{"id":727117,"date":"2026-08-04T10:56:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/727117\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:56:56","slug":"tour-de-france-femmes-tech-gallery-lightweight-parts-custom-paint-and-a-host-of-clever-tech-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/727117\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour de France Femmes Tech Gallery: Lightweight parts, custom paint and a host of clever tech tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the men’s Tour de France (and with it, the Tadej Poga\u010dar procession) out of the way, now it’s time for the real bike race of the summer, the Tour de France Femmes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lorena Wiebes might be storming the early stages, but Demi Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot are gearing up for a mega duel in the GC, while Kim Le Court, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Marlen Reusser, and Elisa Longo Borghini are all vying to upset the applecart, which has already been somewhat upset already by a barnstorming ride from Norwegian national champion Sigrid Haugset<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As ever, Cyclingnews is on the ground covering the racing in all the exciting detail, and here we’re going to focus on the tech. In this gallery we’ve got the usual cohort of nerdy tricks and tidbits, as well as a host of stunning custom paint schemes, and even an appearance from SpongeBob SquarePants (of course!) – you’ll have to read on to see what that’s all about.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Colourfuil\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

We’re going to start at Lidl-Trek, whose bikes are painted in this special design to commemorate Trek’s 50th birthday. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Colourfuil\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Each square marks a specific event in Trek’s history.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Colourfuil\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

That’s not Santa, it’s Trek co-founder Dick Burke. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Colourfuil\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Describing the smiling banana graphic, Trek says “In 2004, we stubbed out the smoking cafeteria and launched a wellness programme that treated employee health like it mattered \u2013 because it does.”<\/p>\n

\n

\"Colourfuil\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

There’s a page on Trek’s website detailing the meaning of – and story behind – each square.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The Lidl-Trek riders were also aboard new Bontrager Aeolus wheels, although we don’t know much about them yet.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

They also used this neat 3D-printed out-front computer mount, which fits smoothly – and thus aerodynamically – onto the bottom of their head units.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Amelie\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Moving on from Lidl-Trek to Cofidis, this is a pretty cool thing to have on your top tube.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Amelie\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It belongs to Danish national champ Amelie Dideriksen, who’s aboard the new Look 795 Blade RS. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Amelie\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The Cofidis team use Campagnolo’s Super Record groupset, a rare find given the current Shimano and SRAM duopoly. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Amelie\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The rest of the Look bikes had a fun paint scheme too.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Amelie\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

But with Dideriksen’s, instead of black paint, it was just clearcoat over the raw carbon, meaning you could see the complex layup of the carbon fibre sheets. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Amelie\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, given. the Look bikes, they were aboard Look pedals too.<\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

“It all starts with dreaming.” – can you guess whose bike this is? <\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It’s Demi Vollering’s, whose S-Works Tarmac SL9 is painted to reflect her status as European road race champion. <\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This top tube sticker may be a nod to her enjoyment of yoga, a reminder to relax, or perhaps both. <\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, her former team’s bikes – also the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 – have a really cool mismatch custom design to mimic their jerseys.<\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Close up, the colours and graphics really pop.<\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

They’re equipped with SRAM Red groupsets, but everything else is supplied by Specialized and its component subsidiary Roval. <\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Putting some tape or a gel wrapper inside your out-front computer mount is a simple way to keep it secure and prevent it rattling.<\/p>\n

\n

\"SD\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It’s been a fruitful start of the race for the Dutch team. Lorena Wiebes has won the first two stages and was in yellow at the time of shooting. To celebrate, the team had adorned her bike with some yellow touches.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Visma\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Moving on to Visma-Lease a Bike, and this is the Cervelo S5 of Dutch road race champion, Lieke Nooijen.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Visma\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It bears the same design as the standard bike, but in a colour-switch to reflect the Netherlands flag. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Also, while we’re here, that number 274 sticker is the last three digits of the power meter’s ANT+ ID, making it easy to pair with your head unit when surrounded by a dozen other team bikes. Simple, but clever.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Visma\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Here’s the usual team bike, with the same design but in the traditional black and yellow colours.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Visma\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It belongs to team leader, and one of the race favourites, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. The ‘2’ is a nod to the number of Tour de France stages she’s won to date. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This was a nice find on Ferrand-Prevot’s bike. To keep the weight down, she’s running thru-axles from Chinese brand Overfast.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This was cool too – The custom mount is designed specifically for Visma-Lease a Bike, but the white pen ensures the mechanics can tell if the bolts have loosened, just by looking at it. <\/p>\n

\n

\"UAE\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The paint job on UAE Team L’IMAD’s bikes was nothing special, so the Enve wheels brought some fun to the party instead.<\/p>\n

\n

\"UAE\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

They had this pink geometric finish to the Enve stickers. Curiously, on Blasi Cairol’s bike, they also had ‘Factory Second’ written on the rim, suggesting these weren’t up to Enve’s preferred standard. <\/p>\n

\n

\"UAE's\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It’s unclear what the sticker with UAE Team L’IMAD 26.112 on it means.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Laboral\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Next up, this pink and white design really stood out on Laboral Kutxa’s X-Lab AD9 aero bikes, complete with FSA chainset and Power2Max power meter. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Laboral\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The fork legs have a patterned design ot dissimilar to the Trek bikes above.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Laboral\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The fork tips have this massive aero ‘blade’ protruding from the rear to help smooth airflow as it passes by the fork leg. The red heart is a nice touch too.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

While most teams in the WorldTour use bottle cages from Tacx or Elite, Laboral-Kutxa uses cages from lesser known Race One. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

We couldn’t talk about fun paint jobs without bringing this one up though – Factor One’s bikes were painted with this crazy SpongeBob SquarePants theme.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Every element of the bike has been given the SpongeBob treatment.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Even the Wahoo computers were incorporated into the design.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This bike belonged to Human Powered Health’s Italian rider, Barbara Malcotti, but they were also painted for Factor’s other sponsored team, Ma Petite Entreprise.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Despite riding a Factor bike, Malcotti was using a Specialized saddle. It’s rare for women’s teams to have a saddle sponsor, since saddle fit is so rider dependent, most are free to choose their own. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The bikes were designed by XXRay, part of the Mighty Jaxx studio.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Spongebob-painted\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This is the Ma Petite Enterprise version of the design.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Lotto-Intermarche Ladies’ team had the new Orbea Orca Aero at their disposal, mostly in this silver and red finish.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto-Intermarche\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Except Sandrine Tas had this prototype version from before its launch.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The raw carbon was painted with these fluorescent lines to show off specific design elements of the frame.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This one highlights the angular seat stay junction as it meets the seat tube.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It appears that this was the 22nd version of this model ever made.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto-Intermarche\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

I really like how the raw carbon can be seen here at the dropouts, showing the different types of carbon fibre used in different parts of the frame.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lotto-Intermarche\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The lines also highlight the angular design of how the fork leg meets the head tube and down tube. There’s also a cut-off section of an inner tube wrapped around the fork leg, which will later be used to shroud the race transponder and make it more aero.<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The paint on this Fenix-Premier Tech bike is un assuming at first, but the golden flakes really help it to pop in the sunlight.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Fenix\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Also on the Fenix-Premier Tech bikes, we spotted the newly launched Shimano Dura-Ace wheels, with the part number WF-R9370, confirming they’re from a new series of Dura-Ace groupset. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Fenix\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

I also liked this little hack nearby, using a zip tie to keep the cable from snagging against the nearby moving parts in the event of a crash. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Fenix\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Despite the men’s team \u2013 specifically Jasper Philipsen \u2013 using prototype pedals at Paris-Roubaix this year, the Fenix-Premier Tech team are still on the R9100 pedals, which carried over when Shimano launched the R9200 series groupset in 2021.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

However, we did spot the new pedals elsewhere\u2026<\/p>\n

\n

\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

We found them on Eleonora Ciabocco’s bike, over at Picnic PostNL.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Details are sparse, but rumours suggest a lower stack height. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

They still resemble the existing Shimano Dura-Ace pedals, but in a slightly more refined design.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The big difference, which we learned when Van der Poel and Philipsen failed to swap bikes in Roubaix, is that the two use slightly different pedal-cleat interfaces.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Without knowing these are new, it would be hard to distinguish between these and the older pedals.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

At first, this looks totally normal, but on closer inspection, you can see that the E and Y have been filled in using white pen. Presumably worn away by heel rub or damage in transit. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It was found on Katrine Aalerud’s Ridley Noah Fast 3.0<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

These wheels were recently included in Cyclingnews’ latest round of wind tunnel testing, albeit the Aero 111 tyre no doubt helps their performance a little. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

I can only assume Uno-X have borrowed the power meter ID trick from Visma mentioned above.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tech\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

I’ve not seen the DT-Swiss ARC 1100 DiCut wheels laced up using silver hubs before, they look great, and presumably save a bit of weight by having no surface coating. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the men’s Tour de France (and with it, the Tadej Poga\u010dar procession) out of the way, now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":727118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-727117","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\/727117","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=727117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/727118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}