Like most brands, Gaerne uses two Boa dials and a Velcro strap over the toebox (Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Dialled-in Diadoras for the Movistar team(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
They're pretty simple with three Velcro straps and no obvious fancy features(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Giro's Empire SLX lace-ups were seen on a handful of riders(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Adam Hansen makes all his own racing shoes(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
This is Hansen's clog-like design for the Tour (Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Luke Durbridge has a small Aussie flag on his strap(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
The 2015 Tour's first yellow jersey holder, Rohan Dennis, swapped his standard dial with a yellow version(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
The new dial goes perfectly with his yellow BMC(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Tour favourite Alberto Contador has also swapped the dials of his S-Works 6 shoes to match his Tinkoff kit(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Jens Debusschere was the 2014 Belgian road race champion(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Riders sponsored by Shimano have to use ratchet straps(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Rocket7 shoes are handmade in the USA(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Bright yellow Mavic shoes always stand out (Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
The Sidi shoes of three-time world time trial champ Tony Martin(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Sidi uses a custom dial with a fold-out lever for easy adjustment(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
These blue Sidi shoes of Chris Froome fit in perfectly with the Team Sky colours(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
The Specialized-sponsored teams were on a selection of different S-Works shoes, some fifth generation and some of the new S-Works 6(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Lampre-Merida's Kristijan Durasek won't get his pair mixed up with his roommate's(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
These Bonts look like they've come from Tate Modern(Image credit: Tom Ballard / Immediate Media)
Tour de France professionals might have more power in one perfectly shaved leg than most of us can muster with two, but you can't buy that strength. What you can buy are the shoes that connect that power to the drivetrain.
BikeRadar camped out at the rider sign-in of the Tour de France, getting odd looks from pros and other media alike as we focused low to bring you a selection of the peloton’s footwear.
Check out the full gallery above and a few trends we spotted below.
Dials, ratchet straps and laces
Contador has two colour-matched dials on his S-Works 6 shoes
Boa wire lacing systems give fast but minute adjustment, allowing riders to lock their feet securely without pinching discomfort. It’s no surprise then that the vast majority of Tour professionals are picking this type of closure, with most designs in this style having a pair of dials on the upper.
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Ratchet straps
Ratchet straps are still the only way to go with Shimano
A few riders – namely those sponsored by Shimano – are still using the ratchet straps that come on the Japanese brand’s top-end R321 shoes. If the rest of the peloton is anything to go by, Shimano’s going to have to up its game in the shoe closure department if it wants to keep up.
Laces and Velcro
Some riders were sporting the retro look with Giro's Empire shoes
A few of the riders at the start of stage two were wearing Giro’s Empire lace-ups. In fact there were more laces on show than Velcro-only closures. We only spotted two pairs of shoes that just used Velcro – these included the Nike shoes made specifically for Mark Cavendish.
Customisation
Adam Hansen makes all his own racing shoes
Some riders use stock shoes, others have their names worked onto the upper. You’ll also see the occasional flash of colour to denote a national champion, while others simply customise with a differently coloured dial. There’s no-one in the peloton with more unique slippers than Team Lotto-Belisol’s Adam Hansen though, who makes all his shoes himself.
