Tour de France is considered the world ’s biggest and prestigious bike race where cyclists are required to cycle up to 2,000 miles in 23 days. It attracts the best riders all over the world and takes place during summer going around France.
The tour is usually made up of twenty teams with nine members each. Tour de France commenced on 7th July, and it showcased the best, lightest and fastest bikes in the world. Over the past six years, tour de France winning bikes have been dominated by Italian best brands.
This year, the trend was similar with Geraint Thomas winning the race riding an F10 X-Light bike- an Italian brand. BMC is another reputable bike brand that has entered into the hall of fame.
The tour is usually filled with lots of fun, and good results are achieved depending on the resilience, determination, and strength of the rider.
Besides, the tactical decisions made during the ride are significant. The following is a list of Tour de France winning bikes. Take a look!
1. BMC Teammachine SLR01 (Cadel Evans) - 2011
Cadel Evans of BMC racing, became the 2011 Tour de France winner while riding a BMC Teammachine SLRO1. He managed to run a total of 172.5mm cranks with an outstanding saddle height of 73.2cm.
The bike was fitted with an Easton handlebar (42cm) with a round bar and shallow drop. Evans rode two bikes both featuring Speedlay zero pedals, continental tires, Fizik Antares saddle, SRM PowerMeter and Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset.
During the trial stages, he rode on a BMC Timemachine and completed the tour on an Andy Schleck.
2. Pinarello Dogma (Bradley Wiggins) -2012
Bradley Wiggins completed the Tour de France in 2012 on board a Pinarello Dogma 65.1, making Team Sky the overall winners of the day. However, the team used the Pinarello Dogma 2 during the early stages of the challenging race.
Bradley rode most of the race on a Shimano Dura-Ace ten speed groupset and completed the tour on an eleven speed Di2 version, specifically before nearing Paris city. Both bikes featured osymetric chainrings and Fizik Arione saddles.
3. Pinarella Dogma (Chris Froome) – 2013
Chris Froome won the 2013 Tour de France while riding the Pinarello Dogma bike (Dogma 65.1), with Team Sky taking the grand prize home. The bicycle featured wavy forks, chainstays, and a unique asymmetric design.
The bike took its name from the carbon fiber material used in making the frame – Torayca high-modulus 65. It made the bike lighter unlike the previous 60- tonne carbon material used in construction. Also, it made the bike more reactive. The common features included; Fizik saddle, osymetric chainrings, and the SRM data-box.
The Astana team made history by emerging victorious during the 2014 Tour de France by interrupting Sky Way’s winning streaks. Their flag was flown by Vincenzo Nibali – a talented rider on a specialized S-works Tarmac bike. It was the first time for Tarmac brand to use a carbon-layup.
Meaning all efforts were credited to the individual rider. Vincenzo’s bike featured Corima Viva wheels, FSA stem, and Campagnolo groupset. At the last stages of the race, the bike was fitted with Corima yellow decorated wheels with an FSM stem that had yellow decals.
Chris Froome proved to his fans in Paris and the whole world that Pinarello Dogma deserved to be ranked among the Tour de France winning bikes in 2015 and 2016. He used a bike that was customized with a decoration of rhinos on the frame that were first noticed during the race in 2015.
The rhino decals on his bike were inspired by his love for wildlife and specifically his upbringing in Kenya, an East African Country famous for the big five. His bicycle had great features which included; modern osymetric chainrings, chain-guards to prevent any chain-drop, 11-28 cassette, Shimano Dura Ace and power meter from stages.
Chris chose his bike’s satellite shifters to be stripped down, to save some weight and make the shifting buttons to be close to each other.
The bike was fitted with Shimano wheels; the bars were from Pro while the bottle cages came from Elite. The bike used during the final stages of the race had different features. It had a 12mm stem, Fizik saddle that had carbon rails and continental competition tires. Chris rode the Pinarello Dogma F8 bike and emerged victorious in 2015&2016.
6. Pinarello Dogma F10 (Chris Froome) -2017
In 2017, Chris Froome amazed the world by recording his third consecutive win at the Tour de France. This time, he was riding a Pinarello Dogma F10 that was beautifully decorated with a yellow color just before completing the race In Paris.
The bike resembled the F8 model, but it was designed to be stiffer and lighter. In regards to its weight, the frame used in constructing F10 was ultra-light, making it perfect for such a difficult race.
Chris preferred an 11-28 cassette, a 53/39 setup and osymetric chainrings that improved the pedaling performance. Other key features include; Shimano (wheels, stem, bars and bar tape) Fizik saddle and K-edge mount.
7. Pinarello Dogma F10 X-Light (Geraint Thomas) – 2018
There is no doubt that Pinarello Dogma bike brand has proved to be the best in racing over the years. During the 2018 Tour de France, Geraint emerged the winner while on board a Pinarello Dogma F10 X-light, that used a unique carbon fiber type compared to the other versions leading to a drop of a kg.
The features of the bike were similar to the previous F10 model, but the wheels were carbon tubular with the paint job indicating every win achieved by the Sky Team during all their years of participation at the Tour de France.
You may also like…Top 3 Best Saddle for Endurance Cycling
Conclusion
Tour De France is a popular sports event that attracts the best riders all over the world riding a total distance of 2,000 miles.
The race usually ends at the capital – Paris. Pinarello Dogma is among the Tour de France winning bikes that have proved their power and performance on the competition.
Team Sky have proved that they are the best on the road, outsmarting BMC racing, Astana and other cases. However, the good results are not just a result of using well-functioning bikes with great features, the rider’s determination and strength on the race contributes a lot.
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