{"id":679932,"date":"2026-07-08T07:20:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/679932\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T07:20:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:20:53","slug":"7-tour-de-france-2026-tech-trends-and-why-theres-no-fastest-tyre-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/679932\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tour de France 2026 tech trends and why there’s “no fastest tyre size”\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Tour de France begins to settle into its rhythm, we\u2019re back in the UK, fresh from a few sunny days touring hotel carparks on the outskirts of Barcelona with our cameras and notepads.<\/p>\n

With a few days to digest what we saw, a number of clear trends have emerged among the sport\u2019s best teams.<\/p>\n

From divergent tyre choices to narrow bars and short cranks, bikes that surprised us with their weights, and brands looking to control the media narrative around their new bikes, let\u2019s dig into the biggest tech trends from the 2026 Barcelona Grand D\u00e9part.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no \u201cfastest tyre size\u201d
\n\"TadejWe didn’t expect to see 25c tyres at this year’s Tour de France, but UAE Team Emirates XRG had them on its TT bikes. Ashley Quinlan \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

We love nothing better than a good argument about tyre sizes \u2013 we\u2019re nerds too, after all \u2013 but the best teams at the Tour de France appear to know there\u2019s more nuance to this topic than many of us.<\/p>\n

Despite the roads around Barcelona being in generally decent condition, from what we saw of them, there were a variety of tyre sizes at the Grand D\u00e9part.<\/p>\n

While Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> has previously been at the forefront of the \u2018wider is faster\u2019 revolution (back at the 2023 Tour<\/a>, he was running 30c tyres measuring more than 33mm wide, for example), he and his teammates have taken a step back in the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

\"TadejPoga\u010dar had wider, 28c tyres on his Colnago Y1Rs road bike. Ashley Quinlan \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

As with last year\u2019s Tour, Poga\u010dar had 28c Continental GP5000 TT TR tyres<\/a> on his main road bike \u2013 a raw carbon Colnago Y1Rs<\/a> \u2013 and surprisingly opted for the same tyres in a 25c size on his Colnago TT2 time trial bike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These measured up wider than their labelled widths on the relatively wide ENVE rims he and his teammates use (such as the SES 4.5 Pro<\/a> wheelset), of course, but still, seeing 25c tyres at the Tour de France was a distinct novelty.<\/p>\n

\"TadejENVE’s new time trial \/ triathlon wheels are said to be optimised for ’28mm tyres’. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

According to Neil Shirley, ENVE\u2019s vice president of marketing, the team’s new ENVE time trial wheels (the SES 100 Pro and SES Pro Disc) are optimised for 28mm tyres \u2013 although Shirley was coy on whether that meant \u2018measured\u2019 or \u2018labelled\u2019 width.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Team Visma\u2013Lease a Bike opted for 30c Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed TLR tyres on its Cervelo TT bikes.<\/p>\n

On Per Strand Hagenes\u2019 P5, these measured just over 32 and 31mm wide, front and rear, on the Reserve 77 and Infinity Disc wheels the team used.<\/p>\n

\"PerSeeing tyres this wide on a time trial bike would have been unthinkable a few years ago, but Team Visma\u2013Lease a Bike clearly thought it was the fastest choice for stage 1 of this year’s Tour. Ashley Quinlan \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

The fact Visma\u2013Lease a Bike won the opening team time trial isn\u2019t total vindication for its tech choices, of course, nor does it mean Team UAE Emirates ARX was \u2018wrong\u2019 to use 25s \u2013 but we can assume both teams were intentional with their tyre choices and believed them to be the \u2018fastest\u2019 possible setup they could muster for the stage.<\/p>\n

One thing we can be sure of, though, is the answer to the question, \u201cwhat\u2019s the fastest tyre size?\u201d is \u201cIt depends\u201d.<\/p>\n

Narrow bars aren\u2019t dead yet
\n\"TadejTadej Poga\u010dar had his shifters tilted in to the UCI’s 280mm limit. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Much digital ink was spilled about how the UCI\u2019s ‘controversial’ handlebar rules<\/a> would be ‘impossible’ to adapt to, but, as predicted<\/a>, it simply wasn\u2019t a topic of conversation at this year\u2019s Tour de France.<\/p>\n

This is largely because the UCI backtracked on a key part of the proposed rule<\/a> \u2013 lowering the minimum distance between the inner edges of the brake hoods to 280mm, instead of 320mm as initially proposed.<\/p>\n

\"JonasVingegaard is using a similarly narrow cockpit. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

With this, it seems most of the big name riders have been able to keep their preferred cockpit setups.<\/p>\n

Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel were all on sub-400mm handlebars, measured centre-to-centre at the brake hoods, with each bar flaring out at the drops to meet the UCI\u2019s minimum outside-to-outside width of 400mm.<\/p>\n

Short cranks are still in vogue
\n\"TadejTT specialists often used longer-than-usual cranks in years past, but recent trends have seen many go dramatically in the opposite direction. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Short cranks have been all the rage in pro cycling over the past few years, with high-profile riders such as Poga\u010dar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel<\/a> switching to cranks 165mm or shorter.<\/p>\n

Although Vingegaard hasn\u2019t stuck with the tiny 150mm cranks he trialled early last season<\/a>, he and Poga\u010dar both had 160mm cranks on their time trial bikes<\/a> at this year\u2019s Grand Depart, and Evenepoel is still on 165s on his new Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TadejTT bikes, such as Poga\u010dar’s Colnago TT2, are designed to get riders into a compact riding position. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

The use of such short cranks on time trial bikes makes sense given the aggressive positions riders now adopt routinely.<\/p>\n

With a desire to get their torsos and heads low and close to their arms (for improved aerodynamic efficiency), hip angles can get very tight at the top of the pedal stroke, potentially compromising a rider\u2019s power output.<\/p>\n

\"MatteoMatteo Trentin’s radical BMC Timemachine Mpc was fitted with 172.5mm cranks. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Switching to shorter cranks can therefore enable riders to open up their hip angle without compromising their wind tunnel-optimised riding position.<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone\u2019s on board with this trend. Matteo Trentin\u2019s BMC Timemachine Mpc<\/a> is strikingly futuristic, but the Italian veteran opts for \u2018standard\u2019 172.5mm cranks.<\/p>\n

\"S\u00f8renS\u00f8ren W\u00e6renskjold also had 172.5mm cranks, though these don’t seem so long in the context of his height and bike size. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

S\u00f8ren W\u00e6renskjold of Uno-X Mobility also had a set of 172.5mm cranks on his Ridley Dean Fast<\/a> \u2013 although at 1.95m tall, it\u2019s fair to say that\u2019s proportionally a shorter crankset compared to Trentin at 1.79m.<\/p>\n

Specialized looks to control the narrative
\n\"SpecializedSpecialized ‘s new Shiv TT caught plenty of eyes at the Grand D\u00e9part, but the American brand tightly controlled when, where and for how long it was on display. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Perhaps due to the fact the Tarmac SL9 leaked<\/a> ahead of its launch late last month, Specialized appeared keen to control the narrative around its latest bike \u2013 a new Shiv TT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While it allowed its start TT rider \u2013 men\u2019s time trial world champion, Evenepoel \u2013 to ride it in training and during the first-stage team time trial, and even surreptitiously featured it in the background of some of its social content, team staff kept pulling covers over it whenever we tried to get close to it at the team hotel.<\/p>\n

In any case, it\u2019s notable \u2013 as George Scott, BikeRadar\u2019s esteemed head of content pointed out \u2013 that the new Shiv TT looks a lot like Tadej Pogacar\u2019s old Colnago TT1<\/a>, whereas Pog\u2019s new TT2<\/a> looks curiously like the old Shiv<\/a> (which launched back in 2019).<\/p>\n

\"SpecializedEvenepoel was the only rider onboard the new TT rig during the opening team time trial. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

While we don\u2019t know for certain, it\u2019s not hard to imagine Specialized\u2019s engineers being asked to make the Shiv \u2018more aerodynamic\u2019, and looking to Colnago\u2019s design for inspiration, while Colnago\u2019s may have been asked to make the TT1 \u2018lighter\u2019, and subsequently looking to the old Shiv that Evenepoel had so much success on.<\/p>\n

Taking inspiration from competitor bikes is perfectly natural, of course. The BMC Teammachine Mpc is quite clearly inspired by Team Great Britain\u2019s Hope HB.T Paris<\/a> track bike, for example.<\/p>\n

Team Visma\u2013Lease a Bike mean business, but will need to be careful
\n\"JonasIt’s very impressive to see a ‘proper’ aero road bike nailing the UCI’s minimum bike weight limit, but cutting it this close to the line could be a dangerous game. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

One of the stand-out bikes we saw in Barcelona was undoubtedly Jonas Vingegaard\u2019s Cervelo S5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact it\u2019s a full fat aero road bike, it tipped our Feedback Sports scales at a scant 6.81kg, even with mid-depth Reserve 42|49 wheels and 30 \/ 29c tyres front and rear.<\/p>\n

The fact it was set up with a 1x drivetrain will have helped, and while it\u2019s tempting to think Vingegaard will swap to a 2x setup once the race hits the mountains, we suspect he may stick with the setup for more stages than many might think.<\/p>\n

\"JonasA 1x drivetrain will have helped cut some weight from this build. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

After all, Vingegaard used an almost identical S5 with a 1x drivetrain to race over the Galibier \u2013 a 2,2642m mountain pass in the French Dauphin\u00e9 Alps \u2013 during the 2024 Tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All very impressive, then, but Visma\u2013Lease a Bike will need to pay close attention to ensuring the legality of Vingegaard\u2019s bike in light of Lorena Wiebes\u2019 disqualification<\/a> from the Giro d\u2019Italia Women in May.<\/p>\n

Having determined her bike was 20g below the minimum bike weight limit of 6.8g<\/a>, Wiebes was unceremoniously kicked out of the race, seemingly without course to appeal.<\/p>\n

\"TheThis is apparently the UCI’s preferred hanging scale for weighing bikes, and we’ve no doubt Team Visma\u2013Lease a Bike will have one of its own. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

We were reliably told by one pro team at the 2024 Grand Depart that the UCI uses a Kern CH 15K20 hanging scale<\/a> as its measurement device in these matters, but its protocol for ensuring accurate and reliable measurements isn\u2019t clear.<\/p>\n

Given what\u2019s at stake, then, Team Visma\u2013Lease a Bike would be wise to add some weight to Vingegaard\u2019s bike in order to be safely within any margin of error.<\/p>\n

Why Poga\u010dar\u2019s Y1Rs is so heavy (relatively)
\n\"\"Tadej Poga\u010dar Colnago Y1Rs Tour de France 2026 Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

While we were impressed with Vingegaard\u2019s bike, Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s raw carbon Colnago Y1Rs was a little disappointing in comparison.<\/p>\n

Given Colnago claimed it weighed around 7kg, thanks to its minimalist paint job and lightweight, no-expense-spared build, the fact it tipped our scales at 7.25kg \u2013 440g more than Vingegaard\u2019s S5 \u2013 was somewhat surprising.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s by no means \u2018heavy\u2019 in the grand scheme of things, of course, but given the lengths pro cyclists go to to cut every last gram from their bikes and bodies, we\u2019re sure it will sting.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar could switch to the lighter V5Rs, of course, which weighed 6.765kg before last year\u2019s Tour<\/a> (according to our scales).<\/p>\n

\"TadejEven with its elaborate paintjob, Tadej Poga\u010dar’s Colnago V5Rs weighed 6.765kg at last year’s Grand D\u00e9part. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

That would undoubtedly mean giving up a significant amount of aerodynamic efficiency compared to Vingegaard\u2019s S5, though, which we imagine is something he\u2019s not willing to do, given the phenomenal speed the Tour is now raced at<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to be certain why Poga\u010dar\u2019s Y1Rs is so much heavier than Vingegaard\u2019s S5, but we do have a few ideas.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, Poga\u010dar rides a size-medium Y1Rs, while his great Danish rival rides a smaller, 51cm S5 \u2013 and larger bikes typically weigh more because they simply require more material.<\/p>\n

\"TadejPoga\u010dar’s larger frameset and 2x drivetrain likely account for some of the extra weight compared to Vingegaard’s bike. <\/p>\n

Beyond that, there\u2019s the fact that the latest SRAM Red AXS groupset<\/a> Vingegaard uses is marginally lighter than Poga\u010dar\u2019s Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200<\/a>, as well as the fact that Poga\u010dar\u2019s bike was set up with a 2x drivetrain and large, 56\/44t chainrings.<\/p>\n

Beyond those differences, though, we also might speculate whether Poga\u010dar has a lighter version of this specific bike.<\/p>\n

\"TadejUAE Team Emirates XRG gave us one of Poga\u010dar’s spare bikes to film with and photograph. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

We were given his \u2018number 3\u2019 spare bike to film with, rather than his primary race bike, and perhaps his \u2018number 1\u2019 bike is built up with even lighter parts (all carbon bike frames and parts are subject to a little variation in weight from the manufacturing process, after all).<\/p>\n

In past years, we\u2019ve also seen Poga\u010dar using specialist parts such as ultra-light seatposts from Darimo, which weren\u2019t present on the build we saw in order to protect sponsor relationships.<\/p>\n

Extreme heat already affecting the race
\n\"RemcoProducing bike checks in the Barcelona sun was tiring, so we can only imagine how hard it must be to race the Tour in such conditions. Ashley Quinlan \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

As we also predicted, extreme heat is already taking its toll on this year\u2019s Tour.<\/p>\n

With temperatures soaring in southern France, spectators were banned from the finish area of stage 3<\/a> due to wildfires in the area, and the UCI even decided to \u2018soften\u2019 its rules<\/a> to allow extra feed zones for water bottles ahead of stage 4 (and possibly beyond).<\/p>\n

Although most cycling fans like to think of it as an environmentally friendly sport, some in Barcelona were critical of the sport\u2019s lack of action on the issue of climate change.<\/p>\n

Team Cofidis sports director, Bignen Fern\u00e1ndez, told BikeRadar, \u201cWe need to think as humans. We are creating this. We\u2019re burning petrol. Climate change is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2018re doing things to cool down the body, but we should do things to cool down the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

With such conditions having a potentially large impact on performance, though, teams are continuing to develop novel strategies to cope with it. Ahead of the TTT on stage 1, for example, Netcompany-Ineos riders were spotted wearing ice vests and holding their forearms in trays of icy water<\/a> while waiting for their turn to start.<\/p>\n

According to the team\u2019s new director of racing (and former Tour champion), Geraint Thomas<\/a>, this was a trick the GB track team had used \u201cmany years ago\u201d<\/a> to help keep riders core temperatures without affecting how \u2018warmed up\u2019 their leg muscles are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Tour de France begins to settle into its rhythm, we\u2019re back in the UK, fresh from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-679932","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\/679932","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=679932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}