Astana had the first team listing in this year’s Tour de France, giving teammate Vincenzo Nibali the #1 number plate for taking the win at last year’s race with a comfortable 7 minute 37 second margin.
This year’s collection of team bikes spanned from custom painted Tarmac and Shiv bikes to a few relatively stock looking Venge aero road bikes. Pics of those and some team kit and other bits below…
SPOILER ALERT: Read this after watching as it contains mention of Stage 19 (June 24, 2015) results.
The bikes were adorned with Campagnolo drivetrains, SRM power meters and Corima wheels. The Venge and some of the Shiv TT bikes were left undecorated, but the Tarmac bikes got a full makeover. This bike had Campy’s cranks, but many of the others used Specialized’s S-Works carbon cranks.
We’ll have a better look at the new Venge in another team’s pits, but this one gave us an interesting angle on the fully integrated front brakes. Also note the shaped headset cap that leads directly into the spacers. Nope, no slammed stem here.
The rear brake is equally integrated, albeit with a much different cable pull design. Hidden directly behind the water bottle, it’s impact on aerodynamics is completely minimized.
The Tarmacs got a team dress code with excellent blending and multiple tones throughout. It’s not obnoxious, but it is very well done.
Lieuwe Westra unwittingly showed off their kit for us.
About the only things that didn’t match were the shoes. Westra was rocking the standard S-Works road shoes, but…
…at least one team rider was kickin’ around in the upcoming S-Works 6 shoes, which sit at the absolute top of Specialized’s range at $400. These were orange, but the retail version will be red.
The Shivs used a mix of Corima wheels, some with the track tubular (foreground)…
…and some with the full carbon tri-spoke. All were running a full disc rear wheel.
The aerobars and elbow pads don’t quite match anything in Vision’s current lineup, so we’ve reached out to FSA for comment and will update if/when we hear back. The pads definitely look more breathable than Vision’s current inventory.
Nibali, who won Stage 19 of the 2015 tour to put himself 1:19 off the podium, rode his custom painted Shark bike.
Perhaps inspired by his bike’s motif, the Italian champ definitely went on the attack to claim the stage victory.
