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Tour bits: New helmets, shoes, and super-light TT set-ups

Go inside the Etixx, Tinkoff, and Trek teams to see what kind of special gear the pros are riding for the Tour de France.

July 1, 2016 Dan Cavallari

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New — Dan Martin (Etixx – Quick Step) sports a new S-Works helmet from Specialized. It has much of the same shaping as the S-Works Prevail lid but in a lower-profile package. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Feather — Martin sports some new kicks from Mavic. He debuted the super-lightweight shoes that have a carbon upper encasing a soft inner boot at the Criterium du Dauphiné. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Tony Martin took a spin on his S-Works Venge the day before Stage 1 of the Tour de France. The brakes on the Venge have been revamped with all-new internals to provide a more positive braking feel. Riders returning from a training ride Friday were heard saying the brakes work “perfectly.” Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Fred — Putting clip-on extensions on drop-bars has long been the mark of the beginner cyclist, but now they’re vindicated: Tony Martin, among many other riders, will use this set-up for the uphill stage 18 time trial. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Losing — Martin’s bar tops are taped, but the drops are not. Every gram counts, and since he’s not likely to use the drops much in the uphill time trial, it’s an easy place to save some weight. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Cockpit — Tony Martin’s TT bike has a dramatic cockpit, with a sharp rise in the extensions and tightly-cupped forearm cradles with extra padding. It’s quite the opposite of the set-up Dan Martin was requesting from his team mechanic, which would involve cutting just the pads down and taping them to the wing bars. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Sit — Roman Kreuziger’s saddle may look like any other, but Prologo went to great lengths to give him an advantage with polymer grippers that help keep him planted on the saddle. The polymer is the same used on Formula 1 seats and gloves to help the driver stay planted during high G-force turns. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) sports a noticeably chunky stem with electrical tape on the face plate to block off the branding (it’s not one of his sponsors!). Can you guess the stem? Hint: It rhymes with pip… Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Les — The fans always show up in throngs to see Peter Sagan. In the lead-up to the Tour, French children came out in force to catch a glimpse of the larger-than-life world champ. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Custom — No shortage of interesting paint schemes at the Tinkoff bus. Sagan’s custom paint job is offset by the standard Tinkoff scheme on one side and Alberto Contador’s understated black Tarmac on the other side. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Contador's — Peter Sagan isn’t the only Tinkoff rider with custom Look pedals. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Finishing — Contador’s saddle has a nice personal touch. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Brakes, — For cleaning those hard-to-reach crevices, nothing works better than the tried and true toothbrush. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Big — A Gopro Hero Session camera is mounted to the handlebars of a Tinkoff bike. Fans are likely to be treated to some interesting and fun footage before the dust settles on the 2016 Tour. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Choose — In the Trek – Segafredo bus, Bauke Mollema’s bikes are at the ready for any TT conditions: The bike on the left is a standard TT bike stripped down of all paint (to save on weight, up to 100 grams of it), while the bike on the right is set up with drop bars and extensions for the uphill TT Stage 18. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Mollema's — While some riders opt for custom paint jobs, Mollema’s TT bike has no paint at all. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

It's — Perhaps the coolest detail of Trek-Segafredo’s service course truck is this built-in water bottle dispenser. There’s a long chute on the inside of the truck, and a small door outside, for easy access to fresh bottles. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Peter Stetina’s bike sits in the measurement jig to ensure his saddle height is correct. This is a training bike; he was out on his race bike at the time. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Another — Stetina’s measurements glisten with the afternoon rain. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

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