Ben OConnor and his Jayco AlUla team-mates will be riding the Giant Trinity Advanced SL time trial bike in the opening stage team time trial at the Tour de France on Saturday (3 July). But with the team trial rules changed, with individual times taken for each rider and feeding into the general classification, the team will be trying to get OConnor as the team leader to the line as fast as possible. The stage finishes with two punchy climbs, the Cte de Montjuic (1.1km long at 5.1%), followed by a short descent and the final 800m, 7% climb to the Barcelona Olympic stadium. That means O'Connor will probably drop the rest of the team and tackle the final climb solo to set the fastest time possible and this is the bike he'll be doing it on. O'Connor's frame has been almost completely stripped of paint or lacquer to lower the weight. Our Media Although updated in January 2025, the Trinity Advanced SL isnt the lightest time trial bike, with Giant claiming a 1,340g painted frame and 535g painted fork weight. Its a bike that does double-duty for triathlon, so its more designed for straight-line speed on flatter courses, rather than the technical, uphill finale of stage one, and the general trend towards hillier TT courses in professional cycling. More tech from the 2026 Tour de France Spotted! Remco Evenepoel will ride this prototype Specialized Shiv at the Tour de France We weighed Tadej Pogaars 2026 Tour de France bike and its heavier than you might think Jonas Vingegaards Cervlo S5 for the 2026 Tour de France is bang on the UCIs 6.8kg weight limit Here's every bike at the 2026 Tour de France CarbonTi bolts may save another few grams over the stock hardware. Our Media OConnors Giant Trinity Advanced SL TT has been stripped of almost all its paint to help lower the bike weight. More weight has been saved by switching to CarbonTi bolts and a Dash Cycles Stage G3 time trial saddle with a 130g claimed weight. O'Connor's 130g Dash saddle is pushed as far back as possible in its rails to keep it within the UCI's saddle position rule. Our Media The extreme saddle setback is required due to the Trinity Advanced SL's 77-degree seat tube angle. Our Media The saddle sits on a setback seatpost and is pushed as far back on the saddle rails as possible. Thats to comply with the UCIs saddle position rule, stipulating that the saddle nose must be at least 50mm behind the bottom bracket centre. The Trinity Advanced SLs seat tube has a very steep 77-degree angle, and O'Connor has to compensate for this. O'Connor is running 28mm Vittoria tyres on his Cadex Max Aero wheels. Our Media The Australian is running Cadex Max Aero wheels, which were launched along with the Trinity Advanced SL frameset. The four-spoke front wheel has an 880g claimed weight and the rear 1,000g. They're shod with Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed tyres in 28mm width. Vittoria is a sponsor for time trial tyres, whereas the team uses Cadex tyres for road stages. A 1x chainring with a chain catcher on O'Connor's bike. Our Media OConnor is running a monster single chainring with a chain catcher. We werent allowed to count the unmarked chainring's teeth or weigh OConnors bike. O'Connor's bike has Cadex Tri Evo bar extensions. Our Media The Cadex cockpit has extra padding for O'Connor's forearms. Our Media Low-profile grips on the bike's base bar. Our Media While OConnor's team has clearly gone to great lengths to shave weight from the Trinity Advanced SL, Tadej Pogaar has a bike that looks almost purpose-built for the 2026 Tour de France time trials, the just launched Colnago TT2. The TT2's frame itself has a claimed weight of 985g and the fork 393g, with Colnago saying that a complete bike with a disc rear wheel can be built to the UCIs 6.8kg limit. That low weight, alongside a geometry designed to be agile, could offer an advantage to Pogaar not just in the stage one team time trial, but also in the stage 16 individual time trial, which includes 500m of climbing.

The 2026 Tour de France is here. The worlds premier race begins with a distinctive team time trial in Barcelona as the Grand Dpart. From the gun, Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Movistar Team and company will battle for the yellow jersey in the general classification. Below, star...

Ty's been on a bit of a journey designing his own titanium gravel bike built in China. This is how, why and what went down

Valentin Paret-Peintre returns to the Tour de France with one of the hardest things in cycling already ticked off: winning on Mont Ventoux. Now the Soudal - Quick-Step climber has another mountain target in mind. CyclingUpToDate were present at Soudal - Quick-Steps pre-Tour press conference to docu...

Our Reader's Rig of the week comes from Andrew in British Columbia, who shares the do-it-all Sklar PBJ he uses for slow rides with plenty of stops for photos. Meet Andrew and find a detailed write-up with a vibrant gallery of film shots here...The post Readers Rig: Andrews Sklar PBJ appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Well, the Mother of All Hyundai Sales Events is officially upon us!Thats right, were turning 250 this weekend, and while this country may not be perfect, Im still both grateful and proud to call it home on this, our semisasquatchennial:Thats because for all our problems we have something the rest of the world doesnt haveand I bet you can guess what Im talking about:[Mel Gibson as General George Washington leading the charge against the hated British.]Though if thats what you guessed youd be wrong, because Im not talking about freedom. Anyway, as long as its illegal to write a check for 99 cents or less well never be free:[Beware fellow cheapskates: if someone asks you to write a check for less than a dollar theyre probably a Fed.]No, Im talking about air conditioning:Yes, Europe is experiencing record temperatures, but apparently smugness has no known melting point:See, you wouldnt want your country to turn into America where people are comfortablesure, a little portly maybe, but comfortable:The goal isnt to be like some Italian, Brazilian, or American cities where you have entire rows, entire walls of convectors outside buildings that make an unbearable racket, releasing heat and toxic fumes, Pulvar said.Look, Ill be the first to admit we overdo it sometimes, whether its air conditioning or guns or chocolate sauce or credit card debt or, well, pretty much everything. And yes, its a little crazy when you walk past a store, the door is open, and you need to put on a parka just to walk past it. But the idea that America is nothing more than a roaring cacophony of air conditioners is as absurd as the notion that everyone in Canada is a maple syrup-guzzling Mountie or the average Frenchman wears a striped shirt and a beret and eats snails and frog legs for every meal. Okay, fine, New York is lined with entire rows of machines that make an unbearable racket and release heat and toxic fumes, but those are called cars. As for the air conditioning, I can assure you its rather pleasant, and Id say putting a small metal box in the window that hums a little bit is better for everyone than sleeping on the fire escape:And yes, I get being leery of American excess, but if youre not going to use cooling technology for public health you might as well do away with refrigeration altogether.It just seems like a step backwards to me, thats all. I mean the French used to have refrigeration savants!The principles of commercial refrigeration are studied by savants, like Prof. ARSONVAL of the College of France, who will read at the Cold Storage Congress papers on low temperatures and their general effects, physical, chemical, and biological, and on the dietetic value of chilled and frozen food materials. M. A. GAUTIER, President of the National Academy of Medicine, will discuss the causes and effect of changes in the condition of perishable products while in cold storage chambers; cold storage organization of warehouses and central markets; the victualing of besieged towns and troops in field campaign service. M. LEVASSEUR will outline the progress of trade in perishable produce since the adoption of refrigeration. The aim of the Congress will be to adopt the most advanced methods and appliances which experience has thus far developed, and thereby to extend the range and promote the efficiency of refrigeration as a factor in international commerce.Civilization has advanced since the Huns who followed ATTILA preserved their meat by packing it under their saddles.Now theyre sticking with the no AC thing like Im sticking to rim brakes.Speaking of old-timey affecations, yesterday I mentioned business cars, and not onebut two readers were kind enough to improve on the AIs design:This is yet more proof that computers will never replace the miracle that is human creativityunless they used AI to make these, in which case its proof that AI is superior to humans in every way and we should just surrender already.But sure, I realize Im a man of contradictions, which is a pretentious way of saying Im a total hypocrite. After all, here I am championing metal bikes with rim brakes while luxuriating in an air conditioned home and wantonly using AI:Wow. The prompt there was A bike blogger working on a computer next to a giant air conditioner with a Rivendell bicycle leaning against the wall. In a few short months whatever AI this blog platform uses has gone from not being able to render a bicycle handlebar properly to uncannily accurate details like the towel under the air conditioner complete with mystery blob, which is a feature of 99% of New York City apartments:Sorry, but thats game, set, and match for humanity.But while I may be a giant hypocrite, can you blame me? Air conditioning makes you comfortable, and AI is convenient, but constant innovation when it comes to bicycles only results in contraptions like thisthough maybe its AI for all I know:Either way, its about time someone invented a seatless chain-drive pennyfarthing, though in todays safety-obsessed society its surprising that nobody in the video is wearing a helment:I know people think I object to helmets, but thats not true; what I really object to is the often bizarre logic behind helmet use. Why would you wear a helmet on a bicycle and not on this thing? I guess if a machine makes you look stupid enough people just give you a pass.And it does look stupid, too. In fact the handlebar looks like something youd use to open a walnut:Anyway, Ive always wondered what would happen if an ElliptiGO and a Brompton mated, and now that I know I wish Id never seen it.And with that, I will now attempt to survive the explosions people create in order to celebrate our countrys independence, but before I do heres your Disconcertingly Suggestive Headline Of The Day:Sounds like a party.As always, thank you for your readership, and thank you for your support. Have a great holiday weekend, or if its not a holiday in your country, have a great regular weekend!Love,Tan Tenovo

The extravaganza of cycling that is the Tour de France is upon us, and that means many teams will be sporting special kits for the next month, to help us spot them in the peloton and give their sponsors some eye-catching real estate as star riders are broadcast around the world, pedalling across majestic mountain passes, huffing a puffing up hors catgorie climbs and sprinting for coveted stage wins.In Grand Tours, certain coloured jerseys have huge significance, so some teams have to change their kits in order to avoid creating confusion. So, lets have a look what some of the best-known names in cycling will be wearing when you next see them, as they prepare to tackle the 3320.7km route. Visma-Lease a Bike Jonas Vingegaard at Visma Lease a Bike's presentation ceremony (Image credit: Getty Images)In the case of Visma-Lease a Bike, a wardrobe change is always required since they usually race in a yellow kit that would look rather presumptuous during La Grande Boucle. The Dutch team decided on a design featuring iconic buildings and a honeycomb motif that signifies strength, all inspired by Catalan architect Antoni Gaud, who shaped the skyline of Barcelona where the Tour begins with a team time trial on Saturday.However, someone then came up with the bright idea of letting fans decide which colour their riders should be sweating in, and given a choice between a cool white and a heat-conducting black kit, the sagacious supporters went with the latter. However, team Head of Performance, Mathieu Heijboer, insists that the fabric is far more important than the colour, and says theyve tested the clobber on mannequins that can sweat, and got no complaints from the crash test dummies. Whether Jonas Vingegaard will be so understanding, we shall soon find out. MovistarCian Uijtdebroeks give the Movistar kit the thumbs up (Image credit: Getty Images)Movistar have chosen bust out some new threads for the Tour, as their standard white kits could cause confusion with the best young rider jersey. The Spanish team, which will be led by Belgian Cian Uijtdebroeks, have gone with a brilliant blue kit, with graphics also inspired by the signature architecture that surrounds the Grande Depart. The subtle design features some of the "shapes, textures and geometries of the Sagrada Famlia" although youd need to be a Gaud expert to spot them. Jayco AlUla(Image credit: Jayco AlUla/MAAP)In an unforced change, Australian team Jayco AlUla have pimped their purple Maap kit, with the prominent addition of some go-faster green flames rising from the waist and the sleeves. Impressively, the hot design which will help multiple stage-winner and veteran puncheur Michael Matthews, plus Luke Plapp, Ben O'Connor and co stand out in the peloton was first unveiled during Paris Fashion Week.Pinarello Q36.5Xandro Meurisse of Pinarello-Q36.5 stands on stage in front of the Sagrada Familia basilica during the Tour de France 2026 team presentation ceremony (Image credit: Getty Images)For their debut appearance at the Tour, Tom Pidcock and his Pinarello-Q36.5 squadmates will be trading the teams typical navy gear for a special light-blue and faint grey-coloured kit that promises to keep them cool. Caja Rural-Seguros RGA(Image credit: Getty Images)Another wild card entry taking part in this years race, for the first time Spanish outfit Caja Rural-Seguros RGA are celebrating their debut appearance at the worlds biggest bike race with a classic kit coloured green and white (a nod to an earlier incarnation of the team, way back in the 1980s), which poignantly features the inscription #ForaJaume, a touching reference to team rider Jaume Guardeo, who was seriously injured in a crash in April and remains in neurological rehab. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Remco Evenepoel and German Florian Lipowitz at the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team presentation (Image credit: Getty Images)German team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have gone with a redesign rather than a complete palette change for the Tour, and the squad led by Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz will be rolling out in a kit that remains blue and red on white, but with some extra design flourishes and patterns.National ChampionsThe other distinctive kits you might spot at the Tour are the jerseys worn by national champions, including the one very newly minted for freshly crowned British champion Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5).A post shared by Cycling Weekly (@cyclingweeklymagazine)A photo posted by on

Chris Froome spent the 2010s as the Tour de France rider everyone else had to solve. Four yellow jerseys, seven Grand Tour victories and the Team Sky machine made him the defining force of his era. The fifth Tour, though, never came. Pogacar starts the 2026 Tour in Barcelona chasing the same mark. A...

Photographer Eddie Clark wraps up his 2026 Tour Divide coverage with a handpicked selection of his favorite images, reflecting on the landscapes, riders, and fleeting moments that made this year's race unforgettable. From joyful victories to quiet encounters along the route, his gallery captures the spirit of the Divide, closing with a heartfelt tribute to Alyssa Secreto and a wish for her full recovery after a life-threatening collision near the end of her rideThe post 2026 Tour Divide: Photographers Choice appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Though 2026 is not the first Tour with an overwhelming favourite, it takes us a bit of imagination to look past Tadej Pogaar...