It’s Tour Down Under time, which means it’s time for our first proper look at all the new team bikes and paint jobs from the men’s and women’s WorldTour pelotons. Some teams are on new components, while others are on entirely new bikes. For example, Groupama-FDJ are now on Wilier bikes, joining Astana in that regard, while Israel-Premier Tech rider Simon Clarke has been spotted on a brand new Factor Ostro VAM. Luckily for you we’ve rounded up a lovely gallery of all the key things for you to pore over.
We’ve already brought you a full gallery of the new, as yet unreleased Factor Ostro VAM, so we shan’t devote much time to it here. Suffice it to say, to the surprise of nobody, it’s looking like it’s going to be more aero at the front, and lighter at the back. The geometry may shift though, as the chainstays look to be shorter, evidenced by the rear wheel which now tucks into the seat tube somewhat.
Fresh new bikes for FDJ this season. The Wilier Filante SLR, here belonging to Rudy Molard, is decked out in much the same way as the team’s Lapierre bikes of last season. Dura-Ace throughout, and Prologo saddle. White bar tape is becoming an endangered species, but it’s a pro touch we still love to see.
The cockpit has been wrapped to its full span for more comfort on the tops. It’ll give a slight aero penalty, but the bar itself is already a little more chunky in cross section than many.
Wide-set seatstays are becoming an ever increasing trend among aero bikes, kicked off by the original Hope HB.T track bike. We can also see this is Molard’s second bike, rather than his main race bike.
Groupama-FDJ remains one of the final strongholds for tubular wheels and tyres. In this case they’re 25mm wide, which is on its way to being considered narrow, despite the contrary being true just a few years ago.
The cadence magnet necessary for Shimano’s power meters is usually a slightly unsightly silver blob. Here though it’s neatly painted white to blend into the paint scheme.
Here’s the first proper look at the S-Works Tarmac SL8 in Soudal-QuickStep colours for 2024, in this case belonging to Julian Alaphilippe. He definitely loses points for having his bike in the small chainring I’m afraid, but as a double world champion we’re going to let…
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