The Movistar team is racing Canyon’s Speedmax CF SLX TT bikes and Ultimate CF SLX road bikes for the 2018 Giro d’Italia. Equipped with Campagnolo, Power2Max, Look and Continental, the bikes are mostly what you’d be able to piece together on your own…with the appropriate budget.
The Speedmax pulls double duty as their top of the line triathlon bike, too, with add-on bento box storage and front hydration fairings when UCI rules don’t matter.
That’s a 56-tooth big chainring, which is three more teeth than you or I can buy from Campy.
Where most riders and brands rely on grip tape or traditional bar wrap, Canyon partnered with Ergon to create custom molded grips for the bull horns and elbow rests. The result is a much cleaner (and probably more comfortable) perch.
Some riders slammed their stem both on the TT bikes…
…and the road bikes.
Some riders went without power, but when they did, it was Power2Max on both the road and TT bikes. And color-matched, to boot!
Pro-only Continental Pro Ltd tubulars on Campagnolo Bora Ultra 50 carbon wheels. That sweet matching blue bar tape comes from Lizard Skins, and pedals are Look. Check out the team homepage here.
Groupama FDJ-Lapierre Pro Bike Checks
The Groupama FDJ team is riding Lapierre Xelius SL road bikes and the Aerostorm DRS TT bikes. Neither bike is a new model, with the Xelius SL debuting in 2015 and updated for 2017 (including a new disc brake version), and the Aerostorm launching for team use as a 2016 model. What’s interesting is that the Aerostorm is no longer listed on Lapierre’s global site, which suggests that consumer availability is no longer there, or they have something new coming.
The Xelius is their lightweight climbing bike, but offers so much more. Aerodynamics are considered, and there’s a heavy emphasis on rider comfort thanks to the forward set seatstay junction that creates longer beams to both absorb flex and direct it away from the rider’s seat.
White bar tape is always a nice pro touch, but when it’s paired with white cable housing and overwrap to hide the Di2 wire? Perfect. We like that the Shimano PRO cockpit was finished off with the bar end plugs pointing straight up, too.
Some riders still had their SRM power meters while others had moved over to Shimano’s latest cranks with built-in power meter.
The Aerostorm DRS had the usual switch from Shimano wheels on the road bikes to PRO wheels for TT.
Fairings front and rear hid the brakes from the wind.
Check out the team’s homepage here.
You can see every team’s bikes from the 2018 Giro here!
