\n
![\"TOPSHOT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2225567405-scaled.jpg\")
Both Poga\u010dar and Vingegaard have opted for aero bikes throughout this year’s race. BERNARD PAPON\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\nAs we head towards the conclusion of the 2025 Tour de France, it\u2019s time to look back at this year\u2019s race and analyse the key tech trends.<\/p>\n
Tadej Poga\u010dar looks set for another dominant win in the race for the yellow jersey and has been at the forefront of some of this year\u2019s key trends.<\/p>\n
As with previous Tours, we weighed and measured a number of pro bikes at this year\u2019s Grand D\u00e9part and almost every rider will be affected by incoming changes to the UCI\u2019s technical regulations for 2026.<\/p>\n
And while safety in pro cycling has been in the spotlight again, this year\u2019s Tour has shown those who govern the sport ought to ensure they’ve done everything possible to ensure a safe race before hanging the riders out to dry.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s dig into it all.<\/p>\n
Aero bikes dominating on climbs
\nBoth Poga\u010dar and Vingegaard have opted for aero bikes throughout this year’s race. BERNARD PAPON\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
While we got all hot under the collar about Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s sub-6.8kg Colnago V5Rs<\/a> and an unreleased Cerv\u00e9lo R5<\/a> at this year\u2019s Grand D\u00e9part, neither bike has seen significant action at the front of the race thus far.<\/p>\n Instead, the race\u2019s two main protagonists \u2013 Poga\u010dar and his great rival, Jonas Vingegaard \u2013 have both been riding their aero bikes on practically every stage (except, of course, the two time trials).<\/p>\n In Poga\u010dar\u2019s case, he rode a white, world champion theme Colnago Y1Rs<\/a> for the opening two weeks of the race, before switching to an unpainted weight-weenie build for the mountain time trial on stage 13<\/a>, and then a gloss black version<\/a> for the Ventoux stage and beyond.<\/p>\n The latter is claimed to weigh a little more than 7kg, although it\u2019s not clear if that includes pedals, bottle cages, a bike computer and so on. In any case, it\u2019s impressively light.<\/p>\n Set up in full sprint mode, we weighed Vingegaard\u2019s new Cerv\u00e9lo S5 at 7.385kg before the race started in Lille.<\/p>\n That\u2019s more than 500g above the UCI\u2019s minimum bike weight limit, but there was plenty of room to go lighter with only minor equipment changes. For the stage 16 summit finish on Mont Ventoux, for example, Vingegaard swapped in lighter wheels and tyres.<\/p>\n He even kept his 1x drivetrain<\/a>, which illustrates how fast the top riders at the Tour are now climbing (indeed, he and Poga\u010dar smashed the previous record climbing time for the B\u00e9doin ascent of Ventoux<\/a>).<\/p>\n All of which raises the question \u2013 again \u2013 of whether the UCI ought to lower its minimum bike weight limit of 6.8kg.<\/p>\n As things stand, there appears to be little reason for riders such as Poga\u010dar or Vingegaard to opt for a lightweight climbing bike<\/a> if their aero bikes are only a few hundred grams heavier (if that).<\/p>\n Even dropping the weight limit by a few hundred grams, for example, might make climbers think twice about which bike to use on mountain stages, and could spur greater innovation in an area that\u2019s felt increasingly irrelevant to pro racing in recent years.<\/p>\n It might also help smaller riders, for whom 6.8kg makes up a larger percentage of their overall system weight. This would be especially helpful in light of the recently announced changes to minimum handlebar widths<\/a> (more on this later), which many within the sport feel will unfairly penalise smaller riders.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Dan Bigham, head of engineering at Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe and a key voice in the debate on safety in pro cycling, has previously said the UCI should consider raising its minimum bike weight limit to allow for \u201cgreater factors of safety\u201d.<\/p>\n Any change to the minimum bike weight limit<\/a> would therefore need to consider exactly what makes a bike safe to ride and race, and whether changing the regulation could affect those characteristics.<\/p>\n Tyre and rim widths have started to plateau After a number of years of seeing Tadej Poga\u010dar and many other riders on increasingly wide rims and tyres at the Tour, things have begun to level off in this area.<\/p>\n Overall, the median nominal, or labelled, tyre sizes were 29 at the rear and 28 up front, with the average measured widths coming up slightly wider at 30.23mm at the rear and 30.01mm at the front.<\/p>\n However, while Poga\u010dar\u2019s Colnago Y1Rs was equipped with Continental\u2019s new 30c Archetype tyres<\/a> at this year\u2019s Grand D\u00e9part, the world champion has used 28c Continental GP5000 TT TR<\/a> time trial tyres for practically every stage.<\/p>\n A close look at photos from the race suggest the GP5000 TT TR \u2013 which is currently available only in 25 and 28c sizes \u2013 is an extremely popular tyre among Continental-sponsored teams. Other teams have also frequently turned to 28 and 29c time trial tyres, such as the Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed TLR<\/a>.<\/p>\n If we had to guess why tyre and rim widths appear to have plateaued \u2013 or in some cases, got narrower \u2013 we\u2019d put our money on riders perhaps reaching the limit of how much weight they want to carry for the sake of improved aerodynamics and rolling resistance.<\/p>\n The key selling point of Poga\u010dar\u2019s new ENVE SES 4.5 Pro wheels, for example, is they\u2019re lighter and help get his bikes that little bit closer to the UCI\u2019s minimum bike weight limit.<\/p>\n Similarly, Specialized\u2019s recently launched Roval Rapide CLX III wheelset<\/a> retained the same 35mm external rim width (on the front wheel, at the widest point) as on the outgoing Rapide CLX IIs<\/a>, and instead focused on cutting weight through the use of updated hubs, carbon spokes and a shallower rear rim.<\/p>\n The likes of Remco Evenepoel<\/a> and Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d<\/a> were using unreleased Specialized Turbo Cotton TLR tyres in a nominal size 30c, but these measured around 29mm wide on the bikes of those two riders when we saw them at the Grand D\u00e9part in Lille.<\/p>\n DT Swiss\u2019 latest ARC 1100 wheels also remain fairly narrow, as used by the likes of Julian Alaphilippe<\/a> (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), with external widths from 26 to 29mm on the rims designed for mass-start road races.<\/p>\n That said, we only saw one 25c tyre on a road bike at this year\u2019s Grand D\u00e9part (on the front wheel of Geraint Thomas\u2019 Pinarello Dogma F<\/a>), so it seems the days of narrow tyres at the Tour are largely behind us.<\/p>\n Short cranks are having a big moment Short cranks have been a notable trend amongst high-profile riders for a while now, with the likes of Tadej Poga\u010dar and Remco Evenepoel using 165mm cranks for a few seasons.<\/p>\n Jonas Vingegaard also caused a media frenzy earlier this year when he was spotted trialling tiny 150mm cranks at the Volta ao Algarve<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet while he didn\u2019t bring those to the Tour, Vingegaard\u2019s Cerv\u00e9lo S5 was nevertheless equipped with the shortest cranks we saw at this year\u2019s race, at only 160mm.<\/p>\n Perhaps more surprising, though, was that Matteo Jorgenson \u2013 who stands at 1.90m tall, according to Pro Cycling Stats<\/a> \u2013 was using 165mm cranks. However, this goes to show it\u2019s not only shorter riders who are experimenting with reducing their crank length.<\/p>\n Overall, the median crank length was 170mm, but the two most popular sizes were 165 and 172.5mm.<\/p>\n This suggests there\u2019s a bit of a split occurring in the Tour peloton \u2013 between riders who are convinced of the potential benefits of shorter cranks, and those who perhaps prefer to stick with what they know.<\/p>\n Incoming UCI rules will affect many riders, teams and sponsors The UCI recently revealed it would be cracking down on narrow handlebars<\/a>, super-deep rims, time trial helmets<\/a> and potentially big gears<\/a> in road races next season, and our measurements at this year\u2019s Grand D\u00e9part appear to confirm that many riders will need to change their bike setups.<\/p>\n Of the 16 bike setups we measured, for example, only three bikes \u2013 Mathieu van der Poel\u2019s Canyon Aeroad CFR<\/a>, Matteo Jorgensen\u2019s Cerv\u00e9lo R5<\/a> and Tim Merlier\u2019s Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8<\/a> \u2013 met the proposed limit of 320mm in between the tips of the brake hoods.<\/p>\n The average distance between the tips of riders’ brake hoods, however, was 30cm, and there were a number of bikes set up at 28cm or narrower between the hoods.<\/p>\n The tips of brake hoods on Tobias Johannessen\u2019s Ridley Noah Fast 3.0<\/a>, for example, were only 26cm apart.<\/p>\n Likewise, every rider with a SRAM drivetrain was using gear ratios that would see them fall foul of the maximum rollout of 10.46m proposed by the UCI\u2019s upcoming trial (which is reportedly due to take place at the Tour of Guangxi in October).<\/p>\n A number of Shimano-sponsored riders were also using chainrings bigger than 54t, which would also be banned under the trial regulations (assuming they stick with 11t sprockets on their cassettes).<\/p>\n Less attention has been on the incoming changes to maximum rim depths \u2013 which will be limited to 65mm from 2026 \u2013 but spare a thought for Swiss Side, which sponsors Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale Team.<\/p>\n Felix Gall and his teammates were running the brand\u2019s latest Hadron Ultimate 680 wheelset on their Van Rysel RCR-F aero bikes \u2013 which was launched just two weeks after details of the UCI\u2019s proposed regulation changes were revealed in the press.<\/p>\n As its name suggests, the new wheelset features 68mm-deep rims and will therefore not be allowed in mass-start road races from next season.<\/p>\n Riders would still be able to use them in time trials, but in an open letter published last week<\/a>, Swiss Side claimed it had received no warning about the incoming rule changes, and called the six-month notice for changes to be implemented “inadequate”.<\/p>\n It also challenged the UCI\u2019s assertion that limiting rim depth to 65mm would improve rider safety, as it claims \u201crim height has a limited impact on stability, predictable handling and safety\u201d.<\/p>\n According to SwissSide\u2019s own measurements of \u201csteering moment\u201d, rim depth has \u201cfar less influence\u201d than rim shape, tyre choice and frame geometry.<\/p>\n Whatever we might think of the proposed regulations, all of this adds further evidence to the claim that the UCI has failed to properly engage with key stakeholders during this process.<\/p>\n Rider safety in the spotlight, but those in glass houses shouldn\u2019t throw stones Although the UCI\u2019s stated goal for the updated regulations is to ensure \u201cever safer and fairer competition\u201d, riders at this year\u2019s Tour have still been faced with courses that \u2013 at face value \u2013 appear to contravene the UCI\u2019s own safety guidelines.<\/p>\n The flat, fast run-in to Dunkirk on stage 3, for example, saw two major crashes in the peloton that looked to result from poor course design.<\/p>\n One of the pre-race favourites, Remco Evenepoel, hit the deck alongside a number of riders with 3km to go, in a crash during a sudden narrowing of the road that seemed to catch many in the peloton out.<\/p>\n With 1.6km to go, as riders were gearing up for a sprint finish, there was a 90-degree right-hand bend, and the road then twisted and snaked all the way to the line, with another high-speed pile-up during the last 250m.<\/p>\n The UCI\u2019s \u2018Organiser’s guide to Road Events\u2019 handbook, though, states: \u201cIn flat stages, the final 500m should be, as far as possible, straight, or at least there should be no dangerous bends.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, the second half of that sentence gives race organisers a significant amount of leeway, because the UCI doesn’t appear to offer a strict definition of what constitutes a “dangerous bend” in the context of a sprint finish.<\/p>\n In January, though, the UCI also said its SafeR committee had taken on board feedback from professional riders (in a ‘Sprint Finish Survey’<\/a>) about “the need to avoid corners in the last sections”, which makes it difficult to understand why this finish was not flagged by the UCI as being potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n After all, the course certainly appeared to play a part in both crashes during the finale, as riders jostled for positions at more than 60kph, while having to move back and forth across the road to follow the racing line.<\/p>\n Even race broadcaster, TNT Sports<\/a>, titled its highlights of the final kilometres “CHAOTIC FINISH! \ud83e\udd2f | Men’s Tour de France Stage 3 Final KM’s<\/a>“.<\/p>\n It is, of course, fair to say that crashes during bike races simply happen sometimes and there\u2019s not always someone or something specifically to blame.<\/p>\n Jasper Philipsen, for example, abandoned the Tour with a broken collarbone earlier that same day following an unfortunate crash on a wide, straight road, in the run-up to the day\u2019s intermediate sprint.<\/p>\n Likewise, being a race organiser is no easy task, and the increasing amount of road furniture and features designed to slow vehicular traffic in modern towns and cities doubtless makes organising ‘safe’ sprint finishes incredibly difficult.<\/p>\n But rather than blaming the riders for crashes<\/a>, or enacting new equipment regulations without input from key stakeholders (which some believe will have little impact on safety<\/a> anyway), those who govern cycling and the Tour should ensure their own houses are in order as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we head towards the conclusion of the 2025 Tour de France, it\u2019s time to look back at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-22928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tadej-Pogacar_Colnago-Y1Rs_20250703_SvB_A6300_BR_1214-edited-scaled.jpg\")
Tadej Poga\u010dar has this white Colnago Y1Rs plus a lighter, black version. <\/p>\n![\"Jonas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Jonas-Vingegaard_Cervelo-S5_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0843.jpg\")
Vingegaard has stuck with his Cerv\u00e9lo S5, switching out the wheels and tyres depending on the parcours. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Matteo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Matteo-Jorgenson_Cervelo-R5_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0789-scaled.jpg\")
We saw a new Cerv\u00e9lo R5 at the Grand D\u00e9part in Lille, but Vingegaard hasn’t used it so far. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media
\n![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tadej-Pogacar_Colnago-V5Rs_20250703_SvB_A6300_BR_1138-edited-scaled.jpg\")
Tadej Poga\u010dar’s Colnago V5Rs was the lightest bike we weighed at the Grand D\u00e9part, but he’s yet to race it at this year’s Tour. <\/p>\n
\n![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tadej-Pogacar_Colnago-V5Rs_20250703_SvB_A6300_BR_1126-scaled.jpg\")
After a few years of seeing Poga\u010dar on super-sized tyres, he’s gone a bit narrower at this Tour. Kyle Dewick \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Matteo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Matteo-Jorgenson_Cervelo-R5_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0793-scaled.jpg\")
Vittoria’s 29c ‘Wide Rim Optimised’ tyres have been very popular among its sponsored pro teams. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media
\n![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tadej-Pogacar_Colnago-Y1Rs_20250703_SvB_A6300_BR_1225-scaled.jpg\")
Poga\u010dar has Continental’s new 30c Archetype tyres, but has used GP5000 TT TRs on most stages. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Primoz](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Primoz-Roglic_Specialized-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8_20250704_SvB_A6300_BR_1368-1-scaled.jpg\")
The latest Roval Rapide CLX III wheels focus on weight and keep the rim width the same as before. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Julian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Geraint-Thomas_Pinarello-Dogma-F_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0900-scaled.jpg\")
Geraint Thomas was the only rider we saw with a 25c tyre on his road bike.<\/p>\n
\n![\"160mm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Jonas-Vingegaard_Cervelo-S5_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0870-edited-scaled.jpg\")
Vingegaard is using 160mm cranks. <\/p>\n![\"Matteo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Matteo-Jorgenson_Cervelo-R5_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0812-scaled.jpg\")
Matteo Jorgenson’s new Cerv\u00e9lo R5 had 165mm cranks on it. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Geraint](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Geraint-Thomas_Pinarello-Dogma-F_20250702_SvB_A6300_BR_0938-1-edited-scaled.jpg\")
Geraint Thomas is still using 172.5mm cranks. <\/p>\n
\n![\"Mathieu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Mathieu-van-der-Poel_Canyon-Aeroad-CFR_20250704_SvB_A6300_BR_1326-scaled.jpg\")
Mathieu van der Poel’s Canyon Aeroad CFR is one of only three bikes that meet the UCI’s incoming handlebar regulations. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Tobias](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tobias-Johannessen_Ridley-Noah-Fast_20250703_046_Ashley-Quinlan-scaled.jpg\")
Tobias Johannessen’s Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 has an aggressively narrow width between the hoods. Ashley Quinlan \/ Our Media
\n![\"Primoz](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Primoz-Roglic_Specialized-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8_20250704_SvB_A6300_BR_1384-scaled.jpg\")
Every SRAM-sponsored bike we saw had gear ratios that exceeded the maximum 10.46m rollout proposed by the UCI. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Felix](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Felix-Gall_Van-Rysel-RCR-F_20250704_SvB_A6300_BR_1273-scaled.jpg\")
Felix Gall’s Van Rysel RCR-F featured Swiss Side’s latest 680 Hadron Ultimate wheels. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n![\"Felix](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Felix-Gall_Van-Rysel-RCR-F_20250704_SvB_A6300_BR_1287-scaled.jpg\")
The Swiss Side rims are 68mm deep and therefore won’t be allowed in mass-start road races from January 2026. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2223371367-scaled.jpg\")
The run-in to the finish of stage 3 saw two significant crashes. LOIC VENANCE\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Tour](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tour-de-France-2025-Stage-3-VeloViewer-07-23-2025_04_37_PM-copy.jpg\")
The twisty sprint finish on stage 3 doesn’t seem to follow the UCI’s own safety guidelines. Veloviewer<\/p>\n![\"UCI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/UCI-Organisers-guide-to-road-events-scaled.jpg\")
The UCI Organiser’s guide to Road Events lays out how to organise a UCI-sanctioned bike race. UCI<\/p>\n