Team Tinkoff-Saxo had its new, brighter colour scheme on display - David Rome/Future Publishing
It was rumoured we may see a new aero road bike, called 'Aircode' from Lapierre, however we only saw FDJ riders on the Xelius - David Rome/Future Publishing
Movistar has made the move to Canyon, joining Katusha as the second team to be sponsored by the German brand - David Rome/Future Publishing
The opening race of the Santos Tour Down Under - the People's Choice Criterium race saw many riders switch to more aerodynamic options for the flat course. Some Movistar riders were going all-out with 80mm deep Campagnolo Bora Ultra wheels - David Rome/Future Publishing
Team Belkin made the move to Bianchi bicycles - the mix of green and Bianchi's Celeste seems to divide opinion - David Rome/Future Publishing
Another look at Belkin's new Bianchi infused colours - David Rome/Future Publishing
German Champion André Greipel of Lotto-Belisol had a few bikes at the race. He finished in second place to Simon Gerrans on Stage 1 with this custom painted Ridley Noah Fast - David Rome/Future Publishing
Campagnolo EPS riders were seen with the new internal race battery - Lotto-Belisol had modified the frames for the battery recharging port - David Rome/Future Publishing
Lotto-Belisol brought a mix of Noah Fast and Helium SL - Greipel's is hard to miss amongst the black bikes - David Rome/Future Publishing
A closer look at André 'the Gorilla' Greipel's custom painted Noah Fast - David Rome/Future Publishing
Team Katusha is using Ritchey WCS kit, the older style 4-axis stem is a bit of a surprise - David Rome/Future Publishing
Team Katusha is on Canyon bicycles - the Russian team were quiet amongst the local media - David Rome/Future Publishing
Frank Schleck's new Bontrager shoes - these are a prototype that haven't been seen before - the Boa system is a first for the brand - David Rome/Future Publishing
Another look at Frank Schlek's shoes - our guess these will replace or even sit above the current RXXXL shoes - David Rome/Future Publishing
Lampre-Merida were seen training with the light, yet not-so aero Fulcrum Racing Light XLR wheels - David Rome/Future Publishing
Lampre-Merida is newly sponsored by Champion Systems clothing - who launched a new 'Carbon Rear Zip Speedsuit' at TDU. Apparently two years development led to a wind-tunnel proven suit with compression qualities and great body temperature regulation - David Rome/Future Publishing
The ever-bright Merida Reacto Evo of Lampre-Merida - stage 2 saw Italian Diego Ulissi take the win - David Rome/Future Publishing
Diego Ulissi and the rest of team Lampre-Merida were wearing team issue Sidi Wire Carbon - David Rome/Future Publishing
A few riders of Team Lampre-Merida were using the Rotor Power Crank. We currently have one of these on test at BikeRadar - David Rome/Future Publishing
Not every team was on new equipment - team Garmin-Sharp had far older gear with them as evident by the older 10 speed Shimano 7970 Di2 - David Rome/Future Publishing
Cadel Evans and his bright Diadora Vortex-Pro shoes - David Rome/Future Publishing
Team BMC had a mix of bikes on hand - Team Machines, Impecs and strangely this Time Machine with road components and positioning - David Rome/Future Publishing
Travel costs are high and so teams have to be careful with what they bring -Team BMC brought with a mix of Shimano C35 and C50 wheels for the Australian conditions - David Rome/Future Publishing
The new Giant-Shimano team - the colours are obviously in-line with Giant's brand colours - David Rome / Future Publishing
Look recently released the new Keo Blade 2 - claiming the widest cleat-pedal surface area - David Rome / Future Publishing
Being at the beginning of the season, it's common that many teams experience supply issues with brands - here are some Shimano C50 wheels with generic stickers - David Rome / Future Publishing
Campagnolo EPS uses a removable magnet to tell the system to shut off power when not in use - the new EPS internal battery uses this strap to tell the system to switch off - David Rome / Future Publishing
SRM power is still the top choice amongst the pro teams for power measurement - David Rome / Future Publishing
Garmin-Sharp's rider Steele von Hoff uses the ovalized Rotor QXL rings – a claimed more efficient pedal stroke and greater power are some of the reasons behind this - David Rome / Future Publishing
We also hate it when we can't find a matching pair of shoes - but as a local favourite, Steele von Hoff can get away with it - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Garmin-Sharp recently signed with POC apparel - here Steele von Hoff shows us his Octal Aero lid - David Rome / Future Publishing
For People's Choice Criterium, Steel von Hoff was wearing his recently won Australian National Criterium Championship colours - David Rome / Future Publishing
Young Caleb Ewan's team - Uni-SA - was strongly made up of riders from the Avanti Professional Cycling Team. The new Corsa SL team bike was easy to spot - David Rome / Future Publishing
Nathan Haas of team Garmin-Sharp was on an older R series Cervelo - older Dura-ace 7970 Di2 is zip-tied to the frame - David Rome / Future Publishing
Another look at Nathan Haas' bike - the external battery was rarely seen with most riders now running lighter weight internal race batteries - David Rome / Future Publishing
25mm tyres are becoming a common sight in the pro ranks - some teams didn't even bring 23c tyres with them - David Rome / Future Publishing
A solid Rotor chainring is featured on this spare Lampre-Merida bike, no power-meter crank here - David Rome / Future Publishing
Drapac Professional Cycling's team colours are red, white and black. These blue team bikes clearly identify the team's training bikes - these double as race-day spares too - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Movistar are on new bikes - an unbranded stem with a stack of spacers may be a sign of unconfirmed sizing - David Rome / Future Publishing
Again Movistar show some unusual setups - a saddle pushed back on the rails isn't what one would expect to see at the ProTour level - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Uni-SA were the only team to have bike stands at race starts - every other team just used the team car or a fence as stands - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Garmin-Sharp rider Steele von Hoff proves that you don't need the best equipment to go fast - note the Ultegra brake - David Rome / Future Publishing
Garmin-Sharp rider Thomas Dekker in the new POC Octal helmet (the non aero version) - David Rome / Future Publishing
Not everything at the Santos Tour Down Under is high-tech - David Rome / Future Publishing
A standard Shimano Dura-ace C35 front wheel without decals shows that Team BMC also had supply issues in getting new wheels - David Rome / Future Publishing
Another look at the new colours of team Giant-Shimano - expect big things from this team in 2014 with Marcel Kittel looking in form - David Rome / Future Publishing
The young pocket rocket - Caleb Ewan - with a little Aussie trim on an otherwise blacked out aero-road helmet - David Rome / Future Publishing
Movistar and a team-issue Diadora Vortex-Pro shoe - David Rome / Future Publishing
Cadel Evans is known to have an aggressive position; this -17 degree stem keeps Evans real low - David Rome / Future Publishing
An empty SRM Power Control computer mount is a sign of riders and/or coaches downloading the data after each ride - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Giant-Shimano are the only ProTour team currently using PRO (owned by Shimano) saddles. With Shimano's recent acquisition of bikefitting.com, expect big changes with Shimano's componentry brand - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Astana bikes are ready to roll - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Sky hadn't announced its signing with Wahoo Fitness yet - but they weren't keeping it hidden - David Rome / Future Publishing
A bunch of Wahoo Kickr boxes show that Team Sky had just recieved them - David Rome / Future Publishing
A Team BMC rider with some un-marked Specialized S-Works shoes - David Rome / Future Publishing
The owner of BMC-Racing International and Phonak hearing systems - Andy Riis - riding a mid-range BMC Gran Fondo with Ultegra - David Rome / Future Publishing
George Bennett of Team Cannondale spins with Team Issue Sidi Wire Carbon shoes - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Cannondale were training with aluminium Vision clinchers and Kenda Kriterium Endurance training tyres - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Cannondale's George Bennett runs a very long stem - David Rome / Future Publishing
High heat had Richie Porte of Team Sky wearing the new Rapha 'don't look at my nipples' jersey - David Rome / Future Publishing
German Champion André Greipel was clearly being looked after by the team - for the hillier stages he rode a lighter Helium SL with custom paint - David Rome / Future Publishing
Greipel was at least consistent with his saddle choice - a custom San Marco Regal - David Rome / Future Publishing
Campagnolo 80th anniversary wheels for Greipel - this is the bike he used when not contesting stage wins - David Rome / Future Publishing
This is certainly one NOT to drive into the garage... - David Rome / Future Publishing
Team Europcar are lucky enough to ride the Colnago C59 with Campagnolo Super Record EPS - David Rome / Future Publishing
The Merida Reacto Evo of Lampre-Merida hides the rear brake underneath the chainstays - David Rome / Future Publishing
FDJ on the Lapierre Xelius - a one-piece PRO Stealth Evo handlebar/stem adds plenty of style points - David Rome / Future Publishing
Garmin Vector pedals officially on a Garmin-Sharp bike - David Rome/Future Publishing
Marcel Kittel's Giant Propel has an extremely narrow profile - David Rome/Future Publishing
Can't find your Shimano Dura-ace C35 or C50 wheel? Orica-GreenEdge probably took it - David Rome/Future Publishing
Adam Hansen of team Lotto-Belisol and his now famous home-made shoes - expect an update on these soon. Adam tells us these are at 98g a shoe - David Rome/Future Publishing
The sole of Hansen's shoes offer little walking support - a Sidi dial is held at the foot bridge - David Rome/Future Publishing
Team Uni-SA keeping it old-school with the day's major climbs and feeding zones written down - David Rome/Future Publishing
FDJ, Team Sky and Giant-Shimano are just a few teams using PRO components - David Rome/Future Publishing
Another rare sighting of the Di2 external battery - Belkin's mechanics were charging this bike through the new charging port - David Rome/Future Publishing
And Cadel Evans rides.... (Hint: it's not the Impec) - David Rome/Future Publishing
Team AG2R were riding the Focus Izalco Max - David Rome/Future Publishing
fi'zi:k supply the handlebar, stem, seatpost and saddle to team AG2R - David Rome/Future Publishing
The Gaerne carbon G Chrono shoes continue the Boa trend - David Rome / Future Publishing
Hey Greipel... your team called and said they want some bikes too - David Rome / Future Publishing
The Santos Tour Down Under is the first major WorldTour race of the season and sees the world’s top teams meet in Adelaide, Australia to compete in the heat.
As we found last year, logistical challenges of racing in another continent means many teams travel light and some even bring along older equipment, leaving it behind once the race is over.
But with a new season comes team changes, sponsor changes, new equipment to ride and a first chance for the public to see it all. We spotted Belkin's new Bianchi machines, the bikes ridden by the new Giant-Shimano team, Garmin's Steele Von Hoff sporting a POC Octal Aero helmet, Frank Schleck's interesting looking Bontrager shoes, and Adam Hansen's own design footwear.
Kick your feet up and have a click through our extensive Tour Down Under image gallery and see what’s new (and old) amongst the pros.
Be sure to keep checking our Pro bikes section for more in-depth looks at some 2014 season favourites.
Team garmin-sharp recently signed with poc apparel - here steele von hoff shows us his octal aero lid: team garmin-sharp recently signed with poc apparel - here steele von hoff shows us his octal aero lid - David Rome / Future Publishing
