Do you want to know which road bikes the cyclists will use in the 2018 Tour de France? For the main manufacturers, the French race is the best showcase to display their latest competition machines. From climbing models to bikes with aerodynamic geometry designed to devour kilometers, each team bets on the best technology to maximize their riders' performance.
This year, the cyclists in the peloton will face the demanding race with iconic models. Chris Froome will compete with his Pinarello, while Vincenzo Nibali will ride the Merida Scultura. Peter Sagan will ride the aerodynamic Specialized Venge ViAS, and Rigoberto Urán will debut the innovative Cannondale SystemSix.
Although the Tour de France is the top reference for road cycling, many of the technological innovations presented in the competition also benefit mountain biking enthusiasts of mountain bikes. Ultralight materials, improvements in aerodynamics and advances in transmission and brakes have allowed both road and mountain bikes to evolve to offer better performance on any type of terrain.
If you are passionate about cycling, you can not only enjoy the spectacle of the Tour de France, but you can also discover the latest news in bikes designed for competition.
AG2R La Mondiale: Factor
The French team has in its ranks one of the main favorites to fight for victory on the Champs-Élysées. Romain Bardet, who was already second in the 2016 edition and third last year, is the main hope of French cycling to put an end to the 33 years of drought suffered by the French. Since Bernard Hinault won his fifth and last Tour de France in 1985, no French cyclist has won the carrera again. The AG2R riders will race with bikes from the Factor brand. Although it is not a manufacturer with a long history in the market, Factor makes one of the lightest and stiffest bikes, with a frame weighing just 800 grams. This brand was born in 2013 and just a year later was acquired by former professional cyclist Baden Cooke, who teamed up with Rob Gitelis, one of the world's top specialists in carbon frame production. These are the cyclists of the AG2R La Mondiale team who will race the Tour de France:
- 🇨🇭 Mathias Frank
- 🇧🇪 Oliver Naesen
- 🇫🇷 Alexis Vuillermoz
- 🇫🇷 Tony Gallopin
- 🇫🇷 Romain Bardet
- 🇫🇷 Pierre Latour
- 🇫🇷 Axel Domont
- 🇨🇭 Silvan Dilier
Astana Pro Team: Argon 18 Gallium Pro
Astana presents itself at this 2018 Tour with the Dane Jakob Fuglsang as team leader. The days when the Kazakh team aspired to win major stage races with stars like Alberto Contador or Vincenzo Nibali are long gone. The Dane, Silver medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games two years ago, arrives accompanied by his compatriots Michael Valgren, Magnus Cort, and Jesper Hansen. The last two will make their debut in the Tour de France. Also making his debut in the French race is the Spaniard Omar Fraile, a candidate to win a stage along with the veteran Luis León. The 8 members of Astana will be equipped by Argon 18, a manufacturer with a well-deserved reputation for making frames for long-distance and triathlon events. For flat and mountain stages, they will use an Argon 18 Gallium Pro bike. For time trials, the model will be the E-118 Next. The Astana riders in this Tour de France are:
- 🇩🇰 Magnus Cort
- 🇰🇿 Dmitriy Gruzdev
- 🇩🇰 Jakob Fuglsang
- 🇪🇸 Omar Fraile
- 🇩🇰 Jesper Hansen
- 🇪🇪 Tanel Kangert
- 🇪🇸 Luis León Sanchez
- 🇩🇰 Michael Valgren
Bahrain Merida: Merida Scultura Team
Vincenzo Nibali is the main card of the Bahrain Merida team in this Tour de France. The Italian rider returns to the French race after having made the podium last year in both the Vuelta a España (2nd) and the Giro d'Italia (3rd). And he does so accompanied by the best riders his team has, among them the Izagirre brothers and fellow Italian Domenico Pozzovivo, one of the main protagonists of the last Giro. Bahrain is going all in, determined to win stage victories and put Nibali in the fight for the yellow jersey. For this, they have three bikes from the brand Merida, one of the team's main sponsors. For mountain stages, Bahrain riders have the latest version of the Merida Scultura Team. It is a very light bike (the frame weighs barely 800 grams) and is very responsive. For sprint stages, the chosen machine is the Merida Reacto, one of the most prominent aero geometry bikes on the market. For time trial stages, there is the Merida Warp. These are the Bahrain Merida cyclists who will start the Tour de France:
- 🇮🇹 Vincenzo Nibali
- 🇮🇹 Domenico Pozzovivo
- 🇪🇸 Gorka Izagirre
- 🇪🇸 Ion Izagirre
- 🇮🇹 Franco Pellizotti
- 🇩🇪🇦🇺 Heinrich Haussler
- 🇮🇹 Sonny Colbrelli
- 🇸🇮 Kristijan Koren
BMC Racing Team: BMC Teammachine SLR01
Richie Porte, recent winner of the Tour de Suisse, will once again be the team leader for BMC Racing for the Tour de France. The North American team has surrounded him with a luxury team of domestiques, led by veteran Greg Van Avermaet and Australian Simon Gerrans. For the mountain stages, Van Garderen and Damiano Caruso will be in charge of accompanying him on the climbs. The objective of BMC Racing Team is clear: to take Richie Porte to the podium on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The bike that BMC will make available to the Australian in this Tour de France is the Teammachine SLR01, a pedigree bicycle that has conquered the Road World Championships, the Olympic Games, and the Tour de France itself, as it was the bike with which Cadel Evans won the French round in 2011. The cyclists of BMC Racing Team who will participate in this edition of the Tour are the following:
- 🇳🇿 Patrick Bevin
- 🇮🇹 Damiano Caruso
- 🇦🇺 Simon Gerrans
- 🇨🇭 Stefan Küng
- 🇦🇺 Richie Porte
- 🇨🇭 Michael Schär
- 🇧🇪 Greg Van Avermaet
- 🇺🇸 Tejay van Garderen
Bora Hansgrohe: Specialized Venge ViAS
Without a doubt, Peter Sagan will once again be one of the main attractions of this Tour de France. The three-time world champion is once again one of the top favorites to win the green jersey for consistency. If he succeeds, it would be the sixth time he has achieved it, thus equaling the record of the legendary Erik Zabel. Last year, he was unable to catch up with the historic German rider due to his hasty expulsion from the Tour for elbowing Mark Cavendish and causing a crash in the sprint for the fourth stage. The second big name of the Bora Hansgrohe team for this Tour de France is the Pole Rafal Majka, whose goal is to finish in the top 5 of the individual classification. This was confirmed by Ralph Denk, sports director of the German team. To face the challenge—both Majka's of finishing among the top 5, and Sagan's of winning several stages—the Bora team members will be equipped with Specialized bicycles. More specifically, the Venge and Tarmac models. The riders of the Bora team who will participate in the 2018 Tour are the following:
- 🇸🇰 Peter Sagan
- 🇵🇱 Maciej Bodnar
- 🇩🇪 Emanuel Buchmann
- 🇩🇪 Marcus Burghardt
- 🇵🇱 Rafal Majka
- 🇦🇺 Jay McCarthy
- 🇩🇪 Rüdiger Selig
- 🇵🇱 Pawel Poljanski
Cofidis Solutions Crédits: Kuota
Cofidis is one of the most veteran teams in the peloton. Founded in 1996, it has participated in every edition of the Tour de France since 1997, with the sole exception of 2007, when it left the French round after one of its riders, Cristian Moreni, tested positive for doping.
For this year's edition, the Cofidis team has assembled a roster in which the absence of sprinter Nacer Bouhanni stands out. From a sporting point of view, it is difficult to explain Bouhanni's absence after achieving five victories so far this year. But Cofidis has justified the decision by citing the Frenchman's lack of commitment and discipline with the rest of the team. The group of eight formed by the French team is made up of true stage hunters in all terrains: sprints, long breakaways, and mountain stages. Cofidis will debut a new bike supplier in this Tour de France. It is the Italian brand Kuota, which thus returns to the front row of the international peloton after two years without equipping any team in the top UCI category. These are the 8 riders of Cofidis Solutions Crédits who will participate in the 2018 Tour de France:
- 🇫🇷 Christop Laporte
- 🇧🇪 Dimitri Claeys
- 🇫🇷 Nicolas Edet
- 🇪🇸 Jesús Herrada
- 🇪🇸 Daniel Navarro
- 🇫🇷 Anthony Perez
- 🇫🇷 Julien Simon
- 🇫🇷 Anthony Turgis
Team Dimension Data: Cervélo R3
The first African team in history to participate in the top UCI category will contest its fourth consecutive Tour de France with the aim of trying to surpass the 13th place achieved by Belgian Serge Pauwels in 2015. Pauwels will once again be the team leader, with Mark Cavendish standing out as the South Africans' main hope to achieve a stage victory. The riders of Team Dimension Data will ride bikes from the brand Cervélo. The models they will use are the Cervélo S5 and the Cervélo R3.
- 🇧🇪Serge Pauwels
- 🇿🇦 Reinvan Rensburg
- 🇦🇺 Mark Renshaw
- 🇳🇱 Tom-Jelte Slagter
- 🇿🇦 Jay Robert Thomson
- 🇳🇴 Boasson Hagen
- 🇧🇪 Julien Vermote
- 🇬🇧 Mark Cavendish
Direct Énergie: Wilier Cento10PRO
The Direct Énergie team has a date with history in this 2018 Tour de France. More specifically, with the record for most participations in the French race by a cyclist. At 39 years old, Sylvain Chavanel will contest his 18th Tour, making him the rider who has participated in the carrera the most times. Since 2001, he has never missed an edition—even wearing the yellow jersey in 2010. He currently shares the record of 17 participations with American George Hincapie, Australian Stuart O’Grady, and German Jens Voigt. Chavanel will use two bike models in this Tour de France: the Cento10PRO and the Cento10NDR from Wilier Triestina. The riders selected by Direct Énergie for this Tour are:
- 🇫🇷 Thomas Boudat
- 🇫🇷 Lilian Calmejane
- 🇫🇷 Sylvain Chavanel
- 🇫🇷 Jerome Cousin
- 🇫🇷 Damien Gaudin
- 🇫🇷 Fabien Grellier
- 🇪🇪 Rein Taaramae
- 🇫🇷 Romain Sicard
EF Education First Drapac: Cannondale SystemSix
After emerging last year as one of the revelations of the international peloton in the 2017 Tour, Colombian Rigoberto Urán returns to the French race determined to fight for another podium and perhaps something more. The weapons at his disposal are the Cannondale bicycles of the North American team Education First Drapac. The pink squad has one of the youngest and most diverse rosters in the Tour, with riders from 6 different nationalities. The members of the pink team will ride with the latest bullet designed in the factory of the American brand: the Cannondale SystemSix. This is the latest aero geometry model aero recently presented by this manufacturer. For mountain stages, they will use the already classic Cannondale Supersix EVO. The cyclists of the EF Education First Drapac Cannondale team who will be in the 2018 Tour de France are as follows:
- 🇨🇴 Rigoberto Urán
- 🇫🇷 Pierre Rolland
- 🇨🇴 Daniel Martínez
- 🇦🇺 Simon Clarke
- 🇧🇪 Sep Vanmarcke
- 🇳🇿 Tom Scully
- 🇺🇸 Taylor Phinney
- 🇺🇸 Lawson Craddock
Groupama FDJ: Lapierre Pulsium
The relationship of the La Française des Jeux team with the Lapierre bicycles brand is one of the longest in professional cycling. The French manufacturer has equipped the cyclists of this team with its bikes for no less than 14 consecutive years.
This year it will do so again in the Tour de France with two renewed models. For the long flat stages, where a competitive bike that also offers a degree of comfort is required, the Groupama FDJ riders will use the Lapierre Pulsium SL 900 FDJ Ultimate. This is the endurance geometry model from the French manufacturer. For the mountain stages, the chosen bike is the Lapierre Aircode SL 900 Ultimate FDJ. In the time trial stages, the bike used by the La Française des Jeux cyclists will be the Aerostorm DRS FJD. These are the 8 riders of the Groupama FDJ team who will line up at the start of the Tour de France:
- 🇫🇷 Démare
- 🇫🇷 Gaudu
- 🇮🇹 Guarnieri
- 🇫🇷 Le Gac
- 🇸🇪 Ludvigsson
- 🇫🇷 Molard
- 🇳🇱 Sinkeldam
- 🇫🇷 Vichot
Team Fortuneo Samsic: BH Ultralight EVO
Fortuneo Samsic is the only team in the Tour de France whose members are all of the same nationality. The 8 riders selected to participate in the race are all French. This is not surprising considering that, of the 22 cyclists on their roster for this 2018 season, only 3 are from a country other than France: the Dane Michael Carbel, the Norwegian Sindre Skjøstad Lunke, and the Dutchman Bram Welten.
The French team is debuting a new bicycle supplier for this edition of the Tour. It is the Spanish manufacturer BH , which will equip the cyclists of this team with its renowned BH Ultralight EVO, the brand's flagship for road cycling. The Fortuneo Samsic riders participating in the 2018 Tour are the following:
- 🇫🇷 Warren Barguil
- 🇫🇷 Maxime Bouet
- 🇫🇷 Elie Gesbert
- 🇫🇷 Romain Hardy
- 🇫🇷 Kevin Ledanois
- 🇫🇷 Amael Moinard
- 🇫🇷 Laurent Pichon
- 🇫🇷 Florian Vachon
Team Lotto Jumbo: Bianchi Oltre XR4
Lotto Jumbo arrives at the 2018 Tour de France with two team leaders. On one hand, the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen, who will lead the team on flat stages, aiming to win a sprint victory. For the mountain stages, leadership will fall to the Slovenian Primoz Roglic. Groenewegen is one of the most promising sprinters in the peloton. At 24 years old, he was the fastest in the final stage of the 2017 Tour de France, winning on the Champs Elysees. And this year he already has 9 victories before the French round begins. Both he and the rest of his teammates will use bikes provided by the legendary brand Bianchi, which has equipped this team since 2015. The three bike models they will use in the Tour de France are Oltre XR4, Infinito CV, and Aquila CV. The 8 riders selected by Lotto Jumbo for this Tour are the following:
- 🇳🇱 Robert Gesink
- 🇳🇱 Steven Kruijswijk
- 🇳🇱 Dylan Groenewegen
- 🇳🇱 Antwan Tolhoek
- 🇸🇮 Primoz Roglic
- 🇩🇪 Paul Martens
- 🇳🇱 Timo Roosen
- 🇳🇴 Amund Grondahl Jansen
Lotto Soudal: Ridley Helium SLX
Lotto Soudal has put together a team aimed at becoming one of the animators of the sprint finish stages. The 8 riders who will start the Tour de France fit the profile of 'stage hunters' and will possibly try to get into more than one breakaway, both on flat and mountain stages. The experience of German André Greipel stands out, having won no less than 11 Tour de France stages in all his participations. Greipel is the main asset of the Belgian team for achieving a stage win, especially in mass sprint finishes. Also noteworthy is the presence, for the second consecutive year, of Tiesj Benoot. The Belgian already finished last year's Tour in the top 20 of the general classification. At 24 years old, he hopes to confirm his progression as one of the great promises of the international peloton. The Lotto Soudal team's bikes are the Ridley Helium SLX, the Ridley Noah SL, and the Ridley Fenix SL. The first of these has a clearly racing profile for mountain stages, with a frame weight of only 750 grams. The Lotto Soudal team riders who will participate in the 2018 Tour de France are the following:
- 🇩🇪 André Greipel
- 🇧🇪 Thomas de Gendt
- 🇧🇪 Jasper de Buyst
- 🇧🇪 Jelle Vanendert
- 🇧🇪 Jens Keukeleire
- 🇧🇪 Marcel Sieberg
- 🇧🇪 Tiesj Benoot
- 🇵🇱 Tomasz Marczynski
Mitchelton Scott: Scott Foil
The Mitchelton team Scott made history in 2012 by becoming the first Australian team to reach the top category of world cycling. The main novelty this year is their decision to sign Mikel Nieve. The Spanish cyclist is the 'star signing' of the team from down under for this season. His main role will be to support Adam Yates, Mitchelton's Scott team leader, in the mountain stages. The bikes used by this team in the Tour are of Scott origin, since this manufacturer is one of the team's main sponsors. The models will be Scott Addict, Scott Foil, and Scott Plasma. The latter will be used in the time trial stages. These are the 8 riders from the Mitchelton Scott team who will participate in the 2018 Tour:
- 🇬🇧 Adam Yates
- 🇪🇸 Mikel Nieve
- 🇳🇿 Jack Bauer
- 🇦🇺 Luke Durbridge
- 🇦🇺 Mathew Hayman
- 🇦🇺 Michael Hepburn
- 🇦🇺 Damien Howson
- 🇿🇦 Daryl Impey
Movistar Team: Canyon Ultimate CF EVO
Movistar Team is going all out in this Tour de France, as shown by the fact that it has included Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, and Mikel Landa, its three strongest men, in its team of 8 selected riders. The goal is clear: to win the French race both in the individual classification, led by Colombian Quintana, and in the team classification. In addition, this marks the debut of Marc Soler, who at 24 years old is one of the most promising talents in the Spanish peloton. Movistar Team comes to this Tour with all its weapons. Among them are the Canyon machines that have been equipping the Spanish team since 2014 (and this year will also equip Katusha). Of the three models of bicycles used by the Movistar riders, the new version of the Canyon Ultimate CF EVO stands out. Lighter and stiffer, and assembled with Campagnolo and Bora Ultra Two wheels. The Movistar Team cyclists selected for the Tour are as follows:
- 🇨🇴 Nairo Quintana
- 🇪🇸 Mikel Landa
- 🇪🇸 Alejandro Valverde
- 🇨🇷 Andrey Amador
- 🇮🇹 Daniele Benatti
- 🇪🇸 Imanol Erviti
- 🇪🇸 José Joaquín Rojas
- 🇪🇸 Marc Soler
Quick Step Floors: Specialized Venge ViAS
Quick Step is one of the strongest teams in the peloton. For this edition of the Tour, it has assembled a squad full of talent, with several cyclists capable of finishing the French race in the top 10. Standing out among them is Colombian Fernando Gaviria, making his Tour debut after his strong performance last year in the Giro d'Italia, with four stage wins. The Luxembourger Bob Jungels (winner of Liège–Bastogne–Liège) and the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (winner of La Flèche Wallonne) also stand out in a roster that features a true expert in mass sprints like Tim Declercq. Quick Step will use the same machines as Bora: the Specialized bikes. Both Gaviria and Peter Sagan will debut in this Tour the new version of the Specialized Venge ViAS. According to the S brand, it is a bicycle 460 grams lighter than the previous model. These are the 8 cyclists from the Belgian team who will compete in the Tour de France:
- 🇫🇷 Julian Alaphilippe
- 🇧🇪 Tim Declercq
- 🇨🇴 Fernando Gaviria
- 🇧🇪 Philippe Gilbert
- 🇱🇺 Bob Jungels
- 🇧🇪 Yves Lampaert
- 🇦🇷 Maximiliano Richeze
- 🇳🇱 Niki Terpstra
Katusha Alpecin: Canyon Ultimate CF EVO
The Katusha team will once again ride in the Tour de France this year with the same Canyon bikes used by Movistar. The team in which Ilnur Zakarin rides, who finished third in the last edition of the Vuelta a España, has been using Canyon bikes in their competitions since 2012. Previously, their suppliers were Ridley and Focus.
These are the 8 riders of the Katusha Alpecin team for this Tour de France:
- 🇷🇺 Ilnur Zakarin
- 🇩🇪 Marcel Kittel
- 🇺🇸 Ian Boswell
- 🇭🇷 Robert Kiserlovwski
- 🇷🇺 Pável Kochetkov
- 🇩🇪 Tony Martin
- 🇩🇪 Nils Pollit
- 🇩🇪 Rick Zabel
Team Sky: Pinarello Dogma F10 941
Once again, Team Sky will be the team to beat in the French race and Chris Froome will go in search of his fifth Tour de France. The South African cyclist, winner of the last three editions (and the one in 2013), had been banned by the race organizers due to the ongoing procedure for his positive test for salbutamol in the last Vuelta a España. Only one day after the Tour management denied Froome the chance to defend the title, the UCI closed the case, acquitting the leader of Team Sky. Thus, Chris Froome will finally be at the start line of this 2018 Tour de France. Alongside him will be Jonathan Castroviejo, Spanish time trial champion. Froome's bike for the Tour will be the Pinarello Dogma F10 941 which he already used to win the last edition of the Giro d'Italia. According to Pinarello, it is 6% lighter and 7% stiffer than the previous Dogma F8. These are the 8 riders of Team Sky who will participate in the Tour de France:
- 🇿🇦 Chris Froome
- 🇨🇴 Egan Bernal
- 🇪🇸 Jonathan Castroviejo
- 🇵🇱 Michał Kwiatkowski
- 🇮🇹 Gianni Moscon
- 🇳🇱 Wout Poels
- 🇬🇧 Luke Rowe
- 🇬🇧 Geraint Thomas
Team Sunweb: Giant TCR Advanced SL
After winning the Giro d'Italia and the World Time Trial Championship in 2017, the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin returns to the Tour de France as one of the favorites to break Chris Froome's dominance in the French race. Dumoulin does not have good memories from his previous participations in the Tour. He finished 41st and 33rd in the 2013 and 2014 editions, and withdrew from the carrera in 2015 and 2016. However, he comes to this year's race in great form, as shown by his second place in the last Giro d'Italia. The bikes he and his Sunweb teammates will use are the Giant TCR Advanced SL and the Giant Propel Advanced SL Disc. For the time trial stages, the model to be used is the Trinity Advanced Pro. Giant has been equipping this team in the big races since 2014.
The members of Team Sunweb for this Tour de France are as follows:
- 🇩🇰 Søren Kragh Andersen
- 🇩🇪 Nikias Arndt
- 🇳🇱 Tom Dumoulin
- 🇳🇱 Laurens ten Dam
- 🇩🇪 Simon Geschke
- 🇺🇸 Chad Haga
- 🇦🇺 Michael Matthews
- 🇧🇪 Edward Theuns
Trek Segafredo: Trek Madone SLR
The Trek team faces its first Tour de France without Alberto Contador as team leader and with the Dutchman Bauke Mollema as the new leader. Regarding the general classification, the goal is to get Mollema into the top-10, although it will be difficult due to the lack of muscle in the Trek team for the mountain stages. The chances of victory in individual stages lie with the German John Degenkolb, a true sprint specialist who will be well supported by lead-out riders and another rouleur who does well in mass sprints, the Belgian Jasper Stuyven. The team uses the Trek bicycles. For the long flat stages where mass sprints are expected, the chosen model is the Trek Madone SLR. It is a very light and responsive bike to which the manufacturer has given a more aero character. In the mountain stages, they will use the Emonda SLR Disc. The Trek Segafredo team that will participate in the 2018 Tour de France is made up of the following riders:
- 🇫🇷 Julien Bernard
- 🇩🇪 John Degenkolb
- 🇳🇱 Koen de Kort
- 🇦🇹 Michael Gogl
- 🇪🇹 Tsgabu Grmay
- 🇳🇱 Bauke Mollema
- 🇱🇻 Toms Skujins
- 🇧🇪 Jasper Stuyven
UAE Team Emirates: Colnago C64
The United Arab Emirates team decided to take a leap in ambition this season with the signing of the Italian Fabio Aru. The objective was none other than to fight for the podium in the grand stage races. However, the winner of the 2015 Vuelta and fifth place finisher in last year's Tour will not start in this edition. After a disappointing performance in this year's Giro, where he went from being one of the favorites to abandoning the carrera, Fabio Aru announced that he would not participate in the Tour to focus on the Vuelta. Aru's absence leaves the Irishman Dan Martin as the most prominent rider to fight for the general classification. Martin was sixth last year, and in this edition he will be accompanied in the mountains by Colombian Darwin Atapuma and Croatian Kristijan Durasek. The team's bicycles will be of Colnago origin. The Italian manufacturer has extensive experience as a supplier to this squad, which it already equipped in 1990. The model chosen for this Tour de France is the Colnago C64. The 8 UAE Team Emirates riders who will start the Tour are as follows:
- 🇨🇴Darwin Atapuma
- 🇭🇷Kristijan Đurasek
- 🇮🇹Roberto Ferrari
- 🇳🇴Alexander Kristoff
- 🇮🇹Marco Marcato
- 🇮🇪Dan Martin
- 🇦🇺Rory Sutherland
- 🇮🇹Oliviero Troia
Wanty Grope Gobert: Cube Litening
Wanty Grope Gobert made its Tour de France debut in 2017. And not just the team. The nine riders of the Belgian squad were also debutants in the French race. This year, however, they return with only one debutant rider: the Belgian Timothy Dupont.