Blue is the new white! Take a look at AG2R Citroën's BMC Team Machine SLR01... with an unreleased Fizik saddle?

2023 marks the third year that French World Tour Team AG2R Citröen will be racing on BMC bikes, in particular the BMC Team Machine SLR01. Equipped with Campagnlo groupsets and wheels, they are the only World Tour team using Campagnolo equipment for 2023. 

AG2R Citröen were seen on the BMC Team Machine SLR01 last season with a black and white colour scheme, featuring a 'fan favourite' red cockpit. You might be pleased to see that the red cockpit remains but with a (not-so-subtle) change to a bright blue frame instead of white. 

With AG2R Citröen's kit becoming less blue over the years, this bike certainly makes up for it.

The team has the choice between a BMC Team Machine SLR01, BMC Time Machine road bike and BMC Time Machine TT bike. 

They are all equipped with Campagnolo's Super Record EPS 12-speed groupset, the only World Tour bikes that are this season. 

Campagnolo was recently a topic of conversation in the office for our 2023 cycling tech predicitions, theorising that since Campagnolo's 13-speed groupset is for gravel, we could also expect to see the Italians release a 13-speed road groupset.

The team will also be using Campagnolo wheels. Pictured here are the Bora Ultra WTO 45 disc brake carbon wheelset. They are said to be the best choice for all-round riders but come with a hefty price tag starting at €3,245 (around £2800). 

> Are expensive carbon road bike wheels worth the money?

The wheels are fitted with Pirelli P Zero Race TLR SL tyres, which is the fastest tyre in Pirelli's range. Coming in at 236g per tyre on the road.cc Scales of Truth, they are insanely light for a tubeless tyre.

> Check out the best road bike tyres 2023 

They are available in 26 and 28mm sizes and again, these are on the side of expensive costing £64.99. 

The BMC Team Machine is equipped with a ICS Carbon one-piece cockpit, in the famous bright red colour with Fizik handlebar tape. 

The ICS Carbon cockpit features fully internal cable routing which BMC says, "greatly improves aerodynamic performance". 

> New pictures of unreleased fully integrated Roval bars on Specialized Tarmac leaked on social media

The bars also feature an integrated alloy mount with interchangeable adapters for Garmin and Wahoo devices.

@paulineballet

> Check out the best bike saddles 2022 

Pro teams are revealing more and more equipment each day to their social media channels for the beady-eyed amongst us. This time, there appears to be a new Fizik Aliante saddle. 

We'd heard rumours that Fizik was revamping its Aliante saddles and this could be the one. It is most similar to the Aliante R3 open saddle, but the nose appears more curved and the central cutaway looks like it could be longer extending towards the tip of the saddle.

We' ve heard that the official launch should be the end of February, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for any more details on this one!

As for the pedals, the BMC Team Machine SLR01 is equipped with Look Keo Blade Carbon Ceramic pedals. They feature a carbon body with carbon blade technology and ceramic bearings. They cost €199.90 (around £175). 

BMC Team Machine SLR01 framesets start at €4,282 (around £3,800).

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by AG2R CITROËN TEAM (@ag2rcitroenteam)

What do you think of the paint job? Let us know in the comments section below...