Julian Alaphilippe's S-Works Tarmac - World Champion's edition(Image credit: Specialized)
Complete with Dura-Ace groupset, Roval wheels and clincher tyres(Image credit: Specialized)
The Roval Rapide CLX wheels are the deeper, more aerodynamic of the two options available to the team(Image credit: Specialized)
The paint theme is a distorted version of the world champion's rainbow stripes(Image credit: Specialized)
From the front, you'd be forgiven for thinking the frame is black(Image credit: Specialized)
Alaphilippe's name and social media handle are neatly positioned on the down tube(Image credit: Specialized)
The 'Wolfpack' logo is accompanied by '2020 World Champion', something that only Alaphilippe can lay claim to(Image credit: Specialized)
The cockpit features an integrated cockpit, with the brake hose and Di2 cable running beneath the stem(Image credit: Specialized)
The blue, red, black, yellow and green of the UCI rainbow stripes decorate the top tube and seat tube(Image credit: Specialized)
The Dura-Ace R9170 Di2 groupset is fitted, despite the new Dura-Ace groupset nearing launch(Image credit: Specialized)
For stage 2, Alaphilippe's bike gets yellow bar tape from Supacaz and yellow bottle cages from Tacx(Image credit: Getty Images)
In 2019, when Julian Alaphilippe stormed into the Tour de France yellow jersey for his first time, he did so on stage 3. He duly followed that up in 2020, going a day earlier and earning yellow on stage 2. This year, he's gone yet another day earlier, winning the stage 1 opener into Landerneau with a stinging long-range acceleration.
Ahead of the stage, the road world champion said that it would take a "violent effort" to take the win. And violent it certainly was; when his Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate Dries Devenyns swung off the front at 2.3km to go, Alaphilippe launched his attack. The subsequent four-minute effort saw him gain eight seconds over his rivals.
Alaphilippe and his Deceuninck-QuickStep teammates are racing aboard the S-Works Tarmac SL7, but a perk of his position as reigning world champion, the Frenchman's bike is resplendent in a rainbow-themed custom paint job.
His win in 2020 marked the first victory in modern cycling history for clincher tyres. Despite the risk of being unrideable when flat, riders from both Specialized-sponsored teams were using the technology, which Roval claims "delivers the lowest riding resistance and supple road feel." Fast forward to today and the entire Deceuninck-QuickStep team have committed to the tyres for the full three-week race.
The tyres have been paired with Roval's Rapide CLX wheels, which are the deeper, more aerodynamic of the two options available to the team. In contrast, Alaphilippe has foregone both of the aero handlebars available - the S-Works Aerofly II and the Roval Rapide - in favour of a lighter weight round bar from PRO.
With his victory, Alaphilippe earned both the yellow and green jerseys, and his team mechanics swung into action, giving the race leader's bike a few colour-matching yellow touches.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
