Caen’s city centre marina is used to welcoming luxury boats, but on Wednesday afternoon, it was teeming instead with Tour de France bike tech.
This edition’s first time trial, flat and 33km in length, was billed as one for the most powerful and streamlined riders. True to the script, it went the way of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), the world and Olympic champion, and pre-stage shoo-in for the win.
As the early starters rolled out onto the course, Cycling Weekly roamed the waterfront team paddocks in search of weight-saving hacks and aero optimisations. We were not disappointed.
Here are 10 of the time trial trends on show, including a frame stripped of its paint, and a jaw-droppingly expensive saddle.
Paint-stripped frames
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
In a bid to shave as many grams as possible off his set-up, Jonas Vingegaard had the paint stripped from his Cérvelo P5. It’s a measure that the Dane also took at last year’s race, and “does a little bit” to save weight, a Visma-Lease a Bike team mechanic told Cycling Weekly.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Notice how the paint gives way to the carbon frame, as if it had been sanded away.
It’s estimated that around 100g of paint has been removed Vingegaard’s bike – a small amount, particularly on a tough day for the two-time Tour champion, but it might have stopped him losing another second or two to his GC rivals.
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(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Tadej Pogačar’s TT biker had a neater finish, with matte black paint, but was lacking the small, red painted details on the forks of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mates. Could this have been a tiny weight-saving measure, or was it just a style choice?
Mammoth chainrings
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
With a flat course out and back into Caen, stage five’s race against the clock played into the favour of those who could whirr a big gear.
The biggest chainrings we saw had 68 teeth, the one pictured above and below belonging to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Primož Roglič, who ran a single chainring system. The day’s winner, Evenepoel, and Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose were also said to have gone for 68-tooth set-ups.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Others who came close to 68 teeth were former time trial world champion Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers), who went for 66, and Vingegaard, whose chainring had 64.
A £1,250 saddle
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Prologo’s new carbon saddle, the Predator 01TT, was born in a wind tunnel with aerodynamics at heart.
It’s fully carbon, advertised as weighing just 135g, and was used by a number of Visma-Lease a Bike riders on the day – Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, Simon Yates and Victor Campenaerts.
It also comes with an eye-watering price tag: €1,350 (£1,160, $1580). That’s €10 per gram.
Deep rims
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
After a windy start to the race in northern France, the gusts died down a bit on stage five, and the deep wheels came out.
The deepest rims we spotted were fitted to the bikes of Visma-Lease a Bike, and measured 99mm at the front.
These were significantly deeper than the norm across the paddock, which was 60mm, used, for example, by Pogačar, as well as all of Uno-X.
XDS Astana came close to Visma-Lease a Bike’s depth with their 91mm rims (below).
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Aero bottles
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
A 40-minute effort for most riders, Caen’s time trial course was hardly akin to the slogs of a decade ago, but it was long enough to require the odd sip of water.
To ensure no aero sacrifices were made, teams attached aero bottles to their bike frames, to help keep the airflow smooth.
UAE Team-Emirates-XRG even integrated specially designed bottles into their Colnago frames (above). These act as a sort of quasi-fairing, and crucially mean the riders don’t need to go thirsty.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Other teams, like Lidl-Trek, went for adapted, albeit more traditional, designs.
Their bottles and carbon cages, produced by Italian brand Elite, were made specially for time trials and triathlon events, and are oval shaped to sit flush with the frame.
They look posh, but the whole set is available online for only around £40.
‘Prototype’ wheels
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
With ‘experimental prototype’ written on the spokes, it’s easy to assume Ineos Grenadiers’ front wheels are new, unreleased tech.
The reality is they aren’t; this version of Princeton Carbonworks’ Mach 7580 wheel went to market well over a year ago, and were designed with the input of former world champion Filippo Ganna. The team still clearly feels they’re the fastest option.
Narrow TT bars
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
The belief at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is that narrower bars are quicker against the clock.
The cockpit pictured above is Wattshop’s Delta extension system, and belongs to Roglič. The single-sided arm rests are designed to strap the arms as close together as possible, keeping the rider’s aero tuck nice and tight.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
While Roglič likes to keep his stem height low, some riders at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe prefer a more upright position. Tim van Dijke’s set-up (above) has 18 spacers – eighteen! – to prop him up like a praying mantis.
Derailleur covers
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
No aero stone is left unturned on time trial day, which is why IPT’s mechanics fitted covers to their riders’ derailleurs, in another small move to smooth the air.
CeramicSpeed’s OSPW Aero pulley cover, co-developed with aero experts Drag2Zero, is said to have “40% less friction compared to a stock derailleur, making it perfect for time trials or triathlons”.
Custom 1x chainrings
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Custom tech is as common as a croissant in a boulangerie in time trials, and this chainring on the bike of a Jayco AlUla rider caught our eye in Caen.
The team is supplied components by Shimano, but since the Japanese company don’t make 1x road chainrings – only gravel and mountain bike – riders who want single set-ups have to shop elsewhere.
The one shown above is a collaboration between brands Sync and CSixx, made to fit Shimano groupsets, and has 62 teeth.
Ice vests
(Image credit: Future)
OK, this last one isn’t bike tech, but it’s still an important performance product for time trials. Across the team paddock on Wednesday, with the sun searing towards 30°C, ice vests were commonplace on the backs of riders readying themselves for their roll-outs.
Keeping core body temperature down is crucial to prevent overheating, and stop riders from ‘blowing up’ during the effort.
Tudor squad is supplied ice vests by Dutch company Inuteq, who also provide products to runners, footballers, and even MotoGP motorcyclists.
