139.00.
According to CeramicSpeed, this optimisation treatment is a time-consuming multi-step process that starts with polishing the links' sliding surfaces to remove roughness and manufacturing imperfections. The chain is then deep cleaned to remove the factory lubrication and contaminants, before being submerged in a proprietary blend of chain wax. To finalise the chain, a Teflon powder is applied.
Once finished, the UFO Racing Chain can be bought for €139.00 at CeramicSpeed.com
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The optimisation is said to be worth between two and five watts compared to a standard chain, but the treatment will last just 600km / 370 miles in clean and dry conditions. So will be good for little more than two stages before the efficiency gains wear off.
As for the yellow and green colours spotted on the bikes of Alaphilippe and Bennett, we reached out for clarification on what it was, how it was made, and whether it would be available to the public.
"We thought this would be a funny gimmick for the Tour de France," Nørskov confirmed. "So our internal chemist, Lina from our R&D department, made a formula where the coloured Teflon powder would have the exact same benefits as the 'standard' UFO Racing Chain. We also made it in green and blue. And pink for the Giro."
Sadly, she went on to add "They are not part of our standard product range."
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Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
