Various national champions line up at the start of stage 1 of the 2019 Tour Down Under(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
We spotted someone we never expected to see at the start of stage one(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
not two…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Astana Pro Team has not one…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Bumping into a greasy towbar is just as annoying for mechanics as it is in day-to-day life(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
So intense was the heat that some teams went as far as bringing their own parasols to the start line(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
CCC-Liv riders were also seen using the vests to cool down following the race(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Team Dimension Data also had its own stash of ice vests(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Team Sunweb are one of a number of teams to utilise branded ice vests(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Stuffing stockings filled with ice down the back of a jersey is a popular way to keep core temparatures down (Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Soigneur's were kept busy lathering pros in sunscreen in the swealtering heat (Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
KT tape is sometimes used pros to help with recovery(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Danish champ, Michael Morkov, was also involved with the crash(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Postlberger was involved in the crash toward the end of the opening event(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
The effects of riding in the head for over an hour were clearly showing on Michael Woods after the Down Under Classic(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
not three…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
not four…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
not five…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Luft is life (Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
CCC Team race in Giant's own helmets(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
EF Education First opt for a simple strip of tape to keep radios in place(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
High-end hifi manufacturer Bang and Olufson suppies Quickstep with radio earpieces that neatly integrated into their Ekoi sunglasses(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Team Jumbo-Visma were seen riding Shimano S-Phyre RC09 shoes in unreleased colour(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
This UAE Team Emirates rider opts for Mavic's $1,000 Comete Ultimate shoes(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Italian champ and stage one winner, Elia Viviani, gets his own custom DMT shoes(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Berk composites, which is better known for its high-end lightweight saddles, also produces shoes, though details on their offerings are slim(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Former Australian-champ, Alexander Edmondson gets a pair of custom Shimano S-Phyre shoes(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
There's no missing these sparkly kicks(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Bryton supplies Deceuninck - Quick-Step with computers(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Dimension Data uses computer mounts from Rotor, who also supplies its cranksets(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
...but six different types of computer mounts on its team bikes! (Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
A hot espresso in 40c heat before a race? These riders are braver than us.(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Adam also runs his setback seat post… set forward(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Gediminas Bagdonas is the Lithuanian national champion(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Sportful jersey's feature a seethrough pocket on the back of the jersey to avoid having to pin on numbers(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Swapit Agolico race on Zerouno bikes(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Jessica Raimondi from Ale Cipollini raced aboard a Cipollini RB1K The One(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
…but opted for deeper wheels the previous Sunday for the crit(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Jakub Mareczko opted for 42mm-deep Giant SLR 0 wheels for stage one…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Police patrol the circuit on equally race-ready bikes(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Richie Porte ran mismatched wheels and SRAM's unreleased 12-speed eTap groupset on the night of the crit(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
The bike was built with the same compact Praxis crankset you'd find on a stock build(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
105 in the pro peloton!(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
An Allez Sprint was also seen being loaded up as a spare bike for Deceuninck - Quick-step(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Gatto and Sagan both opted for tubular tyres on the night of the race(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Oscar Gatto also raced an Allez Sprint at the opening Down Under Classic(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Steve Morabito of Groupama-FDJ is the Swiss national champion(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Many riders will wear arm bands featuring the colours of their former national champion title(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Peter Sagan's jersey also featured the adorementioned pockets(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
…we assume the new 12-speed crankset is not yet available in his preferred 180mm length(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Adam Hansen is still running a previous generation Super Record groupset as…(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Matthieu Ladagnous still runs a Dura-Ace R9000-series crankset fitted with an SRM power meter(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Sometimes you don't want all the data available to you(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
Stage notes taped to the top tube of an AG2R rider's bike(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
All Deceuninck - Quick-Step riders were using Specialized helmets fitted with its ANGI crash detector(Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
…a small Koala strapped to the back of Manuele Boaro's Limar helmet (Image credit: BikeRadar/Immediate Media)
We’re at the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under and have visited the start and finish of the Down Under Classic — the precursor to the race itself — and stage 1 of the race to bring you the latest and greatest race tech from the first event of the WorldTour calendar.
With temperatures rising to over 45 degrees Celsius during the first two stages of the 2019 edition, teams have had to go to great lengths to keep riders cool.
Dedicated ice vests are more popular than ever, but the good ol’ stockings filled with ice trick and bringing a giant parasol remains the most popular ways to make sure the top talent keeps its cool.
105 and alloy in the peloton
The news that Sagan was to race on an alloy Specialized Allez Elite fitted with tubeless tyres near enough broke our little corner of the internet.
Clearly not wanting to be outdone, the same bike with a budget focussed Shimano 105 build was, for some reason, seen being loaded up as a spare to the roof of Decuninck - Quick-Step’s team car at the start of stage one.
All the computer mounts
Several teams in the WorldTour have partnerships with brands to provide mounts for the computers. By far the most prominent is K-Edge, alongside proprietary mounts from the computer brands themselves.
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However, somewhat unexpectedly, Astana Pro Team lined up for stage 1 with a different computer mount on each bike, two of which we've never even seen before!
In a sport where teams are so frequently uniform, this was a somewhat bizarre way to open its 2019 WorldTour account.
ANGI and a koala
From Bang & Olufson earpieces and ANGi crash detectors to a Koala on the back of Manuele Boaro’s helmet, 2019 is shaping up to be the year of the on-helmet accessory.
