The ladies’s Tour de France is in full swing this week, and most notably, in my nation of residence: The Netherlands. That’s made it tremendous simple to examine issues out this 12 months, on a couple of totally different levels – each common street and time trial. For at present’s publish, we’ll take a look at a street stage, after which in tomorrow’s(ish) publish, I’ll dive right into a time trial stage, together with some staff automotive bits and extra!
Above is an preliminary behind-the-scenes video protecting all types of issues, together with the next bits of interestingness:
– How Shimano Impartial Service inventories every staff’s bikes initially
– Kristen Faulkner’s new bike setup post-Olympic gold medal
– …and pairing of stated new bike/energy meter to her new golden Wahoo BOLT (in the midst of the staff zone)
– Laundry machines, clearly
– The rationale why one staff had good trainers out for a non-TT stage
– Which groups are utilizing energy meter pedals
– Which groups are rolling-up on the final second
– A gaggle of ladies cyclists following the Tour…besides beginning in Germany.
– A very massive squirrel offers me a hug
– A take a look at Puck’s handlebar each day art work, outlining the stage particulars (present KOM holder)
– All types of completely different random issues
Principally, it’s what occurs whenever you give me a digicam for two hours and I simply need to geek out on the randomness of professional biking within the staff zone. Or basically, what I at all times do on the Tour de France, males’s or girls’s.
In fact, a variety of that’s in pursuit of inventorying sports activities tech, and at present was energy meter day. As is usually the case, the alternatives among the many girls’s aspect are way more attention-grabbing. For the lads’s aspect, it’s mainly decide one: Shimano or SRAM (with a aspect dish of a single SRM staff). However for the ladies’s aspect, the world is your oyster! We’ve seen every little thing from Favero to Garmin to SRM to 4iiii to Phases up to now. And that largely holds true right here too.
At a excessive stage, right here’s the run-down:
Shimano (crank arms): 8 groups
SRAM (spider): 6 groups
FSA/Power2Max (spider): 4 Groups
Garmin Rally (energy pedals): 1.5 Groups
4iiii (crank arm): 1 Staff
Look (energy pedals): 0.5 Staff
SRM (spider): 0.5 Staff
To me, the massive stand-out right here is definitely FSA/Power2Max (just about totally as a result of FSA aspect), they’ve slowly however absolutely grown their pie over the previous few years. Power2Max makes an excellent product, and FSA is leveraging that effectively (as they’ve for years).
In fact, at this level, a few of you’re like ‘WTF’, half a staff? Properly, hopefully, this subsequent bit makes it a bit extra clear:
Arkéa–B&B Resorts Ladies: Shimano
Ceratizit–WNT Professional Biking: Shimano
FDJ–Suez: Shimano
Fenix–Deceuninck: Shimano
Liv AlUla Jayco: Shimano
Lotto–Dstny Women: Shimano (+ a pair FSA/Power2Max)
Staff dsm–firmenich PostNL: Shimano
UAE Staff ADQ: ShimanoCanyon–SRAM: SRAM/Quarq
Human Powered Well being: SRAM/Quarq
Lidl–Trek: SRAM/Quarq
Movistar Staff: SRAM/Quarq
Staff SD Worx–Protime: SRAM/Quarq
Visma–Lease a Bike: SRAM/QuarqEF–Oatly–Cannondale: FSA/Power2Max
Roland Biking: FSA/Power2Max
St. Michel–Mavic–Auber93: FSA/Power2Max
Uno-X Mobility: FSA/Power2Max (+ couple Garmin Rally)AG Insurance coverage–Soudal: Garmin Rally
Cofidis: Half Look pedals, Half SRM
Laboral Kutxa–Fundación Euskadi: 4iiii (single-sided)
There’s a couple of groups that had riders with Garmin Rally pedals floating round (some Shimano-based groups, some nothing-based), after which one staff that’s within the strategy of changing over to Look’s energy meter pedals (simply as they’re on the lads’s aspect, given sponsorships).
These groups that had Garmin Rally, had been groups that had been sponsored by Garmin at-large (bike computer systems, trainers, and many others…), however not ones the place I noticed Garmin Rally on all bikes. Just about all of Garmin’s pro-level biking sponsorships of main TdF groups are restricted to the non-power stuff, at the very least publicly.
Garmin has famous they’re blissful to sponsor the facility meter aspect, however Shimano/SRAM largely block that, by way of drivetrain sponsorships.
Inversely, we noticed no Wahoo-based energy meter pedals this 12 months (when it comes to widespread sponsorships, maybe I missed a motorcycle someplace within the 180 or so riders), whereas up to now each Wahoo and Favero had sponsored groups. However once more, that is typically pushed by drivetrain sponsorships greater than something. There’s no significant resistance to energy meter pedals within the WorldTour peloton at present, like there was 8-10 years in the past. Heck, given the Shimano accuracy points, many groups *are* utilizing energy meter pedals in coaching (the place they will get away with it, from a contract standpoint).
I did see a shock 4iiii staff although, which I used to be not anticipating. Albeit, all single-sided models.
In any occasion, extra to return with all the main points from the time-trial stage, together with a couple of surprises and firsts on the good coach aspect of issues.
Keep tuned, and thanks for studying!
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