Gallery of the gear riders used to tackle stage 4 of the 2015 Tour
Image 1 of 47
While endurance bikes came out in abundance for stage 4's cobbles, there were also plenty of standard road race bikes and even aero bikes(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Lampre-Merida's Rui Costa was the only one on his team riding the Merida Scultura. The rest chose Merida's cushier Ride platform (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Etixx-Quick Step used 28mm FMB casings with Specialized treads, except for Cavendish who appeared to be on 26mm tubulars (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Many teams defaulted to their Paris-Roubaix setups for stage 4(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Clearance on IAM's Scott Solace is much better(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Clearance on the IAM Cycling Scott Addict is very tight with the 28mm Pro Ones(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Tubeless is an unusual sight in a peloton full of tubulars(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
IAM Cycling was the sole team on tubeless, Schwalbe's new Pro One tubeless option that we first saw at Paris-Roubaix this year(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
After doing stages 2 and 3 on the new S-Works Venge ViAS, Mark Cavendish started stage 4 on his old Venge(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Eight of nine Astana riders choose to start on Specialized S-Works Tarmacs (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Surprisingly, only one Bora bike had Pavé EVO tubulars(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Mavic's neutral support wheels were the only ones we saw with anything narrower than 25mm(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Tour de France leader Chris Froome did not have a yellow Pinarello Dogma FS-8, but we suspect he'll have a standard Dogma in yellow soon(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Teams prioritize spare bikes on team bars in terms of placement. Team leaders always get the outside spots for quick access(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
2015 Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb also returned to the cobbles with a bar-top lever and a Di2 climber switch(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Lotto Jumbo's Sep Van Marcke rode the same bar-top brake he had at Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Lotto Jumbo's Bram Tankink was one of a few riders with a Di2 "climber's switch" for the cobbles(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Lotto Jumbo's Steven Kruijswijk enjoyed a little time with his daughters before the start of stage 4(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Katusha soigneurs mark each bottle as sports drink or water (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Marcel Sieberg took a third approach: cut out the profile map from the race bible and tape it like a bracelet around the stem(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Stage 3 winner Joaquim Rodriguez had a tidier version of the pavé section details on his stem, plus the location of the feed zone and intermediate sprint (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Kilometer marker at left and length at right for the pavé sections(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
MTN Qhubeka had a number of Cervelo models out for stage 4. Most riders choose R series machines, but Daniel Teklehaimanot rode an S5 and American sprinter Tyler Farrar had an S3(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Bora-Argon 18 was on 25mm Vittoria tubulars (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Continental is the most common rubber choice at the Tour. For stage 4, a trend was team leaders and sprinters on 25mm-wide tubualrs, and other riders on 28s (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Ceramic bearings are smoother and thus faster. A clean and well-lubed chain is a given, every single day at the Tour. Lotto mechanics were working late into the evening Monday night cleaning and prepping bikes(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Garmin-Cannondale was the only team to take the start with all riders on 30mm tubulars (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
And a view of the FMB Paris-Roubaix treads on the rest of the Garmin-Cannondale bikes(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
A view of Talansky's tubular treads(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Talansky's tubulars were badged Mavic(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Big (46t) little rings and bifurcated seat tubes for 'Paris-Roubaix' day at the Tour(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The new-look fi'zi:k Aliante(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Garmin-Cannondale showed up to stage 4 with their Paris-Roubaix setup: Cannondale Synapse endurance bikes with team edition (extra spokes) Mavic Cosmic Carbones wrapped with 30mm FMB tubulars. Andrew Talansky's bike (at front) looked slightly different with black sidewalls(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
While the new GoPros are smaller than previous iterations, they are still pretty easy to spot (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
GoPro just announced the HERO4 Session camera, and a few popped up on bikes for stage 4 (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
As at Paris-Roubaix in April, team mechanics built the Synapse endurance machines with Dura-Ace calipers up front…(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
…and non-series Shimano front calipers on the rear for extra clearance (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Ryder Hesjedal used FSA's new SL-K Drop stem on his Synapse to get his desired 17cm saddle-to-bar drop(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The unique fork on Greipel's Ridley Noah supposedly improves aerodynamics ((Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Greipel notched another Tour stage win Sunday, bringing his career tally to seven(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) was again in sprinter green for stage 4. While many teammates chose 28mm Continental tubulars, 'The Gorilla' requested 25s (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
46t inner rings were fairly common for stage 4(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
A few teams took extra precautions with the timing chips, wrapping electrical tape around the zip ties(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Bretagne-Seche had two Challenge tubulars for the start: 25mm Stradas for the leaders and these 27mm Paris-Roubaixs for the domestiques(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Why no, this isn't an FMB Paris-Roubaix casing on an FDJ bike. Why do you ask? (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
FDJ primarily went with Lapierre's new endurance bike, but a few aero frames snuck up to the start(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Some Garmin riders have the new Edge 520 on their bikes. Others still have the 810 (Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
There is no such thing as the one perfect bike for a race day that encompasses tarmac and cobblestones.
As the Tour de France again returned to the pavé this year, riders and mechanics from the 22 teams chose a wide spread of bikes, tubulars and even tubeless setups for stage 4, which many were calling “Paris-Roubaix day” for its resemblance to the spring classic.
Some trends emerged among the teams, with endurance bikes being more common than aero bikes, for instance, and fat 27-30mm tubulars generally carrying the day. But while we did see some of the tall gearing configurations of Paris-Roubaix, such as 54/46-tooth chainrings, there were no triple-wrapped handlebars or knuckles wound in tape to ward off the stones’ harsh vibrations.
Many teams treated stage 4 very much like Paris-Roubaix.
On more than a couple of teams, the main sprinter and team leader had 25mm tubulars while their teammates chose 27 or 28mm options.
There was also talk of riders switching bikes mid-stage, as the 13.3km of pavé came almost entirely in the latter half of the race.
Other teams just tinkered with tire pressure, setting it at slightly lower than normal at the start with the reasoning that about half a bar (roughly 7psi) would leak out by the time riders hit the cobbles.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Etixx-Quick Step mechanics were setting one rider’s 26mm tubulars at 5bar, but asked us not to take pictures.
As at Paris-Roubaix, FMB’s handmade tubulars were en vogue. Many were on full display while some were dressed in Specialized treads. Still others were used with the FMB logo and markings blacked out with permanent marker.
No, these aren't FMB Paris-Roubaix tubulars. Why do you ask?
Many sprinters rode their preferred aero bikes. Green jersey holder Andre Greipel set out aboard his green Ridley Noah with 25mm Continental Competition tubulars. Mark Cavendish reverted to his old green Specialized S-Works Venge instead of the brand new Venge ViAS he rode for the first two road stages. He also had narrower casings than his teammates. Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff also held the aero line, piloting the same Canyon Aeroad CF SLX he commanded to wins this spring like the Tour of Flanders, and which he also rode at Paris-Roubaix.
Garmin-Cannondale went the biggest for stage 4, with everyone rolling out on their 30mm FMB Paris-Roubaix tubulars. Team mechanic Alex Banyay said the team used the identical setup from the Hell of the North: Cannondale Synapse bikes with a non-series Shimano front brake installed on the rear for extra clearance. Ryder Hesjedal had a sharply negative mountain bike stem installed to get his desired 17cm of drop on the tall Synapse head tube.
GoPro’s new HERO4 Session showed up on a few rider’s bikes, too.
Although the new GoPros are smaller than previous iterations, they are still pretty easy to spot.
Click through the massive gallery above for a closer look at the bikes and gear of stage 4 of the 2015 Tour de France. And check out the particulars (that we could discern) for each of the teams' tubular selections here:
Team – Tubular type and widths used Orica – Continental Competition 25 and 28 Lampre-Meria – Continental Competition 25 and 28 Lotto Soudal – Continental Competition 25s for leaders, 28s for others Movistar – Continental Competition Pro LTD 28s Tinkoff-Saxo – FMB Paris-Roubaix 26s Team Sky – FMB Paris-Roubaix 27s Trek Factory Racing – FMB Paris-Roubaix 27s FDJ – FMB Paris-Roubaix 27s (blacked out) Cannondale-Garmin – FMB Paris-Roubiax 30s Europcar – Hutchinson Pro Tour, width unknown Cofidis – Kenda SC, width unknown Katusha – Mavic, width unknown MTN-Qhubeka – Schwalbe 25 and 27s AG2R La Mondiale – Schwalbe One 28s, Dugast 27s IAM Cycling – Schwalbe Tubeless Pro One 28s Etixx-QuickStep – Specialized 26 and 28s with FMB casings Astana – Specialized 26s with FMB casing Bretagne – Challenge Strada 25s for leaders, Paris-Roubaix 27s for others BMC – Unbranded wide tubulars, width unknown LottoNL-Jumbo – Vittoria Corsa 25s Giant-Alpecin – Vittoria Corsa CX Pro 25s Bora-Argon 18 – Vittoria Corsa SC and Pavé 25s
