The 100th Edition Of The Tour de France: Chirps, Opinions, News, Updates.

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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.

[Cippo]

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.

[Cippo]

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.

[Cippo]

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.

[Cippo]

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.

['Dale]

GO SIMON GO!

[Cippo]

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.

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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.

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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.

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Bianchi Oltre XR2 – Vacansoleil-DCM

 

Bianchi launched the new Oltre XR2 just before the Tour de France and it’s quickly become a popular choice with the riders of Vacansoleil-DCM for its stiffness. A tapered headtube adds rigidity to the front of the bike to improve handling, while an oversized BB386 bottom bracket shell lends stiffness to the drivetrain, improving power transfer. The frameset is also compatible with both mechanical and electronic components, in this case, Campagnolo’s Super Record EPS electronic shifters and derailleurs. FSA’s BB386 K-Force Light cranks complete the team’s build.

[gummibear]

Simon looking good but the pack have woken up.

6km to go

[Cippo]

Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 – Astana

 

Astana is one of three Tour de France teams riding Specialized bikes, and chooses a build different from that of Specialized’s other teams. While Omega Pharma–Quick-Step and Saxo-Tinkoff both choose to ride Zipp wheels, Astana has chosen Corima’s rolling stock for each of the past few seasons. Astana also makes an unusual choice in equipping its bikes with Italian-made Campagnolo components. Typically, Tour teams ride the same components that you’ll find on that company’s bikes in shops, but Specialized does not offer any Campy-equipped models. This break from retail models may be explained by the nationality of the team’s top rider—Giro d’Italia champion Vincenzo Nibali is Italian.

['Dale]

15 secs over his pursuers, Sojasun's Simon

 

*No French rider have yet won a stage

[gummibear]

5km to go

Simon has 16 sec

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Look 695 SR – Cofidis

 

The “SR” means “Super Rigid” and indicates that the frameset has been designed and built specifically for professional riders. The bike also feature’s internal routing, Mavic’s Cosmic Carbone Ultimate wheel system, and Look’s own adjustable C-Stem. The consumer version of the Look 695 SR comes with the company’s ZED2 crank, but Cofidis races on the FSA K-Force Light, which allows them to run SRM power meters, and Osymetric chainrings. We’ve spotted an updated SR, called the Aerolight, in the rack atop the team’s car, but as far as we know, it has not been raced. The Aerolight integrates the brakes into the fork and chainstays to improve its aero profile.

 

 

[gummibear]

4km to go

18 sec gap