Gallery: Tour de France race winning bikes

Image 1 of 33

Miguel Indurain (Banesto) atop his TIG-welded steel Pinarello in the 1994 Tour de France.(Image credit: AFP)

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.com

Australian Cadel Evans employed two different BMC road bikes during the 2011 Tour de France. His TeamMachine SLR01 used a more conventional modular monocoque carbon fiber construction but his Impec boasted a far more radical manufacturing method. Instead of using individual carbon plies laid into a mold, all the tubes were woven mechanically at BMC's factory in Grenchen, Switzerland. Each joint was held together by a molded carbon fiber clamshell lug.

Like all Tour-winning bikes of the past decade, Andy Schleck's Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3 was built around a carbon fiber chassis, although you'd barely know it judging by appearances. The entire frame and fork were covered in gleaming silver paint that did an admirable job of mimicking the look of metal. The bike was personalized with Luxembourg's country colors around the fork blades and on the sides of the top tube, and boasted a quartet of roaring lions.

In contrast to the paint job, the build kit was quite straightforward, including a complete SRAM Red group. A wealth of gear came from Trek subsidiary Bontrager, such as the Race XXX Lite shallow-profile carbon tubular wheels (deeper-section hoops were swapped in for flat stages), Race XXX Lite molded carbon stem and Race XXX Lite VR carbon handlebar. Capping things off were Hutchinson tubular tires, Look Keo 2 Max Carbon pedals, a Cane Creek headset and Contador's typical Selle Italia SLR saddle.

Carlos Sastre took charge of the 2008 Tour de France with a convincing attack on stage 17, blitzing up the slopes of Alpe d'Huez on a Cervélo R3-SL. The lightest in Cervélo's range at the time, the R3-SL epitomized the company's R-series design philosophy at the time – rectangular-to-oval 'Squoval' tube profiles, exceptionally tiny seat stays and big-diameter chain stays, all wrapped in a bare-bones black-and-white paint scheme. Claimed frame weight was a paltry 800g or so.

That day, Sastre's Cervélo was the veritable definition of a pure climber's bike, with ultra-light Zipp 202 shallow-profile carbon tubular wheels for minimal rotating mass. Given the UCI's 6.8kg (14.99lb) rule, the rest of the gear didn't need to be spectacular to make weight. Strapped to the Cervélo frame and 3T fork were a Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 transmission and brakes, an FSA K-Force Light crankset with elliptical Rotor Q-Rings, a 3T cockpit, Prologo Scratch saddle and Speedplay Zero pedals.

Contador's Madone Pro 5.2 was a significant departure for Trek, who previously shunned the idea of a sloping top tube on their flagship carbon fiber road racer. In addition to the semi-compact geometry, Contador's Madone incorporated what was then a radically aggressive list of integrated features – a 90mm-wide bottom bracket with direct-fit cartridge bearings, a tapered head tube with similar drop-in bearing seats, ultra-wide chain stay spacing, a huge down tube profile and a novel no-cut semi-integrated seatmast.

Contador hadn't quite achieved superstar status at this point, so his bike was basic team issue, right down to the standard paint. Shimano provided the complete Dura-Ace 7800 group and pedals. Contador perched himself atop a San Marco Concor Light saddle, and Hutchinson provided tubular tires. The rest came from Trek house brand Bontrager, including the Race XXX Lite shallow-profile carbon wheels for climbing stages, the forged aluminum Race X Lite stem and anatomic-bend Race X Lite aluminum handlebar.

Armstrong rode a prototype Madone SSLx in 2005. The bike's carbon structure was reinforced with boron fiber to boost stiffness. Weight savings were mostly achieved by drilling out the aluminum head tube inserts and dropouts, yielding a final figure below 1kg. Armstrong also made use of Bontrager's Race XXX Lite semi-anatomic carbon bar for the first time in 2005. According to Trek road bike marketing manager Scott Daubert, total bike weight was just 7kg (15.4lb) – an impressive figure for its day.

Though Trek's new Madone was introduced in 2003, Armstrong didn't use it in the Tour de France until 2004 – and even then it was only without the 'aero wing' on the back of the seat tube used on consumer bikes. The boron-free fiber lay-up was covered in a custom Project One finish called 'Pata Negra'. Aside from the anatomic-bend aluminum bend – 2004 was the last year Armstrong would use it – the rest of the build kit was largely identical to that used in 2005.

Armstrong's first Tour de France win in 1999 came aboard Trek's 5500 model – it was the first time a rider raced the Tour on a carbon bike from start to finish, according to Trek. It would be another year until the UCI instituted their 6.8kg (14.99lb) minimum bike weight rule, and 1999 was the the last year Armstrong would race with a threaded headset. Daubert told us that Armstrong's bike, seen below, weighed 8.6kg (18.9lb).

Pantani's climbing prowess was the stuff of legend at the time, as was his climbing style (often out of the saddle and in the drops) and gearing selection (stuff most riders would only consider for flat terrain). Like Armstrong, Pantani often ran a front down tube shifter to save weight on mountain stages. Aside from that, though, the equipment was fairly standard: a Campagnolo Record 9-speed group, Campagnolo shallow-profile aluminum tubular wheels, an ITM bar and stem and a custom embroidered Selle Italia saddle.

1994 would be the last year the Tour de France was won on a steel bike, this time an Oria-tubed, TIG-welded machine badged as a Pinarello but rumored to have been made under contract by legendary Italian builder Dario Pegoretti. According to Pinarello, Indurain always rode a 59cm-square frame geometry, but this particular version boasted a top tube that was dropped by 2cm to create a smaller and more compact front triangle, the aim being increased stiffness.