tour de france bike requirements

Tour De France Bike Weight: The Complete Guide

By: Author Martin Williams

Posted on Last updated: March 19, 2023

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I’ve been a massive Tour de France fan ever since I was a kid. Recently, I’ve been investigating the types of bikes they use for this race. How heavy are Tour de France bikes?

The Tour de France bike weight has a minimum limit of 6.8kg, with no upper threshold. The maximum weight of these bikes can go up to 8-9 kg, and even closer to 10kg in some cases.

Tour de France bikes are built to be reasonably lightweight, streamlined, and built for speed.

In this guide, I’ll cover everything you want to know about the required bike specifications, and also the most popular Tour de France bikes and their weights that are being used today.

Tour de France Bike Weight

In 2021, all bikes used in the Tour de France were made from carbon fiber. This includes their frames, wheels, and a majority of their components, like handlebars and seat posts. 

This helps keep the bikes below the minimum weight limit of 6.8kg imposed by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale).

Factors such as aerodynamics, rolling resistance, friction, and weight play a crucial role in the speed of a bike. Therefore, they want their bikes as light as possible as lower weights imply faster and more agile cycling.

UCI introduced the minimum weight limit rule in 2000.

They did it to ensure that manufacturers didn’t risk the safety of cyclists for the lightest bike possible. Though there have been debates over it throughout the years, UCI remains steadfast over this limit. 

However, according to the rule book, there is no upper limit for the weight of a Tour de France bike. But, it wouldn’t be of much help even if there was, as stated earlier, heavier bikes are slower. Kind of a no-brainer, right?

Lighter bikes are preferred as they have the advantage of quicker accelerations and being easier to handle.

This way, teams can get their bikes down to the 6.8kg limit while offering leniency of about 100 grams or so for variations between their scales and the UCI’s. 

Furthermore, accomplishing this task was made harder due to the disc braking systems and the introduction of aerodynamic tube shapes. These features have yielded slightly heavier and more robust frames. However, the weight of these bikes only varies from 6.8kg to around 7.2kg. 

Similarly, time trials bikes have deep tube shapes, rear disc wheels, and deep-section front wheels. It is common for them to be relatively bulky at around 8-9kg, with the heaviest bikes topping out at 10kg.

The Tour de France is renowned for its developments, both in technology and also sports science. (Source)

The heftier bikes peak at around 8kg. Therefore, they use these bikes as aero bikes on flatter tracks. Since there are no slopes, weight is not much of an issue.

Due to this minimum weight limit, manufacturers don’t try to create dangerously light bikes. Instead, they try to focus on other areas of improvement. As a result, various debates have sparked between manufacturers, such as rims vs. disc brakes, inner tubes vs. tubeless tires, and more.

Rim Brakes vs Disc Brakes

Arguably, the most crucial part of a bike is its brakes . A common debate has spun up over the years as to which brake is the most ideal.

Disc brakes are well-known for mountain biking.

But, in recent years, they have become favored for road biking as well. At the start of the 2021 season, practically all of the top teams except for one used disc brakes. 

Many teams feel committed to the technology of these brakes, leaving only a few teams still in favor of rim brakes.

Teams like Ineous Grenadiers, who are the sole representatives of the #savetherimbrake movement, have attempted to change this. However, the reality is that disc brakes are slowly taking over. 

Though many riders have voiced their opinions on this matter, it is still highly likely that the whole peloton will soon stop using rim brakes.

Tubular VS. Clincher VS. Tubeless

Advancements in tires technology became mainstream during last year’s delayed Tour de France. During this time, specialized sponsored teams Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora Hansgrohe surprisingly chose clincher tires fitted with inner tubes for their bikes. 

Over the years, tubular tires have been every manufacturer’s go-to choice. That is because manufacturers glue tubular tires to the rim, which means that they stay on the bike even when it punctures. Ideally, this would allow the rider to continue riding until the wheel or the bike changes.

However, as time passed, tubeless tires adapted to the changes and have experienced an increase in popularity. Using tubeless tires implies that riders don’t have to stop in case of a puncture.

They can automatically repair any punctures, leaving the inner tube to last a long time.

Though Deceuninck-QuickStep and their wheel sponsor Roval may have deemed clincher tires as the best option, when considering tires technology, rim design, and interface, it is understandably not a widely accepted opinion. 

The future of tires technology is uncertain, and no one knows for sure which tires the competitors prefer in the upcoming race.

The New Bikes at the Tour de France

Being the biggest bike race in the world, the Tour de France serves as a global veritable shop window for cycling brands and team sponsors. As an added benefit, racing would also serve as a testbed for the durability of new tech tested by these brands. 

Resultantly, I’ll help keep a detailed review of the new models, technology, or prototype bikes from each brand to ensure you’re up-to-date with the latest news. 

New Dura-Ace

An example of a new technological piece released is the new Dura-Ace groupset by Shimano.

The people expect it to be called Dura-Ace R9200, and the groupset was spotted on bikes of the Team DSM’s riders at Baloise Belgium Tour. I predict it to be widely adopted soon at the Tour de France. 

As stated earlier, since renowned manufacturers use the Tour de France as a shop window for potential buyers, the best new releases would be the bikes. Just last year, two brands, Factor and Canyon, used the race to test their respective early bike releases, and people expect it to be no different this year. 

Upon a glance, the most anticipated bike is the new Pinarello Dogma.

We expect the Pinarello-sponsored Ineos Grenadiers to ride the Pinarello. But, there are plenty of other models to be released. For example, we spotted the new Factory Slick in the Giro d’Italia and the new Trek Speed Concept at the Criterium du Dauphine. 

In addition to the summer blossoming a whole array of new bikes, there have also been announcements for new wheel launches. Carbon wheels help to lighten bikes significantly and add strength and stability. 

The following are descriptions of the teams competing in the Tour de France and their respective bikes and technology:

AG2R Citroen Team

Road bikes: BMC Team Machine SLR01

Weight: 6.8kg

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS

Time trial Bikes: BMC Warp TT

Wheels: Campagnolo

Clothing: Rosti

Saddles: Fizik

Computers: Wahoo

Finishing Kit: BMC

Astana- Premier Tech

Road bikes: Wilier Zero SLR, Wilier Filante

Weight: 7.02kg

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Time trial bikes: Wilier Turbine TT

Wheels: Corima

Clothing: Giordana

Saddles: Prologo

Computers: Garmin  

Finishing Kit: Willier

Alpecin-Fenix

Road bikes: Canyon Aeroad, Canyon Ultimate

Weight: 7.26kg

Time Trial Bikes: Canyon Speedmax

Wheels: Shimano (Aerocoach and Princeton Carbon Works as non-sponsor additions)

Clothing: Kalas Sportswear

Finishing Kit: Canyon

Arkea Samsic

Weight: 7.25kg

Time trial bikes: Canyon Speedmax

Wheels: Shimano

Clothing Craft

Saddles: Selle Italia 

B&B Hotels p/b KTM

Road bikes: KTM Revelator Lisse, KTM Revelator Alto

Weight: 9.3kg

Groupsets: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc

Time trial bikes: KTM Solus

Wheels: DT Swiss

Clothing: Gobik

Computers: Bryton

Finishing Kit: FSA

Bora-Hansgrohe

Road bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7

Time trial bikes: Specialized S-Works Shiv

Wheels: Roval

Clothing: Sportful

Saddles: Specialized

Finishing Kit: PRO, Specialized

Bahrain Victorious

Road bikes: Merida Reacto, Merida Scultura

Time trial bikes: Merida Warp TT

Wheels: Vision

Clothing: Ale

Finishing Kit: FSA, Vision, Prologo

Road bikes: De Rosa Merak, De Rosa Pininfarina SK

Time trial bikes: De Rosa TT-03

Wheels: Fulcrum

Clothing: Nalini

Saddlers: Selle Italia

Computer: Wahoo

Finishing Kit: Errea

Deceuninck-QuickStep

Road bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7, Specialized Aethos

Wheels: Roval 

Clothing: Vermarc

EF Education-Nippo

Road bikes: Cannondale SuperSix Evo, Cannondale System Six

Time trial bikes: Cannondale SuperSlice

Clothing: Rapha

Computers: Garmin

Finishing Kit: FSA, Vision

Groupama-FDJ

Road bikes: Lapierre Aircode DRS, Lapierre Xelius SL

Time trial bikes: Lapierre Aerostorm DRS

Finishing Kit: PRO

Ineos Grenadiers

Road bikes: Pinarello Dogma F12 rim

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 rim

Time trial bikes: Pinarello Bolide TT

Wheels: Shimano; Lightweight, Princeton Carbonworks, and Aerocoach are non-sponsored additions

Clothing: Castelli

Finishing Kit: MOST

Israel Start-Up Nation

Road bikes: Factor OSTRO V. A. M

Time trial bikes: Factor Slick

Wheels: Black Inc; Lightweight as a non-sponsor addition

Clothing: Jinga

Saddles: Selle Italia

Computers: Hammerhead

Finishing Kit: Black Inc

Intermarche-Wanty Gobert

Road bikes: Cube Litening C: 68X

Time trial bikes: Cube Aerium C: 68 TT

Wheels: Newmen

Clothing: Santic, NoPinz

Finishing Kit: Cube

Jumbo-Visma

Road bikes: Cervelo R5, Cervelo S5, Cervelo Caledonia

Time trial bikes: Cervelo P5

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2

Wheels: Shimano; Vision and Aerocoach are non-sponsor additions

Clothing: Agu

Lotto Soudal

Road bikes: Ridley Helium, Ridley Noah Fast

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS, C-Bear ceramic bearings

Time trial bikes: Ridley Dean TT

Finishing Kit: Deda

Movistar Team

Road bikes: Canyon Ultimate, Canyon Aeroad

Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS

Wheels: Zipp

Qhubeka Assos

Road bikes: BMC Teammachine SLR, BMC Timemachine Road

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc, Rotor crankset

Time trial bikes: BMC Timemachine

Wheels: Hunt

Clothing: Assos

Team Bike Exchange

Road bikes: Bianchi Specialissima, Bianchi Oltre XR4

Time trial bikes: Bianchi Aquila TT

Wheels: Shimano, Vision

Road bikes: Scott Addict RC, Scott Foil RC

Time trial bikes: Scott Plasma

Clothing: Keeping Challenging; Team’s brand

Saddles: PRO

Finishing Kit: Syncros

Trek-Segafredo

Road bikes: Trek Madone, Trek Emonda

Time trial bikes: Trek Speed Concept

Wheels: Bontrager

Clothing: Santini

Saddles: Bontrager

Finishing Kit: Bontrager

Total Direct Energie

Road bikes: Wilier Cento10Air Wilier Zero SLR

Time trial bikes: Wilier Turbine

Wheels: Ursus

UAE Team Emirates (Winning Team 2021 Tour de France)

Road bikes: Colnago V3Rs, Colnago Concept, Colnago C64

Time trial bikes: Colnago K-One

Computers: SRM

Final thoughts

For me, watching the Tour De France is as much about the amazing technology exemplified in the bikes as it is about the racing. Can you picture yourself on one these dream machines?

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Tour de France bikes 2023: who’s riding what?

All the bikes and tech on display at the 2023 Tour De France

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Paul Norman

The 2023 Tour de France covers 3,404km (2,115 miles) over its 21 stages. That’s 54km more than last year’s Tour.

However, the bigger news is that time trial kilometres are down from two time trials totalling 53km last year (including the Prologue) to just one at 22.4km this year. It finishes at 974m in altitude and has a 2.5km Cat 2 climb to the finish, with an average 9.4 per cent gradient.

For several years, there's been an individual time trial on the penultimate stage, but this year, it’s on the Tuesday of the final week.

Given how a time trial can upset the final result, as in the 2023 Giro d’Italia, or cement it, as in last year’s Tour, it’s a surprising move.

That means the teams’ road bikes are increasingly to the fore. As usual, there’s some very flashy tech on show and we can expect more to be announced in the run-up to the Grand Départ and probably to be unearthed by the sharp-eyed as the race proceeds.

Read on for a complete list of the bikes in this year’s Tour de France, along with the kit they’re fitted with, and our pick of some of the new bikes and tech to keep an eye out for at the 2023 Tour de France .

Also check out our guide to prize money in this year's race, our explainer on leaders jerseys , a comprehensive Tour de France jargon buster and our round-up of how to watch the Tour , wherever you are in the world.

Tour de France 2023 bike brands

The 2023 Tour de France peloton is made up of 22 teams of eight, 176 riders in total. The 18 WorldTour squads receive an automatic invitation to compete, while four second-tier Pro Continental teams get a wildcard invitation. Between them, 19 bike brands are represented.

That’s two up on last year’s Tour, although the majority of brands are the same as in last year’s race. Even Ridley and Factor, who saw their teams demoted to the UCI’s second division, are back this year thanks to wildcard invitations for Lotto-Dstny and Israel-Premier Tech respectively.

New bike brands this year are Bianchi, Look and Dare, while out this year is De Rosa. Specialized continues to sponsor three teams, as in 2022, but Canyon is down from three to two.

Bianchi was absent last year, but is back with Arkéa-Samsic. It had its first race win back in 1899 and its bikes were ridden by Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi and Marco Pantani as well as a who’s who of other top-drawer racers, so it’s a prestigious return for the brand. On the other hand, De Rosa is an equally famous name from cycling’s past that has departed the Tour.

Bike brands represented at the 2023 Tour de France:

• Bianchi : Team Arkéa-Samsic
• BMC : AG2R Citroën Team
• Cannondale : EF Education-EasyPost
• Canyon : Alpecin-Deceuninck, Movistar Team
• Cervélo : Jumbo-Visma
• Colnago : UAE Team Emirates
• Cube : Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
• Dare : Uno-X Pro Cycling
• Factor : Israel-Premier Tech
• Giant : Team Jayco-AlUla
• Lapierre : Groupama-FDJ
• Look : Cofidis
• Merida : Bahrain Victorious
• Pinarello : Ineos Grenadiers
• Ridley : Lotto-Dstny
• Scott : Team DSM-Firmenich
• Specialized : Bora-Hansgrohe, Soudal-QuickStep, TotalEnergies
• Trek : Lidl-Trek
• Wilier Triestina : Astana-Qazaqstan

Read on for more details of each team’s bikes, wheels and other kit.

What’s new in Tour de France tech?

New bike launches.

Since last year’s Tour, the Colnago Prototipo ridden to second place by Tadej Pogačar has finally become the Colnago V4Rs and been released for us to review – and anyone with deep enough pockets to buy.

Rather like the Colnago, the new Look 795 Blade RS ridden by Team Cofidis has been in plain sight for months, but was only officially launched earlier in June.

Its profile is similar to many other pro bikes with front-end integration, aero tubes and dropped seatstays, but is a departure from Look’s previous pro-level race bikes.

As per the usual playbook, Look says the new bike is stiffer and more aero.

There are more subtle changes to the Canyon Aeroad . Canyon has yet to announce details, but there are slight changes to the tube profiles and the seatpost clamp has moved from the rear of the seat tube to the top of the top tube.

The changes to the Cannondale SuperSix EVO are equally small but significant, with the fourth generation of the bike lighter and more aero – and in LAB71 format significantly more expensive.

Other new bikes bubbling under include an update to the Factor O2 VAM , BMC's new aero road bike and a new Ridley bike , also aero.

One thing all these bikes have in common is there's not a cable or brake hose in sight. In part, that's down to all the groupsets ridden now having wireless connections between the shifters and the derailleurs.

It's also due to the brake hoses running exclusively internally. Since they're invariably hydraulic, there's no loss of braking efficiency, however sharp the bends and no matter how convoluted the routing becomes.

Tubeless wheels and tyres have mostly taken over

Almost all teams are now running tubeless tyres in place of the pros’ favourite tubulars. There are good reasons for this beyond the lack of potentially carcinogenic and addictive solvents in the tub cement (more of an issue for the team mechanics than the riders).

Matej Mohorič of Bahrain Victorious has claimed tubeless tech can lower rolling resistance by up to 15 watts per tyre. Paired with the latest aero wheel designs, that’s a huge margin.

You’re also less likely to need a wheel swap at a crucial point in the race, with sealant helping to cope with punctures, although unlike tubs you can’t ride a flat tyre to the finish or while waiting for the team car to give you a wheel swap.

28mm tyres are also increasingly taking over from 25mm, even on the smooth tarmac generally enjoyed on the Tour. Riders often sub in time trial tyres for road tyres, due to their lighter weight, although they in general offer less puncture protection than the best road bike tyres .

One team that has remained on tubs is Astana-Qazaqstan, although it’s in the process of swapping from Corima wheels that don’t offer a tubeless rim, to HED which does.

Component choices

As in previous years, Shimano dominates the teams’ drivetrain choices, with just three teams on SRAM (Jumbo-Visma, Movistar, Lidl-Trek) and one (AG2R-Citroën) on Campagnolo – one down on 2022 with the defection of UAE Team Emirates to Shimano at the beginning of 2023.

There's more on Campagnolo Super Record below, but an unlaunched update to SRAM Red AXS has been spotted. With SRAM focusing on the launch of its updated Force AXS groupset earlier in 2023, it seems likely that a new version of Red AXS will be announced sooner rather than later.

We've seen an increasing acceptance of single chainrings in races earlier in the season, such as Paris-Roubaix , and that may extend to flatter stages in the Tour, when the small chainring is little used.

Expect 2x setups to take over in the mountains again though, yet even there Primož Roglič showed that a single ring with a wide-range cassette was a winning option.

There’s more variation in wheels than drivetrains, with the aforementioned Corima and HED, as well as Reserve, Vision, DT Swiss, Roval, Newmen, Black Inc, ENVE, Bontrager, Zipp and Cadex all represented.

Campagnolo goes wireless

Campagnolo is providing its Super Record groupset to just one team this year, AG2R Citroën. However, it has dispensed with wires, with the recent launch of the new Super Record Wireless groupset.

As with SRAM Red AXS , the consumer version of Super Record Wireless uses smaller chainrings paired to cassettes starting with a 10-tooth sprocket and rising to just 29 teeth as the largest sprocket option. However, the pros are likely to stick to closer ratios for all but the toughest stages.

There are a couple of interesting things to watch out for here: first, are all the riders using the latest Wireless groupset?

When Shimano Dura-Ace went 12-speed last year, there were still teams using the older 11-speed Dura-Ace long after the official launch, due in large part to the new groupset’s scarcity.

Will Campagnolo have got its manufacturing and distribution ducks in a row better than Shimano?

Second, with SRAM Red AXS, there are a series of chainring options designed specifically for the pros, which are larger than the chainrings on the complete cranksets available for consumer purchase.

That’s partly because pros like to push larger gears at their elevated riding speeds (winner Jonas Vingegaard averaged over 42kph throughout the entire Tour last year).

It’s also because the chainline and the degree of curvature of the chain as it passes over the jockey wheels and cassette make small, but significant, differences in drivetrain friction. Therefore, riding in a larger sprocket nearer the middle of the cassette is an easy marginal gain. It’s also the reason why OSPW systems are used by the pros.

Will we see AG2R Citroën riders using larger chainrings, perhaps borrowed from the previous generation of Super Record, with Campagnolo Super Record Wireless at the Tour?

Tour de France 2023 bikes

All 18 WorldTour teams ride the Tour de France and every one of them gets the pick of the best bikes from their sponsors’ ranges. That includes all teams using 12-speed wireless/semi-wireless electronic groupsets on their road bikes and a choice of top-spec carbon wheels.

The invited Pro Continental teams (Israel-Premier Tech, Lotto-Dstny, TotalEnergies, Uno X) too are on top-spec bikes and equipment – there’s no second best here.

Read on for a breakdown of who’s riding what.

AG2R Citroën Team (ACT)

• Framesets: BMC Teammachine SLR01/Timemachine Road/Timemachine (TT)
• Drivetrain: Campagnolo Super Record Wireless
• Wheels: Campagnolo Bora WTO/WTO Ultra
• Finishing kit: BMC, Power2Max, Look, Pirelli, Fizik, Elite, Wahoo

Alpecin-Deceuninck (ADC)

• Bikes: Canyon Ultimate CFR/Aeroad CFR/ Speedmax CFR Disc (TT)
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace
• Wheels: Shimano
• Finishing kit: Canyon, Shimano, Vittoria, Selle Italia, Elite, Wahoo

Astana-Qazaqstan (AST)

• Bikes: Wilier Triestina Filante SLR/0 SLR/Turbine (TT)
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace/SLF Motion jockey wheels and bottom bracket
• Wheels: Corima/HED
• Finishing kit: Wilier, Look, Vittoria, Prologo, Tacx, Garmin

Bahrain Victorious (TBV)

• Bikes: Merida Scultura Disc Team/Reacto Disc Team/Time Warp (TT)
• Wheels: Vision Metron
• Finishing kit: FSA/Vision, Continental, Prologo, Elite

Bora-Hansgrohe (BOH)

• Bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7/Shiv (TT)
• Wheels: Roval
• Finishing kit: Roval, Specialized, Wahoo

Cofidis (COF)

• Bikes: Look 795 Blade RS/796 Monoblade RS (TT)
• Wheels: Corima
• Finishing kit: Look, SRM, Michelin, Selle Italia, Elite, Wahoo

EF Education-EasyPost (EFE)

• Bikes: Cannondale SuperSix EVO/SystemSix/SuperSlice (TT)
• Finishing kit: FSA/Vision, Wahoo Speedplay, Vittoria, Prologo, FSA, Tacx, Wahoo

Groupama-FDJ (GFC)

• Bikes: Lapierre Xelius SL 10.0/Aircode DRS/Aérostorm DRS (TT)
• Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace / PRO
• Finishing kit: PRO, Continental, Prologo, Elite, Garmin

Ineos Grenadiers (IGD)

• Bikes: Pinarello Dogma F/Bolide (TT)
• Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace/Princeton Carbonworks
• Finishing kit: MOST, Continental, Fizik, Elite, Garmin

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (ICW)

• Bikes: Cube Litening C:68X Pro/Aerium (TT)
• Wheels: Newmen Advanced SL
• Finishing kit: Cube, Look, Continental, Prologo, Elite, CeramicSpeed, Bryton

Israel-Premier Tech (IPT)

• Bikes: Factor Ostro VAM / O2 VAM / Hanzo (TT)
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace/FSA chainset
• Wheels: Black Inc
• Finishing kit: Black Inc, Rotor, Maxxis, Selle Italia, CeramicSpeed, SwissStop, Elite, Hammerhead

Jumbo-Visma (TJV)

• Bikes: Cervélo R5 Disc/S5/P5 (TT)
• Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS
• Wheels: Reserve 52/63
• Finishing kit: Cervélo, Wahoo Speedplay, Vittoria, Fizik, Tacx, Garmin

Lidl-Trek (LTK)

• Bikes: Trek Émonda SLR/Madone SLR/Speed Concept (TT)
• Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus
• Finishing kit: Bontrager, Time, Pirelli, Wahoo

Lotto-Dstny (LTD)

• Bikes: Ridley Noah Fast Disc/Helium SLX Disc/Dean Fast (TT)
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace/Cema bearings
• Wheels: DT Swiss
• Finishing kit: Deda, 4iiii, Vittoria, Selle Italia, Tacx, Garmin

Movistar Team (MOV)

• Bikes: Canyon Aeroad CFR/Speedmax CF SLX (TT)
• Wheels: Zipp
• Finishing kit: Canyon, Look, Continental, Fizik, Lizard Skins, Garmin

Soudal-QuickStep (SOQ)

• Bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7/Roubaix/Shiv (TT)
• Finishing kit: Roval, Specialized, CeramicSpeed, Tacx, Supercaz, Garmin

Team Arkéa-Samsic (ARK)

• Bikes: Bianchi Specialissima/Oltre RC/Aquila (TT)
• Finishing kit: Bianchi, Continental, Selle Italia, Elite, Wahoo

Team DSM-Firmenich (DSM)

• Bikes: Scott Foil RC/Plasma 5 (TT)
• Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace
• Finishing kit: Syncros, Vittoria, Elite, Wahoo

Team Jayco-AlUla (JAY)

• Bikes: Giant Propel Advanced Disc/TCR Advanced SL Disc/Trinity Advanced Pro (TT)
• Wheels: Cadex 36, 42, 65
• Finishing kit: Cadex, Giant

TotalEnergies (TEN)

• Finishing kit: Roval, Specialized, Tacx, Garmin

UAE Team Emirates (UAD)

• Bikes: Colnago V4Rs/K.one (TT)
• Wheels: ENVE
• Finishing kit: Colnago, Look, Continental, Prologo, Elite, Wahoo

Uno-X Pro Cycling (UXT)

• Bikes : Dare VSRu/TSRf (TT)
• Finishing kit: Dare, Schwalbe, Pro, CeramicSpeed, Elite, Garmin

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How Much Does a Tour de France Bike Weigh in 2023?

The 2023 Tour de France has begun today, so I bring you another data-driven research. This time, I scrutinized the Tour de France bike weights .

You might be surprised, but just a few bikes weigh 6.8 kg, which is the UCI limit.

Many bikes exceed 7 kg.

I gathered the weights of all road bikes used by all cycling teams (World Tour + Pro Continental) on the Tour de France since 2020 and did the math.

How much does a Tour de France bike weigh?

The average Tour de France bike weight was 7.2 kg in 2020 , 7.1 kg  in 2021 , 7.1 kg in 2022 , and 7.08 kg in 2023 .

Continue reading to learn more.

Abbreviations used: PT – Pro Tour Team, WT – World Tour Team, UCI – Union Cycliste Internationale

A Few Words About This Research

When searching for the weights of the TdF road bikes, I faced multiple challenges:

• The bike weights vary depending on the bike size, specifications, and components.
• Not all weights were available (e.g., on the manufacturers’ websites, in magazines, or online).
• Most of the bike weights are based on factory specifications. TdF bikes often have different specifications, so the final weight varies. The problem is getting to the actual bikes and comparing the same sizes. In addition, the specs can vary from stage to stage.

Based on these notes, it is clear that the weights are rather indicative, and the real weights may vary by an estimated ±200g.

Tour de France Bike Weight in 2023

The following table shows the bikes of all teams participating in the 2023 Tour de France.

The average 2023 Tour de France bike weight is 7.08 kg .

The average 2023 Tour de France aero bike weight is 7.19 kg .

The average 2023 Tour de France lightweight bike weight is 6.96 kg .

Tour de France Bike Weight in 2022

The following table shows the bikes of all teams participating in the 2022 Tour de France.

The average 2022 Tour de France bike weight is 7.1 kg .

The average 2022 Tour de France aero bike weight is 7.25 kg .

The average 2022 Tour de France lightweight bike weight is 6.93 kg .

Check out these weight statistics of road bikes . I summarized over 400 bikes and categorized them to determine how the brake and frame type influence the overall weight.

Tour de France Bike Weight in 2021

The following table shows the bikes of all teams participating in the 2021 Tour de France.

The average 2021 Tour de France bike weight was 7.1 kg .

The average 2021 Tour de France aero bike weight was 7.27 kg .

The average 2021 Tour de France lightweight bike weight was 6.97 kg .

See the Tour de France bikes prices .

Tour de France Bike Weight in 2020

The following table shows the bikes of all teams participating in the 2020 Tour de France.

The average 2020 Tour de France bike weight was 7.22 kg .

The average 2020 Tour de France aero bike weight was 7.41 kg .

The average 2020 Tour de France lightweight bike weight was 7.03 kg .

You might also be interested in these Tour de France statistics that include info about riders’ weights, heights, BMI, and more.

The weight of Tour de France bikes fluctuates between 6.8 kg (which is the minimum weight stated by the UCI regulations) and 7.5 kg . However, some bikes can exceed this weight.

Aero road bikes, for example, are about 300g heavier on average than lightweight (or all-rounder) road bikes.

The same applies to disc brake road bikes. In 2021, most teams used disc brakes (which are heavier than rim brakes), except for teams like INEOS-Grenadiers or UAE. In 2023, no team used rim brakes.

Do you think that UCI will update the weight limit in the future, so we will see bikes weighing 6.5 kg or even less?

In case you find any mistakes, don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you!

Tour de France Bikes FAQ

UCI introduced the minimum weight limit already in 2000. Its main purpose is to protect cyclists against failures (and subsequent crashes) caused by too-light bike frame parts. If some crucial part is poorly designed and there is not enough material to make it stiff and durable, there is a higher risk of failure.

No, there is no upper weight limit for a TdF bike.

The preview picture ©A.S.O./Charly Lopez (cropped)

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About The Author

Petr Minarik

2 thoughts on “how much does a tour de france bike weigh in 2023”.

Hello Petr, Thanks for your post which is really interesting and informative. I am writing a paper about composite materials used in Tour de France. I am wondering where you found these bike weights. Thank you!

Hi Yi, Thanks! I used manufacturer’s websites as the primary source. Then magazine and comparison websites, eventually videos. – Petr

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Understanding the Increase in Weight of Tour de France Bikes

The UCI, cycling’s international governing body, has a rule stating that bikes must weigh no less than 6.8kg to prevent teams and bike manufacturers from building bikes that are too light and fragile to withstand the rigors of professional racing.

There were once times when pro cycling teams mocked the rule as being outdated because, with our current technology, bike manufacturers can easily make carbon fiber bikes that weigh far less than 6.8kg while still meeting the EN ISO 4210-6 safety requirements.

In fact, pro teams used to artificially add extra weight to their bikes to meet the 6.8kg weight limit rule.

However, new generations of Tour de France bikes are now significantly heavier than they used to be. The average bike in the pro peloton today weighs around 7.2kg. Why?

In this article, we’ll discuss why road bikes are getting heavier and why that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

What Is The Average Tour de France Bike Weight?

Based on videos of GCN and CyclingTips who regularly weigh Tour de France bikes every year, aero bikes weigh upwards of 7.5kg. But most importantly, bikes that the Tour de France pros use in mountainous stages weigh from 7.0 to 7.3kg. This is far above the UCI weight limit of 6.8kg.

Looking back to 2015 and earlier, lightweight bikes are so much lighter. Trek Emonda , for example, which first launched in 2014 and weighs 4.6kg was the lightest production bike at the time. Then there are the first and second versions of Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod that weigh less than 6.8kg even without the highest-level components.

Of course, you can’t race them in UCI-sanctioned races, but these bikes were the norm. Even if you can’t race with them, everyone can buy these bikes.

Clearly, manufacturers know how to actually make lightweight bikes that are safe to use. At one time, they just decided not to.

Despite today’s weight inflation, though, apparently, Tour de France riders are getting faster than ever. So, what happened there? Why are lightweight bikes getting heavier and why are these new-gen heavy bikes faster than the old lightweight ones?

The Advantage of Aerodynamics

Because carbon fiber technology advanced so quickly and bikes were getting so light, the UCI did have a second look at their 6.8kg regulations a few years ago. Ultimately, they decided to keep the rule in place.

Because of that, pro teams artificially added extra weights to their bikes. This is often in the form of heavier components or leads taped to the frame or wheels. This brings the bike up to the minimum weight limit.

Later, companies realize that instead of adding dead weights, which gives pros no advantage during the race, they might as well add weights that do make them faster.

With the help of wind tunnel testing, bike companies have been able to design bikes that are more aerodynamic than ever before. Other than the thicker frame tubes, features such as integrated handlebars and stems, hidden cables, and deep-section wheels, all of this help reduce drag and make the bike faster.

Because of all these features, aero bikes are significantly heavier than lightweight bikes. And this is the first reason why we’re seeing the start of inflation in Tour de France bike weights.

The Rise of All-Arounder Bikes

But aero bikes aren’t new. For a while, pros have been switching between lightweight bikes for mountainous stages and aero bikes for flat/sprint stages.

They thought because aero bikes are heavier, they wouldn’t be able to climb as well as lightweight bikes. But as it turns out, that’s not always the case. As long as pros are able to ride above 30km/h, aero properties will always be more important than weight. Even on the longest and steepest mountain like the Alps the Huez, grand tour riders can still hold an average speed of 20km/h where some aerodynamic properties still matter.

So there’s a sweet spot between weight and aero, which gives birth to all-arounder bikes. They are essentially climbing bikes with some aero optimization, giving them a little bit of extra weight but can climb faster than pure climbing bikes on most hills because of the aero shapes.

The Specialized Tarmac is one example of an all-arounder bike. It’s not the lightest in the market, but with some aero features, it’s one of the fastest bikes you can buy.

Optimized for aero and equipped with deeper-section carbon wheels, most of these lightweight all-around bikes weigh from 6.8 to 7.5kg.

The Age of Disc Brakes

The final reason for the current state of Tour de France bikes is the rise of disc brakes. Disc brake bikes are heavier than their rim brake counterparts, but most top-level aero and all-arounder bikes come equipped with disc brakes now.

Not only the calipers and disc rotors themselves are heavier, but the fork, frame seat stay, chain stay, and wheels of a disc brake-compatible bike must also be reinforced and be made heavier than their rim brake counterparts to compensate for the higher stopping force.

All combined, a top-level disc brake road bike is said to weigh about 500g more than a rim brake bike of the same model.

But all these weights are not for nothing. Sure, rim brakes vs disc brakes preference is still a very controversial topic even today, but there are some clear advantages of disc brakes that make almost all pro teams ride exclusively disc brakes today.

With disc brakes, you can slow down from a high speed with better reliability, and as a result, pros are more confident in going on a higher-speed descent. Disc brakes also have better compatibility with tubeless tire setup, which has a lower rolling resistance compared to standard butyl or tubular setup.

The use of disc brakes also allows wider rims and tires, which can lower rolling resistance and add comfort. These will surely add weight, but looking at how pro peloton has been continuously increasing their tire width from 23mm to 28mm today, the swap must’ve been worth it.

Is Disc Brake the Biggest Contributor to Weight Inflation?

Aero and disc brakes are surely the main contributors to why Tour de France bikes are now heavier than 6.8kg. The disc brake has been blamed as the reason why bikes today are so much heavier than older rim brake bikes. But is that true?

To answer that, we need to look at road bike manufacturers who still give a choice to customers whether they want a rim brake or disc brake bike.

The best example of this is the Pinarello Dogma F since it’s one of the new-gen bikes that still have a rim brake option.

In a video on the YouTuber GC Performance’s channel, he weighed the Dogma F rim brake bike in size 53 with a Campagnolo Super Record EPS groupset and Princeton 4540 wheels with White Industries hubs. The total weight without pedals is 7.19kg.

In another of his video , he weighed the disc brake version of Pinarello Dogma F. Same paint job, same size, same groupset, but heavier wheels (Princeton 4550, slightly deeper than the 4550). The weight? Also 7.19kg.

What happened there? Why is the rim brake bike not lighter than the disc brake variation?

If we looked at CCache.cc’s road bike groupset weight comparison table , it turns out that there are only 107 grams of difference between Super Record EPS rim brake vs disc brake—without the brake fluid which can weigh from 50-100 grams per bike. So, in total, the difference between the disc brake and rim brake groupset is 200 grams or less.

This difference can easily be offset by the small weight variations that normally occur during the frame and components manufacturing process. So, maybe what we’re seeing is a disc brake frame and components that happened to be lighter than the rim brake. But, seeing that they have the exact same weight, the actual difference in weight between disc and rim brake bikes might not be that significant after all.

How Much Does “Aero” Add Weight?

So, now that we know disc brakes add more or less 200 grams to a bike, how much weight do aero profiles contribute to added weight?

The easiest way to find out is by measuring two bikes, one with aero profiles and one completely without. The two bikes must be of the same company and same generation so that we know they use the same carbon layup.

The two bikes that come to mind are the Specialized Tarmac SL7 and Aethos.

The Tarmac SL7 is the perfect example of an all-arounder bike. It eliminates the need for Specialized’s dedicated aero bike, Venge, from the market and pro peloton because the Tarmac SL7 is not far-worse in terms of aero, yet it is significantly lighter.

The Aethos, on the other hand, has absolutely zero aero optimization. The Aethos is made to be a lightweight frame, all the tubes are rounded without a single hint of aerofoil profile.

The Tarmac SL7 is no doubt the faster frame, but the Aethos is lighter. But by how much? If we compare frame weights, the Aethos is 570g and the Tarmac SL7 is 800g, both in size 56.

Right away, you can see that making a frame more aero adds 230g.

As a complete bike without pedals, the Tarmac SL7 is 6.9kg and Aethos is 6.2kg. The difference gets bigger because the Aethos is equipped with a lightweight integrated handlebar and stem, and a much shallower rim depth.

As you can see, aero profiles add 700 grams and disc brakes add up to 200 grams to the bike. There are also minor factors like wider rims and tires, threaded bottom brackets, and electronic groupsets. Combined, these are the reason why today’s road bikes can be more than 1 kilogram heavier than older ones.

How Much Does Weight Affect Speed Anyway?

Road cyclists are obsessed with weight, so you might be curious about Tour de France bike weight in the first place. But how much faster is a lighter bike?

Everything else being equal (they are usually not), a lighter bike is not measurably faster on a perfectly flat road. That’s because on a flat road, gravity doesn’t work for or against you and the bike weight only contributes to the small increase in rolling resistance. Considering the weight difference between the lightest and heaviest road bikes, which is not actually not that significant once we started adding the rider’s weight, this can’t practically be measured when you’re on a flat road.

Cycling uphill on steep gradients, though, you might be able to feel the difference.

On a 3% gradient, a 70kg rider with a 6kg bike will need to exert 193 watts of power to go at a speed of 20 km/h. If we increase the bike weight to 9kg, the rider will need 199 watts to go at the same speed.

A 6-watt of difference with 3kg of bike weight isn’t much for most people except people who compete at the highest level of competition like the Tour de France.

The power difference gets bigger the steeper the gradient is. For example, on a 7% gradient, the same rider with a 6kg bike will need to exert 368 watts of power to go at a speed of 20 km/h. If we increase the bike weight to 9kg, the rider will need 381 watts to go at the same speed.

So the difference is now 13 watts at a 7% gradient compared to 6 watts at 3%.

If you put a more comparable bike weight, for example, a 6.8kg UCI-limit bike vs a Tour de France bike’s average weight of 7.3kg. The difference going up a 7% gradient hill is only 2 watts at 20 km/h.

If you’re interested in experimenting with the numbers yourself, you can use this calculator .

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to check if the weight and aero tradeoff is worth it because you will need a wind tunnel to measure how much all the aero frame and components make you faster. The closest thing we can make a judgment on is by looking at Tour Mag’s aero test comparisons.

For example, Giant TCR Advanced 2019, a pure climbing bike with very minimal aero considerations, scored 227 watts at 45 km/h in a wind tunnel. On the other hand we have the Specialized Tarmac SL7, an all-arounder, scored 210 watts in the same setting. A 17-watt difference at 45 km/h, which is probably around 5-10 watts at 30 km/h.

So, realistically, the heavier aero/all-arounder bike can save you about 10 watts on a perfectly flat road but make you slower by 2 watts going on a very steep uphill. For people competing in the highest level of the sport, this tradeoff might be worth it.

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How Much Do Tour de France Bikes Weigh

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The Giro d’Italia , the Vuelta a España and Tour de France are the three most prominent races in the world. Of the three, winning the Tour de France is every professional bike riders dream. The Tour de France is the world’s most reputable and arduous race. Taking place every summer , the race consists of 20 professional teams of 9 cyclists each. These expert athletes must complete 21 day long phases over a 23 day period , in which they have to cycle approximately 3500 kilometers . And that too is not just bikers racing over flat terrain. The race is a combination of racing on both flat and mountainous surfaces and time-trial racing. One needs absolute mastery over all three of the aforementioned types of racing in order to come on top of this race. Therefore, it is clear that the Tour de France is a test of pure athletic perseverance. Only the best of the best riders in the world can endure such difficult tasks and come out as winners. The race is held predominantly in France , however, sometimes it does take place in other countries in Europe . It is watched by billions of people around the world, both at the venue and on television or online websites. It is an event loved by many around the globe. The renowned event has produced legendary cyclists such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Jacques Anquetil. Tour de France is an athletic feat of pure passion and endurance.

What makes or breaks the perfect bike?

A Custom Tour de France Bike

However, this incredible race cannot be won with just skill and expertise. One also needs the perfect bicycle for such a demanding competition. Which begs the age-old question, what makes the perfect bicycle for a race such as the Tour de France? Is it the rim type or the rim material? Or is it the hub? Perhaps the answer is not that simple. And perhaps different cyclists prioritize different aspects of their bicycles. Some like to go tubeless with their wheels, some prefer premium carbon rims and some racers like disc wheels. Whatever they prefer, every professional racer admits the universal truth that the weight of your wheels is absolutely crucial to your success in the race. The weight of the wheels influences everything from the biker’s speed to control. That is why so many people prefer lightweight bicycles as they aid in sprinting past the competitors at a lightning-fast speed. And so it should be easy to pick racing bikes now, the lighter the bike the better its performance, right? This could not be more wrong. Yes, lightweight bikes provide superior speed, but the lightest bikes also experience the most air resistance when speeding up. The bike needs to be sturdy enough to fight off the air resistance and also help the rider to maintain his or her control over it. Otherwise, the biker might lose control and fall off the cycle while trying to speed up. The perfect bike’s weight should deliver a mixture of lightweight and stiffness, thus offering optimum performance to the racer. 

Who makes the rules?

The Union Cycliste Internationale , based in Switzerland , is the governing body of the sports and competitive cycling world. All rules, regulations, and executive decisions regarding cycling events are determined by the UCI . The UCI also grants racing licenses to professional cyclists and enforces disciplinary rules, such as in matters of doping and drug abuse. They play a significant role in the sport of cycling and maintain order and harmony in the cycling universe. And so as their role states, they decide everything related to cycling which also includes the weight limit of bicycles for the grand Tour de France. The UCI was founded in Paris, France in the year of 1900 . In those early years, bicycles were very high in weight. They used to weigh about 40 pounds or approximately 18.1 kilograms . As a matter of fact, a renowned cycling magazine previewed a cycle in the first edition of Tour de France in 1903 that weighed 39.7 pounds or 18 kilograms exactly. A lot has changed since then. Fast forward to the year of 2000 , when UCI announced quite a few rules and regulations which included a brand new weight limit for bicycles. The new weight limit was set at 6.8 kilograms which is 14.99 in pounds . Before this was done, contenders for the Tour de France used to reduce their weight excessively in order to make them lightweight and as fast as possible which is quite dangerous. This new weight limit meant that none of the bikes could weigh less than 6.8 kilograms . This rule was executed to make sure that bicycle companies did not manufacture ultrafast bicycles at the cost of disregarding structural integrity. To ensure that the bicycles are engineered to not just win races but also to guarantee the safety of their riders. Thus, establishing a new standard weight limit which ensured protection for the riders and made their bikes less fragile. 

As for how the UCI came to the decision about the weight limit, the UCI has a notable Equipment Commission which consists of engineers and other bicycle specialists who have worked in the industry for many years and have a great experience. They have researched and reviewed numerous data on the reliability of bicycles. Then after careful consideration, they have collectively come to the decision of an international weight limit of 6.8 kilograms.

Rise of innovation

This weight limit forced bicycle manufacturers to make bicycles that satisfied UCI rules and also ensured speed for the racers. However, the birth of the use of carbon fiber technology in modern-day bicycles made this an even harder job for the manufacturers. Now, carbon materials are used on almost every component of the bicycle. Rims, bike seats, hubs, you name it, they all can be made from carbon. This led to Tour de France and other grand race contenders to take these superlight bicycles and add back-dated components such as alloy handlebars in order to meet the weight limit. 

➥ Related:  Best Carbon Wheelsets for the Money

When the weight limit was first set in 2000 , it received a lot of backlash from racers and the general public. Everyone thought professional bicycle racing was getting restricted. However, as time passed by we saw that it actually made way for innovation and ultimately transformation in the sports cycling arena. Manufacturers also met the weight level with the invention of electronic shifting. The electronic shifting got rid of traditional shifting which consisted of inconvenient cords. This new system moved the chain with a tiny motor powered by batteries. Another innovation due to the weight restriction is the shape of the bike as a whole. The bicycle industry focused more on making the bike and its components more aerodynamic in shape. Although the UCI has regulations in place to stop racers from making their bikes too aero in shape. Manufacturers have found ways to make racing cycles aerodynamic enough to both meet the regulations and also provide maximum speed and efficiency to the professional cyclists.

So how much do the Tour de France bikes actually weigh?

The governing body could not predict this rapid development in the bicycle industry. We can clearly see the result of such innovative thinking out there on the track today. Trek’s Edmonda 10 weighs just 4.6 kilograms (10.1 pounds ) which is exactly 2.2 kilograms below the weight limit. Not only that, but the 4.5 Merida Sculptura 9000 LTD is also known as one of the lightest bikes out there. With such advanced technology available today, bikes can be both super light and safe at the same time. Racers use such bikes by adding extra weight in order to get them approved for professional competitions under the UCI .

Here are some of the bikes and their weights, the Tour de France professionals have used:

Is it time for a change?

Yes, the weight makes every race a fair competition. Yes, it was made to ensure safety and it has given way to innovations such as electrical shifting and aerodynamics. But with the progress in technology, materials and engineering is it still necessary? Many racers and manufacturers of the cycling world don’t seem to think so. Engineers from Scott Sports have expressed that with modern technology at our fingertips, the weight limit does not ensure safety. According to them, a bike weighing above 7 kilograms can be more dangerous than a bike weighing below 6 kg made with the latest materials. And for some, the very fact that racers take bikes weighing less than 6.8 kilograms and add weights just to make them viable for the race track is absolutely irrational. The way science and technology are progressing every day, maybe it is time to revisit this topic.

In order for the UCI to change the existing weight rule, the Equipments Commission must find enough scientific proof that indeed altering or deleting the rule will not hamper the safety of bicycle racers around the world. No matter what the limit is set to, racers and companies will continue to push the boundaries of bicycle manufacturing and take them to the next level.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the information that you were looking for. We have tried to include as much as we can about how much Tour de France bikes weigh, why they weigh that much, what is the current scenario, and what the future may look like. We tried to paint you a picture of both sides of the story on the UCI weight limit. Whether the rule should be altered or eliminated is up to you to judge and ultimately up to the Union Cycliste Internationale to decide. 

Whether the rule is here to stay or leave, it does not change the fact that we are producing the best cycles right now than ever before. The products out there today are absolutely incredible. And this was all possible because the weight limit coerced bicycle companies and its engineers to find new ways to enhance performance and speed.

Thus, driving the entire industry towards what it is today. So let us hope that this innovation continues and further develops the cycling world that we know today.

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My name is Dion Lewis.I’ve been cycling since my childhood. When I was in high school, I started racing in our local competitions.In my college life, I took a part-time job in a bicycle shop and I learned how to repair and maintain bicycles professionally.Though I love racing, mountain biking is another thing I do frequently. My friends, neighbors, and colleagues treat me as an avid rider and take my suggestions while they plan for a new bike or bike gear.

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Getting Ready for the Tour de France

How do the pros prepare for one of the hardest races in cycling? The 109 th edition of the Tour de France is just around the corner and professional riders are putting the finishing touches on their year long journey to the pinnacle of cycling. What do they train in each of the distinct training stages leading up to the Tour? Let’s take a closer look.

Tour de France 2022

This year’s Tour will span 3328 km inside the classic 21 days of racing. There will be 6 mountain stages, 2 individual time-trials, and plenty of flat stages for breakaways and exciting sprint finishes. Stage 7 will be the longest with 220 km while stage 11 will take riders to the highest point at the top of Col du Galibier, a breath taking 2607 metres above sea level. If last year is anything to go by, then the winner will be expected to maintain an average speed of 41,17 kilometres per hour over nearly 83 hours of racing. It’s clear that every competitor will have to be in the shape of their life.

😍Ahead of the #TDF2022 Grand Départ from Denmark, @Letour is meeting the "golden generation" of Danish cycling Today: 🇩🇰 @Mads_Pedersen ⤵ pic.twitter.com/F6tVUkcEHj — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 22, 2022

It takes the whole season

Competing at the Tour de France is the highlight of every cyclist’s season, if not their whole career. That’s why most pros plan their season with the main goal to peak just as the Tour kicks off. The preparation often starts around 7 months before the Tour and includes several training macro-cycles. They will be building an aerobic base, adding high-intensity, doing race-specific training, and tapering. Let’s take a closer look at each of these training stages.

Building a base

The Tour is set to start on the 1 st of July which means that most rider initiated their base-building phase late November or early December of last year. Their main focus is on long, low-intensity rides to build up the basic aerobic endurance required. It also includes some flexibility and strength training on top of that. The riders typically do something like 20-30 hours of training each week.

Adding intensity

Come February, or about 5 months before the start of the Tour, cyclists start adding more tempo, sub-threshold, and threshold rides. Threshold tempo is the hardest effort that you can sustain for an hour which means they will be spending more and more time at high intensity. This training phase is also where they start working on their nutrition on and off the bike. They need to get used to consuming a lot of food on the bike. Their digestion needs to be conditioned to handle up to 90 g of carbs per hour while cycling.

This is also the time when the pros start to peak with their body weight. They start early because steady weight loss is the best way to avoid sacrificing performance. There is a general rule of thumb that they shouldn’t lose more than 0,5 % of their bodyweight per week.

Race-specific training

Right around the beginning of April, Tour competitors will refocus on race-specific training. They will reduce their strength work and use actual races as some of their training. There is no substitute to racing. Certain skills can only be gained while amidst a race. The Ardennes Classics or the Giro D’Italia are often used for this purpose.

This is also the time when cyclists include training camps. These are typically 10-day training blocks of structured cycling where every day is planned out. Training camps often include altitude training and adapting to riding in the heat. The specific schedule depends on the type of rider. Climbers will spend more time in the mountains doing lots of long, steady climbs while others might work on high-intensity speedwork elsewhere.

Tapering means reducing training load to be fresh at the starting line. During this process riders will go from riding 5-6 hours a day to riding about 1 hour or not at all. About 2 weeks before the Tour, riders will start shortening their training blocks and adding ample rest in between. They would do their last long ride the weekend before the Tour. There might be a short speed workout mid-week to practice bursts of power and picking up pedalling cadence. They will also have a session on the time trial bikes during the last week.

They take recovery as seriously as training

A crucial part of getting ready for the Tour de France is recovery. It’s present in every phase of training and riders know that they can’t cut any corners there. Recovery is a continuous process that includes post-ride shakes, massages, stretches, and quality sleep. Especially sleep is what most professionals focus on as the bedrock of recovery. They go to bed and wake up at the same time, sleep in a cool and dark room, and avoid blue light an hour before sleep.

The riders give it a better part of a year to get ready for the Tour, let’s cheer them on as they compete for glory on this 21-stage Grand Tour!

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How much does a Tour de France bike cost?

It's no secret that pro riders get the very best available, but exactly what would that cost to replicate?

It's no secret that riders in the Tour de France get to ride the very best bikes available. One of the many perks of being a professional cyclist is getting to ride the best road bikes in the world and not having to pay for them. 

Of course, it's probably no surprise to read that such high-end bikes are often very expensive, but the question we've been wondering is: exactly how expensive? How much does a Tour de France bike cost? 

The answer depends on a variety of factors and will vary from team to team, and even from rider to rider in some cases. The attention to detail of some teams extends down to the most finite of components, such as the material the bearings are made from, the lubrication on the chain, and even the amount of sealant put into the tyres. The more attention a team makes, the more each bike will cost to replicate. 

Within the 2023 Tour de France, there are 19 different bike brands, and while they all work in the same market - and thus, their bikes are often priced to compete against each other - each will have a slightly different pricing structure to its range of bikes.

If you're after a ballpark figure, the cost of a Tour de France bike is in the region of £10,000 - £14,000 (€12k - €15k / $13k - $16k / AU$16k - $22k), but don't leave yet. Below, we dive deeper to break down the cost of some specific Tour de France bikes, and answer other important questions such as who pays for them, do riders get to keep their bike, and how many bikes a team will take to the race.

Cost of a Tour de France bike broken down

Firstly, it's important to recognise that a bike is made up of various components. Starting with the frame and fork, there is then a groupset, brakes, wheels, tyres, cockpit components such as the handlebar and stem, and the finishing kit such as the saddle, bar tape and pedals. There are then the small parts such as the bolts, bearings, inner tubes, lubricants, and even the paint. To quantify the cost of the bike as a whole, you need to calculate the sum of its parts. 

It's also worth noting that depending on the terrain of the stage ahead, riders will often be given different frames or different components to improve the bike's suitability to the course. Lighter wheels might be swapped in for mountainous stages; more aerodynamic wheels will be used for flatter days, and more puncture-proof tyres might get used if there are cobbled roads on the course (although there are none of those this year).  

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To calculate the true retail cost of a Tour de France bike, we've picked a few bikes from the Tour de France and calculated the cost of each. 

Soudal-QuickStep's Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7

On the face of it, calculating the cost of Soudal-QuickStep's Specialized Tarmac is reasonably simple, since the team's entire bike comes from the same sponsor and it's almost entirely off-the-shelf in terms of its specification, but there are a couple of added hidden extras that bump up the cost.  

Aside from the paint, which is specific to the team, the S-Works Tarmac SL7 complete with Roval Rapide CLX II wheels and Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset can be bought from Specialized - as well as various retailers. During the 2021 Tour, the bike above (ridden by Mark Cavendish) was fitted with the 11-speed version of the groupset, but in 2023 the team will use the newer 12-speed groupset. With this fitted, the S-Works Tarmac SL7's retail cost is an already eye-watering £13,000 / €14.500 / $14,250 / AU$20,400.

However, in this example, Cavendish specced a different saddle, swapping the S-Works Romin Evo saddle for the 3D-printed Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror, which is £390 / $450 / AU$750, increasing the bike's value by £135 / €130 / $150 / AU$330 when taking out the original saddle. 

In addition, the team are sponsored by CeramicSpeed, who supplied the team with its pre-treated 'UFO race chains'. These are basically standard chains treated with a low-friction lubricant to save watts. The cost of one of these chains is €149, around €100 more than standard. 

Approx total cost: £13,235 / €14.730 / $14,500 / AU$20,580

Bob Jungels' BMC Timemachine Road from the 2022 Tour

We've chosen to highlight Bob Jungels' BMC for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we all got a good look at his bike in the Netflix Unchained series when he won on Stage 9. Secondly, we'd put BMC roughly in the middle of the pricing spectrum, so hopefully gives a good indication of the 'average' cost of a Tour de France bike. Thirdly, he was later given a 'Masterpiece' edition of the bike that was ridiculously expensive by comparison. And fourthly, its groupset sponsor Campagnolo has recently announced a new, even-more-expensive groupset and wheelset, so we can make a rough guess at the cost in 2023. 

Starting with the bike pictured above, Jungels used the Timemachine SLR01 TEAM. The Timemachine is BMC's lightweight, semi-aero race bike. The SLR01 reflects the carbon fibre layup (01 being the best in a scale that also includes SLR02 and SLR03). The TEAM reflects the spec, so naturally, if you buy the bike, the TEAM spec will be the same as used by the team. It was fitted with a Campagnolo Super Record EPS electronic groupset, Campagnolo wheels and what appears to be a Fizik 3D-printed saddle. 

Helpfully, thanks to the 'TEAM' spec, you can buy the bike in pretty much the very same spec as Jungels at BMC. It will be yours for the princely sum of CHF15,999.00. Working on today's currency conversion, that's pretty much £14,000 on the nose, $17,750 in the USA, or AU$ 26,000 for those in Australia. 

Total cost: £14,000 / €16,400 / $17,750 / AU$26,000

Moving onto the 'Masterpiece' version that Jungels rode on Stage 12 , this is a frameset that takes the same blueprint as the Teammachine above, but in a no-expense-spared approach to the carbon layup, design, and manufacture. The frameset alone is priced at €12,000, and in the image above and videos shared at the time, it was fitted with Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO 45 wheels, Pirelli P Zero Race tyres, and a Campagnolo Super Record EPS groupset. There are also finishing components such as the saddle, bar tape, bottle cages and pedals to consider. All combined, we estimate a full bike with the same spec will be in the region of €21,000. Taking today's conversion rates, that's £18,000, $22,750 or AU$33,500.

Fast forward to 2023, and AG2R Citroen are still riding BMC bikes, but over the past few months, Campagnolo has announced a new groupset, Super Record Wireless , and new Hyperon Ultra wheels . 

Both have seen a price hike over their predecessors, meaning the total cost of this team's bike will be higher this year. 

Working in GBP, the price difference between the last year's Bora Ultra wheels and the new Hyperon Ultra is £400, and the price difference in groupset is £500. That brings the total cost up to approximately £15,000 for the standard frame or £19,000 for the 'Masterpiece'. 

Tadej Pogačar's Colnago V4RS

As one of the hot favourites coming into the race, all eyes will be on Pogačar and his Colnago bike. Unlike the Specialized and BMC above, this is more of a mismatch of components, rather than an off-the-shelf buy. 

That makes our job a little more difficult to calculate the total cost, but undeterred, let's get into it. 

He'll be using a Colnago V4RS frame, fitted with a Dura-Ace R9200 Di2 groupset, Enve wheels shod with Continental GP5000 tyres, a Colnago CC01 cockpit and a Prologo saddle. 

There's also the additional cost of bar tape, computer mount, bottle cages, and the probable addition of ceramic bearings to add on. We'll estimate an approximate cost of around £200 for all that. 

We'll waive the added cost of the bottles since that's peripheral to the bike itself. Likewise his Wahoo computer. 

Approx total cost: £14,172.00

Currency conversion as of June 2023: €16,575 / $17,950 / AU$26,400

The most expensive Tour de France bike? Ineos Grenadiers' Pinarello Bolide F

There's no greater arms race in cycling than in the world of time trialling, and as such, it's here that the money really starts to stack up. Nowadays, we have such a deep understanding of aerodynamics, rolling resistance and drivetrain efficiency, and how they all affect the speed at which a rider will travel for a set power. Therefore, the time and research going into developing time trial bikes, components and clothing is growing exponentially as the available gains get smaller and smaller. The result is the cost of the products that are created are pretty damn expensive. 

The bike in question is the Pinarello Bolide F; launched shortly after last year's Tour de France. From the PinarelloStore website, it is priced at £12,000 for a frame alone or a staggering £30,000 with custom-printed time trial extensions. You can bet that Ineos riders will take the more expensive option.  

On top of this, based on recent races, riders are likely to use a pair of wheels from Princeton Carbonworks: the Blur 633 rear ($2,500) and Mach 7580 front ($3,950). Total cost $6,450 (Approx £5,250 after conversion). 

They'll also need a groupset, and it makes sense that they'll use the same Dura-Ace R9200 as found on their road bikes. When factoring in a power meter, that'll cost in the region of £4,200, albeit with small differences based on the time-trial-specific brake levers and shifters. They'll also almost certainly swap the 2x chainset and front derailleur in favour of a 1x aero-optimised chainring. We calculate this to be around £200 cheaper than a 2x setup, so will deduct this from the total. 

Beyond these main components, there are other 'finishing' components to add on. Continental GP5000 S TR tyres will cost £198 for a pair. There's also a saddle, for which we'll use the Fizik Transiro Mistica KIUM saddle - all £165 of it - as used by the team's best time triallist Filippo Ganna, plus roughly £50 for bar tape, chain lube, tubeless conversion. 

Approx total cost: £39,663

Approx currency conversion (June 2022): €46,250 / $50,250 / AU$73,750

How many bikes do teams have at the Tour de France?

Most riders will usually have two bikes available to them on any given day, with key riders having even more. Some teams will also have two different types of bike - one that is lighter in weight for the climbing days, and another that is more aerodynamic for the flatter, faster days. They will also have one or two time trial bikes per rider for the time trial stages. 

If you extrapolate that out to eight riders per team and take into account bikes that have been crashed out, it's not uncommon for teams to have 60 framesets and over 100 wheelsets. Hunt Bike Wheels previously confirmed to Cyclingnews that it supplied 115 wheelsets to Qhubeka Assos for the 2021 Giro d'Italia. 

Can you buy a Tour de France bike?

The sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has a rule that means any product used in competition must be made available for public sale. Article 1.3.006 of the UCI Technical Regulations states:

"Equipment shall be of a type that is sold for use by anyone practicing cycling as a sport. Any equipment in development phase and not yet available for sale (prototype) must be subject of an authorization request to the UCI Equipment Unit before its use. Authorization will be granted only for equipment which is in the final stage of development and for which commercialization will take place no later than 12 months after the first use in competition."

To simplify, this means teams can only use technology that is available to the public or prototypes of tech that is planned to make it into the public domain within 12 months. Therefore, you can indeed ride the exact same bikes as the WorldTour pros… just know you'll need deep pockets. 

If you want to go a step further and ride a bike that has literally been ridden in the Tour de France, then this is possible too. Websites like Bike Room sell off teams' old bikes at the end of the season once they've been finished with.

What do Tour de France teams pay for their bikes?

This depends on the sponsorship deal the team managed to strike with manufacturers of the frames and components, but for the most part, teams will not pay a single penny for their bikes.

Understandably, we're not privy to the ins and outs of these commercial negotiations, but the rough details are no big secret. The bike industry is rife with brands vying for attention, and there's no bigger stage than the Tour de France. Be they bike brands, kit manufacturers or shoe suppliers, they all want to put their product in front of a worldwide audience, and they all have something to offer that the team needs.

The types of sponsorship agreements vary greatly by team, usually dependent on the team's success - or likelihood thereof. A winning team is better publicity, after all.

Some deals will be for the frameset alone, meaning the team needs to head elsewhere for a supply of wheels, groupsets and everything else. Others, like Trek Segafredo and QuickStep-AlphaVinyl mentioned above, will get complete bikes supplied by the brand.

In addition, some sponsorship agreements are a simple handover of product in return for the publicity it will garner, while others are fully integrated technical partnerships where the two parties work together to innovate, develop and market their products.

Moreover, rather than paying for the bikes, some deals will actually also involve a cash injection alongside the provision of equipment, meaning these teams are given bikes and money. Hands up anyone who's ever left a bike shop richer than when they entered...? No, nor us. 

Do pro cyclists get to keep their bikes?

Usually not, no. In almost all cases, the bikes are provided to the team by a brand by way of sponsorship. The brand will supply enough bikes to supply the team for the season, and then at the end of the season - or contract period, which often spans a few years - the bikes will be returned. 

Exceptions are sometimes made for key riders upon retirement, or bikes that are ridden to special victories, but in most cases, the bikes are returned to the brand and then sold, gifted, or in some cases even discarded. 

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As the Tech Editor here at Cyclingnews, Josh leads on content relating to all-things tech, including bikes, kit and components in order to cover product launches and curate our world-class buying guides, reviews and deals. Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too. 

On the bike, 32-year-old Josh has been riding and racing since his early teens. He started out racing cross country when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s and has never looked back. He's always training for the next big event and is keen to get his hands on the newest tech to help. He enjoys a good long ride on road or gravel, but he's most alive when he's elbow-to-elbow in a local criterium. 

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Tour de France Bike Weight: What is UCI Weight Limit?

Typically, the lighter the bike, the faster it is. The lightest bikes climb faster, accelerate quicker, and are easier to cycle for a racer. As such, it’s not surprising that historically, the fastest bikes in the Tour de France have been some of the lightest in the race. In fact, between 2004 and 2022, the lightest bikes consistently won the race. However, there seems to be a general shift, with some racers now picking slightly heavier bikes. So, what is the current Tour de France bike weight? Keep reading to find out.

• The Weight of Tour De France Bicycles

A quick look at the Tour de France history is enough to show you how bike weights have evolved over the years. In 1962, for instance, the bike that won the race was a Helyett model that weighed 10.4kg with rider Jacques Anquetil holding the handlebars.

Eddy Merckx won the race in 1972 with a 9.6kg bike that his company built. This was followed by a general decline in bike weights over the next few years. However, one constant between 1990 and 2000 was that most of the bikes that won the race weighed well under 10kg.

At the start of the 21 st century, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world’s governing body for sports cycling, introduced a 6.8kg minimum weight limit. This would prevent manufacturers from compromising the structural integrity of the bikes while trying to make them lighter and faster.

This standard is held to date despite advances in frame-making technology that could allow for lighter bikes without making them more fragile.

Nevertheless, between 2004 and 2020, most bikes that won the Tour de France weighed in at 6.8kg though there may have been minor variations due to differences between the UCI’s and bike manufacturer’s weighing equipment.

Also, with the UCI technical regulations Trusted Source CLARIFICATION GUIDE OF THE UCI TECHNICAL REGULATION As the summit organization of world cycle sport, the International Cycling Union (UCI) is the guarantor of the proper application of ethical and sporting regulations. assets.ctfassets.net noting that bike weight cannot be under 6.8kg, bike manufacturers have had to look into alternative ways to make their bicycles faster. These include enhancing aerodynamics and reducing rolling resistance.

Consequently, the average weight of a Tour de France bike has started to change in the last few years. Now it’s not uncommon for some participating bikes to be slightly above the UCI weight limit, with some even being as heavy as 9kg or more.

• Weight Specification

So, how much does a Tour de France bike weigh? Before you can find out about the specifics, it’s worth noting that Tour de France road bike designs vary even for the same racer.

These bikes are designed to give you the greatest possible advantage in different race sections. A climbing bike, for instance, is designed with the sole purpose of getting through steep gradient areas as fast as possible.

Ultimately Tour de France bike variations include climbing and time-trial bikes, each with its strengths and weaknesses.

Below, you’ll see how much each of these Tour de France bicycle weighs. However, the tour de France bicycle weight limit remains at 6.8kg.

Furthermore, according to Marca Trusted Source Tour de France: Can riders change bikes during the stages? The Tour de France is one of the most demanding competitions in existence. www.marca.com , racers have their teams close by, so they can switch and continue the race if they damage their bike or it gets punctured. So, they might have at least two sets of each so they can always have a spare.

Tour De France Cycle Types

As for the Tour de France bicycle types, they are:

All bikes in the Tour de France are road bikes, and you can tell from the design. These bikes are typically designed for speed, especially on paved surfaces, which is why they’re called road bikes.

Unlike mountain bikes, these bikes don’t feature any sort of suspension, with most extras done away with to make the bike as light and aerodynamic as possible.

Naturally, this means they can be uncomfortable, especially if you typically encounter bumps on your route. As such, if you prefer a more comfortable riding experience, you should browse our list of the  best full-suspension bikes under $2000 to find something more suited to your needs.

Notably, in previous years road bike frames were made primarily of steel.

However, now you can find them in steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber variations. Steel, aluminum, and titanium road bikes are less common at most professional races, with steel seemingly being phased out of the bike market due to its higher weight.

Aluminum bikes are lighter, and for anyone looking for a regular commuter bike with a lightweight frame, reviewers overwhelmingly recommend the  Swagtron Swagcycle EB-12 . In addition to the lightweight design, it’s electric, so you won’t need to cycle as those in the Tour de France.

Given its rigidity and how lightweight the material is, most racing road bikes are made of carbon fiber, including the wheels used.

Also notable is that Tour de France racers can only use road bikes available to the public. These bikes often cost a lot of money, given the tech put into them. However, you can still get one in the $1000-$2000 with many of the perks of a competition-ready road bike.

The  SAVADECK Carbon Road Bike , for instance, comes highly recommended by buyers and, like most other Tour de France road bikes, has a carbon fiber frame. It also only weighs 21.6 lbs meaning it would have been good enough to win one of these races less than three decades ago.

As for design, you’ll likely notice a few differences depending on whether it’s a climbing or time trial bike.

• Climbing bike

Out of the two types of road bikes at the Tour de France and other road races, climbing bikes are more likely to be light.

As mentioned above, lighter bikes climb faster, and weight typically affects how well a racer does in a climb. As such, several common characteristics in climbing bikes are designed solely to shave as much weight from the cycle as possible. These include shallow-rimmed wheels, rim brakes instead of disk brakes, and rounded narrow tubes in the frame.

While these design choices make the bike a little less streamlined, weight is significantly more important in climbing than aerodynamics.

Also, while not as stiff as time trial bikes, climbing bikes need to be incredibly stiff so you don’t lose any power to the flexion of the frame. Overall, this combination of features makes climbing bikes faster when going uphill.

• Time Trial bike

Time trial bikes are also referred to as aero bikes or sprinting bikes. As implied by the name, these bikes are optimized for cutting swiftly through the air and finishing the race as fast as possible.

In the past, being lightweight and slightly streamlined may have been enough to compete. However, with modern bikes and races, it’s all about aerodynamics. The more aerodynamic the bike, the faster it can reach the finish line.

Weight also plays a role, but it’s not as important in TT bikes as in climbing bikes. Consequently, some bikes can be as heavy as 9kg/19.8 lbs. That said, the added speed due to better aerodynamics more than makes up for it.

Some common characteristics of these time trial bikes include a stiff frame and front fork, with the tubes on the frame being less rounded. Instead, they’re shaped to reduce drag forces on the bike.

The stem may also be longer and with a negative angle. This forces your body to be in the most aerodynamic position possible, where you’re stretched out on the bike with your body leaning low and forward.

Time trial bikes tend to come with deep-section carbon wheels, another measure meant to improve aerodynamics and reduce drag. Finally, these bikes may even have larger gear ratios than most lightweight ones.

• Tour de France Bike Weight in 2022

According to the  Olympics Trusted Source Jonas Vingegaard wins 2022 Tour de France men's title as Jasper Philipsen claims final stage in Paris Denmark’s Vingegaard held a comfortable overall lead ahead of the ceremonial ride to Paris on Sunday remaining, as the women’s Tour also began on Sunday. olympics.com , Jonas Vingegaard took the 2022 men’s Tour de France title for the first time. As part of the Jumbo-Visma team, the Cervelo S5 was his time trial bike, although he could switch to the Cervelo R5 and Cervelo Caledonia 5 on the climbs.

The Cervelo S5 weighed about 17.7 lbs/ 8.03 kg, while the Cervelo R5 weighed roughly 16.6 lbs/7.6 kg. As for the Cervelo Caledonia 5, it weighed in at about 17.5 lbs/7.95 kg.

The Citroën Team used the BMC Timemachine Road and BMC Teammachine SLR01 Team, while the Astana Qazaqstan Team used the Wilier Filante SLR and Wilier Zero SLR. Other prominent aero/time trial bikes in the race included the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7, Lapierre Aircode DRS 9.0, and Pinarello Dogma F.

As for lightweight bikes, the Factor O2 VAM, Ridley Helium SLX Disc, and Trek Emonda SLR are among those that made an appearance.

Overall, 2022 Tour de France bikes averaged 15.7 lbs/7.1 kgs. That said, the average for the aero bikes and their lightweight counterparts was 16 lbs/7.25 kg and 15.3 lbs/6.9 kg, respectively.

• Tour de France Bike Weight in 2021

In 2021 UAE Team Emirates youngster Tadej Pogačar won the Tour de France for the second year running. He currently holds the record for being the youngest cyclist to win the tour twice, and at the time, he, alongside his teammates, rode the Colnago Concept as the aero bike.

The team also used the Colnago V3Rs and Colnago C64 as its two lightweight bike options. The Colnago Concept weighed about 6.9 kg, including the pedals, which translates to 15.2 lbs.

Team Jumbo-Visma used the same equipment they ended up using in 2022, while some bikes were used by more than one team. For instance, the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 was used by BORA – Hansgrohe and the Deceuninck – Quick Step team.

Also, the Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc was used by Team Arkéa-Samsic (PT) and Team TotalEnergies (PT).

Ultimately, the average weight of a Tour de France bike for the 2021 race was 15.7 lbs or 7.1 kg, just like in 2022. As for the average weight of the aero bikes, it was just over 16 lbs or 7.27 kg. Lightweight bikes weighed an average of 15.4 lbs or 6.97 kg.

• Tour de France Bike Weight in 2020

As mentioned above, Tadej Pogačar also won the 2020 Tour de France with the same Colnago Concept aero bike he would use to win the following year. Other bikes that were part of the race included the Pinarello Dogma F12, Lapierre Aircode, Canyon Ultimate CF Disc, etc.

Also, with  Giant vs. Trek being one of the world’s biggest road bike manufacturer rivalries, bikes from the two manufacturers featured in the race. The CCC Team rode the Giant Propel Adv SL and Giant TCR Advanced SL. On the other hand, the Trek – Segafredo team rode the Trek Madone, Trek Domane, and Trek Emonda.

In 2020 the average bike weight was also slightly heavier than in the following two years at 7.22 kgs, with aero bikes averaging 7.41 kgs and lightweight bikes averaging 7.03 kgs.

• Are there gravel sections in the Tour de France?

The Tour de France typically has a few gravel sections each year. In 2022 the gravel sections included the Chemin blanc de Celles, Chemin blanc des Hautes Forêts, Chemin blanc de Vitry, and Chemin blanc du Plateau. These sections measured 2.3 km, 3.2 km, 3 km, and 4.4 km, respectively.

While gravel bikes would have been a great help in these sections, they don’t have the speed advantages of road bikes and hence weren’t used.

However, for recreational use, you don’t have to get a road bike depending on the terrain you typically ride. For instance, if there are multiple gravel trails you like to ride on, we’ve compiled the  best gravel bikes under $1500 with their pros and cons so you know which options best suit your budget and needs.

According to  Velonews Trusted Source www.velonews.com There’s always an interesting challenge for Tour de France officials every year – how do you spice up what’s a fairly tried-and-true blueprint of a three-week grand tour? www.velonews.com , both gravel and cobblestone patches are thrown into the Tour de France every year to spice up the race.

• What is the lightest Tour de France bike?

The lightest bike in the Tour de France history is Lance Armstrong’s 2003 Trek Madone 5.9, which weighed a reported 6.6 kg. At the time, he was widely considered one the greatest road racer of all time since he’d won five prior Tour de France races.

He later got caught up in a doping scandal and was stripped of his wins. However, the 6.6 kg bike he rode in 2003 remains the lightest in the competition’s history. It’s worth noting that in the same year, he rode the Trek Madone 5.9 as his aero bike, which weighed 7.2 kg.

• Are all Tour de France bikes 6.8 kg?

As mentioned above, the average weights of bikes at the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Tour de France races have all been above 7 kgs. This implies that some bikes weigh slightly more than the UCI bike weight limit. The Cervelo Caledonia 5 is one example with its 7.95 kg weight.

• How much did Lance Armstrong’s bike weigh?

Lance Armstrong’s bikes varied in weight from year to year. In 2000, for instance, the bike he used was the Trek 5900 SL which weighed in at about the 6.8 kg weight limit. In 2002, the Trek 5900 he used weighed 8.2 kg. In 2005 he won his last race with a 6.8 kg Trek Madonee SSLx.

By the time he retired in 2011, he was under investigation for doping, eventually being stripped of his nine wins in a row.

• Final Thoughts

Overall, the Tour de France bike weight has been capped at a lower limit of 6.8 kg, with most participating bikes ranging from 6.8 to 10 kg. Time trial bikes are often heavier, with the sacrifice made to make them more aerodynamic, which tends to make them faster. It’s also worth noting that while initially the 6.8 kg weight limit was supposed to ensure bike structural integrity, technological advancements would likely make going lower possible. However, the Union Cycliste International has refused to budge on the matter in recent years.

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Paris-Roubaix

Giro d'abruzzo, women's de brabantse pijl, de brabantse pijl, sunny king criterium, tour du jura, amstel gold, uci mtb mairipora brazil, tour of the alps, fleche wallonne, fleche wallonne femmes, newnan rock & road criterium, tour of turkey, liege-bastogne-liege, everything you need to know about the tour de france, from olympic complications to stage breakdowns, this is what you need to know for the 2021 tour de france..

After the uncertain and chaotic 2020 season, the Tour de France returns to its normal mid-summer time slot in 2021, albeit a week early to accommodate the rescheduled 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Join  PRO  to watch the  2021 Tour de France  live and on demand in Canada on FloBikes. Exclusive highlights and content will be available to our worldwide audience!

Race organizers moved the Grand Départ up a week this year to accommodate the start of the rescheduled 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. The inclusion of two significant time trials for the 2021 route will favor an all-around general classification contender, while GC hopefuls who prefer the mountains are expected to struggle.

Daunting Opening Stages

The Grand Départ takes place in the region of Brittany in Brest for the fourth time, a record for hosting the Grand Départ outside of Paris. To say that the region loves cycling is certainly an understatement. Four Tour de France champions have hailed from Brittany, Lucien Petit-Breton, Jean Robic, Louison Bobet  and the last French Tour de France champion, the Badger himself, Bernard Hinault. 

It’s been a painful 36 years since then, with many French hopefuls from Thomas Voeckler to Julian Alaphilippe trying their best but ultimately coming up short in retaining yellow through to Paris. Hinault's last victory in 1985, began in Brittany as well, where he was the victor of the first stage that year. Perhaps the luck will turn around for the home country in the 108th edition next month. 

Stage 1 will take the peloton through a 187km postcard tour of the coastal department of the region, with a windy summit up Monts d’Arrée, passing a 17th century chapel to wake up the legs. A punchy, 3-km climb awaits at the finish in Landerneau making its debut in the Tour to award the first yellow jersey. 

The highlight of the journey through Brittany will include a double climb up the 2km climb up the Mûr de Bretagne on stage 2, mirroring a similar route in 2018. Beyond Landerneau, the stage 3 finish in Pontivy and the stage 4 start in Redon are also making their Tour debut. 

First Time Trial Comes Early

The Tour waves adieu to Brittany, heading to the countryside of Changé for the first race of truth of this season’s route. At 27km, it is the longest first-week time trial held in the Tour since 2008. The region will hold special significance for a popular debutant in the peloton, Alpecin Fenix's Mathieu Van Der Poel . His father, Adrie, won his first of two Tour stage wins of his career here in 1987. Stage 5 will likely establish the main protagonists in the fight for yellow. 

Sprints And Mountains Round Out First Week

The sprint finish in Chateauroux for stage 6 has seen its share of thrilling finishes in Tour history. Mark Cavendish celebrated two victories here in 2008 and 2011, and before him Mario Cipollini won in 1998. It is yet to be determined if the Manx Missele will make his return to the Tour, chasing a record 31st stage win.  Should Deceuninck – Quick Step name him as a part of their Tour squad, stage 6 will surely be a target for the sprint veteran. Stage 7 will serve up the longest stage at 248km in the Tour in 21 years! To add some extra spice to the long trek, the route will hope to lure the climbers out of the bunch to battle up the Signal d’Uchon, making its Tour debut, with pitches of up to 18% gradient. 

There will be no recovery for the legs the following day for stage 8, as the Tour reaches the first mountain stage of 2021, and the first iconic climb – the Col de Colombière. Julian Alaphilippe will be eyeing this stage, recalling his first Tour stage victory at the Aravis resort the last time the Tour finished here in 2018. The first week ends in Tignes, the sight of the dramatic and abrupt stage cancellation in 2019 when Egan Bernal made his move that would eventually earn him the title as the first Latin American Tour champion. Bernal opted to skip the Tour this season, in turn to race the Giro d’Italia.  2018 Tour Champion Geraint Thomas will lead INEOS Grenadiers efforts in chasing a second Tour victory for him. 

Ventoux Looms Large

Expect another thrilling sprint finish for stage 10 in Valence, a town where Team DSM’s Romain Bardet earned his first professional victory at the 2014 Drôme Classic. The Frenchman has will not be present to contest the stage, with the Vuelta a España on his race calendar. Peter Sagan also took a commanding stage victory here in 2018 ahead of Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare. The 3-time World Champion will hope racing three weeks at the Giro d’Italia did not sap too much energy as he battles for another stage honor. 

A double helping of the Giant of Provence awaits the riders for the third climbing stage of the Tour for stage 11, five years after a windy visit for the Tour. The climb has since become a Regional Natural Parc. The finish is set in Malaucène after a long and tricky descent off the mountain. The town has celebrated the Tour passing through many times, but only ever hosted an intermediate sprint line in 2013, which Sagan won. Going further back in Tour history to 1955,  Ferdi Kübler experienced a complete breakdown beginning in Malaucène, falling several times up the road to Avignon before eventually retiring from the race.

Mid-Race Sprints, Breakaways, High Altitude

Before establishing itself as a favorite among sprinters like stage winners Alexander Kristoff (2014),  Caleb Ewan (2019), and Mark Cavendish (2008), Nimes was the site of a dramatic finish in the early years of the Tour in 1909. The newspaper headline and organizer of the Tour, L’Auto read, “If it isn’t you, it has to be your brother!” Ernest Paul earned a stage victory here in 1909, breaking a 5-stage winning streak of his half-brother, François Faber. Ewan will hope to rekindle his winning luck here for another stage victory to add to his list of palmarès. 

The sixth sprint finish awaits the peloton for stage 13 in Carcassonne, Yaroslav Popovych took a solo victory in 2006, escaping the day’s breakaway with only 3km to go. The 14th stage takes the riders on a rollercoaster journey making their way to the Pyrenees, before finishing for the first time in Quillan. Another Tour debut for stage 15 with a start in Cèret, includes a first stop in the Pyrenees – Orientales area since 2009. Racing fans will recall Thomas Voeckler’s victory in Perpignan. It will be the only time the Tour leaves France in 2021. 

Following the second rest day, the tired legs in the peloton will be thankful a hilly stage 16 awaits them in a day that should favor a breakaway. The finish in Saint-Gaudens is where the late Tom Simpson earned the first yellow jersey for a British rider in 1962. The battle for the GC resumes from the bottom of the Pyrenees as opportunities to gain time began to dwindle.  The second half of stage 17 recalls the lightening stage in 2018 that was a mere 65km long, and the first summit finish at Col du Portet won by Colombian Escarabajo, Nairo Quintana. An exhilarating battle awaits up the highest pass in the French Pyrenees, either for a climber hunting a stage win, or the GC contenders fighting for precious seconds. 

The Iconic Tourmalet May Prove Decisive

The Tour returns to its capital of the Pyrenees for the start of stage 19 in Pau and the final climbing stage of the 108th edition. Two giants of the Pyrenees are on tap: the Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden, where the final battle for points in the king of the mountain classification will be won. The summit finish on Luz Ardiden was the scene of the dramatic and controversial finish of Bernard Hinault alongside his American teammate, Greg Lemond. The sole American Tour de France champion seem to have held back his efforts in order to keep the yellow jersey on the shoulders of Hinault.  Yet another thrilling finish was that of French favorite Richard Virenque in 1994, who earned a stage victory following what many fans saw as his most beautiful breakaway of his career. 

Those sprinters who have survived the mountains, will have a final sprint opportunity on stage 19 in Libourne before the infamous grand finale on the Champs – Élysées in Paris.  The GC contenders will likely spend the day protected in the peloton, and surrounded by their domestiques, saving their legs for the final time trial and battle for the yellow jersey the following day. 

Another Penultimate Stage Time Trial

Set against the backdrop of the beautiful wine vineyards of France, the region will host the final 31km race against the clock to determine the winner of the yellow jersey. The course lends itself to the time trial specialists and a thrilling GC battle among contenders like Geraint Thomas and Primoz Roglič who will be eager to erase his memories of a disastrous penultimate stage last season. 

Bernard Hinault clocked the fastest time on what was a 59km coarse in the 1978 Tour, earning the first of his five Tour victories, while Jan Ullrich conquered his first stage win ahead of the great Miguel Indurain, clocking an average speed of 50.433km/h on the 63km course in 1996. 

Celebrations In Paris

After a celebratory start and parade-like atmosphere for the yellow jersey and other classifications, the Tour will make its grand finale for the 47th time on the Champs-Élyées. The 8 laps around the grand monuments of Paris will take the peloton past the grand Louvre Museum for the third time in recent history before another thrilling sprint finish to conclude the 3,383km across France.  

• Mark Cavendish
• Mathieu van der Poel
• Geraint Thomas
• Julian Alaphilippe

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How to Enter the Tour De France

As arguably the world’s premier cycling race, the Tour de France isn’t open to any athlete with a fancy bike and a dream. Though a individual rider is crowned champion and top cyclists may become famous, the Tour de France ultimately is a team competition. Riders enter as part of a team rather than as lone individuals, so entering the event requires winning a spot on a top squad.

Get On A Team

The Tour de France invites teams to enter based on their place in the International Cycling Union rankings, and adds some wild-card team entries to the field as well. Getting into the race requires performing well enough in key races that you earn an invitation to join an elite squad. You then need to be one of the nine riders teams customarily enter. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be one of the nine fastest riders – because racers take on specific roles to benefit their team, an ability to shine on the climbing stages may be more valuable to a specific the team than raw speed over flat areas. One other important note: to enter the Tour de France as a rider, you have to be male. As of 2014, women haven’t been allowed to compete in the event.

• The Huffington Post: Women, Long Excluded From The Tour De France, Petition For Their Own Race
• Le Tour de France: Sporting Stakes/Rules

FAQs of the Tour de France: How lean? How much power? How do they pee mid-stage? All that and more explained

Ever wondered why riders have such veiny legs? Do riders share rooms? How does a 60km ride count as a rest day? We take a look at the burning questions and those you never thought to ask

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The 2023 edition of the Tour de France is now underway - and if you’ve been following the racing action, there’s probably quite a fair few points that might have piqued your curiosity. That is to be fully expected - a lot is left going on behind the scenes that the cameras aren’t capturing.

Google's autocorrect can provide us with a wealth of information around the general public's deepest thoughts about the pros. For instance, it seems there are enough people desperately searching for ‘how do cyclists pee whilst racing the Tour de France?’ that the search engine is serving up this suggestion for everyone. 

Naturally, we couldn’t leave them hanging, and our answer to how exactly cyclists do pee during top level races can be found here. There’s an almost dizzying array of other questions, too, which we'll get fully stuck into here.

We will take a look at Tour de France performance trends and, continuing past the finish line, we’ll also reveal what the riders get up to in their team buses and talk more about how the pros deal with the hotel-to-hotel life that makes up the three weeks of a Grand Tour.

Why are Tour de France cyclist’s legs so veiny?

We’ve all got veins in our legs quite near to the skin surface, but they are hidden by a layer of fat just under the skin. 

Tour de France cyclist's legs appear to be uber-veiny for two main reasons: firstly, they have much less body fat than ‘ordinary’ people, and secondly, their veins and arteries have adapted to carry more blood around their bodies. The cardiovascular adaptations are numerous, but a large increase in vein and artery diameter is one of them. You can read more about the science behind why Tour de France rider’s legs are so veiny here.

A post shared by Tomasz Marczyński 🅻🅾🅲🅾 (@tmarczynski) A photo posted by on

What do Tour de France riders do on their rest days?

They ride, and not just a little amble around the streets. Most will be on their bikes for two hours and some even more. 

In the early days of Team Sky, Russell Downing found out why after the first rest day of his Grand Tour debut in the 2011 Giro d’Italia: “It was a hard race, the weather was bad and by the first rest day I was really tired. The others asked if I was going with them, but it was cold and raining and I said I’d go on the turbo in the hotel basement instead. I did that for about 45 minutes, just very easy, then went back upstairs to lie down. Next day I was nailed for the whole stage, just hanging on. I was okay the day after, but I’d learnt my lesson and rode with the boys on the next rest day. If you don’t ride reasonably hard on the rest day , your body thinks you’ve stopped and switches off ready for deep recovery. You’ve got to keep it firing for the whole three weeks.” 

What is a soigneur in cycling and what are their duties during the Tour de France?

Soigneur is the French word for ‘carer’, and basically soigneurs care for riders. They prepare them for each stage, looking after them at the finish and back the hotel, with massage and rehab therapies. And they care in other ways too. 

Dirk Nachtergaele, a Belgian pro team soigneur for over 40 years says: “A soigneur is also like a priest. We are the one who riders can confide in, confident that anything they tell us goes no further. They can complain about another rider, the sports director even; they can talk about problems at home – anything. They know we will not tell anyone what they said. That role as confidante is as necessary in a team as being a skilled therapist.”   

How light and lean are the Tour de France climbers?

Double Tour de France stage winner, the recently retired Irish pro rider Dan Martin was a climbing specialist. His racing weight was 62kg, which is light for his 5ft 9in height, but some shorter climbers weigh under 60kg. However, being super-light is no longer the preserve of the pure climbing specialists. Defending Tour champion Pogacar is the same height as Martin and only slightly heavier at around 66kg, while 2019 winner Egan Bernal , also 5ft 9in, is a true featherweight at just 60kg. 

The riders mentioned start the Tour de France with body fat percentages well below 10 per cent, but nutritionists are careful not to allow ‘cutting’ to go too far. 

In fact, it can be better to offload a little muscle, as Dr Rob Child, a performance biochemist who worked with several World Tour teams, explains: “It’s sometimes worth losing a bit of muscle to reduce weight because very low body fat has health implications. Tour de France performance is governed by the cardiovascular system, not by the maximum force applied to the pedals. Pro riders don’t need huge amounts of muscle to pedal at 400 watts for 20 or 30 minutes, and that’s often the key to performing well overall in the Tour. They need a highly developed cardiovascular system, not big muscles.” 

Why do Tour de France riders drink Coca-Cola?

Most team nutritionists would rather the riders didn’t drink coca cola, and some teams even forbid it.

That said, there’s also always one small can of coke in the musettes Trek-Segafredo gives its riders. Drinking a regular fizzy drink such as a cold can of coke after a stage is good for morale – and preserving positivity in a brutal three-week race is vital.

Of course, the most important nutritional consideration for riders is getting enough calories to meet the extreme demands of the race. If you’re wondering how they achieve that, here we look into what exactly goes into fuelling the riders of the Tour de France .

What do Tour de France riders do to recover between stages?

The standard of hotels used by the Tour has improved a lot in recent years, so that helps with sleep and recovery . Even so, teams provide further ‘home comforts’ by carrying all their own bedding, including mattresses and pillows. They also have their own washing machines in the team buses and equipment trucks. Everything is done to promote good sleeping habits and hygiene. 

Riders generally do room-share, partly through tradition but also because it’s good to have company. Pairings are decided diplomatically, though.

Why and how do riders warm up before each stage?

The ‘why’ is explained by double Tour stage winner Steve Cummings: “There are two races in every stage: the first is to get a breakaway established, and the second is to win the stage. If I saw a stage that suited me, one where a break might stay away and give me a chance to win, I’d focus on the first hour to 90 minutes, nothing else. Typically it was attack after attack right from the start, then a huge effort to get the break established. You had to be fully warmed up for that.” 

As to the ‘how’, a Tour warm-up is usually done on a turbo trainer, allowing the whole team to warm-up in one compact space, everyone controlling their effort. Ineos-Grenadiers’s deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth says: “The idea is to prepare the rider’s energy systems for a fast start. They ride steady but progressively harder for at least 20 minutes, then do five minutes of capacity work to open everything up. After that they pedal easily and try to stay loose.”

How much do riders have to eat to meet energy demands?

Riders can burn twice or even three times their usual calorie requirement during a hard day at the Tour. Nigel Mitchell, a nutritional consultant who worked extensively with WorldTour cycling teams, says: “At a Grand Tour, riders can burn more than 5,000kcal on a single stage, depending on the terrain, and that means consuming a huge amount, both off the bike at meal times and on it during the race, in the form of energy drinks, bars and gels.” To put 5,000kcal into perspective, it is roughly equivalent to four large McDonald’s BigMac meals. 

What do the riders eat after each stage?

 Does each rider have their own bespoke meals? Who does the cooking?  

Three questions, but they are related and so are the answers, which come from a former Tour de France rider, UAE Team Emirates former sports director and current race analyst Allan Peiper. The man who oversaw Tadej Pogačar’s first Tour de France win in 2020 told us: “Each rider has a bespoke meal plan based on any needs flagged up by team doctors and physiologists, and on any personal physiological quirks such as intolerances or allergies. The medics talk with nutritionists, and the nutritionists tailor meals to meet specific needs. Each team also has its own chef who works with the nutritionist to prepare tailor-made meals.” 

How heavy are the heaviest riders in the race, and how do they get over the mountains inside the time cut?

There are very few riders of over 80kg in the Tour de France nowadays. The limiter when climbing mountains is power-to-weight ratio, and if a rider is too bulky they cannot overcome the disadvantage, no matter how mighty their power output. The heaviest Tour de France rider since 2000 was the Swede Magnus Backstedt, who says: “I had to be the lightest I could be for the Tour, which was around 90kg, and as fit as I could be. But at my weight, every hill is steep, and the mountains were a real challenge. On mountain stages, I’d hang on to the peloton for as long as possible, then look for a good grupetto – that’s what we call the groups of non-climbers who ride together to get inside the time limits. Once in a grupetto with experienced riders, it was just a case of digging deep, sometimes very deep, and hanging on.” 

Grit and stubbornness get heavier riders up the mountains, but they have an advantage to deploy on the other side, going down. Tour stage winner Sean Yates was a tall, well-built rider, and he says: “You have to get good at descending if you are bigger. You can’t regain all the time you lost going up, but you can get some of it back by really going for it on the descents.”

What’s the relationship between rider age and Tour de France performance?

It used to be that riders developed into Tour contenders gradually over many years. Those youngsters who did take part would be expected to help the team and gain experience, and possibly even drop out after the first week. That’s all changed. Tadej Pogačar was just 21 when he first won in 2020, and Egan Bernal was 22 when he won in 2019. Pogačar’s coach Inigo San Millan has this to say about his rider’s prodigious ability: “He has extraordinary physiological characteristics, and the correct mental attributes, so he was already good enough to win at 21.” 

Until Bernal’s win three years ago, it was thought that riders reached their peak in terms of physiology, psychology and skill at around 26 or 27. According to Allan Peiper: “This may still be true, we just don’t know what the young winners we have now will be like when they are 27 or 28. Will they still be winning, or will the next generation have surpassed them?” At the other end of the scale, the oldest Tour winner of modern times was Cadel Evans in 2011, at the age of 34.  

What do the riders’ musettes contain?

Nothing very surprising, just a re-supply of the gels, drinks and energy bars. Musettes were more interesting in times gone by, when they contained cakes and tarts for energy, small ham and cheese baguettes for protein, and all manner of delights. The food was individually wrapped and packed by the soigneurs. The first female soigneur Shelley Verses, who worked for US team 7-Eleven in the 1980s, used to wrap her riders’ food in pages from Playboy magazine. “It was good for their morale,” she commented. 

Do Tour de France riders drink alcohol during the three weeks?

Yes, but not much. Stage wins might be celebrated with a glass of champagne, and sometimes a small glass of red wine is taken with the evening meal, but that’s as far as it goes. Teams have tried total bans on alcohol, but most allow small amounts to protect morale. 

All rather sensible – not like Tour riders from previous eras. In the early days of the race, riders drank wine and beer during stages because it was less of a threat to health than the contents of some of the primitive water supplies. Right up to the 1960s, some riders enjoyed a mid-Tour tipple or two. One of the most notorious stories is about the 1964 Andorran rest day when race leader Jacques Anquetil went to a party and indulged to such an extent he was hungover the next day and almost lost the race. 

How do Tour de France riders stay hydrated through sweltering long stages?

Nigel Mitchell tells us: “I get riders to start drinking as soon as they wake. I mix water with a little fruit juice in a big bottle, because that makes it more interesting than plain water, and I ask them to finish it before breakfast. They drink fruit juice with breakfast for the electrolytes, and another bottle of diluted fruit juice travelling to the stage start.

“During the stage, they drink from two bottles on the bike, one plain water and one energy drink, and they keep getting fresh bottles from the team car or support motorbikes. They get more fluid in a protein shake after the stage, and an electrolyte drink if it’s been hot. I also provide rice cakes, which contain quite a lot of moisture from the water absorbed by the rice during cooking. 

“Even then, we still check on hydration by checking the rider’s weight each morning. If they are well hydrated, they will stay at pretty much the same weight throughout the Tour.” 

What’s the role of the bottle-carrying domestiques in the Tour de France?

The cycling community uses a lot of French words, with domestiques being one of them. Transporting bottles from the team car to team-mates in the peloton is just one of many duties carried out by domestiques. 

This supply chain is overseen by the sports directors, as Allan Peiper explains: “The sports directors have real-time information in the team cars on each rider’s performance metrics. They can tell if anyone is having a bad day, and they won’t ask that rider to drop back to the team car and pick up bottles, because it could just push them further into the red.” 

Each team has several domestiques and their role, although complicated in execution, is straightforward in mission. It’s to put the team’s leader (or leaders) in the best position to challenge for victory.

That could involve riding at the front to control the peloton’s pace, leading riders who’ve punctured back to the action, chasing when a breakaway needs to be brought back, leading out sprinters at the end of stages, setting the pace in the mountains, and many other jobs. They even perform a very unglamorous function in comfort stops.

Find definitions of the French cycling terms you hear during the Tour de France , such as domestiques, over here.

In terms of FTP and watts per kilo, what does it take to be a GC contender at the Tour de France?

In 2020 the power meter supplier to Team UAE Emirates, Stages, released the following information on Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar’s performance metrics from Stage Nine, a mountainous stage in the Pyrenees: 

Time: 3:58:16 

Average power: 301W (4.5W/kg) 

Normalised power: 351W (5.4W/kg) 

Peak 5min power: 473W (7.2W/kg) 

Peak 20min power: 429W (6.5W/kg) 

To put these figures in context, good amateur racers (i.e. cat two) are capable of five-minute power in the region of 4-5W/kg and 20-minute power of 3.5-4.1W/kg. Even for committed amateurs who train hard, a huge gulf in performance separates them from the likes of Pogačar. 

Do Tour de France riders use dietary supplements. If so, which ones?

They need lots of protein to help recover, so they drink recovery drinks and eat protein bars to augment the protein they get from food. They sometimes consume vitamin and mineral supplements too. Dr Rob Child says: “I try to meet a rider’s needs through well-cooked, nutritious foods, but I always know what their nutritional state is in detail. We take regular blood tests, and I can use supplements to make good any deficiencies.”  

Do riders pee during the Tour de France?

If the race pace isn’t too high, riders can stop by the side of the road, having picked a place where nobody can see – which can be difficult. Peeing on the move is a skill Tour de France pros must have in their toolbox. It’s tricky, as it’s impossible to pedal while peeing, so it’s up to the poor domestique to ride alongside and with a hand on the back to maintain forward momentum. 

And here’s how difficult peeing can be…In 1965 British pro Vin Denson rode the 1965 Bordeaux-Paris, a 365-mile single day race, in support of the race winner Jacques Anquetil. As he approached Paris late in the afternoon, Denson realised he hadn’t peed since the start at 2.30am, and he was bursting. He stopped at the side of the road, but found he couldn’t pee at all, even though his bladder was full. Desperate, he shouted to the stationary team car and his soigneur got out, poured a flask of hot coffee down the front of Denson’s shorts, and Denson recalled: “I went like a fountain – it was glorious!”

This full version of this article was published in the print edition of Cycling Weekly.  Subscribe online  and get the magazine delivered direct to your door every week. 

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Chris has written thousands of articles for magazines, newspapers and websites throughout the world. He’s written 25 books about all aspects of cycling in multiple editions and translations into at least 25

different languages. He’s currently building his own publishing business with Cycling Legends Books, Cycling Legends Events, cyclinglegends.co.uk , and the Cycling Legends Podcast 

Many of us have big plans, but life gets in the way. Here's how to achieve your goals, amid the hustle

By Stephen Shrubsall Published 4 April 24

Race neutralised as horror crash sees three of the favourites caught up in incident

By Adam Becket Published 4 April 24

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Frequently asked questions

People access.

For security and or protocol reasons, the “in race” programmes as well as access to the Presidential Grandstand in Paris are exclusively reserved for persons aged 18 and older, the “pre-race” programmes are open to persons aged 16 and older while minors under the age of 14 are not permitted to be in the Publicity Caravan.

Strollers are allowed in the hospitality areas. Given the terrain, their condition and the wiring or devices needed to organise the event, their circulation could however be complex.

The Tour de France provides mobile toilets that are not equipped with changing areas.

Guide and assistance dogs are welcome on the Tour de France. Other pets are not allowed in the hospitality areas.

The Tour de France is designed to welcome all audiences. However, the itinerancy of the event sometimes makes it difficult for us to anticipate access constraints at the sites, which is why we are appealing for your indulgence.

Our concern is to facilitate your visit to the Tour de France so that you have a pleasant day! We will be delighted to welcome you in the best possible conditions. 

We will welcome you with your own wheelchair (no loan or rental service on site). 

Guest parking is available at all sites (start, stopover and finish) and near the hospitality areas. Do not hesitate to ask our Tour de France reception staff to be present in the car park as soon as you arrive. 

All of our hospitality areas (Tour de France Village, guest finish areas, stage relay and grandstands) are equipped with access ramps as well as adapted and priority sanitary facilities. 

For visually impaired people accompanied by an assistance dog, the latter is of course authorised in the areas of the Tour de France on presentation of a permit proving that it has been trained in an approved specialised centre. They must wear the official legal dog vest or collar.

In order to organise your visit as well as possible, we invite you to inform us by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 07.71.92.76.22

The Tour de France is an itinerant and an outdoor event. Therefore, weather conditions can have a significant impact on your day. We recommend that you wear suitable clothing and shoes. Remember that temperatures could also be lower in case of a stage finish in the mountains, for example.

There is no dress code on the Tour de France outside the "in race" programmes and the Presidential Grandstand in Paris for which we request guest to dress in a "Sport chic" style.

You can come by bike to our hospitality areas but we don’t have a bike storage area. We advise you to take a bike lock with you to secure your bike near the area.

This is the Mandatory Passage Point, which is the only point of access to the Tour de France zones for vehicles.

If you have a parking pass, it is imperative that you come to this point then follow the indications given by law enforcement and security personnel. Usual access and circulation will be modified, or even closed by the presence of the Tour de France and no other access point will be open to vehicles. You can find the location of the PPOs on the pages dedicated to each programme.

If you have a parking pass, you can print it on A4 paper or present it on your smartphone (e-tciket). be Parking is allocated in advance by the hosts (partners or organization). No access will be offered, sold or delivered on site.

If you have a guest parking pass and plan to spend the day on an "in race" or "pre-race" programme, you can leave your vehicle parked for the day, visibly displaying your electronic parking pass behind the windshield. The vehicle must be moved before 23:59 on the day of validity of said parking area.

We suggest parking far from the area and finish your journey on foot or with the public transport system. The traffic and congestion generated by the road closures, the size of the event and the large public crowd makes access complicated for non-accredited vehicles.

We recommend that you take a close look at the accesses and closed times, especially on the mountain stages.

For security reasons, the race course is closed and accessible only by accredited vehicles. If you want to go from the start of the stage to the finish of the stage, you can use the out of race itinerary (information available at the Information Desk at the Start Village).

In case you have to cancel your visit, please let us know using the link on the confirmation email you received. You can also contact your host (see contact section on your e-ticket).

Your ticket is personal and non-transferable. Your personal information was recorded at the time of your registration and an identity verification may take place on site. If you wish to hand over your ticket, please contact your host (see contact section on your e-ticket).

Your electronic ticket was sent to you by email and can also be found on the online registration portal.

If you cannot find it, do not worry: our welcome desks are equipped to find your ticket, re-send it or print it if necessary (on presentation of an ID and subject to having previously confirmed a valid invitation).

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The hospitality areas are equipped with mobile and disabled toilets. At the Start Village, they are located in the Technical Zone.

At the stage finish, they are behind each hospitality area. Do not hesitate to ask the staff where to go.

Given the size of the crowds, noise and weather conditions that may impact the smooth running of services, we do not recommend the presence of very young children. Mobile toilets are unfortunately not equipped with changing areas. We will nevertheless make our best efforts to accommodate your little ones with the most comfort possible.

The Tour de France offers a left-luggage service at the Information Point - Conciergerie in the Start Village and in the Presidential tribune.  There is no left luggage service in the other hospitality areas. Please avoid bringing bulky objects or luggage. Bicycles are not allowed in the hospitality areas and must remain outside.

Our staff at the Information Desk in the Start Village and at the entries / exits of the Guest Areas at the stage finish are at your disposal to help you and guide you.

A free food and drink service is provided in all of our hospitality programmes (except for the Grandstand programmes).

No need to register. The activities offered in the hospitality spaces are open access. 

Mobile charging stations are available at the Information-Concierge Point in the Start Village or at the finish area.

Our catering teams have the list of allergens present in the items and dishes offered. Do not hesitate to ask them for detailed information. If you have signed up for an "in race" or "pre-race” programme, please contact share these informations when you will registrate and advice your host (see contact section on your e-ticket) as soon as possible so that we can provide an appropriate menu.

The majority of our reception areas are outdoor. Smoking is allowed in these zones. However, we kindly ask you to respect the other guests around you and to throw your butts in the bins on the sites.

You may take photos or film for your personal use. All commercial use or public dissemination/broadcast of race images (including on social networks) is prohibited.

As part of the Vigipirate plan put in place by the Government, you may be asked to show proof of identity in addition to your invitation or accreditation. An inspection of your personal belongings may also be carried out at the entrance to the sites, so it is recommended that you avoid bulky items. We do not offer lockers or luggage storage on site.

During a visit to the Tour de France, it is strictly forbidden to bring weapons of any kind, dangerous or illegal objects or products (any sharp blade object, cutter, bombs, explosives, scissors, aerosols...) as well as drugs and alcoholic beverages.

OTHERS INFORMATIONS

You can contact us by email:  [email protected] and/or phone: 07.71.92.76.22.

Our virtual assistant Whatsapp of the Tour de France will also be able to answer all your questions (register the number 07.71.92.76.22 in the name of the Tour de France and then send a message to this contact on the application to start the discussion).

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2023 Tour de France Bike Brands and Models Guide

The Tour de France is the pinnacle of professional cycling where bike manufacturers showcase their best equipments. Follow cycling expert, Alex Lee to discover the bikes and gear each team is using.

This article provides a detailed rundown of all the bikes and equipment used by the 22 teams competing in the 2023 Tour de France.

The Tour de France is cycling’s pinnacle event of the year. This represents the perfect opportunity for bike and equipment manufacturers to increase visibility. Many bike brands use the Tour de France to launch and showcase their latest products to cycling fans each year.

While all the bike frames are sponsored, not all other components, such as the groupset, wheelset, saddles, pedals, tires, and power meters, are sponsored. The teams who don’t have a sponsor for a particular component will buy their preferred brands. It’s often hard to differentiate between sponsored or purchased equipment.

Key takeaways

• Each team will have a choice of aero , lightweight , and TT bike depending on the stage’s profile. Colnago, Cube, Pinarello , and Specialized , don’t differentiate between lightweight and aero bikes. So the teams riding these brands only have a choice of a road and TT bike.
• Canyon and Specialized (3 teams) and Canyon (2 teams) have the biggest presence in 2023.
• Shimano dominates the groupset presence with 18 teams using their latest 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9270 groupset, followed by the three teams on SRAM Red eTap AXS and only one team on Campagnolo Super Record EPS .
• There are 12 wheelset brands present in 2023. Each wheelset manufacturer provides the riders with various rim depths from shallow (30 to 45mm) to mid (45 to 55mm) and deep (above 55mm), depending on the day’s terrain.
• Shimano wheels has the biggest presence, with five teams running its latest R9200 wheelsets in 36/50/60mm rim depths.
• Roval , Specialized’s bike components brand wheelsets are ridden by the three teams sponsored by Specialized.

2023 Tour de France Riders’ Gear

Wout van Aert’s Red Bull Helmet at the 2023 Tour de France

Mark Cavendish’s Sunglasses at 2023 Tour de France

Mark Cavendish’s Shoes at 2023 Tour de France

Mark Cavendish’s Bike at 2023 Tour de France

Jasper Philipsen’s Bike at 2023 Tour de France

AG2R Citroën Team

• Climbing bike : BMC Teammachine SLR01
• Aero bike : BMC Timemachine Road SLR01
• TT bike : BMC Timemachine
• Groupset : Campagnolo Super Record EPS
• Bottom bracket : CEMA
• Wheels : Campagnolo Bora WTO Ultra 33 / 45 / 60
• Components : BMC integrated bars
• Pedals : Look Kéo Blade
• Power meter : Power2Max
• Tyres : Pirelli P Zero Race SL
• Bike computer : Wahoo Elemnt Roam / Bolt
• Saddle : Fizik

Alpecin-Fenix

• Climbing bike : Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
• Aero bike : Canyon Aeroad CFR
• TT bike : Canyon Speedmax CF SLX
• Groupset : Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels : Shimano Dura-Ace C36 / C50 / C60
• Components : Canyon handlebars and stems
• Pedals : Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Power meter : Shimano Dura-Ace R9200-P
• Tyres : Vittoria Corsa Pro

Astana-Qazaqstan Team

• Climbing bike : Wilier Filante SLR
• Aero bike : Wilier Zero SLR
• TT bike : Wilier Turbine SLR
• Bottom bracket : CeramicSpeed
• Wheels : Corima WS Black 32 / 47
• Components : Wilier integrated handlebars
• Bike computer : Garmin Edge 840 / 1040
• Saddle : Prologo

Bahrain Victorious

• Climbing bike : Merida Scultura
• Aero bike : Merida Reacto
• TT bike : Merida Time Warp TT
• Wheels : Vision Metron 45 / 60 SL
• Components : Vision Metron 6D handlebars
• Power meter : Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P
• Tyres : Continental GP 5000s TR

2023 Tour de France Bikes and Gear

Tour de France Winning Bikes by Year (1903 to 2023)

2023 Tour de France Sunglasses Brands and Models Guide

2023 Tour de France Helmets Brands and Models Guide

Bora-Hansgrohe

• Climbing bike : Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7
• TT bike : Specialized S-Works Shiv TT
• Wheels : Roval Rapide CLX II / Alpinist CLX II
• Components : Roval Rapide Handlebar
• Tyres : Specialized S-Works Turbo / Turbo Cotton / Rapid Air
• Saddle : Specialized

• Climbing bike : LOOK 785 Huez RS
• Aero bike : LOOK 795 Blade RS
• TT bike : LOOK 796 RS
• Components : LOOK handlebars and stems
• Pedals : Look Kéo
• Power meter : SRM
• Tyres : Michelin Power Competition
• Saddle : Selle Italia

EF Education-EasyPost

• Climbing bike : Cannondale SuperSix EVO LAB71
• Aero bike : Cannondale SystemSix LAB71
• TT bike : Cannondale SuperSlice
• Components : Vision Metron 6D
• Power meter : Power2Max NG Road

Groupama-FDJ

• Climbing bike : Lapierre Xelius SL3
• Aero bike : Lapierre Aircode DRS
• TT bike : Lapierre Aérostorm DRS
• Components : PRO handlebars and stems

Ineos-Grenadiers

• Climbing bike : Pinarello Dogma F
• TT bike : Pinarello Bolide
• Components : MOST handlebars and stems

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty

• Climbing bike : Cube Litening Air C:68X
• Aero bike : Cube Litening Aero C:68X
• TT bike : Cube Aerium TT
• Wheels : Newmen Advanced SL R 50 / 65
• Components : Cube integrated handlebar/stem
• Power meter : Rotor inPower
• Bike computer : Bryton Rider S800

Tour de France Race Guide

2023 Tour de France on TV Broadcasts Availability

2023 Tour de France Prize Money Breakdown

How is the 2023 Tour de France Time Limit Calculated?

What is the meaning of Tour de France Jersey Colors?

Why is the Tour de France So Popular?

Israel-Premier Tech

• Climbing bike : Factor O2 VAM
• Aero bike : Factor Ostro VAM
• TT bike : Factor Slick
• Wheels : Black Inc 30 / 45 / 60
• Components : Black Inc one-piece handlebars
• Power meter : FSA Powerbox
• Bike computer : Hammerhead Karoo 2

Jumbo-Visma

• Climbing bike : Cervélo R5
• Aero bike : Cervélo S5
• TT bike : Cervélo P5
• Groupset : SRAM Red eTap AXS
• Wheels : Reserve 34/37, 52/63
• Components : Cervélo integrated handlebars and stems
• Pedals : Speedplay
• Power meter : SRAM Red

• Clmbing bike : Trek Émonda SLR 9
• Aero bike : Trek Madone SLR 9
• TT bike : Trek Speed Concept
• Wheels : Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 / 51 / 62
• Components : Bontrager handlebars and stems
• Pedals : TIME
• Saddle : Bontrager

Lotto Dstny

• Climbing bike : Ridley Helium
• Aero bike : Ridley Noah Fast
• TT bike : Ridley Dean Fast
• Groupset : Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 /
• Wheels : DT Swiss ARC 1100 / PRC 1100
• Components : Ridley integrated handlebars and stems

Movistar Team

• Wheels : Zipp 202 / 303 / 404 Firecrest
• Power meter : SRAM Red AXS

Soudal Quick-Step

• Components : PRO handlebars

Team Arkea-Samsic

• Climbing bike : Bianchi Specialissima
• Aero bike : Bianchi Oltre RC
• TT bike : Bianchi Aquila

• Climbing bike : Scott Addict RC
• Aero bike : Scott Foil RC
• TT bike : Scott Plasma 5
• Components : Syncros handlebars and stems
• Saddle : Syncros

Team Jayco Alula

• Climbing bike : Giant TCR Advanced SL
• Aero bike : Giant Propel Advanced
• TT bike : Giant Trinity Advanced Pro
• Wheels : Cadex 36 / 42 / 65
• Components : Cadex bars and stems
• Saddle : Cadex

UAE Team Emirates

• Climbing bike : Colnago V4Rs
• TT bike : Colnago TT1
• Wheels : Enve SES 3.4 / 4.5
• Components : Deda handlebars and stems

UNO-X Pro Cycling Team

• Climbing bike : DARE MA-AFO
• Aero bike : DARE VSRu
• TT bike : DARE TSRf
• Components : DARE handlebar and stem
• Bike computer : Garmin Edge 830 / 1030

Tour de France Records and Stats

How Many Rest Days in the 2023 Tour de France?

How Many Riders at the 2023 Tour de France?

How Many Stages in the 2023 Tour de France?

Tour de France Time Trial Winners’ Average Speed

What is the 2023 Tour de France Distance?

What is the Fastest Average Speed at the Tour de France?

Which Rider the Most Tour de France Appearances?

Alex Lee is the founder and editor-at-large of Mr. Mamil. Coming from a professional engineering background, he breaks down technical cycling nuances into an easy-to-understand and digestible format here.

He has been riding road bikes actively for the past 12 years and started racing competitively in the senior category during the summer recently.

Mr. Mamil's content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The content is not a substitute for official or professional advice. Please do your own due diligence.

Mr. Mamil participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. We also participate in various other affiliate programs, and at times we earn a commission through purchases made through links on this website.

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© Mr. Mamil, 2023

2023 Tour de France: A visual guide to cycling’s most challenging race

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the number of competing teams in the Tour de France. The correct number is 22.

The 110th edition of the Tour de France , the most challenging and best-known bicycle race in the world, starts July 1 in Bilbao, Spain, and ends 2,115 grueling and painful miles later on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 23.

In France, the tour is more than a three-week race – it's a cultural phenomenon . Ten million to 12 million racing fans will line the roads of the course to cheer on 176 riders among 22 teams.

Around the world, millions will watch on broadcast TV or streaming services. 41.5 million viewed the 2022 race on the French public service broadcaster France Télévisions alone.

And while nearly 200 riders compete, only one will win.

The race: More than 2,100 miles in 21 days

The Tour de France is actually a collection of 21 single-day races, called stages, over 23 days. (Two rest days are built in.) The stages range from:

• Flat (8 stages): While the route is not always flat, racers usually ride together in a large group called a peloton . Flat stages end with riders breaking away by themselves or a large group sprinting together.
• Hilly (4 stages): Considered more arduous than a flat stage but less difficult than a mountain stage.
• Mountain (8 stages): First introduced in 1910, mountain stages are the most challenging. This year, riders will climb the 6,939-foot Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.
• Time trial (1 stage): Individual riders race against the clock. The 2023 time trial is 13.7 miles. The other stages average to 105 miles, and the longest stage is 130 miles.

Tour route is different every year

The Tour de France has been held annually – except for war years – since 1903. While the format stays the same, the route changes every year, alternating between a clockwise and counterclockwise circuit of France.

It's designed by two men, Christian Prudhomme , a former TV journalist who is general director of the tour, and Thierry Gouvenou , a former pro racer who is the tour's race director. Prudhomme decides the general route and Gouvenou maps out details , linking towns and cities together.

The tour was confined to France in the early years but has expanded beyond French borders. The Grand Départ , the start of the race, was held outside France for the first time in 1954, in the Netherlands.

Other nations have hosted the Grand Départ, including the U.K. in 2007 and 2014.

Since 1975, the final stage has ended in Paris . In 2024, however, the race will finish in Nice .

Do women compete in the Tour de France?

Women have competed, but not directly with men and not over the same distances. Women have raced on smaller editions of the tour over the years, once in 1955 and again from 1984 to 1989. That series was canceled over financial problems.

Other equivalent events such as la Grande Boucle Féminin were held, but these did not last.

The women's tour was revived in 2022 with 144 women competing in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift , a smaller version of the men's event with 640 miles over eight days.

Femmes avec Zwift returns this year , with women riders racing eight days over a 594-mile course.

Which riders are favored to win this year?

The top three contenders according to Cycling News are:

How does a rider win the Tour de France?

The overall winner is the rider with lowest accrued time over the 21 stages of the race. It's possible to win the tour without winning a single stage – American rider Greg LeMond won in 1990 without a stage win. Roger Walkowiak of France won in 1956 without winning a stage.

Overall leaders wear a distinctive yellow jersey as long as they're in the lead. The jersey can be worn by a number of riders throughout the race. Its use was introduced in 1919.

There are also secondary honors, such as the award given to the rider who scores the most points, earned by finishing among the top 15 in a specific stage.

There's also the King of the Mountains award for the rider who gets the most points in categorized mountain climbs.

Domestiques are the tour's unsung heroes

Winning riders don't win by themselves. They get crucial support from teammates, called "domestiques," the French word for servants, who support the lead rider and the team overall.

Domestiques assist by:

• Bringing food and water to teammates.
• Helping leaders with flat tires and mechanical breakdowns, including giving top riders their own wheels or even bikes to continue the race.
• Riding in front of top riders to provide a windbreak.
• If a top rider falls behind, domestiques will lead him back to the pack.

The windbreak technique is called drafting, in which domestiques cut the wind ahead of the top rider. Cycling sources say the top rider conserves 15% to 40% of his energy in drafting.

Riding in front of the pack is exhausting. Domestiques often trade off places in front of the top rider.

How physically demanding is it?

The race is considered one of the most difficult athletic events in the world. Participants are:

Riders can be injured in collisions or crashes. Broken bones, concussions and dislocated shoulders are common.

What do the jersey colors signify?

Tour riders wear the distinctive uniforms of their teams, but you'll see four jerseys with special colors and significance.

Tour de France terms you should know

• Peloton: A French term meaning "group." It refers to the main pack of riders.
• Breakaway: One rider or a group of riders who have outdistanced the peloton.
• Attack: When a rider or riders race away from the group.
• Team leader: The best rider on the team.
• Time trial: A race against the clock.
• Rouleur: A steady rider with a consistent pace.
• Slipstream: The relatively still air behind a rider, used by followers to overcome air resistance.
• Drafting: Taking shelter in the slipstream of the rider ahead.
• Sag wagon: A vehicle that picks up riders who are no longer able to continue.

What do the riders win?

The tour says, "A total of  2.3 million euros  (about $2.5 million) will be awarded to the teams and riders including €500,000 (about $531,820) to the final winner of the overall individual classification."

Who are the legends of the Tour de France?

Past multiple winners include:

• Fausto Coppi | Italy, 1949, 1952
• Jacques Anquetil | France, 1957, 1961-64
• Eddy Merckx | Belgium, 1969-74
• Bernard Hinault | France, 1978-79, 1981-82, 1985
• Greg LeMond | U.S., 1986, 1989-90
• Miguel Indurain | Spain, 1991-95
• Chris Froome | Kenya, 2013, 2015-17

American Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven times from 1999 to 2005, but he was stripped of his victories by the International Cycling Union in 2012 over allegations of using illegal drugs. He admitted to years of performance-enhancing drug use to Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview. 

How to watch the Tour de France

Coverage of the 2023 Tour de France will be carried on :

• NBC Sports: Will broadcast select parts of race.
• Peacock : Will stream all race stages.
• USA Network: Will show condensed live coverage.

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Associated Press; VeloNews; letour.com; bicycling.com; cyclingnews.com

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The bikes and components making their debuts at the 2021 Tour de France

First Published Jun 25, 2021

For team sponsors, the Tour de France is the biggest shop window in cycling and there are loads of new bikes and products making their first appearances in the race this year – here are some of the most important ones. Some of these products have been around for a few months now and have seen action in other races, some have only just been released, and some are flying under the radar, yet to be launched…

Pinarello Dogma F14

Pinarello has just launched the Dogma F which takes over from the Dogma F12 as its top-level road bike. Ineos Grenadiers will be using the new model in this year’s Tour de France.

> Find out all about the Pinarello Dogma F here 

The headline news is that the Dogma F frame is said to be 9% lighter than that of the F12 and the fork is 16% lighter. Pinarello also says that the Dogma F has less drag – down 4.8% on the disc brake version and 3.2% on the rim brake model. Interestingly, Pinarello also says that the disc brake model has less drag than the rim brake; it’s 7.3% lower if you consider just the frame and fork. 

Pinarello says that the Dogma F benefits from a narrower seat tube (just 20mm wide at the top junction) and seatpost taking advantage of the UCI rules for 2021 reducing minimum tube width, and that new down tube cross-sections also improve aerodynamics.

Wilier Filante SLR

Both Astana-Premier Tech and Team TotalEnergies ride Wilier bikes and the Filante SLR, launched last November, will be making its Tour de France debut. 

> Find out all about the Wilier Filante SLR

Wilier says that the Filante SLR has been designed with “real-world aerodynamics” in mind. What does it mean by that? Wilier says that the airflow is very clean and consistent in the wind tunnel but that things are different when you get out into the big, wide world. The wind is constantly shifting and changing in intensity and there’s turbulence from other riders.

For these reasons, Wilier has altered the Filante SLR’s tube profiles from those of its Cento10Pro frame. 

“We still use NACA airfoils… but unlike previous frames, this cut [at the back of the tube] was softened… The design is much more rounded,” says Wilier’s R&D technical manager Claudio Salomoni.

“This is a great help in the real world because the boundary layer – the wind particles closest to the frame – adhere more to the profile than on the Cento10Pro. As we change the yaw angle, the frame maintains its good aerodynamic characteristics.”

The Filante SLR is a disc brake bike for electronic groupsets only, with the hoses and wires routed internally, and Wilier claims a frame weight of just 870g.

When we reviewed the Filante SLR here on road.cc we called in a “lightweight aero superbike that offers quick handling and an excellent ride quality”. 

> Read our review of the Wilier Filante SLR

Bianchi Specialissima CV Disc

Team BikeExchange race on Bianchi’s Specialissima CV which was launched last October. The Specialissima is the lightweight bike in Bianchi’s range, and disc brakes have now been added for the first time. Bianchi claims a 750g frame weight, (55cm, painted) and 370g for the full-carbon fork.

> Find out about the Bianchi Specialissima CV here 

Bianchi says the Specialissima CV Disc features aero improvements that have been carried over from its Oltre aero road bikes, including internal cable routing, an integrated seat clamp, and tubing that’s shaped to reduce drag. It takes tyres up to 28mm wide. 

The Specialissima uses FSA’s ACR (Aerodynamic Cable Routing) system, with all cables and hoses routed internally. 

Canyon Aeroad 

The updated Canyon Aeroad technically made its Tour de France debut last year when Warren Barguil rode one, but this year is the first time that it’ll be used widely across the brand’s sponsored teams: Movistar, Alpecin-Fenix, and Arkea-Samsic.

The latest Aeroad was officially unveiled last October with claims of improved aerodynamics and reduced weight. Canyon also said that the updated Aeroad offered sharper handling than previously and enhanced comfort.

Check out all the details on the Canyon Aeroad here 

We’ve didn’t have the chance to do a full review on road.cc but we did get two or three rides on one and absolutely loved it. Other riders who were able to spend more time on the bike had issues.

Some users experienced excessive wear to the seatpost  and Mathieu van der Poel broke an adjustable-width handlebar while racing. Canyon issued a notice telling owners not to use the new bars while it worked on developing a replacement while the pros used other bars and the Aeroad’s internal cables had to be run partially externally (pic above) as a temporary measure.

It looks like Canyon has equipped pro riders with new bars for the Tour de France, so the cables can now run internally again.

Merida Scultura 5

Merida’s Scultura 5 has been on the UCI’s List of Approved Models of Framesets  for months but it has yet to be released, so keep your eyes on the Bahrain Victorious team for a sneak peek.

The riders have been using the bike pictured above recently, which is likely to be the Scultura 5. Although it has dropped seatstays, this bike certainly isn't Merida's Reacto; the down tube isn't deep enough, the fork crown isn't integrated, the seatstays meet the seat tube at a different height, the seat tube isn't cut away around the rear wheel... It's just a totally different bike.

It's certainly not the existing Scultura either – that bike has a completely different silhouette. 

We guess that Merida is incorporating aero features into the updated design of its lightweight road bike. Many other lightweight bikes have been aero-ised in their latest revamps: Specialized Tarmac SL7, Trek Emonda, Bianchi Specialissima, and so on. 

We expect Merida to launch this new bike officially soon but with huge delivery issues in the cycling world right now we wouldn't like to put an exact timescale on it. 

Primo Roglic was spotted on a yet-to-be-released Cervelo as long ago as the Spring Classics .  It could be an update of the R5 – presumably called the R6 – although nothing has appeared on the UCI’s List of Approved Models of Framesets .

The new bike has a slim but much deeper head tube than the R5, with internal cable routing. It also has tiny seatstays, large chainstays, and plenty of space for wider tyres.

We will probably see the new bike being ridden by Jumbo-Visma in the Tour.

Lapierre Xelius SL 

Groupama-FDJ will be riding the Tour de France on a just-released Lapierre Xelius SL. Team rider David Gaudu has already raced on it at the Dauphiné.

Lapierre says the Xelius SL is “ultra-lightweight, with a more distinguished design thanks to its tighter lines and fully integrated cables to reduce the aerodynamic impact of the frame and gain speed when going downhill”. 

The new version also comes with a more aggressive geometry than previously. 

New Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset

It’s pretty well established that Shimano will launch a new 9200 version of its top-level Dura-Ace groupset this year. How can everyone be so sure? We’ve seen the patents , it has already been used by Team DSM, and it’s Shimano’s centenary so it makes sense that it’ll reveal something big.

Plus, according to Shimano’s regular launch cycle, a redesign is overdue, and there’s evidence from the likes of Liv which told us that its new Langma Advanced SL Disc won’t be available in a SRAM Red build in the UK, but that a different version is on the way later in the year. If this was anything other than Dura-Ace, they’d have revealed the details already.

The exact form Dura-Ace 9200 will take isn’t completely clear. We all but know from patents that it’s 12-speed and that the Di2 version is semi-wireless (the derailleurs are linked to one another and to a battery by wires, but the communication with the shifters is wireless). We don’t know for certain whether there will be a cable-operated (non-Di2) shift option.

As you’d expect, Team DSM has been using Dura-Ace 9200 in its Di2 and disc brake forms. It’ll be interesting to see whether other teams are equipped with the new components for the Tour de France – the race is cycling’s biggest shop window, after all. Seventeen of the 23 teams in this year’s Tour use Shimano Dura-Ace and we can’t see it being rolled out to all of them, so we’ll all just have to keep ’em peeled.

New Shimano wheels

Many riders on Shimano-sponsored teams have been using unbranded wheels over recent months, suggesting that the Japanese brand has new models on the way.

We saw Jumbo-Visma used unbranded wheels at the Tour de France last year to bring the weight of their Bianchi Oltre XR4s down towards the UCI’s 6.8kg minimum weight limit.

The wheels used by Team DSM (and others) recently look very similar. The Dura-Ace front wheels currently in Shimano’s range feature a conventional spoke pattern where the drive-side and non-drive-side patterns match.

The drive-side spokes on the unbranded wheels are still a straight pull design, but they are now radially laced. 

Shimano appears to be using a 2:1 spoke pattern here where there are twice as many spokes on the non-drive-side as there are on the drive-side. This could well be a weight/drag saving measure that Shimano believes will cope with the forces from the front brake.

At the rear, the non-drive-side seems to use radially laced straight-pull spokes while the drive-side has what looks to be at least a two-cross pattern.

It is tricky to tell if the rim has been made any wider than the old model, but this is certainly no skinny rim like the Lightweight wheels that Ineos Grenadiers are known to use.

We'd expect the new wheels to be launched at the same time as the Dura-Ace groupset .

Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO wheels

Campag unveiled its new Bora Ultra WTO wheels a couple of months ago, and 2020 Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar will be using them on his Colnago V3RS and C64 team bikes in this year’s race.

Find out all about the Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO wheels here

The disc-brake-only wheels are tubeless-ready, and Pogačar will be running them tubeless.

Campag claims that the C-Lux (Campagnolo-Luxury) “is so pristinely smooth that it doesn’t require lacquer”, and this allows it to save weight.

The Ultra WTO wheels come with a new set of disc-specific hubs, the front one of which has a body made from carbon fibre which saves more weight. Both hubs spin on Campagnolo’s CULT ceramic bearings.

Loads more wheels

Mads Pedersen rode them at Paris-Nice and Jasper Stuyven won Milan-San Remo while using the RSL75 rear wheel. Expect to see them all over Trek-Segafredo bikes at the Tour.

Movistar uses wheels from US brand Zipp which has updated its 353 NSW ,  454 NSW, and 858 NSW models recently. You’ll do well to spot the differences though because we’re talking about rim width, switching to a hookless design, and changes to the hubs.

> Find out about Zipp's 454 NSW and 858 NSW wheels here

And something that we won’t see…

We certainly won’t be seeing the Supersapiens glucose monitoring devices at the Tour de France because the UCI has introduced rule 1.3.006bis, banning the in-competition use of devices that capture information on metabolic values including, but not limited to glucose and lactate . 

Supersapiens has been rapidly expanding the number of professional cycling teams that it is working alongside, but the UCI’s ruling will mean that its product cannot be used within any sanctioned event, although riders are free to use it in training.

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Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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Orbea Orca for me, decent company ethos too.

Remember too that aero gravel bikes are a recent development. That makes them much more palatable.

Realistically, it's going to take year to fix. Unless we have several weeks without rain...like that will happen 

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Part of the reason I cycle (besides being fun) is the low environmental impact. Now don't get me wrong, I buy plenty cycling related bits and...

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The police themselves aren't much better.

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TYPES OF BIKES PERMITTED

• For the 75-mile, only road bikes are permitted.
• For the 45-mile ride, road and gravel bikes with drops are allowed.
• E-bikes are allowed in the 25-mile ride, although any cyclist riding an e-bike won’t be ranked in a specific ranking to preserve fairness between participants.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

• All participants must wear helmets in all distances for the entirety of the race.

AGE REQUIREMENTS

• Riders must be 16+ to ride in the 75-mile or 45-mile events.
• Riders must be 14+ to ride in the 25-mile event. NOTE: If a rider is 14 or 15, they must ride with a parent or approved guardian over 18 

AGE CATEGORIES

• 21 to 29 
• 30 to 39 
• 40 to 49 
• 50 to 59 
• Overall winners: The top overall individual female and male finishers will be presented with the iconic yellow jerseys for the 75-mile and 45-mile race. 
• Queen of the Mountain (QOM)/ King of the Mountain (KOM) winners: The fastest individual male and female riders in each age category over the timed climb section will be awarded the polka-dot jersey. 
• Sprint winners: The fastest male and female riders in each age category through the timed sprint section will be awarded the green jersey. 
• Overall fastest under 25 years old: The fastest overall individual female and male finishers under 25 years old will receive the white jersey.
• Top 3 finishers in each age category for the 75-mile race and 45-mile race will receive winner’s medals.

TIMING AND CUT-OFF TIMES

• Riders in the 75-mile ride must maintain 11.0 mph to make the time cut off of 12:15pm at mile 57.4 on the 75-mile route. All 75-mile riders must be clear of Highway 160 by 12:15pm.  Riders not maintaining this pace will be turned early on course to ensure Highway 160 is clear per our Nevada Department of Transportation Permits.  

SAFETY + CODE OF CONDUCT

• Unless otherwise or expressly stated, the roads should always be considered as open to traffic (even if road signs suggest they may be shut) and you must ride accordingly as local access traffic may still use closed roads. Please obey all Highway Code rules and road regulations at all times.
• NOTE: We reserve the right to terminate participation on health and safety grounds. This includes, but is not limited to, the re-direction or closure of sections of the route due to events outside our control, rider route progress, or in the event of severe weather conditions.

From the start to the finish of this event that uses the public highway, all participants will be expected to adhere to all briefings/information given in communications shared in advance of the event, briefings given on the day (which may supersede previous information if there have been any changes), and also to the Human Race cycling code, which includes the following:

Code of Conduct:

• You are requested to ride at a maximum 2 abreast at any time. Single file riding is mandatory when double white line systems are in operation on the roads.
• Unless required during a safe overtaking procedure you should not cross the centre line whilst riding, and should make sure, particularly on descents, that you slow down sufficiently to be able to make a turn onto a side road without having to cross onto the ‘wrong’ side of the road.
• Obey all directions from police, traffic control personnel or course workers. Riders MUST give way to emergency vehicles. Where the route has a delineated lane closure (e.g. cones), crossing into the non-delineated lane is strictly prohibited.
• Look for obstacles, ride safely and predictably. Don’t swerve and weave, keep your head up, and ride in single file when possible. Please be aware of and exercise good road riding etiquette.
• Riders will be assigned to a start corral based on the anticipated average speed provided at registration. Riders will not be allowed to move forward into a faster corral, but will be allowed to move into a slower corral.
• Please always remain aware of your fellow participants and all other road users (including motor vehicles, other cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians) and ensure you always leave sufficient space / give way where required.
• Please always indicate & signal your intention to stop or change direction, including at junctions.
• Please also take note of any specific event signage which has been erected for the event as this will be in place for your safety and to warn you of what is approaching– HOWEVER these will not and cannot highlight every risk and so you must remain alert & maintain an awareness of your surroundings at all times.
• You should remain in control and ride according to your ability as well as the road conditions / environment. So think and look ahead to look out for any potential obstacles / risks coming up. This may include hidden dips and obstacles / hazards around corners – if you cannot see a good way along the road ahead of you or around a corner then slow down accordingly so you can respond / react if necessary. 
• Please look out for and observe all Highways signage relating to descents, bends, general road regulations, cattle guards and other hazards.
• Please note that we reserve the right to terminate your participation if you fail to comply with any of the above, or are seen to be riding dangerously.
• Cut Off Times: For course management and road safety, a cut off time will be established for the 75 Mile route.  Riders outside of this time will be re-routed to the 45 course, your distance will be changed automatically to the 45 Mile ride and your time will reflect your finish time for the 45 Mile distance. 
• There is no outside support allowed for the entirety of the ride.
• The event organizers reserve the right to refuse entry into the event if any of the above rules are violated by a participant. 

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

• To ensure L'Étape Las Vegas organizers and all partcipants are stewards of the environment and the natural surroundings in which the event takes place, it is strictly forbidden to leave litter (paper, plastic wrappers) on the route. Bins will be provided at all feeding zones. Participants must make use of them when disposing of waste. Participants must hold onto their litter and wrappers and wait until they reach the places set up by the Organizer to dispose of them. The Organizer reserves the right to award time penalties or exclude participants from the race who deliberately dispose of their waste elsewhere than in these specific areas. 

REFUNDS, DEFERRALS, TRANSFERS

• Refund Policy:  There are no refunds. Unfortunately, there are no exceptions. However, ​​during registration you have the option to choose the Optional Upgrade - Refundable Registration.  This will allow you to cancel your registration and receive a refund.  Please take the time to review the Terms & Conditions of this product before making your selection.  We strongly recommend you choose this option for the most flexibility.  We recognize that injuries and unforeseen events can happen. If you choose not to purchase the Optional Upgrade - Refundable Registration and cannot ride, please refer to our Deferral & Transfer options
• Deferral Policy:  You may defer your entry to next year’s event. Deferrals must be processed by the Event Registration Manager. An administration fee of $50 will be charged at the time you register for the 2024 event.  The athlete may request a deferral by submitting an email request prior to February 10, 2024.  To defer your entry please email  [email protected] .
• Transfer Policy:  You may transfer your entry to another rider. Transfers must be processed by the Event Registration Manager. An administration fee of $25 will be charged at the time you transfer your entry to another rider.  The athlete may request a transfer by submitting an email request prior to February 10, 2024.

USE OF IMAGES

• The Event may be recorded for public communication purposes, in any form (notably through photos, videos, etc.), on any existing or future media, in any format, for any communication to the public around the world, for any use including advertising and commercial use. As such, each participant expressly grants the Organizer, its assignees and beneficiaries (notably its commercial partners) permission to record and reproduce, on any media and using any means, and subsequently to reproduce and represent, without remuneration of any kind, their name, voice, image and, more generally, their sporting activity within the context of the Event (hereinafter their “Image”). The participant expressly authorizes the Organizer to concede to Event partners sub-licenses for the use of the Image for commercial and advertising purposes. 
• The participant gives his express and irrevocable permission for the Organizer, its delegates and its successors (notably its commercial partners) in order to meet the requirements of advertising, promotional and/or commercial campaigns, to 1) apply any modifications, additions, or deletions that it sees fit when using the participant’s image in any of the circumstances defined above, and 2) associate and/or combine the participant’s image with signatures, catchphrases, slogans, captions, brands, distinctive signs, legal notices, visuals and, in general, any element of any kind chosen by the Organizer to illustrate the means of communication in which the images are used. 
• The participant guarantees that he is not bound by an exclusive contract relating to the use of his Image. 

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Yep, you, too, can enter the Tour de France!  Just follow these six easy steps, as published on eHow.com (and drastically summarized by us):

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Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France defence in doubt after Basque crash

• 2022 and 2023 winner fractures collarbone and scapula
• Twelve riders crash on fourth stage of Basque tour

The Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard, was taken to hospital with a broken collarbone after a serious crash on stage four of the Itzulia Basque Country.

Vingegaard also suffered several broken ribs from the high-speed accident that also included Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic among a group of 12 affected riders. “It was a nasty crash, but fortunately he is stable and conscious. He remains in hospital as a precaution. Thank you for all your messages,” Vingegaard’s team Visma-Lease a Bike said in a statement.

Six riders went to hospital after the incident, including the Australian Jay Vine, who was diagnosed with a fractured cervical vertebra and two fractures in his thoracic spine. “Fortunately, there were no neurological problems and there are no other serious injuries or skull injuries,” Vine’s UAE Team Emirates said in a statement.

Evenepoel’s team Soudal-QuickStep revealed the Belgian must undergo surgery on a fractured collarbone and fractured scapula. Roglic was the least affected of the big-name trio involved and he headed for the team car having received medical attention. The incident took place when the peloton was descending around a tight right-hand bend with less than 40km of the stage to go, one riding sliding out of the road and on to the bank, sparking a chain reaction as more followed.

The race was then neutralised until the finish, with only the six riders who had been at the front being allowed to sprint for the finish to try to win the stage, victory eventually going to the underwhelmed South African Louis Meintjes, who admitted it was a hollow triumph.

“It’s a sad day. I wish all the guys who crashed all the best and wish them a fast recovery,” Mattias Skjelmose, who took the overall race lead from Roglic, said at the finish. “My mind is with the guys who crashed, and right now I am not thinking about the leader’s jersey.”

Vingegaard won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023 but with this year’s event starting on 29 June, doubt now hangs over his ability to defend his crown.

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Tour de France champ Vingegaard has collapsed lung after crash

Danish rider may not be able to defend his title.

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Two-time defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard remained hospitalized in Spain a day after he broke his collarbone and several ribs in a bad crash with other top riders during the Tour of Basque Country.

The Danish rider's Visma-Lease A Bike team said Friday that further tests revealed the Vingegaard also suffered a collapsed lung and a pulmonary contusion. The team said that cycling's leading star was "stable and had a good night" but remains in a hospital in the northern Spanish city of Vitoria.

The accident comes less than three months before the start of the Tour on June 29 when Vingegaard is scheduled to to again face off against top rival Tadej Pogačar. That highly anticipated rematch is now in doubt.

• 'It's been a long journey': Vingegaard wins Tour de France for 2nd consecutive year
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Vingegaard was hardly moving as he was put in an ambulance wearing an oxygen mask and neck brace after the crash occurred on Thursday with less than 30 kilometres left in the race's fourth stage.

The pileup also took out cycling stars Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel.

Evenepoel, considered one of the favourites for the road race at the Paris Games, broke a collarbone and his right shoulder blade and was set to undergo surgery when he returns to Belgium on Friday, his Soudal Quick-Step team said.

The accident happened as riders were making what looked to be a conventional right-hand turn going downhill when one rider's front tire appeared to slip out and send other cyclists off the road. There were some large rocks and trees in the area, though it wasn't clear if any of the riders hit them. There was also a concrete drainage ditch place on the edge of the curve.

Roglič, a three-time Spanish Vuelta winner, emerged with just scratches but he did have to abandon the race he was leading.

Vingegaard was trying to defend the tittle he won last year at the six-day Tour of Basque Country.

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• Pogacar and Vingegaard lock horns again for Tour de France stalemate
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Vingegaard breaks collarbone in major crash at Tour of the Basque Country

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Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard injured in multi-cyclist crash

Jonas Vingegaard, the two-time reigning Tour de France champion, was badly injured in a multi-cyclist crash Thursday during a race in Spain.

Several other top names in the sport were also hurt as a number of competitors in the Itzulia Basque Country event skidded off the road at a sharp turn during a descent.

Vingegaard’s team said that the 27-year-old Dane suffered a broken collarbone and “several” broken ribs. He was set to remain in a hospital as a precaution, said Team Visma | Lease a Bike, after abandoning the multistage race.

la caduta dei ciclisti oggi al Giro dei Paesi Baschi è terrificante. #Vingegaard è il primo: è scivolato a 70 km\h sull'asfalto e ha preso in pieno un masso e poi ha proseguito nella caduta seguito dai più forti colleghi a livello mondiale. mi auguro che possa riprendersi e… pic.twitter.com/bFykLOlJkh — 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒌 🇧🇹 ᓚᘏᗢ (Lanzichenecco) (@davidepollak2) April 4, 2024

Also forced to abandon were Remco Evenepoel, who suffered a broken collarbone and right scapula in the incident, and Olympic gold medalist Primoz Roglic, the race leader who was said to have avoided any fractures. Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglic entered the day in second, third and sixth place, respectively, in the International Cycling Union’s world rankings .

Vingegaard was shown on a race telecast being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask and a neck brace. Other cyclists were initially strewn along the bend in the course in various degrees of physical distress.

An American cyclist, Sean Quinn, suffered a concussion in addition to a broken sternum and abrasions, according to his team. Others notably injured in the crash included Jay Vine, who suffered spinal and cervical fractures, and Steff Cras, who was listed with vertebral and rib fractures, as well as with “several hematomas.”

Cyclists Alexander Cepeda, Quinten Hermans and Natnael Tesfatsion were also involved in the crash.

🚨 CAÍDA EN EL PELOTÓN🚨 Entre los caídos, Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, Quinten Hermans y Jonas Vingegaard 🏆 @bancosabadell 🔴 MORE INFO ⬇️  🔗 https://t.co/JABIxm2MWO     #Itzulia2024 pic.twitter.com/YnprHUo5Nr — Itzulia Basque Country (@ehitzulia) April 4, 2024

Thursday’s stage, the fourth of six as the race winds through Basque country in northern Spain, was altered after the incident to remove a section involving a mountain pass. Ultimately, the rest of the stage was neutralized, with times recorded in it not counting toward the general classification. The six cyclists leading the peloton when the crash unfolded just behind them were allowed to compete for a sprint finish. Louis Meintjes won the stage, while Mattias Skjelmose rose to the top of the overall standings.

“It’s a sad day. I wish all the guys who crashed all the best and wish them a fast recovery,” Skjelmose said afterward. “My mind is with the guys who crashed, and right now I am not thinking about the leader’s jersey.”

It remains to be seen if Vingegaard, who came into the Basque tour off a win in the Tirreno-Adriatico race, can recover in time to try to win the Tour de France for a third year in a row. Cycling’s top event will start in Italy on June 29 and end, for the first time in a century, in a locale other than Paris (the final stage this year will take place in Nice) because of the Olympics.

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Tour de France in doubt for Jonas Vingegaard and Jay Vine after horrific crash during the Itzulia Basque Country race in Spain

Sport Tour de France in doubt for Jonas Vingegaard and Jay Vine after horrific crash during the Itzulia Basque Country race in Spain

Jonas Vingegaard has been taken to hospital along with leading Australian rider Jay Vine after some of the world's best cyclists suffered injuries in a mass crash at high speed in the Itzulia Basque Country race in Spain. 

The reigning double Tour de France champion Vingegaard was reported to have suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs but was "conscious" after the alarming crash that threatens his hopes of a famous treble in July.

Vine, last year's Tour Down Under winner, also ended up crashing heavily in a concrete ditch and was taken away by ambulance.

The 28-year-old was later diagnosed with a fractured cervical vertebra and two fractures in his thoracic spine, with no other major injuries or head trauma. 

It was a disastrous day for another modern-day great too, with Remco Evenepoel, the 2022 world champion, managing to walk away from the crash despite suffering what his Soudal-Quick Step later confirmed was a fracture to his right collarbone and to his right shoulder blade.

He will need surgery on Friday in Belgium.

Giro d'Italia champ Primoz Roglic, who had been the overnight leader, also abandoned the race after giving a thumbs-up to cameras from the team car to show he was OK.

In all, 12 riders near the front of the peloton were involved in the crash, which happened with about 35 kilometres left of the fourth stage between Etxarri Aranatz and Legutio, in northern Spain.

The leaders were making a sweeping right-hand turn on a slight but swift descent, with some sliding off, sending others off the road into the ditch.

Denmark's Vingegaard, who has been in spectacular form and was favourite for the 2024 Tour de France, had to be carried to the ambulance in a neck brace and needed oxygen after treatment at roadside by doctors.

The race was then neutralised until the finish, with only the six riders who had been at the front being allowed to sprint for the finish to try to win the stage, with victory eventually going to the underwhelmed South African Louis Meintjes, who admitted it was a hollow triumph.

"It's a sad day. I wish all the guys who crashed all the best and wish them a fast recovery," Mattias Skjelmose, who took the overall race lead from Roglic, said at the finish.

"My mind is with the guys who crashed, and right now I am not thinking about the leader's jersey."

The crash, which featured three of the world's most outstanding riders in Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglic, was also a huge blow for 25-year-old Vine, who has graduated from riding a turbo trainer in his living room to being a peloton star.

He had begun the week-long race on Monday with an exceptional time trial that had left him second behind only Roglic at that stage and revealed afterwards that the Itzulia had been only a late addition to his schedule.

Earlier on Thursday, Roglic's teammate at BORA-Hansgrohe, Lennard Kamna, was reported to be in a "stable condition" in intensive care after he had collided with a car during a training ride in Tenerife.

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Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard Suffer Broken Collarbones at Itzulia Basque Country

Stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country was marked by a devastating crash, which left multiple top riders hospitalized.

Among the injured, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone and several fractured ribs and will remain in the hospital. Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) also suffered a broken right collarbone and right scapula, according to each of the riders’ teams.

UAE Team Emirates’ Jay Vine also sustained fractures to three of his vertebrae, while Roglič (Bora-hansgrohe), already grappling with injuries from a prior crash, was forced to abandon the race but fortunately sustained less severe injuries and was attended to by medical staff on-site.

The incident occurred approximately 35 km from the finish line as the peloton navigated a tight right-hand bend within dense woodland. One rider’s slide triggered a domino effect, resulting in multiple riders tumbling down, some landing in unprotected concrete ditches. Initial reports suggest at least ten riders were affected, six requiring immediate hospitalization.

The severity of the crash prompted the race organizers to neutralize the competition, with concerns mounting as ambulances rushed to the scene to attend to the fallen riders. The extent of the injuries varied, with some riders, like Jay Vine of UAE Team Emirates, requiring hospitalization for further evaluation.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. However, local rider Mikel Bizkarra shed light on the treacherous conditions of the road, citing the presence of underlying tree roots that rendered the asphalt uneven and prone to accidents.

As the race organization dealt with the aftermath, decisions were made to neutralize the GC battle for the day, with only the breakaway riders continuing their pursuit to the finish line. Riders like Vingegaard, conscious but under observation, were transported to hospitals for further assessment.

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