I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I popped over to the start of Stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia yesterday in Piazzola Sul Brenta for an up-close look at all 23+ of the road bikes being raced at the Italian Grand Tour. For yesterday’s 203km climbing stage with four categorized climbs – including the 18.2km final Cat. 1 climb of almost 1000m to the finish – there were a mix of versatile aero all-rounders and lightweight bikes tweaked to shed grams and likely push the 6.9kg UCI weight barrier.
Let’s take a closer look as the riders headed out into the rain again. And we’ll finish with the stage winner’s bike.
What do you think… will it be an aero bike or a light climber’s bike?
(click images to zoom!)
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8
Specialized’s race all-rounder S-Works Tarmac SL8 has touted itself as the ideal blend of lightweight and aerodynamics – perfect for a mountain stage that’s essentially flat for the first 50km, but still has 4900m of total climbing for the day. It’s the bike of choice for two WorldTour teams here, and they didn’t have to make many adjustments to head into the mountains.
The Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe riders mostly stuck to deep Roval CLX wheels, wide fast rolling Turbo cotton, not tubeless tires. Big integrated cockpits offer plenty of real estate for long stage profiles. And a GoPro camera on the back of domestique Nico Denz’s #3 bike was the perfect spot to get live up-close shots of team leader Primož Roglič for Velon, before the Slovenian abandoned the Giro following a mid-stage crash.
Alpecin–Deceuninck: Canyon Aeroad CFR
Canyon’s latest Aeroad CFR is the weapon of choice for two World Tour teams as well. This is more of a deep-section aero road bike, but the Alpecin–Deceuninck team simply swapped on some 50mm deep Shimano Dura-Ace C50 wheels to head into the mountains, set up with 30mm Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tubeless tires.
The most interesting thing to me about these Alpecin–Deceuninck Aeroads is their chameleon paint jobs. These are all the same bikes. Green, blue, or purple. It just depended on how the light hit them, even on this overcast and rainy day.
Arkéa–B&B Hotels: Bianchi Specialissima RC & Oltre RC
The bulk of the Arkéa–B&B Hotels racers opted for Bianchi’s lightweight Specialissima RC all-rounder for the day of wet climbing.
Most racers opted for 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tubeless tires on lightweight mid-depth Vision Metron 45SL wheels or a couple with the even lighter new Metron 45 RS wheels with carbon spokes. But a few still opted for the 60mm deep variant. And one rider even went with the fully aero Bianchi Oltre RC, just without the weird bolt-on aero deflectors that don’t sit right with the UCI.
Bahrain Victorious: Merida Scultura Team
Merida-sponsored Bahrain-Victorious also opted for more all-rounder road bikes. The Merida Scultura Team is a light road bike with just enough aero touches.
And the team races a bike that’s almost exactly how you would buy the Scultura Team 10K build at your local Merida bike shop, down to the same Dura-Ace Di2 groupset with powermeter cranks and Metron wheels. The only obvious difference, though, is that the team seems to have all adopted the lighter, stiffer Vision Metron 45 RS wheels with carbon spokes that I reviewed two months ago.
Cofidis: Look 795 Blade RS
There are a couple of key things we already know about Cofidis this season.
They are racing aboard the Look 795 Blade RS aero road bike AND they are racing an unreleased Campagnolo Super Record Wireless 13-speed groupset that we spotted at the beginning of the month.
Or at least they kind of are.
A quick glance at the Cofidis team bikes at the start of Stage 16 showed they were all on the unreleased, unlabeled groupset – easily identifiable by the single hollow shift button behind the brake lever.
But with a closer look, it turns out that all of the Stage 16 team bikes that had number plates on them, still had the current 12-speed generation of Campy Super Record Wireless (and uniquely in the peloton, no power meters.) So it seems that the new shifters work with the current wireless derailleurs. No one could/would tell us why the team had this setup.
But a closer look at the inside of the shifter reveals a return of the Campy thumb button – albeit a smaller one than in generations past. So it seems the racers prefer the classic Campagnolo ‘one button, one action’ shifter ergonomics, even if they are limited by 13-speed derailleur availability, optimal 13-speed gearing availability for the mountains, or even the simple risk of not being able to swap in a neutral support 12-speed wheel if they need one during the race. We don’t know their real reasons.
Of note, there were spare bikes on top of team cars with the new 13-speed derailleur, with what appeared to be expertly trimmed black duct tape cover spots that presumably already have product name logos printed on them.
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale: Van Rysel RCR Pro
Last summer, we featured Van Rysel’s latest RCR-F aero road bike as a prototype racing at the Tour. But with mountains to climb, the AG2R team pulled out Decathlon’s top-tier all-rounder road race bike – this Van Rysel RCR Pro. It has a lot of the same aerodynamic features you see from dedicated aero road bikes, just without a fork crown that smoothly transitions into the downtube.
While several of the team opted for lower-profile 38mm deep 380 wheels from supplier Swiss Side, some, like the team leader, were racing 62.5mm deep Hadron² Ultimate 625 setups. One unifying aerodynamic setup, they all were running the ‘fastest-ever’ DT Swiss + Swiss Side + Continental collaboration Aero 111 front tire with dimples for free speed!
EF Education–EasyPost: Cannondale Super Six Evo
EF may have swapped out their pink jerseys to avoid confusion with the Giro leader jersey. But their Cannondale Super Six EVO bikes are still bright pink. Plus, you can actually buy a Cannondale EF Pro Cycling LAB71 SuperSix EVO Team Edition replica now that is described as ‘99% Team Spec’. Although, maybe that’s down to about 95% team spec as the EF crew have also switched over to the newest carbon spoke Vision Metron RC wheels – here again in the middle 45mm depth variant for the climbing day.
As to what’s unique for EF, they might be the only team at the Giro with team cars that aren’t just station wagons. EF Education–EasyPost also runs a VW Transporter that can fit a full 8 riders’ bikes on the roof, plus up to 8 of those cyclist passengers inside. Sure, most teams move the riders around in giant team motorhome-style buses, and bikes are much easier to get off the roof of a wagon mid-race. But the EF Transporter gives the team a lot more flexibility, especially making their way through narrow European city streets that litter the start and finish lines of Grand Tours and one-day races, alike.
EF also painted up a nice custom bike for Irish national champion Darren Rafferty.
And like many teams, they neatly organize spare gear for each rider in SciCon RainBags that get stuffed in the back of the race support wagons. These little lifesavers have gotten a ton of use in this year’s wet Giro!
Groupama–FDJ: Wilier Filante SLR
FDJ races on Wilier road bikes these days, with the team rocking a fleet of white and blue Filante SLRs for Stage 16.
Not much out of the ordinary here for a top-tier aero-influenced road race bike, built up with Dura-Ace Di2. The Groupama–FDJ team bikes do roll on less common Miche Kleos RD 50 that are sporting new Made-in-Italy decals to remind you where these carbon hoops originated.
And like EF, Groupama–FDJ has a national road champion in their midst, so Luxembourger Kevin Geniets gets his own custom-painted bike with stripes in the correct shades of red, white & blue.
Ineos Grenadiers: Pinarello Dogma F
I really do love all the national champ bikes. The Ineos Grenadiers team captain is Egal Bernal from Colombia, so he gets a special black Pinarello Dogma F with his national yellow, blue & red stripes.
To boost their aero road bikes up the big climbs, Bernal and company were rolling on shallow <1100g Princeton Carbonworks Alta wheels, which wave back and forth from 32-35mm deep.
Like most in the pro peloton, the Ineos bikes feature 1-piece carbon cockpit bar+stem combos with fully internal routing for the team mechanics to deal with. The Dogma Fs are fitted with a new Most Talon Fast bar with 7° of flare in the drops that might not be so far out of place on a gravel race bike, but helps turn the bars in like the pro like, and keeps lever widths as low as 34cm to get aero while still having 40cm width outside at the drops for stability when needed.
Intermarché–Wanty: Cube Litening Air
Intermarché–Wanty were racing their shiny lightweight red Cube Litening Air C:68X road bikes. They get built up with Dura-Ace Di2 and the latest Newmen Streem A.49 lightweight carbon aero wheels built with bladed aero carbon spokes.
The team races on Hutchinson’s new fastest-ever Blackbird Race tubeless tires, with Effetto Mariposa sealant inside. Each wheel gets its own label to say how much sealant was added on what day. Interestingly, this wheel being raced at the Giro has had 60ml of synthetic Caffélatex (CT) sealant in it for about 4 weeks now (vs. VT for natural Végétalex sealant made from olives).
And of course, we can miss the Intermarché–Wanty aero secret trick of no valves. Team mechanics devised a way years ago to use shorter valves that don’t stick out beyond the rim, so they can smoothly cover over the valve hole, but still get an extender in there to add or adjust air pressure as needed.
Slick.
Israel–Premier Tech: Factor Ostro VAM
A nice fleet of aero Factor Ostro VAM road bikes kits out the Israel–Premier Tech team, finished off with 48mm deep Black Inc. wheels, even when headed up the climbs into the mountains.
Israel–Premier Tech sheds weight with carbon FSA cranks on their otherwise Dura-Ace Di2 build. A close look at the detailing and you can see the beautiful carbon patterns popping through on Derek Gee’s raw frame, plus that solid-lubricated SLT CeramicSpeed headset bearing so mechanics won’t have to worry with replacing & rerouting cables, plus a monotonously long stem on his Black Inc cockpit.
Lidl–Trek: Trek Madone SLR
Trek’s Madone SLR is always a head turner. And with the Lidl-Trek sponsorship, those bright team primary colors make for a fast aero road bike that somehow makes you feel like you were back in elementary school.
Trek definitely goes down the full aero & integrated route. But tall Dutchman Daan Hoole reminds us that sometimes you just need a separate (ultra-long) stem and conventional round clamp handlebar to get your position correct.
Movistar Team: Canyon Aeroad CFR
Like Alpecin, Movistar has a fleet of Canyon Aeroads to race. The paint job here is more subdued – whether Nairo Quintana’s simple matte black or the rest of the team’s glossy dark blue with tiny light blue specks.
Movistar does rock some flashy sawtooth Zipp 454 NSW wheels, though, mostly wrapped with regular Conti GP 5000 S tubeless tires, or the occasional TT version for riders begging to save a few grams and risk a flat. The team bikes are built with SRAM Red groupsets, and several riders take advantage of AXS versatility by tucking a wireless Blip under the tape for a custom sprint button.
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: Scott Addict RC
The Q36.5 team races Scott’s Addict RC road bike. We even did a more detailed Pro Bike Check feature at the start of the year when they added the new bike and added Tom Pidcock. While all the other teams had fitted their race numbers well before the start, maybe the fact that these were destined to all start with the number 13, stalled the team mechanics a bit as they did some incantations to ward off any bad luck?
Pidcock’s Addict RC zipped by me on the roof of one of the team cars. They are all built up with SRAM Red AXS, Quarq spider power meters, Zipp 454 NSW wheels, and 28mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tubeless tires.
Soudal–Quick-Step: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8
Soudal–Quick-Step is the second team racing the S-Works Tarmac SL8. They are also built up with Roval CLX carbon wheels, Turbo tires, and inner tubes. But Quick-Step races Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrains.
The team has a number of 3D-printed Specialized saddles atop the road bikes, but the latest S-Works Romin Pro Mirror seems the team’s most popular choice, with its 22,000 DLS-printed internal struts!
Team Jayco–Alula: Giant Propel
These bright purple Propels belong to Team Jayco–Alula. Giant meant the Propel to be a lighter aero bike when it launched a few years back, which really just means it is another versatile all-rounder with aerodynamic touches.
Where they save weight on the frameset, the team retains fit versatility of a separate bar & stem, plus the extra comfort from the 30mm Cadex Aero tubeless cotton tires mounted to Cadex 50 Ultra aero wheels.
Team Picnic PostNL: Lapierre Xelius DRS
The Lapierre Xelius DRS aero road bikes of the Dutch Post Picnic team promise lightweight, aerodynamic performance, and a lot of comfort thanks to their completely decoupled seatstay design.
The Team Picnic PostNL races on Ursus carbon wheels and with Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets. And it’s a nice reminder just before the stage start, that even pro riders and pro team mechanics sometimes forget to charge their bikes’ power meters!
Team Polti VisitMalta: Aurum Magma
We may not know a lot about the palmarès of the Team Polti VisitMalta squad, but we do know their Aurum road bikes come from the minds of racing icons Alberto Contador & Ivan Basso. The Magma is the brand’s ‘race-ready’ climber’s bike morphed into an endurance all-rounder that even casual cyclists can appreciate.
Apparently, it’s still a race-ready bike fit for a Grand Tour, as well.
The Aurum Magma is already said to be pretty light (just 859g for a 56cm frame), so we suspect the Malta tourism team has put together something near the 6.8kg minimum weight threshold when we see more ultralight details on the bikes. Sure, 30mm tires aren’t the lightest, but they are still Corsa Pros, and mounted to Enve’s lightest of their aero family SES 2.3 wheels, finished off with some spindly-looking Galfer rotors.
Team Visma–Lease a Bike: Cervélo S5
The Cervélo S5 is one of the most divisive aero road bikes in the pro peloton, if only for its wild handlebar setup.
But clearly it’s a solid all-rounder too, for the Team Visma–Lease a Bike racers to ride it into the mountains, with just a swap out to some lower-profile Reserve 34|37 wheels. Just 34mm deep up front and 37mm high for the rear wheel.
It was set to be another wet day at this year’s Giro, so all the riders were bundling up. Coming from success in cyclocross and the Spring Classics, Wout van Aert didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain as the peloton headed up into the mountains. But a lot of other riders seemed a bit frustrated at the start, especially after a sunny and warm rest day.
Tudor Pro Cycling Team: BMC Teammachine R Mpc
BMC launched their current Teammachine R a year and a half ago, and then a masterpiece handmade-in-Switzerland Teammachine R Mpc just last winter. BMC says it takes so long to make each Mpc frame, that they can’t even offer it to a full pro team. So on the Tudor Pro Cycling Team at the Giro, only Australian Michael Storer gets to ride on the most premium raw carbon bike.
The rest of the team gets slightly heavier, less exclusive frames and some weight-adding red paint on top of that. They all do seem to be running some new tires, though. We don’t really know if there’s anything properly new hidden inside these Pro One tires, but Schwalbe used to tell us that the blue bead was their symbol of a prototype tire, still in development.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if some new rubber compound or casing is coming soon.
UAE Team Emirates XRG: Colnago V5Rs
It’s the road bike of the Grand Tour general classification leader Isaac Del Toro – UAE Team Emirates XRG’s Colnago V5Rs.
Built up with Dura-Ace Di2, Enve 4.5 wheels with custom pink decals, pink bar tape, and some light GP 5000 TT tires to climb for the day, Del Torro is still holding onto pink a day later.
VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizanè: DeRosa 70
The latest De Rosa 70 of VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizanè is another of the lightweight all-rounder race bikes with aero touches. Although, pretty much all I can see when looking at these bikes is that loud De Rosa paint job, which admittedly I kind of love. Must be something to do with all the little red hearts!
But what we can’t overlook here is more of that no-longer-so-secret Campagnolo Super Record Wireless 13-speed groupset. The De Rosa bikes give us a clear look at the new hoods, which seem flatter on top. We also get a good view of the inner thumb-shift button, which has a distinct ridge and some rearward extension to presumably make it easy to shift from multiple hand positions.
The hollow-pin chain is also stamped R13, again confirming that it is 13-speed, but also different from the C13 of Ekar & Ekar GT. We’ll cross our fingers for cross-compatibility, but who really knows from the Italian drivetrain maker.
Lastly, another shot of that angular new 13-speed wireless electronic shift Campagnolo rear derailleur. We have to assume it is Super Record based on its extensive use of carbon (and the product code on the back of the one we spotted earlier this month).
XDS Astana Team: X-Lab AD9
Just by virtue of the seemingly alphabetical order of how the Giro gives out numbers to every team (except that of 2023 Giro winner Primož Roglič’s Red Bull outfit), Stage 16 winner Christian Scaroni of XDS Astana Team’s X-Lab AD9 race bike is last on our list. And that’s his bike in the back of this stack of four – number 228 – at the start of the day’s stage.
It answers the question of whether you can win a climbing stage on an aero bike.
Yes.
Pretty much all of the XDS Astana Team did swap in the lighter, but still pretty aero, 45mm deep Vision Metron 45SL wheels and Conti GP5000 TT tires vs. the deeper 60SLs and GP 5000 S tires that they race on flat and rolling stages. A couple, but not all, riders were also racing the carbon-spoked Metron 45 RS wheels.
We haven’t really covered the XDS brand – the Chinese maker of this premium X-Lab line of bikes, like this AD9 aero road bike – but also a contract manufacturer for many other popular western cycling bike companies. They pretty much popped onto our radar last summer as the supplier and Title sponsor of the Astana team, but they still are not widely available commercially for much of our audience. Although that does seem to be slowly shifting as they look to new markets. Maybe we’ll see more XDS and X-Lab bikes soon!
OK, that’s our wrap of 23+ team bikes at the 2025 Giro d’Italia as it heads into the mountains for the final week.
Which is your favorite bike?
Let us know in the comments below!
