As usual, after the first week of Tour de France, which ended with the suggestive view of the Van der Poel Canyon dedicated to his grandfather Poulidor (opening photo), let's analyse the technical curiosities and the ideas that the stage offers us Grand Boucle.
The new BMC already noticed at the Dauphiné and now supplied to O'Connor and Cosnefroy, via Philipsen's silver shoes and new Sram transmission components. And that one S-Works used by Hindley on climbs? One also appears new Ridley and much moreLet's try to go into detail.
New BMC, the confirmation
Se the one seen at the Dauphiné Scramble It could have been a sort of bait, or an appetizer and a way to show off the new bike, the fact of seeing it at the Tour de France It's a confirmation. The feeling is that of a bicycle as aerodynamics, how much versatile and we are also quite sure light, considering the latest BMC productions.
The oblique stays of the rear triangle stand out, rather low and joined to the seat tube by a nice bulky carbon "base", but also a fork that widens outwards a lot at the topObviously, there is no confirmation from the Swiss company, but no denial either.
A different Sram
The Cervélo S5 by Van Aert and Vingegaard we noticed them with the single front chainring, but the aspects that caught our attention were the sprocket pack, the coloring of the rear balance and handcuffs of the Danish rider (not those of Van Aert).
We believe that the new platform Sram Red AXS takes on increasingly precise contoursThe commands, as already underlined in previous publications, have a very similar architecture to that of the new Force, which in turn derives from the Rival. The rear derailleur has a dark color, different from the livery of the current version. The sprockets instead show evident workmanship in the internal portion of the more agile, hollowed and tapered ratio.
The Specialissima never goes out of fashion
Also used by Barguil at the Giro d'Italia, during the stages with a significant positive difference in altitude, the Specialissima is also used during the Tour de France, for example by Delaplace.
This bicycle is the confirmation of a very versatile project that can be used in different situations, with different set-ups, even if it is not as "futuristic" as the new Oltre RC and with less extreme aerodynamic concepts.
Two interesting shoes
The first ones are all silver ones Philipsen, which actually correspond to the Shimano S Phyre supplied to all athletes Team Alpecin-Deceuninck, but with a livery dedicated to the very strong sprinter. These shoes have rotors Good aluminum.
Very interesting the Q36.5 worn by Jacopo Guarnieri (who unfortunately had to leave the Tour de France due to a fall) and they are not the traditional Uniques. They give the impression of being a new version with a knit fabric upper, with the sole unloaded at the sides, borrowed from the classic model.
A second UCI stamp
In addition to the sticker applied to the frames (on the seat tube) which certifies the approval of the bicycle, there is a second UCI stamp, positioned in different places depending on the bike and the component.
For all intents and purposes it is a chip, a sort of anti-fraud It will find various placements on bicycles and components. It's logical to think that in the future it could be inserted into the materials, concealed.
That all black S-Works
It's hard to think of a new version of the Specialized TarmacThe shapes of this all black bike used by Hindley are completely comparable to those of the tarmac normally used (with the inside of the fork colored red and the rear end green) and already seen as standard equipment for evenepoel, first to Giro d'Italia and then to Tour de Suisse.
The impression is that of a lighter bike, thanks to the lack of paintwork, but no one forbids us to think that a layup was also used different from carbon. We believe at the same time that the time is ripe for a new Tarmac. And then Hindley's “unconventional” saddle, it's not an S-Works, but it could be a Fizik, or better, a covered and unbranded 00 version supplied to the Australian riderWe had already noticed this component during the 2022 Giro d'Italia.
And this Ridley?
The only writing on the oblique pipe, no logo on the steering wheel, aerodynamics yes, but not as extreme as the Noah Fast. Some riders of the Team Lotto-DSTNY, Such as Pascal Eenkoorn and Florian Vermeercsh, they are using a different bike from the Helium SLX and the Noah Fast.
What do we notice? A fork that offers plenty of room for the wheel to pass through, not too large or bulky tubes, a lowered rear triangle. Is Ridley preparing to launch a new model?
A Factor never seen before
We noticed it during the Pyrenean stage which, among other peaks, climbed the Tourmalet and was used by Simon ClarkeThe idea is to a revamped version of the O2 model (in fact the logo appears on the lower seat stay), a bicycle which also uses theacronym VAM.
The new the bike is quite thin, especially in the posterior and median sections, where a flattened horizontal line can be seen. The anterior, however, although comparable to the Ostro, in terms of shape and design, it is slim and dry, with a fork with thin stems. Also Low wheels are a treat, even more so in the era of big wheels.
Single chainring 56
Used for the first time in the stage finishing in Bordeaux, it was victorious in Limoges. Pedersen used a 56-tooth single front chainring drivetrain.The diameter of this "pan", which also gains strength due to the fact that it is "full", is truly impressive. The Danish rider usually uses sprockets with a 10/30 or 10/33 scale.
