Ag2r-La Mondiale is again using its light and snappy Kuota KOM frames.(Image credit: James Huang)
The distinctive black-and-blue Pinarello Dogmas of Team Sky are easy to pick out in the peloton.(Image credit: James Huang)
The rear derailleur cable on the Wilier Cento 1 Superleggera runs externally along the down tube before making a brief internal run through the chain stay.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wilier has provided both Alessandro Petacchi and Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini) with these brightly colored Cento 1 Superleggeras.(Image credit: James Huang)
Hmm, red and green trim, gold lettering, a custom level top tube geometry(Image credit: James Huang)
Katusha pays homage to the Giro d'Italia with these pink water bottles.(Image credit: James Huang)
Looks like it's now official: Mavic's new deep-section wheel will be called the Cosmic 80.(Image credit: James Huang)
Svein Tuft (Garmin-Transitions) set off towards Utrecht with Mavic's new 80mm-deep Cosmic 80 carbon tubulars.(Image credit: James Huang)
White pulleys from Shimano's Yumeya upgrade kit grace the rear derailleur on David Millar's (Garmin-Transitions) Felt F1.(Image credit: James Huang)
Garmin-Transitions rider David Millar definitely has his color coordination thing going on.(Image credit: James Huang)
Hey, since when is carbon fiber shiny and silver? Garmin-Transitions team-edition Felt F1s are fitted with aluminum dropouts instead, presumably to better cope with the unusually frequent wheel changes that pro bikes have to endure.(Image credit: James Huang)
O.symetric chainrings look to have made major inroads in the pro field this year, appearing on over half of the Team Sky bikes and David Millar's (Garmin-Transitions) Felt F1.(Image credit: James Huang)
Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini) selected shallow-section Fulcrum Racing Zero alloy tubulars for Stage 3's relatively windy conditions.(Image credit: James Huang)
It's quite common for riders to request specific drink mixes in their bottles.(Image credit: James Huang)
The entirety of Team Sky is using Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 componentry on the road.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) has long favored O.symetric's unusual chainrings.(Image credit: James Huang)
Pinarello uses a conventional mounting position for Team Sky's Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 batteries.(Image credit: James Huang)
Saxo Bank ran Zipp 404 tubulars across the board today on its Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3s.(Image credit: James Huang)
Eager fans check out Rabobank's Giant TCR Advanced SL road machines.(Image credit: James Huang)
Quick Step's FFWD wheel sponsor is likely proud to see the Giro start in Amsterdam, as the wheels are built not far from there.(Image credit: James Huang)
Quick Step and Caisse d'Epargne are sharing the black, white and red motif this year.(Image credit: James Huang)
Linus Gerdemann's (Team Milram) Focus Izalco is equipped with SRAM's Red group and power meter, FSA and fi'zi:k cockpit components, and Lightweight wheels.(Image credit: James Huang)
SRM's PowerControl 7 is now available to the public - but not in this Liquigas-Doimo green hue as far as we're aware.(Image credit: James Huang)
Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo) is hoping to come into better form as the Giro progresses.(Image credit: James Huang)
Garmin-Transitions rider Murilo Antoni Fischer has a supplemental direct-measurement speed and cadence sensor mounted on his chain stay to supplement his GPS-enabled Garmin Edge 500 computer.(Image credit: James Huang)
Felt's top-end F1 frames aren't specifically Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-ready so instead, the company provides the team with drilled-out cable guides that are slotted for zip-ties.(Image credit: James Huang)
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam) is using a SRAM Red transmission plus a 3D crank and Q-Rings from Rotor.(Image credit: James Huang)
Several riders on Cervelo TestTeam are using Saris's new Joule 2.0 computer.(Image credit: James Huang)
The dotted tread of Continental's Competition Pro Limited Allaround tubulars are a common sight in this year's Giro d'Italia.(Image credit: James Huang)
Pinarello has enjoyed a good start to this year's Giro d'Italia with a win by Bradley Wiggins on the company's new Graal. Caisse d'Epargne rider Marzio Bruseghin has one as well, though, plus a striking Dogma model for use on the road.(Image credit: James Huang)
Androni Giocattoli-Diquigiovanni captain Michele Scarponi protects his head with a custom painted Selev helmet.(Image credit: James Huang)
The sleek lines of the Guerciotti Krakatoa are covered with gleaming metallic paint.(Image credit: James Huang)
Androni Giocattoli-Diquigiovanni rider Alessandro Bertolini is using a bright silver-and-blue Guerciotti Krakatoa for this year's Giro d'Italia.(Image credit: James Huang)
Ag2R is using Sigma's Rox 9.0 computer.(Image credit: James Huang)
As it turns out, Acqua & Sapone captain Stefano Garzelli isn't the only rider on the team with a specially painted Bottechia as teammate Frances Masciarelli has one as well.(Image credit: James Huang)
Giro d'Italia GC hopeful Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam) continues to favor the softer ride of Cervelo's R3-SL over the aerodynamic performance of the S3.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cofidis continues to soldier on with its trusty Look 595 lugged carbon machines.(Image credit: James Huang)
Tyler Farrar's (Garmin-Transitions) rear Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR tubular - which still isn't available to the public - is wrapped with a Vittoria Corsa EVO CX tire.(Image credit: James Huang)
Tyler Farrar's (Garmin-Transitions) front wheel, however, sports a prototype Vittoria tubular.(Image credit: James Huang)
Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) is seemingly the only team rider to opt for fi'zi:k's Pave CX saddle.(Image credit: James Huang)
Stage 2 winner Tyler Farrar's (Garmin-Transitions) Felt F1 lies safely tucked away amidst the rest of the team bikes.(Image credit: James Huang)
Garmin-Transitions first started using AceCo's K-Edge chain watchers only on the teams' time trial bikes but has since decided to install them on everything.(Image credit: James Huang)
Christian Vande Velde's (Garmin-Transitions) Felt F1 is built for all-around performance as seen here with lightweight, medium-depth Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate wheels.(Image credit: James Huang)
Footon-Servetto riders have turned to iBike's novel iAero computers to track and display their data.(Image credit: James Huang)
In addition to Cervelo TestTeam, Rotor is supplying cranks, chainrings and chain watchers to Footon-Servetto as well.(Image credit: James Huang)
Footon-Servetto chose Fuji's SST 1.0 aero road bikes for the early road stages of the Giro d'Italia. Interestingly - and just as former Oval Products owner Morgan Nicol has always said - the team is also using standard-diameter bars and stems instead of oversized ones.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Fuji-Servetto team's Fuji bikes feature Reynolds carbon wheels, Challenge tubulars, and TRP R970SL magnesium brake calipers.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bradley Wiggins' equipment preferences must be rubbing off on his Team Sky teammates as more than half of them are using O.symetric chainrings.(Image credit: James Huang)
This year's flat opening road stages of the Giro d'Italia have naturally favored the sprinters of the peloton, with Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) taking stage 2 and Wouter Weylandt (Quick Step) conquering stage 3. Not surprisingly, most of the major contenders' bikes have been geared more towards outright speed rather than light weight – at least for now.
Deep-section wheels have been the norm overall as aerodynamics has been a more important performance metric than mass thus far. Still, the occasionally blustery conditions – especially along the coast – have caused riders to temper those tendencies a bit, though, as we saw nothing deeper than 80mm (not a single Zipp 1080 in sight) and some smaller or lighter riders going with shallow-section wheels altogether.
Even stage 3 winner Weylandt went fairly conservative with FFWD's 50mm-deep F5, in the extra-stiff 'C' variant with a higher spoke count to better handle his 79kg (174lb) weight.
As has become customary these days, Cervélo TestTeam riders have also gone with aerodynamic frames, too, with nearly everyone on the sleek S3 with the notable exception of 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre who still prefers the softer ride of the R3-SL model – not that it matters much for him as he's generally well protected from the wind anyway.
Several Garmin-Transitions riders also played the aero frame card with Felt's speedy AR, which is largely based on the company's dedicated DA time trial platform. Most of those were spotted with either 40mm-deep Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimates or 52mm-deep Cosmic Carbone SLR tubulars (the latter still only available to the public in clincher form). Svein Tuft went all-in, though, with a set of Mavic's new 80mm-deep Cosmic 80 carbon tubulars.
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