Kit from the Tour de France

The Tour de France is one of sport's great spectacles. Three weeks where cycling fans everywhere spend days glued to the TV, desperate to see what's going to happen next, punctuated by visits to every online bike shop to covet the latest and greatest kit as-used by the best road riders on the planet. But the thing is, those pros don't pay for their kit so they can afford to wrap a 10 grand bike around a guard rail and grab another from a team car. You probably can't. It's a different game when you're playing with someone else's things. 

For the rest of us - as much as we like the idea of a bike that costs more than our cars - it's just not a sensible idea or a practical possiblity. But the good news is that almost all the brands you see at the Tour offer a whole host of different products that, while they might not be exactly the same as the stuff used by the pros, offer the vast majority of the performance for a fraction of the price tag. Here on Freewheel we have more than a few brands featured at the Tour, and here's our guide to what the pros are using, and how you can get in on the action without having to sell a kidney to do so. 

Shimano groupsets

So many teams ride Shimano groupsets in the Tour de France that it would actually be easier to list the teams that don’t. Easier, but not as fun. So here you go:

AG2r
Arkea-Samsic
Astana
Bahrain McLaren
Bora Hansgrohe
CCC
EF Pro Cycling
Ineos Grenadiers
Israel Start-Up Nation
Groupama FDJ
Michelton Scott
NTT Pro Cycling
Jumbo-Visma
Team Sunweb
Total Direct Energie

For anyone doing the maths, that means 15/22 teams that took to the start line in Nice were riding Shimano groupsets. Most of those teams aren’t sponsored by Shimano, either, they have to buy their equipment and choose to ride Shimano.

Anyway, most of those are riding Dura-Ace Di2, which is Shimano’s top end groupset and, as you might imagine, costs quite a lot of money. The good news is that if you want to ride Shimano there are a whole load of options starting at Tiagra and progressing through 105 and Ultegra before you finally hit the top of the range with Dura-Ace.

If you want electronic shifting – Di2 – then Ultegra and Dura-Ace are the only groupsets with that option and the good news is that Ultegra Di2 has a significantly more wallet-friendly price tag than Dura-Ace.

Vittoria tyres

They may have only landed here on Freewheel a couple of weeks ago, but Vittoria tyres have been making waves at the pro level for years now. They also grabbed three stage wins in the first four stages at this year's Tour under Alexander Kristoff of UAE Emirates, Caleb Ewan of Lottol Soudal and Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma. That’s pretty impressive.

Most of those guys might be riding tubular tyres, but Vittoria have clincher versions of their top end Corsa race tyres available in 23, 25, 28 and 30mm widths and the clinchers give up very little – if anything – in performance terms.

Vittoria also offer another Corsa tyre, called the Corsa Control. Those aren’t being used by teams at the Tour, because they’re a tyre with greater puncture protection that gives up a little in performance to make sure that you keep rolling. That might not make sense for the pros with replacement wheels waiting on the team car but it sure makes sense for anyone out riding on British roads that wants a bit of added security.

Oh, and if you're wondering exactly which teams are riding Vittoria at the Tour then we'll tell you: Jumbo-Visma, Lotto Soudal, UAE Emirates, NTT Pro Cycling and EF Pro Cycling.

K-Edge mounts

There might be other out-front mount brands on the market these days but K-Edge is a brand oft-imitated yet never bettered. Their computer mounts are favourites of some of the biggest teams on the planet like Ineos and Bora-Hansgrohe, yep, Egan Bernal and Peter Sagan are just two of the big-names riders that trust K-Edge.

Whether you’re running Garmin, Wahoo, Lezyne or Sigma computers, K-Edge has a mount that’ll keep your bike computer safe and put it in a position that both keeps your bars free of clutter and makes it easier to see when you’re quickly glancing down.

For standard round bars, the Sport Mount is a more entry-level offering in price terms, but offers just as much performance-wise as the more expensive Race Mount. The Race Mount, though, is a super-light aluminium mount designed for pro level riders who want excellent performance coupled with light weight. K-Edge also has a brand-new mount for integrated handlebar systems that are becoming more and more popular, so if your bike has one of those it’s well worth checking this one out.

S-Phyre shoes 

Shimano’s top end S-Phyre shoes are favrouites of bike riders everywhere thanks to their sleek looks and universal fit – very few shoes on the market have the widespread appeal of the S-Phyres. The shoes are being used by a whole host of riders, but the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that some riders are wearing the brand-new versions – the RC902 – which will be available from October.

But one of the great things about Shimano’s road range is that you don’t have to spend a huge amount of money in order to wear their shoes. Sure, the S-Phyres are the range-toppers, but the RC7, RC5 and brand new RC3 offer top performance and good looks for up to a third less.

Elite bottles and cages

If you want a piece of the Tour de France but don’t want to spend a fortune then bottles and cages might be your best bet. Elite are one of the most respected brands in the Peloton and the list of teams they supply stand as a testament to that: Ag2r, Bahrain-McLaren, Cofidis, Groupama FDJ, Ineos Grenadiers, Israel Start-Up Nation, Movistar, Team Sunweb, UAE Emirates, B&B Hotels-Vital Concept and Arkea Samsic. Yeah, that’s a lot.

The Fly bottle is the bottle of choice for all those teams. Not only is it one of the lightest bottles around but the top is designed to come off if the bottle gets run over so that there’s little danger to riders when bottles are jettisoned in the run to the finish. Oh, and they’re only £6.99 each, which is cheaper than almost anything else the pros use.

100% 

Rising to prominence in road cycling on the face of a certain Peter Sagan, 100%'s impact in the sport has been seriously impressive, going from starting to make eyewear for road cyclists back in 2017 to sponsoring some of the best-known riders on the planet and two whole World Tour teams in Bora-Hansgrohe and Movistar. 

Their designs are bold, stylish and visible and its not hard to see why they've quickly become favrouites with pros and amatuers alike. With the Speedcraft, Speedtrap, Racetrap, Glendale, S2, S3 and brand new Hypercraft there's a style for everyone and they're available in a veritable cornucopia of colours, including the latest Peter Sagan Limited Editions in white and gold which are available exclusively through Freewheel. 

Lazer helmets

Lazer has been providing helmets to World Class cyclists for years, once even making a couple of lid with 1.18 carat diamonds set in them for then Olympic and World Champions Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonen. Why? Well why not? Anyway, the point is that Lazer has been in the game for a very long time and currently provide the helmets to the Jumbo Visma and Subweb teams. They're also present in the Women's World Tour with FDJ Nouvelle-Aquataine Futuroscope

Those riders have a choice of various helmets, but most choose the latest and greatest Lazer Genesis, the lightest road helmet Lazer has ever made, while Wout Van Aert has opted for the Bullet 2.0 on some stages (two of which he's won), which is the aero helmet of choice for anyone looking for all the aerodynamic benefit they can get their hands on. 

The other helmet you might see those teams wearing is the Z1. Older than either the Genesis or the Bullet 2.0, the Z1 has been a favourite of World Tour teams for years now, previously being used by Lotto Soudal as well as the two aformentioned teams.