The route for the 2017 Tour de France has been revealed – we can't wait to see the bike tech on offer - BikeRadar
Next year's Tour will depart from Düsseldorf on July 1, 2017 - Patrik Stollarz
Stage 1 and the first yellow jersey of this year’s race went to Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish riding this Cervelo S5, complete with gold chain - Immediate Media
Alberto Contador’s custom-painted Specialized S-Works Tarmac disappeared from the peloton when the Spaniard abandoned the Tour on stage 9 - Immediate Media
AG2R’s French climber Roman Bardet has a pair of Focus Izalco Maxes to choose from, one with SRAM’s Red eTap groupset (seen here) and another with mechanical gears - Immediate Media
Team Sky’s Ian Stannard equips his 57.5cm Pinarello Dogma F8 with a Fizik Arione saddle and a 139mm Pro stem - Immediate Media
Rainbow accents on the wheels are used to highlight World Champion Peter Sagan’s Specialized Venge ViAS - Immediate Media
A custom metallic-finish paintjob for Etixx-QuickStep’s German sprint powerhouse Marcel Kittel’s Specialized’s Venge ViAS - Immediate Media
Kittel gets updated aero brakes for his Specialized Venge ViAS, as do all the riders aboard Specialized’s aero-optimised road chassis - Immediate Media
There’s plenty of fancy kit on Andre Greipel’s Lotto-Soudal Ridely Noah SL, but nothing flashy to single it out. Not even the gorilla logos his rigs have sported in previous years - Immediate Media
Fabian Cancellara sticks with mechanical Dura-Ace in his farewell season but the Swiss Classics star gets a custom paintjob for his Trek Madone in his last Tour de France - Immediate Media
Etixx-QuickStep’s German time trial ace Tony Martin opts for a S-Works Tarmac from Specialized - Immediate Media
A bit of customising on Tony Martin’s saddle helps him to find all the grip he needs when he’s perching on the tip trying to get all the power out of his legs - Immediate Media
All of BMC’s bikes have been given a new white paintjob for this year’s Tour, including the 48cm Teammachine SLR01 of the squad’s Tasmanian co-leader Richie Porte - Immediate Media
Details like the custom rhino decals and Osymetric chainrings help Chris Froome’s Pinarello Dogma F8 stand out from the rest of the Team Sky bikes - Immediate Media
Extra catchers mounted above and below the Osymetric rings reduce the risk of Froome’s chain falling of his preferred drivetrain set-up - Immediate Media
Rhino logos highlight Froome’s African roots and heat-shrunk wrap keeps his cabling tidy - Immediate Media
Movistar’s main man Nairo Quintana conducted his Tour campaign aboard this Canyon Ultimate CF SLX - Immediate Media
Quintana and his Spanish wingman Alejandro Valverde are the only two riders to run these prototype Campagnolo Bora wheels. Only five sets of the wheels exist and they feature a new brake track for improved stopping power in wet weather - Immediate Media
Quintana’s bike is so light that, in its standard guise, it falls below the UCI’s 6.8kg minimm weight requirement. Hence the extra weights added underneath the Columbian climbing specialist’s saddle - Immediate Media
New Zealand’s George Bennett rode Bianchi’s new Oltre XR4 in this year’s Tour de France. The Kiwi donated his front wheel to his Lotto-Jumbo team leader Wilko Kelderman on stage 8 when the Dutchman’s tubular came unstuck on a descent - Immediate Media
Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff gets some accents to national-flavoured highlights on his Canyon Aeroad CF SLX - Immediate Media
Christophe LaPorte is on sprinting duty for Cofidis due to the absence of Nacer Bouhanni. LaPorte rode his Orbea Orca to fifth place on stage 11 - Immediate Media
Team Sky’s riders get Pinarello’s sleek Bolide bike for the Tour’s time trials. Spanish climber Mikel Landa rode this one in the 37km on stage 13 - Immediate Media
Look closely at the green bar tape on the Scott Foil Michael Matthew’s rode to victory on stage 10 and you can see the sprint shifter poking through - Immediate Media
Direct Energie riders’ are tackling the Tour aboard yellow BH Ultralight Evo bikes. This one belongs to the gurning French breakaway-specialist Thomas Voeckler - Immediate Media
Another Specialized machine and another custom paint job. This S-Works Tarmac belongs to Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali and the colour scheme takes its inspiration from the Sicilian’s nickname — the shark of Messina - Immediate Media
The top tube of Nibali’s bike features a little reminder of his three grand tour victories - Immediate Media
Don’t be fooled: the green on French climber Pierre Rolland’s SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod is for his Cannondale-Drapac team colours, not a statement of intent regarding his points jersey ambitions - Immediate Media
Subtle reminders of Rolland’s Tour stage victories have been added to his stem. His Alpe d’Huez triumph from 2011 on one side and his La Toussuire win in 2012 on the other - Immediate Media
Welshman Geraint Thomas specs his Pinarello Dogma with a 53-39 Dura-Ace chainset and deep, ergonomically curved Pro handlebars - Immediate Media
The Scott Foil aero bike Mathew Hayman used to win the 2016 Paris Roubaix is also what he’s chose to ride for this year’s Tour de France, albeit with a few alterations due to the lack of cobbles - Immediate Media
The 2017 Tour de France route was revealed today, and it looks like a cracker. Starting in Düsseldorf on July 1 and finishing – bien sur – in Paris, it gets a series of new steeper climbs, a finish at the summit of the Col d’Izoard and a final time trial in Marseille.
For all the key info on next year's race, visit our friends at Cyclingnews. We'll be bringing you galleries of the most exciting bike tech spotted when La Grand Boucle rolls around again, but for now we thought we'd take another look at the tech highlights from this year's edition, won by Chris Froome.
Next year's Tour de France will depart from Düsseldorf on July 1, 2017 - Patrik Stollarz
The innovative route will include some short but intense mountain stages and visit all five mountain regions of France – the first time in 25 years – with a transfer from the east on the first rest day meaning the Vosges and Jura will be followed by the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps. There is no team time trial again this year with the route seeming tipped in favour of the climbers and aggressive overall contenders.
Race director Christian Prudhomme seems to have taken inspiration from the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana by searching out steeper, little-known climbs and reducing stage distances. He also called on the UCI to allow him to reduce team sizes to end what he called a ‘catenaccio’ racing style.
2016 Tour de France winner Chris Froome was in Paris for the route presentation and would certainly have smiled when he saw the many climbs and the Marseille time trial.
2016 Tour de France bike tech highlights
Whether it’s prototype aero frames or custom paint jobs, the Tour is where all the very best kit gets showcased to the world. We followed the race and got the low-down on the rigs of the star riders, the new developments they're trying out and the set-up quirks they insist on to make their time in the saddle that little bit easier.
Scroll through our mega gallery above for a taste of all 22 of the pro bikes we featured over the three weeks of the Tour. You can find more detail on each bike in its individual Tour de France 2016 Pro Bikes gallery, but below you’ll find a little more on the bikes of the yellow and green jersey winners:
The yellow jersey — Chris Froome
Details like the custom rhino decals and Osymetric chainrings help Chris Froome’s Pinarello Dogma F8 stand out from the rest of the Team Sky bikes - Immediate Media
Little has changed on Chris Froome’s 56cm F8 frame since he began riding it in 2014. Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 components and wheels handle the going and the stopping. The cockpit is comprised of a PRO handlebar and stem, while saddle duties are taken care of by a Fizik Antarest.
Personalised equipment touches include Osymetric chainrings, Nokon brake-cable housings, a custom Di2 climbing switch and a bespoke 3D printed chain catcher. Froome also has a prototype dual-sided Stages power meter.
The custom rhino logos were there from the first stage but more yellow accents appeared as the race progressed and Froome’s hold on the yellow jersey tightened.
The green jersey — Peter Sagan
Rainbow accents on the wheels are used to highlight World Champion Peter Sagan’s Specialized Venge ViAS - Immediate Media
Sagan’s Venge ViAS frame is relatively low-key but special touches for the Slovak World Champion include rainbow stripes on his wheels, gold jockey wheels in his rear mech and custom colour accents on his pedals and saddle.
Where his bike differs the most is the dimensions. Sagan rides a 56cm frame that’s paired with a 14cm stem. He elevates his saddle all the way up to 76.1cm but spins those mighty legs on relatively short 172.5mm cranks.
Mark Cavendish
Stage 1 and the first yellow jersey of this year’s race went to Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish riding this Cervelo S5, complete with gold chain - Immediate Media
The Manx Missile had a hugely successful Tour, defying naysayers who said he's past his prime to deliver four stage wins and repeatedly pip German rival Marcel Kittel to the line. His bike of choice was the Cervelo S5, featuring Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 shifting, deep-section Enve wheels and Continental Competition Pro LTD tires in a 25mm width.
Nairo Quintana
Movistar’s main man Nairo Quintana conducted his Tour campaign aboard this Canyon Ultimate CF SLX - Immediate Media
Movistar's main GC contender had a relatively quiet Tour by his standard, finishing in third behind Frenchman Romain Bardet. The Colombian rode a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX featuring Campagnolo EPS shifting, a Power2Max power meter and a a pair of prototype Campagnolo Bora 50 wheels.
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