2013 Scheldeprijs winner Marcel Kittel's Felt F-Series FRD bookends the Argos-Shimano fleet before the start. Actual weight without bottles is 7.50kg (16.53lb).(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Peter Sagan's Cannondale SuperSix with Hulk graphics(Image credit: BikeRadar)
The new Cervélo RCA is US$10,000 — for the frameset alone(Image credit: Cervélo)
BMC's Time Machine TT01 normally looks like this up front.(Image credit: James Huang)
Sprinter Mark Renshaw (Blanco) is using Giant's brand new Propel Advanced SL aero road bike for this year's Tour Down Under.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The Look 695 Aerolight in Pro Team livery(Image credit: Robin Wilmott)
Mark Cavendish’s (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) CVNDSH branded Specialized Venge (Image credit: Sam Dansie)
Further adding to the remarkable comfort of Fabian Cancellara's (Radioshack-Nissan-Leopard-Trek) Trek Domane 6-Series are the spindly seat stays.(Image credit: James Huang)
Ian Stannard's Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2 at the Tour of Britain(Image credit: Sam Dansie)
Thomas Voeckler's (Europcar) Colnago C59 Italia is tucked in among the crowd at the Tour de France.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Pro riders may spend all season suffering like mad but they also get to ride some of the finest bikes in the world. Which of the following is your favorite? Pick one, enter your vote along with the other categories in our 2013 Cyclingnews Reader Poll and be entered to win Dan Martin's Cervelo.
Powerhouse sprinter Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) took home the glory four times during this year's Tour de France on a new Felt F1 FRD FRD flagship, built with a special advanced carbon composite material from Swedish outfit oXeon. Dressed up in a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group and deep-section carbon wheels – plus a fetching neon green-accented paint scheme – Kittel's Felt is ready to fly.
Belkin riders were often seen this past season on the new Giant Propel Advanced SL aero road bike, complete with a sleek wind tunnel-tested shape and cleverly hidden rim brakes to help cut through the wind. Giant was slow to the aero road bike game but has benefited from the wait, even using a motorized mannequin during the development process to help produce real-world data.
Cadel Evans debuted a new BMC SLR01 Team Machine this season, which cleaved more than 100g from his previous version while also boasting improved pedaling efficiency and comfort. What hasn't changed, however, is the frame's distinct profile and uniquely kinked fork and seat stays. Even without the big logo on the down tube, this machine's low-slung look is hard to miss.
Few riders made a bigger splash this year than Cannondale Pro Cycling's Peter Sagan, who roared across Europe on the company's SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod. Just in case the frame itself didn't draw enough attention, Sagan also got an outlandish custom paint job that was impossible to overlook.
Cofidis riders got an aero boost this year on their new Look 695 Aerolight road bikes, which combine modestly shaped tubes with radically integrated brakes to help cheat the wind. Look's ultra-oversized Zed 2 crank ensures every rider's energy is efficiently channeled, though, while Look's long-running E-Post keeps them fresh for the finish, too.
Europcar planned a one-two punch at this year's Tour de France with Pierre Rolland and Thomas Voeckler, both of which were on Colnago C59 Italias. While most companies have long transitioned to modular monocoque construction, Colnago continues to favor a more traditional tube-and-lug design. The look may be a throwback to some but it's undeniably effective – and classically gorgeous.
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They're light, and then they're light. Garmin-Sharp's Cervélo Rca certainly falls into the latter category with a claimed chassis weight of 667g. Such extreme lightness gave team mechanics plenty of latitude in building up bikes for particular applications – so much so that they were even occasionally saddled with time trial gear for hillier races against the clock.
Few aero bikes have generated such a lustful fan following as Omega Pharma-QuickStep's Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge. Unapologetic in its aim as a full-blown race bike, the Venge is neither particularly light nor comfortable, instead going about its business with a ruthless blend of efficiency and speed.
A few Radioshack-Leopard riders such as Swiss strongman Fabian Cancellara made the unusual move of racing their Classics bike all season – a strong testament to the virtues of their Trek Domane Pro-Fit machines. These team bikes feature the radically effective comfort of Trek's clever IsoSpeed frame design but with a much more aggressive front end fit and positioning better suited to top-tier racing.
Fans of British cycling will easily remember the curiously curvaceous lines of Chris Froome's and Bradley Wiggins' Team Sky Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2 road bikes. Froome and Wiggins dominated this year's Grand Tour circuit aboard the Italian brand's flagship machines, which someone managed to be both beautiful and easily recognizable despite their stark paint jobs.
