There’s much for riders to love about the Tour Down Under and, to BikeRadar’s delight, it marks the first chance for teams to give their new bikes and components a run-out.
We were in the pits in Adelaide to get a close-up glimpse at the new bikes and tech innovations the 18 WorldTour teams will be using as they seek to gain an advantage across this season's 36 races.
Some teams have stuck with a tried-and-tested formula, while there are bike, sponsor and equipment switches for others, with Campagnolo returning to the Tour and Chinese carbon fibre specialists XDS making its debut.
The weather can be searingly hot in Adelaide in January, but this windy city tends to lack the humidity of others in Australia.
Aside from a scorcher on the final stage, the mid-20s weather provided perfect bike-racing conditions this rime round – a welcome break from European winter.
Then there is the single hotel. Riders spend their year as travelling salespeople for their profession, rarely spending more than one night in any bed in a typical stage race. Here, they park themselves in the Adelaide Hilton for the duration of the race, making only modest daily transfers to the start lines scattered around the region.
The terrain, on stages that rarely extend beyond 3.5 hours, is varied and punchy. At this time of year, with some having wintered too well, that’s a gift from the heavens.
It’s also, increasingly, a wonderful platform for younger riders to gain invaluable WorldTour experience. Aside from elder statesman Geraint Thomas, who is in his final season, there were few established stars on show and a stroll through the pits made this 40-something correspondent feel old.
There’s plenty for ex-riders to enjoy too. Freshly retired Mark Cavendish was the star attraction this year, settling enthusiastically into his new gig as an esteemed dignitary.
We were in Adelaide for the duration of the men’s race and spent some time on the start lines, feeling the coiled-spring energy and the air of possibility of an impending season of racing.
Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL doesn’t just have a new name for 2025 – Picnic PostNL – but a new bike sponsor, Lapierre, replacing Scott. Team leader Tobias Lund Andresen’s Xelius DRS sported large, 56/44t chainrings typical of the current trend in the modern peloton.
The fitting of ever-bigger cassettes out back boosts the whole range of gears, giving a bigger top gear and an easier climbing gear.
Van Rysel made a splash last season, furnishing Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale with bikes when parent company Decathlon entered the WorldTour as title sponsor of the team.
We got a close look at Andrea Vendrame’s RCR Pro, Van Rysel’s all-rounder the team uses most often.
EF Education-EasyPost is again running FSA’s Powerbox K-Force Team Edition crankset. Carbon cranks and an in-built Power2Max power meter combine for an eye-catching package.
UAE Team Emirates has a new sponsor, energy investment company XRG, and a new bike in the shape of Colnago’s striking Y1RS, but for the Tour Down Under the team's riders were still on the V4RS.
Tadej Pogacar’s team is using custom carbon X-CarboRing chainrings from Carbon-Ti – even if they haven’t kept up with 2025’s team name change.
We spotted a Universal Derailleur Hanger on many of the SRAM-sponsored teams' bikes. The company is aiming to consolidate many different hanger designs into this single product, making everyone’s lives easier.
One of the most striking bikes on display in the pits was the Bianchi Oltre RC being used by Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
The Oltre RC has what you’d charitably call a Marmite front end. It wasn’t in use for the hilly stage 3, when these shots were taken, though – the team's riders were on the Specialissima RC all-rounder instead.
Donavan Grondin's Oltre RC was decked out with a CyclingCeramic oversized pulley wheel system. Said to reduce drivetrain friction, they gained popularity several seasons ago, but are seen sparingly nowadays (likely to avoid upsetting groupset sponsors).
After a season when Campagnolo wasn’t represented in the men’s WorldTour, the brand returns on Cofidis’ Look bikes for 2025. Vittoria has replaced Michelin, too – Ion Izagirre’s bike was fitted with Corsa Pro tyres.
X-Lab, the premium brand of Chinese bike manufacturer XDS, is the newest bike in the peloton, thanks to its involvement with Astana. China is home to numerous bike brands and manufacturers, but this is the first time one has sponsored a WorldTour team.
Italian wheel maker Miche has replaced Shimano at Groupama-FDJ. It’s another new brand in the WorldTour, although at more than a century old, it’s been a much longer journey here for Miche.
It’s nearly five years since Merida last updated its Reacto aero bike, so perhaps we’ll see movement in 2025. Bahrain Victorious again began the WorldTour season on this speedster.
When the 2025 WorldTour began in earnest, it was young Australian Fergus Browning, riding for the national team, who ran away with the classification. Jhonatan Narvaez, of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, secured the general classification after taking the lead on stage 5.
