The Tour de France is in full swing, and gear enthusiasts’ excitement for new technologies and products rivals the heat in Italy. A Western journalist changed plans at the last minute to attend the first few stages in person, a decision that proved right, as there was an abundance of new tech on display in the very first stage alone.
The following is a glimpse of what was seen at the Grand Départ start and finish areas, with more exciting content coming from Stage 2.
We begin with the new yellow jersey wearer, Tadej Pogačar. To be honest, the Giro d’Italia champion and two-time Tour de France winner’s bike was one of the first to catch the eye and perhaps the luckiest, as it became increasingly difficult to get close to the big teams and riders as the crowds swelled.
A quick look at Pogačar’s bike reveals standard setups, but still intriguing. As expected, he sticks with the Carbon Ti chainrings he has used for over a year, this time in a 55/40T combination.
Pogačar prefers this classic sprint lever mounting style compared to Bardet’s stage-winning bike.
▲ Pogačar uses a direct-mount rear derailleur hanger from an unknown manufacturer
▲ But his spare bike doesn’t have a direct-mount hanger installed
▲ His teammates also use this direct-mount hanger, albeit in black
▲ UAE Team Emirates riders continue to rely on Carbon Ti disc brake rotors
▲ Most UAE Team Emirates riders opted for Enve’s 4.5 SES wheels in Stage 1.
▲ However, tire choices varied. Pogačar went with 30c Continental GP 5000 S TR, which…
…inflates to nearly 32mm, pushing the limits on the team’s Colnago V4Rs frames as you might imagine.
While Valverde chose 28c Continental GP 5000 TT TR, technically violating the UCI’s ISO standard that requires a minimum tire width of 29mm when using a 25mm inner-width rim like the Enve 4.5.