The Tour de France is underway and here are some of the team bikes that you can buy yourself – as long as you’re willing and able to drop a whole lot of money on it.
Bike brands often sell more affordable versions of models that sponsored teams ride, with spec downgrades to make price points, but that's not what we're covering here. No, these bikes are either virtually identical to those ridden in the Tour or have just a few differences. Essentially, they're of a similar level.
Sometimes there will be differences in components. A race team might have a deal with a certain manufacturer, for example, while the bike brand has commercial reasons for speccing product from a different company. Mainly, though, the components shown here are the same as you'll see used in the Tour
To keep things manageable, we’ve stuck with bikes that are finished in team livery or at least the same colours as the relevant team. If team colours don’t interest you, all of the framesets shown here come in other finishes too.
Check out all of the bikes being raced in the 2023 Tour de France
Every frameset that you see in the Tour de France is commercially available, or it will be soon – that's one of the UCI's rules. Even if a bike brand doesn't offer a complete bike built up with the same components used by a particular team, you could put together a copy of anything ridden by the pros... as long as you're prepared to throw enough money at it.
Here are bikes you can get your hands on that are the closest to those ridden by the pros at the Tour de France.
Canyon offers its Aeroad CFR Disc Di2 in an Alpecin-Deceuninck finish. As the name suggests, it’s built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, which is what the team riders use.
The bike you can buy is specced with DT Swiss wheels and a Rotor ALDHU24 crankset and INspider power meter, whereas the pros are on Shimano all the way.
Canyon also offers its Aeroad CFR in a Canyon-SRAM replica. As a UCI Women’s World Tour team, Canyon-SRAM will be racing the Tour de France Femmes which starts on 23rd July 2023.
Canyon-SRAM riders use SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset components, including power meters, and Zipp wheels, all of which are found on this bike. The team uses Schwalbe tyres while you get Continental GP 5000s here, but the build is extremely close to what you’ll see the pros using.
The Wilier Filante SLR aero road bike (above) and the lightweight Wilier 0 SLR (below) are each available in gorgeous Astana Qazaqstan Team finishes, as well as various other paint jobs. They’re both available in several different component specs with prices starting at €8,400.
Check out our Wilier Filante SLR review
A build including Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 – the groupset used by Astana Qazaqstan – will set you back €11,300.
> Check out Mark Cavendish’s Wilier Filante SLR
The spec also includes a Prologo saddle and Vittoria tyres, which is what the Astana boys use, although you’ll get Wilier’s own wheels, made with Miche, whereas the team bikes are fitted with Corima (or in some cases HED). That aside, this setup is close to the one you’ll see ridden in the Tour de France.
Although Bahrain Victorious riders are using Pearl White bikes for the Tour de France, you can buy both Merida Reacto aero road bike (above) and Scultura lightweight road bike (below) in standard team finishes.
Read our review of the Merida Reacto Team-E 2021
The Reacto and the Scultura frames are each available in a top-level CF5 version, as used by the pros, and in a cheaper and slightly heavier CF3 build. Both of the bikes above are CF5.
The component specs are extremely close to those used by the pros too, with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets, Vision wheels, Continental tyres, and Prologo saddles.
Check out our Merida Reacto 6000 review
The Scultura Team comes with a Merida handlebar and stem whereas Bahrain Victorious use FSA/Vision products, but that’s about the only significant deviation.
Trek-Segafredo has just changed its name to Lidl-Trek and riders will race the Tour de France on bikes that feature Trek’s eight new Project One Icon paint schemes – Project One being Trek’s custom programme.
Former world champion Mads Pedersen, for instance, has a bike with a Chroma Ultra-iridescent finish, for example. That paint job is priced at £3,850… and then you have to factor in the price of the bike that goes underneath it. Even the least expensive Project One Icon finish is £1,650.
Trek’s Madone (above), which the US brand bills as its “fastest road race bike ever”, features IsoFlow technology – a huge hole in the seat tube, essentially – that’s said to provide an aerodynamic benefit and save weight.
Trek releases radical Madone SLR, its “fastest road race bike ever”
Lidl-Trek uses SRAM Red eTap AXS groupsets and Bontrager wheels which you can choose through Project One, although you have to spec Bontrager tyres rather than the team’s Pirellis.
The Trek Emonda SLR AXS (above) – the lightweight road bike in the range – is also available in the new Project One Icon finishes.
If you’re happy to go without the super-posh finish, Trek Madone SLR 9 eTaps start at £14,500 through Project One and Trek Emonda SLR 9 eTaps cost from £12,950.
If you’re a fan of Ineos Grenadiers, you can buy a Pinarello Dogma F in team colours… as long as you have a big stack of cash to throw at it.
Read our review of the Pinarello Dogma F Super Record EPS 2023
The bike is specced with a sponsor-correct Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset. Although Ineos Grenadiers occasionally stray from Shimano for race wheels, this build comes with frequently used Dura-Ace C50s.
The saddle is a departure, though. Although that looks like a £400 Fizik Antares Versus Evo Adaptive 00 pictured, you’ll actually get one from Pinarello’s Most brand. The official spec shows Pirelli P Zero Race rather than Conti tyres too.
This one is a bit of a cheat because it’s not a team edition, it’s just that Arkea Samsic happens to use the Oltre RC in this colour scheme and with almost the same build: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets and wheels.
Okay, the pros use Continental tyres and Selle Italia saddles rather than the Pirelli and Bianchi options fitted here, but aside from the team logos, those are the only real differences.
Arkea Samsic will be riding the final stage of this year's race on the Bianchi Oltre RC Tour de France Limited Edition (above).
> Bianchi introduces Tour de France Oltre RC road bike
Just 176 of these are available, that figure chosen because it's the number of riders starting this year's Tour. The price of these is €15,500 (around £13,280) + VAT.
Again, we’re bending the rules with this one. Rather than being a true team edition bike in a special finish, Team DSM just happens to go with standard Scott paintwork and a similar component spec.
With a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and wheels, Vittoria Corsa tyres, and pretty much everything else from the Scott-owned Syncros brand, the build on this stock model is almost exactly the same as the pros use. The only real difference is the lack of a Shimano Dura-Ace power meter, but you could always get that upgraded.
Colnago offers its top-level V4Rs in a UAE Team Emirates finish. It’s not the most eye-catching finish ever – it’s pretty low key, to be honest – but you get a UAE flag on the seat tube, and red fork lowers with UAE Emirates logos.
Check out our review of the Colnago V4Rs
You can’t buy a complete bike in a Team Jayco Alula finish in the UK, but you get the TCR Advanced SL Disc frameset – which is exactly the same as the pros use.
Getting it built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, Cadex wheels and Vittoria tyres would be easy enough with the usual proviso: you'll need a hefty wodge of cash to cover it.
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2 comments
Unfortunately with almost all of these you'll be obliged to buy them with handlebars about 10cm wider than the pros are running and no option to swap them for something narrower!
Right, then you buy the bike and the team changes sponsor, colors or folds..
Then it's either dated or collectable just how you look at it..