With the first WorldTour race of 2018 kicking off down under, the Santos Tour Down Under provides the chance to catch a glimpse of all the new equipment of the professional peloton ahead of the upcoming season.
So with that, we saddled up and headed over to Adelaide to bring you a profile of each team bike including the bike manufacturer, groupset, wheels and component choice for the 18 WorldTour teams, cue the bike envy!
AG2R LA MONDIALE
2018 is business as usual for French outfit AG2R La Mondial, continuing on Factor bikes without any change in equipment.
Bike manufacturer: Factor
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Mavic
Cockpit: Black Inc.
ASTANA PRO TEAM
Canadian bike brand Argon-18 remains as the bike sponsor for Astana. The bikes are outfitted with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 shifting, FSA cockpit, and cranks. with the Italian-registered team returning to Corima wheels for 2018.
Bike manufacturer: Argon-18
Groupset: FSA / Shimano
Wheels: Corima
Cockpit: FSA
BAHRAIN–MERIDA
Bahrain Merida have run a similar set-up to last year but with a fresh lick of paint. A Shimano Di2 groupset and a Fulcrum wheelset complete the package for the team who run a mix of Merida Scultura (lightweight), and Reacto (aero) road frames.
Bike manufacturer: Merida
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Fulcrum
Cockpit: Vision
BMC RACING TEAM
BMC racing returns with a complete Shimano groupset, including tubular wheels and Shimano’s new power Dura-Ace power meter. The Swiss manufacturing company has been naming sponsor of its team since it’s inception.
Bike manufacturer: BMC
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Shimano
Cockpit: BMC/3T
BORA-HANSGROHE
The team of the World Champion Peter Sagan are aboard either one of Specialized's aero Venge ViAS or the new Tarmac SL6. The bikes are painted to match the new kit and feature Specialized's’ own power meters.
Bike manufacturer: Specialized
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Roval
Cockpit: Pro
TEAM DIMENSION-DATA
The South-African registered team has remained mostly unchanged, apart from a saddle swap to Astute saddles out of Italy. The fleet of Cervelo R5 (lightweight) and S5 (aero) bikes are finished with Enve componentry and wheels with gold KMC chains holding the drivetrain together.
Bike manufacturer: Cervelo
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Enve
Cockpit: Enve
TEAM EDUCATION FIRST - DRAPAC P/B CANNONDALE
A subtle difference in the paint and a new saddle sponsor in Prologo sees the aptly named team race on the Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod frame, complete with Shimano shifting and Vision wheels.
Bike manufacturer: Cannondale
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Vision
Cockpit: FSA
FDJ
The French team remains loyal to French brand Lapierre, whom it has been partnered with for 16 years. The bikes are all Shimano-equipped right down to the wheels, this follows up to the cockpit, with Shimano’s in-house componentry brand PRO Bike Gear providing bars and stems.
Bike manufacturer: Lapierre
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Shimano
Cockpit: PRO Bike Gear
TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN
Red goes fast right? Katusha is aboard Canyon Aeroad CF SLX (aero), and Ultimate CF CLX (lightweight) framesets complete with SRAM e-TAP electronic shifting. Rolling stock comes courtesy of Zipp in the form of their nature-inspired 454 NSW Wheels.
Bike manufacturer: Canyon
Groupset: SRAM
Wheels: ZIPP
Cockpit: Canyon
TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO
Italian outfit Bianchi provides the team with the lightweight yet aero Oltre XR4 for another season, with the team benefitting from a full Shimano drivetrain and wheelset. The bikes are finished with a Vision cockpit and naturally, the iconic celeste paint scheme adorns each of these desirable steeds.
Bike manufacturer: Bianchi
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Shimano
Cockpit: Vision
LOTTO SOUDAL
The unique looking Ridley frames are a feature of team Lotto Soudal, with componentry icon Campagnolo providing wheels and groupset. The build is an ode to Italian brands with Deda and Selle Italia providing finishing kits and saddles.
Bike manufacturer: Ridley
Groupset: Campagnolo
Wheels: Campagnolo
Cockpit: Deda
MOVISTAR TEAM
Flagship Spanish team Movistar boast a new kit with a striking new colour scheme and a fleet custom painted Canyon Aeroad CF SLX and Ultimate CF SLX bikes to match. Shifting comes courtesy of Campagnolo as does the wheelset with Canyon providing a proprietary cockpit on all team bikes.
Bike manufacturer: Canyon
Groupset: Campagnolo
Wheels: Campagnolo
Cockpit: Canyon
MITCHELTON-SCOTT
Australia's own WorldTour team have access to both the Scott Foil (aero) and Scott Addict (lightweight) frames. Like many others in the peloton, Shimano is the groupset of choice with touchpoints coming from Scott's own proprietary component brand Syncros.
Bike manufacturer: Scott
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Shimano
Cockpit: Syncros
QUICKSTEP FLOORS
Quickstep Floors continue into the new year with a choice of either Specialized Tarmac or Venge ViAS Disc steeds. Shimano provides the shifting with Specialized's in-house wheel brand [Roval] providing the rolling stock. The cockpit remains on brand with Shimano's proprietary component brand PRO providing bars and stems to the team for 2018
Bike manufacturer: Specialized
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Shimano
Cockpit: PRO Bike Gear
TEAM SKY
Team Sky are the only World Tour team on Pinarello, this year featuring Pinarello’s own componentry brand, MOST. Groupset and wheels all come courtesy of Shimano in the form of the Japanese brands race ready Dura-Ace
Bike manufacturer: Pinarello
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Shimano
Cockpit: MOST
TEAM SUNWEB-GIANT
Giant has stepped up it's involvement with Sunweb for 2018, now providing wheels, cockpit frames to the team. Shimano continues to be the groupset manufacturer of choice with the team oddly switching back to Garmin cycling computers
Bike manufacturer: Giant
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Giant
Cockpit: Giant
TREK-SEGAFREDO
The U.S based squad continue with title sponsor Trek Emonda bike frames in the form of the recently released Emonda Disc, Madone (aero) and Domane (endurance). Trek owned componentry manufacturer Bontrager supplies the cockpit and wheels with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 again making an appearance on the teams' bikes.
Bike manufacturer: Trek
Groupset: Shimano
Wheels: Bontrager
Cockpit: Bontrager
UAE-TEAM EMIRATES
A complete Italian package sees the Emirati-registered team ride Colnago frames coupled with Campagnolo groupset and wheels. True to form, the cockpit is provided by Italian company Deda.
Bike manufacturer: Colnago
Groupset: Campagnolo
Wheels: Campagnolo
Cockpit: Deda
Want more details about the bikes of the World Tour? Head on over to CyclingTips for a more in-depth look at the bikes featured in this article.
Keep up to date with the 2018 Santos Tour Down Under right here, on BikeExchange
