Tour de France Tech: A bunch of interesting goodies from the first street stage

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Tour de France Tech: A bunch of interesting goodies from the first street stage

After the aero nerd’s dream of the Tour’s one-off stage race, riders were back on their road bikes and in their road helmets for the second stage of the 2022 Tour de France.

We once again roamed the team’s paddock before and after the stage to bring you the latest technologies and interesting events from the world’s greatest cycling race.

Here’s what we found.

Trek-Segafredo let some riders ride with a new helmet Bontrager Trek. The Bontrager name usually appears on Trek’s helmets, but the new lid seemingly drops any mention of Trek’s component wing.

The helmet appears to be a heavily ventilated offering and presumably lightweight.

The new helmet appears to be at least partially constructed from Trek’s OCLV carbon, and perhaps that explains the branding change.
Rudy Project also had a new helmet on display today. Announced on the brand’s Instagram page, the “Egos” is said to offer safety, comfort and “excellent customization”.
SRAM has a gold chain for its former world champion Mads Pedersen…
… with matching gold cassette. SRAM also had a rainbow-colored chain for Pedersen during his time in the rainbow jersey, and apparently that rainbow chain will be available to the public soon.
All of the Groupama FDJ riders, with the exception of Thibaut Pinot, have ridden with these 55-tooth Kronos Sport chainrings.
Wout van Aert opted for Vittoria’s Corsa Speed ​​tyres, certainly a riskier choice on Denmark’s roads, which are known for causing more punctures than most.
Specialized teases a new tire all season.
But now testing has reached a level where the true identity is almost visible through that slightly worn hotpatch.
This Bahrain Victorious mechanic changed those pads phenomenally quickly just before the start.
Tadej Pogačar wears a prototype of Scicon glasses on the tour.
The goggle uses aerodynamics in the opposite way to most new technologies, with a hole in the lens just in front of the frame designed to direct airflow onto the face.
Interestingly, only Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven race with the new Madone bar/stem.
All six remaining riders ride the new Madone with either a different two-piece handlebar/stem combo or the Emonda’s Aelous cockpit.
As far as we know, some riders’ unique stem length and bar width combinations were not yet available in the new one-piece bar/stem, forcing those riders to ride with an alternative setup. Other riders prefer a lighter option or may not particularly like the new handlebar’s flared drops.
Bauke Mollema decides to race without a head unit. Apparently he doesn’t like seeing the data during the stage. Mollema will have a head unit in his pocket to record his ride data, but there are no distractions up front.
Interestingly though, Mollema likes a route profile on his handlebars, odd as he doesn’t have an odometer on a head unit to correlate where he is at any given moment.
Wout van Aert has stated that he is aiming for the green jersey at this year’s Tour de France and while technically he’s only keeping it warm for Lampert, Wout’s bike was adorned with a green fork today.
The mechanics have to switch back to the yellow fork tonight ahead of Wout’s first day in yellow tomorrow.
Dylan Van Baarle was about to go with a new Garmin 1040 but he wasn’t happy with some of the settings on the screen and switched to a 100 plus before the start.
It really wasn’t -25ºC.
The Jumbo Visma mechanics had placed the power meter ID on the top tube for easier pairing of the main unit.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl features custom Wolfpack K-Edge head unit mounts.
Geraint Thomas at least tried to warm up with Zwift but couldn’t seem to log in. Maybe he had forgotten his password. Maybe he should have tried BrandAmbassador1.
Mike Woods rides a Darimo saddle to shave every gram on his Factor Ostro VAM. It worked, too, as you’ll see in an upcoming article and video.
Jakob Fuglsang went one step further to shave a few grams and races with this bare carbon Selle Italia SLR saddle.
Israel Premier Tech drivers also have a new integrated cockpit that looks incredibly neat.
Don’t forget to check the tire pressure of the spare wheel.
The team mechanics are also miked. This allows them to communicate with the team car in the event of a crash. Sometimes the mechanic and the car can become separated in the chaos and distance between spare parts and the scene of the accident.

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