The new groupset fitted to a Madone - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
SRAM's unreleased eTap 12-speed groupset was spotted on all of Trek-Segafredo and Alpecin-Katusha's bikes - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
A rim brake version of the groupset has also been spotted - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Some bikes have what appears to be a stick-on cover obscuring the chainrings - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The other big sighting was the as yet unreleased EPS version of Campagnolo's new 12-speed Super Record groupset - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
A Movistar bike fitted with the new groupset - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Many teams choose to use Ultegra cassettes over Dura-Ace, but it's very unusual to see a Campagnolo-equipped bike using a Shimano cassette - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Direct mount hangers, which offer a claimed increase in shift accuracy, are becoming more popular - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
POC's new Ventral Air helmet was spotted upon the domes of team EF Pro Cycling's riders - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The helmet is claimed to offer increased ventilation over the original Ventral - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Lazer launched an updated version of its Bullet aero helmet at the event - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The Bullet 2.0 features a magnetic clip-on visor - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
FDJ wears a custom-finished version of Giro's recently released Aether helmet - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Bahrain-Merida uses helmets from Rudy Project - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Katusha-Alpecin has Oakley, a relative new comer to the cycling helmet game, as a helmet sponsor - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The best hairdo in the pro peloton? - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
We've spotted a whole bunch of new kicks at the TDU - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
DMT shoes are a relatively rare sight in the pro-peloton - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Team Jumbo-Visma wears Shimano's S-Phyre RC901 shoes in an unreleased pearlescent finish - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
This FDJ rider opts for the same shoes in a sparkly white finish - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Fizik's Tempo Powerstrap R5 was launched late last year - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Team Movistar has a number of different colours of the Powerstrap R5 to hand - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
When it comes to the casual footwear favoured by pro teams, it's a close toss up between Birkenstocks and… - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
… sliders - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Bora-Hansgrohe wears a custom-finished version of Specialized's S-Works 7 shoes - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Sagan has his own kicks in white and gold - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
A prototype shoe from Specialized with a lightweight upper was spotted being used by the team - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Lachlan Morton was spotted wearing some unreleased lace up road shoes from Rapha - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Matched with pink socks, we think they look rather fetching - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
When you go to the supermarket for a pint of milk and come back with aero gains - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Glueing tubs forms a large part of the pro-tour mechanic's day-to-day life - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
What a rather expensive stack of wheels - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
These unreleased wheels from Fulcrum were spotted being used by Bahrain-Merida - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Wolfpack is a small tyre manufacturer based in Germany - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Vredestein supplies tyres to AG2R La Mondiale - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Continental's Competition Pro Ltd tubular has been updated for 2019 with the central section of the tyre now smooth - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
This particular tyre was marked with a white pen. Exactly why is not clear - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
This cleat jig is a serious piece of kit - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The bar tape on these Specialized Aerofly bars is finished with a strip of cotton tape over the usual electrical tape - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The tops of the bars feature small dimples to improve grip - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
How long would you manage to keep this saddle gleaming white? - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The seatposts on Movistar's Canyon Aeroad's are marked with convenient height markers - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Many riders use these FSA stems to lower their front end - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Somewhat unusually, Mitch Docker opts to run his saddle slammed all the way back in conjunction with an in line seatpost - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Movistar opts for Canyon's integrated Aerocockpit - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
150mm! Ridiculous - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Dimension Data goes down a traditional route when trying to keep its squad cool - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Team Jumbo-Visma air their helmets after a hot day in the saddle - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
This giant inflatible bike looms over the whole event village - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
These pigeons did their absolute best to get into the background of every single pro bike photo we have taken so far at the event - Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The Tour Down Under is the first race of the WorldTour season and, as such, it’s an early-season hotbed to see all of the latest bikes, tech and team jerseys for 2019. It’s also the first opportunity to see the biggest signings in their new team colours.
The 2019 season sees four teams on new bikes, and headline signings include Richie Porte moving from BMC Racing to Trek-Segafredo and Rohan Dennis moving from the same team to Bahrain-Merida.
Alongside the headline rider signings, Team Sunweb switches from Giant to Cervélo, Team Dimension Data moves from Cervélo to BMC and BMC Racing (now CCC Team) completes the circle by signing with Giant.
AG2R La Mondiale is another team on new bikes for 2019, switching from Factor to Eddy Merckx framesets.
We’ve also seen a swathe of new shoes and helmets, including new shoes from Specialized and Rapha, as well as a brand-new helmet from POC.
Lastly, and arguably most notably, Peter Sagan — three-time world champion and current Slovakian national champion — raced the Down Under Classic on Sunday, the precursor to the Tour Down Under, aboard an aluminium Specialized Allez Sprint Disc. Sagan finished second, just a bike length behind Lotto-Soudal’s 2019 headline signing Caleb Ewan.
Click through to see our full gallery from the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under.
Jack Luke is the deputy editor at BikeRadar and has been fettling with bikes for his whole life. Always in search of the hippest new niche in cycling, Jack is a self-confessed gravel dork, fixie-botherer, tandem-evangelist and hill climb try hard.
Jack thinks nothing of bikepacking after work to sleep in a ditch or taking on a daft challenge for the BikeRadar YouTube channel. He is also a regular contributor to the BikeRadar podcast. With a near encyclopaedic knowledge of cycling tech, ranging from the most esoteric retro niche to the most cutting-edge modern kit, Jack takes pride in his ability to seek out stories that would otherwise go unreported. He is also particularly fond of tan-wall tyres, dynamo lights, cup and cone bearings, and skids. Jack has been writing about and testing bikes for more than eight years now, has a background working in bike shops for years before that, and is regularly found riding a mix of weird and wonderful machines. Jack can also often be seen zooming about with his partner aboard their beloved tandem.
Height: 181cm
Bike size: 56cm/Large
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