The Tour de France is, in addition to being the biggest bike race in the world, the best opportunity for the team sponsors to show off their brand new products to millions of viewers watching their favourite riders, teams and equipment being tested to the limit.
It's also the reason we've been very busy typing up news of new bikes and components seemingly every other day in the past few weeks, and as a result, we can share a bunch of new bikes, components and gear making their Tour de France debuts in 2024. Sadly, that also means some things could be making their final appearances at this year's Tour, such as poor old rim brakes...
Spotting all the below debutants on the 111th Tour de France will add some excitement to the three-week-long race, and if you are interested in an overall look at what bikes each team is riding, we've also put together a definitive guide to what the top men's pro cycling teams are riding this year. This list isn't absolutely exhaustive, more a round-up of our favourite bikes, kit and tech that is new for 2024, and we'll update later on in the race if we spot any more unreleased stuff worthy of your attention...
The 2025 Trek Madone SLR
Wait, but it wasn't an Emonda? Trek has been teasing us about its newest race road bike for what feels like ages now, and finally, before the Grand Depart, we've got confirmation that the new bike is indeed a new Madone – but at the same time, it incorporates the features of Émonda SLR. So in essence, as Trek said: "With a new Gen 8 Madone, you really don’t need two race bikes anymore."
The new Madone 8 replaces both the seventh-generation Madone and the carbon Émonda, which means that you'll see the Trek-Lidl riders aboard these brand new all-rounder racing bikes plenty over the three weeks of the men's Tour de France and in August at the Tour de France Femmes.
Wilier Verticale SLR
Wilier released its new climbing bikem the Verticale SLR, in the week leading up to the Tour de France start, and its main selling point is really its light weight. Wilier says the frame, seatpost and fork tip the scale at 1,353g which (after we had done some calculations) possibly makes the bike even lighter than the Specialized flagship S-Works Tarmac SL8 (1,410g for the frame, seatpost and fork).
That means that both Groupama-FDJ and Astana Qazaqstan will have a new lightweight bike to propel up those mountains, while the Filante SLR remains there for Sir Mark Cavendish to go for that 35th stage win on the flatter stages.
Roval Rapide CLX II Team wheels
Roval, the in-house components arm of Specialized, has brought its sponsored teams Soudal-Quickstep and Bora Hansgrohe some new Rapide CLX II Team wheels to roll on at the tour, and the brand hasn't been humble in claiming that this is "the fastest race wheelset globally".
They are 130g lighter and slightly more aero than the previous Rapide CLX II model, and Roval has opted for hooked rims, saying that “we know that hookless wheels can’t perform under our demanding high-pressure testing standards, and any carbon wheel can crack under intense impact, but that’s no excuse for a tyre to blow off”.
> Review: Roval Rapide CL II Tubeless Wheelset
Whether they live up to the claims of being the fastest... well, we've got a few weeks to fix our eyes on the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Demi Vollering and see if they power to stage victories on these hoops.
Colnago’s new Tour de France bike
It's no news to anyone that the pro riders' bikes are pricey, but Colnago's limited-edition version of its C68 road bike, which marks the 2024 Tour de France’s start in Florence, Italy, is on another level with its €23,000 (about £19,600) price tag.
Colnago has produced only 111 of these bikes – because it’s the 111th Tour de France – and thye will be auctioned by Sotheby’s, one of the world's largest auction houses.
While you won't see Team UAE Team Emirates racing on these bikes at the Tour de France, you might have spotted the number one model ridden by Tadej Pogačar during the race’s team presentation (27th June), and that one will go up for sale on the first rest day on 8 July and end on the second rest day on 15 July.
The all new Giant TCR
If, like me, you had already forgotten that Giant launched yet another TCR this year (it's actually the 10th iteration) - you can be forgiven. That's because, a little strangely, the bike was launched back in March, and that was months ago. But, nevertheless, the men's Team Jayco AlUla will be using this bike alongside the more aero Propel at Tour de France.
It was, however, a big launch and saw Giant's flagship road bike undergo a transformation to become the "lightest, most efficient TCR ever". This meant it shaved off 70g, gained a millimetre of tyre clearance and got a nice, integrated front end. Parallel to the TCR launch, Giant's componentry brand Cadex also released new wheels and tyres, and you can certainly spot those at the Tour as well.
And though it is not quite (but kind of) the women-specific version of the TCR, we also saw the Liv Langma go through a similar revamp just a couple of weeks ago. The new Langma will be ridden at the Tour de France Femmes in August by team Jayco-AlUla.
Rim brakes another step close to Tour extinction as the Giant Trinity TT bike goes disc
The yet-to-be-released 2025 Giant Trinity time trial bike will be seen at the TT stages of the Tour de France. Though we don't have all the details of the new bike yet, it deserves a mention. It's not only one of the longest-serving TT-bikes in the pro peloton, but until now, it's also been one of the last ones flying the flag for rim brakes.
> One of the only rim brake bikes left in the Tour de France peloton! Check out the Giant Trinity TT bike
So rim brake lovers, brace yourselves... because the 2025 Trinity now has disc brakes! What that means is that unless something changes again, there is only one rim brake bike left in the WorldTour peloton, and that is the Bianchi Aquila TT bike, used by the French Team Arkéa-Samsic. You better have a good look at that while you can, because who knows; it might be that the 2025 Tour de France is completely rim brakes-less.
Pinarello Dogma F
Pinarello has been providing us plenty of entertainment with its efforts to keep its latest iteration Dogma F under covers at the Dauphine, the race that some even call the "mini Tour de Fran e". Well, despite the team's efforts, the secret bike is now well and truly out in the open, and you will see it raced by Ineos Grenadiers riders.
> road.cc CANCELLED by Ineos! What happened when we tried to take pics of the new Pinarello Dogma
What's new about it? Unsurprisingly, it's lighter (108g compared to the old one) and has a 0.2% reduction in drag – mainly because of the re-designed frame shapes, and of course, that means it's faster than ever.
Canyon Aeroad
As the Tour kicks off, Canyon has still not officially shared the details of its newest Aeroad aero road bike – a bike that we have seen F1 driver Valtteri Bottas ride around the F1 racing tracks, as well as at the Dauphine.
From what we've seen, the new Aeroad has a revamped cockpit – something similar to the one found on the latest Canyon Grail. The new one-piece handlebar on the premium gravel bike was the debut of the ‘Gear Groove’ – a section in the middle of the bar where you can attach accessories such as a computer mount. It seems that the Aeroad has adopted that, alongside a few other frame design changes.
SRAM Red AXS groupset
SRAM introduced its new Red AXS as “the lightest electronic groupset ever” back in May, after it had been spotted at various places beforehand. The shifters saw quite a thorough revamp, and according to SRAM, it's "the most effortless drivetrain to use".
> Read our review of the SRAM Red AXS 2024
Out of the 22 WorldTour teams, only four are riding with SRAM components, but that means you can still spot it in the midst of the racing, and see if those brand new side buttons, lighter braking and improved front shifts make any difference to the riders' performances.
Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tyres
When it comes to new Tour de France tech, Lidl-Trek seems to be the team that has a lot going on. Not only does it have the new Madone, but it also races on the new SRAM Red AXS groupset and brand new Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tyres.
These new road tyres claim to have enhanced rolling resistance, grip and reduced weight, and they're also now made in Italy.
Hammerhead Karoo 3 cycling computer
The SRAM-acquired brand Hammerhead released its newest iteration Karoo 3 cycling computer (which it insists should just be called 'Karoo') at the same time as the updated Red AXS groupset and a few other bits from Zipp and Goodyear.
> Hammerhead Karoo 3 review
There is only one team in the men's pro peloton relying on the Hammerhead: Bora-Hansgrohe.
2024 Van Rysel road bikes and kit
The start of the 2024 season saw Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale wave goodbye to its brown bibs, and embrace a head-to-toe Van Rysel apparel and helmet look. The main sponsor of this team won't go unnoticed by anyone, as the team is also aboard (obviously) the Van Rysel pro team road bikes and time trial bikes.
There's also a mysterious new Van Rysel aero road bike set to be used in the sprint stages, that you can read more about here.
Deda Alanera RS handlebar
Continuing on the theme of the above team, at the front of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team rider's Van Rysel RCR Pro bikes, you can spot the newest handlebar from Deda. It's not just any handlebar either, but according to the brand represents "the pinnacle of integrated handlebar technology". Considering the original Alanera was the first integrated bar to be used by a Tour de France winner, Deda arguably has good reason to be bold with its claims.
> Van Rysel’s £9,000 RCR Pro team edition replica sells out in minutes
These bars should also be "comfortable, super aero and [come] with an on-trend 6-degree flare". Lucky for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, they have it all! When it comes to that flare though, you will spot that more and more riders are adopting the handlebar style that is certainly more prominent on the gravel scene, allowing for a wider grip on the drops but giving a narrow and tucked-in position at the hoods.
POC's new Procen Air helmet
Team EF-Education - Easypost has been pretty keen on wearing the newest Procen Air helmet, and no wonder; according to POC’s wind tunnel testing, it is between 5 and 18 watts faster than the POC Ventral helmet at speeds from 30km/h to 60km/h.
It is not the best for ventilation (as you might tell from Steffan Bissegar's face above) but as we've learnt over the years, those aero gains are really crucial for good results.
Ceramicspeed OSPW RS
As with most new cycling tech, if you're very eagle-eyed (as Jamie, our Head of Video, is) and have access to cycling events, then you can spot a lot of unreleased tech ahead of its launch. That's the case with Ceramicspeed's latest OSPW (oversized pulley wheel) system, making its debut at this year's TdF, but first spotted by us at SeaOtter Europe in September 2023.
The OSPW RS has taken cues from the OSPW X that was made for SRAM’s Eagle Transmission and can be fitted with the brand’s ‘Alpha Disc’ design, which essentially is a solid pulley wheel. The disc section of the pulley is made of aluminium, and the outer ring and teeth are made using a composite material. This should make for better dirt shedding and durability.
The outer cage design has also seen a revamp to be more aero, and knowing that crashes at big races are almost inevitable, the cage should also be stronger if it gets hit. And you'd like it to last, because each of these beauties costs £515...
And much more...
Though we've listed a whole host of bikes and equipment above, more newness is present at the Tour than one feature will allow us to cover. Let us know in the comments below what your top spy shots are, and they might make our next update!
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