Cippo

Colnago M10S – Europcar Riders at Europcar can choose between the C59, a frameset made with carbon tubes joined by carbonb lugs, or the M10S, a monocoque frameset. Built using new laminates and materials, the M10S is designed to be both light and stiff. A larger bottom bracket shell and tapered headtube increase lateral rigidity while still allowing the bike to cushion road vibrations. There’s internal cable routing that’s compatible with both mechanical cables and electronic wires, and keeps the bike’s aesthetics clean and refined. Europcar uses Campagnolo Super Record EPS components, and at least one of the team’s riders (Pierre Rolland) was spotted using the Italian company’s limited edition 80th anniversary (mechanical only) groupset.

Specialized S-Works Venge – Omega Pharma–Quick-Step Specialized riders have both the S-Works Venge and S-Works Tarmac SL4 at their disposal. Niki Terpstra is a big rider who (when he’s not riding on the front for Mark Cavendish) tries to win races for himself in a breakaway, and the Venge is optimized for impressive performance off the front. Designed with input from Formula 1 engineers to be stiff and aerodynamic, the Venge gives the former Dutch road champion an edge when he’s off the front. The team chooses Zipp wheels with Specialized tubular tyres, SRAM Red 10-speed components, and Quarq.

Cervelo S5 LE – Garmin-Sharp Garmin-Sharp’s top GC contenders are the only riders offered a chance to ride the rarefied Cervelo Rca. But don’t feel bad for the rest of the team; they have great bikes to choose from as well. Jack Bauer is a tall, powerful rider who will likely spend most of his first Tour de France protecting his team’s climbers on flat, windy days. His Cervélo S5′s aerodynamic tubes and internal cable routing will allow the Kiwi to ride faster while expending fewer watts. Note the team’s new blue argyle paint job and the special sticker honoring the 100th edition of the Tour de France. After spending last season and the first half of this season riding 10-speed Dura-Ace Di2 components, the team upgraded to 11-speed just before the Tour.

SuperSix EVO – Cannondale Cannondale unveiled the new team edition of the SuperSix EVO at a press conference one day before the Tour’s start in Porto Vecchio. While the paint job has changed, the frame remains the same. The SuperSix is perhaps the most versatile bike in the race, a favorite of both sprinters and climbers—so much so that Cannondale has yet to offer an aero road frame as many other companies have. SRAM Red components, a Vision Metron 55 carbon wheelset, Kenda tyres, FSA bars, stem, and seatpost, and a Fizik saddle round out the team’s build.

Felt F1 FRD – Argos-Shimano With the F1 FRD’s claimed weight of 750g, Argos-Shimano sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb are riding an exceptionally light frame. To save weight, Felt sourced carbon fiber from a Swedish company who had manufactured more refined grades of the material for auto-racing. The resulting frame and its BB30 bottom bracket shell and tapered headtube keep the weight down while producing a bike stiff enough to win Tour de France field sprints. Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 9790 11-speed groupset, wheels, and PRO components complete the team’s set-up.

Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think2 – Team Sky Since 1988, Pinarello has won a whopping ten Tours de France, by far the best record of any frame company in the modern era. This year, Team Sky’s Chris Froome will ride this Dogma 65.1 Think2 in his bid to win the Italian company it’s eleventh Tour. Like last year’s Tour de France champion, Bradley Wiggins, Froome prefers to use a custom elliptical chainring with his SRM power meter. The chainring’s bolt pattern forces Sky’s mechanics to use Shimano’s older 7800 crankset with the rest of Froome’s Dura-Ace Di2 9790 drivetrain.

BH Ultralight – Sojasun Despite being a French team, Sojasun rides bikes from Spanish manufacturer BH. Team riders have two choices for road stages: the aero-road G6 for the team’s sprinters and rouleurs, and the lighter Ultralight for the team’s climbers and GC contenders. 25-year-old Alexis Vuillermoz has chosen the Ultralight for his first Tour de France. Notice the small diameter of the chainstays, just one of the places where BH was able to shed weight without compromising stiffness. Sojasun is also one of the only teams in the race to have been spotted using Shimano Dura-Ace mechanical shifters on some of their bikes. This might be a simple matter of the team running low on Di2 shifters, or perhaps there’s a rider on the team who simply prefers the feel of the mechanical lever.

Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think2 – Movistar The Movistar team, and its earlier incarnations, has enjoyed a long and dependable relationship with Pinarello dating back to the late 1980s. This year, the Spanish squad rides the newest version of the Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think2, a frame that employs some of the bicycling industry’s most advanced carbon fiber fabric in key areas to increase rigidity while lowering the frame’s overall weight. Movistar was also the first professional team to test a prototype of Campagnolo’s Super Record EPS electronic components in 2011. They now ride production versions of the battery-powered drivetrain, and also race on Campagnolo wheelsets, Vittoria tyres, FSA stems, and Pinarello’s MOST handlebars and seatposts.

Lapierre Xelius EFI – FDJ Thibaut Pinot will ride this Lapierre Xelius EFI while trying to improve upon his tenth-place overall finish at last year’s Tour de France. FDJ is fully sponsored by Shimano, which means the team uses the Japanese company’s Dura-Ace Di2 9790 electronic groups, wheelsets, and PRO bars, stems, and seatposts. On this bike, notice how Pinot is using the older 7800 version of the company’s Dura-Ace crankset in order to run his SRM power meter. A 9790-compatible SRM has been slow to hit the market, and many riders are using the older version on their Shimano-equipped bikes.

Team Machine SLR01 – BMC Racing Team BMC listened to team riders when updating the Team Machine SLR01. The result is a frameset that’s both lighter and stiffer than last year’s model. For road stages, climbers like Tejay van Garderen and Cadel Evans prefer this new frame over the company’s Impec and Time Machine TMR01 models. BMC chooses Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9790 electronic components (with SRM’s newest Shimano-compatible power meter) and for the first time, Shimano wheelsets as well. 3T handles the team’s bar and stem needs while Continental provides the squad with tubular tyres.

Bikes of the Tour, courtesy of www.bicycling.co.za. Focus Izalco Team SL – Ag2r-La Mondiale This is the first year that German brand Focus is sponsoring team Ag2r-La Mondiale (last year, the French squad rode Kuota bicycles). So far this season the riders have been racing with an updated SL (“superlight”) version of the Editors’ Choice-winning Focus Izalco. While the process by which these frames are made hasn’t changed since 2012, the materials have been updated to make the complete bike a little lighter, without compromising stiffness. Campagnolo Super Record EPS and a set of Fulcrum XLR 35 carbon wheels complete the team’s build.

Some expenshive porn there. Yummy.

17th! Woo hoo! Dale wa is jy? Oh there you are in 47th.

We have a race on our hands again. Contador 2:45 behind now in 3rd place.

Two places up, three places down. Wiet jy!

Impey 6th. Go boytjie!

Kittel the new 'Boss'. Good that Sagan is consistent so that he remains unchallenged in points competition.

Caad 10 or Scott Cr1. Save up it will be worth it.

TJ 28th provisionally, 3;19 off Tony's time. Swak!

Self defense, she assaulted his senses.

Gerald, how much is 'Dale paying you? I dropped and he seems to be climbing.

Aren't Spez's made in Merida factory?

Alien, watch out Sigourney Weaver.

He rubbed him the wrong way. I'm just yanking guys, Cav was wrong there.

The WAGS will sort it our tonight on Twatter .