Will Cervelo prevail again? Or will Colnago recapture the title? Photo: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
The Tour de France is back for another year of exciting race action, tragic defeats, and heroic moments. So once again, I’m going to be doing what bike nerds love doing most — looking at all the awesome bikes!
Riders, teams, and manufacturers all bring their best equipment to the Tour, so its the perfect place for us to geek out on new bikes, gear, and tech. When I tracked all the stage-winning bikes and gear last year, it became one of my most popular posts, so let’s do it again this year. At the end, we should have some fun data, and maybe some inspiration for how to equip our own road bikes at home.
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Stage 1 - Florence > Rimini - Winner: Scott Foil RC
Rider: Romain Bardet
Bike: Scott Foil RC
Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace C36
Tires: Vittoria Corsa Pro
Bike Type: Aero
Stage Type: Hilly
Photos: Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL
Stage 1 of this years was expected to be one of the hardest Tour starts in recent memory. Tough climbs, high temps, and costal winds would make many riders suffer early. DSM teammates Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek surprised everyone by staying away until the line, giving the Scott Foil RC a 1-2 finish. The Foil RC recieved a major update in 2023, that Scott claims made it 9% lighter, 21% faster and 10% more comfortable. Maybe this is proof!
Bardet swapped to the shallower and lighter Dura-Ace C36 wheels (versus the deeper C60 wheels their bikes are often photographed with) for the tough climbs that came early in the stage. Besides good legs, tactics, and descending, their aero frames, aero Syncros cockpits, and turned in levers surely made them extra slippery, which probably helped the pair maintain their gap in the windy finale!
I also noticed that Bardet is running bars with a more classic profile rather than the shallow drops most riders use these days. He also had a 26mm front tire (paired with a 28mm rear... weird). That used to be considered wide, but now it's surprisingly narrow!
Stage 2 - Cesenatico > Bologne - Winner: Bianchi Oltre RC
Photo: Bianchi
Rider: Kévin Vauquelin
Bike: Bianchi Oltre RC
Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
Wheels: Vision Metron 45 SL
Tires: Vittoria Corsa Pro
Bike Type: Aero
Stage Type: Hilly
Photo: ASO/Billy Ceusters
How do you get the French to win stages at the Tour? Start in Italy! We have another French winner, conveniently, on and Italian bike too. Kévin Vauquelin attacked the breakaway just over 14km from the finish and solo'd to the win. Despite the hilliness of the first two stages this year, it seems that most riders who have the option of an aero or a climbing bike have been been choosing the aero bike, usually with shallower wheels.
Bianchi's all-rounder, the Specialissima RC, has improved aerodynamics, and Vauquelin's teammate in the breakaway was riding it, but Vauquelin decided to go with the heavier but more aerodynamic Oltre RC. He did swap to the lighter Vision Metron 45 SL wheels for the tough climbs. Aero frame + lightweight wheels seems to be the combo du jour.
Stage 3 - Plaisance > Turin - Winner: Cube Litening Aero C:68X
Photo: Cube Bikes
Rider: Biniam Girmay
Bike: Cube Litening Aero C:68X Pro
Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
Wheels: Newmen Streem Sprint Vonoa
Tires: Continental Grand Prix 5000 S (or TT?) TR
Bike Type: Aero
Stage Type: Flat
Photo: Intermarché-Wanty
Bini, Bini, Bini! Biniam Girmay took his first-ever stage win and he has become the first-ever Black African stage winner. Holy crap, that brought a tear to my eye. He diced through a chaotic bunch sprint and had enough of a lead to post up and celebrate before the line. Someone might need to check me on this, but I also think this is the first TdF stage win for Cube Bikes too. They're not well-known here in the US, but the German brand is BIG in Europe.
The bike photo above is a bit outdated because Bini's Intermarché-Wanty team is running the newer Newman Stream Sprint wheels which have a wider 22mm internal width (vs. 18mm for the old Advance SL Streem wheels) and they weigh 1,355g. This is super impressive for 60mm/66mm deep wheels and it's thanks to the use of Newman's Vonoa carbon spokes. Bini's bike was also photographed with Conti GP 5000 TT TR tires, but I can't confirm if he actually used these for the stage. They're slightly faster than the GP 5000 S TR but sacrifice some puncture protection so I find it unlikely.
Also, look how narrow Bini's handlebars are compared to the other racers in this finish photo. Narrow bars for the win! Perhaps running them so narrow (they look ~35-36cm?) is why he doesn't mind the aero penalty of wrapping the tops in bar tape.
