Geraint Thomas kicked off his 2024 race season at the Volta ao Algarve. Finishing the five-stage early season race which was won by Remco Evenepoel in 65th place as he builds towards his tilt at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France later in the season.
Thomas has ridden in Giro cycling shoes for the past several years but the Welshman was spotted racing in a sleek, new pair of white cycling shoes at the race that we haven't seen before.
At the Vuelta a España at the back end of last year Thomas was racing in white Giro Imperial shoes. Pictures from the Volta ao Algarve show the Ineos captain racing in something different. In a busy month for shoes and pedals the unusual Ekoi system fell foul of the UCI at the start of the month which meant riders had to buy their own shoes. Another pair of white (and black and gold) cycling shoes also caused a stir last week when Trek launched the new RSL knit cycling shoes as well as two other models.
Could these be Quoc prototypes? (Image credit: Getty Images - Dario Belingheri / Stringer)
A closer inspection of the shoes shows a double dial closure and simple uppers which feature some perforations. The dial closure layout looks similar to the S Works 7 road shoes, which we believe are now discontinued so it's probably safe to say this is just a similarity. There also appear to be some large venting sections on the shoe uppers.
The front of the shoe in the above picture appears to feature what looks like a Quoc logo, but these shoes don't look like anything that features in the current Quoc range and aren't the Mono II shoes we reviewed back in September 2022. Perhaps these are a prototype or new model that is in the pipeline for this year. We don't know whether Thomas has begun a new partnership or is simply testing out some fresh footwear.
Thomas will tackle two Grand Tours this year (Image credit: Getty Images- Dario Belingheri / Stringer)
Prototype shoes weren't the only tech to feature at the race. We also spotted World Time Trial champion Remco Evenepoel's monster 62 tooth chainring, which he used to good effect during the race's time trial.
Wout van Aert was also spotted testing out his new time trial position in what could be a year when he makes a concerted stab at the overall in some longer stage races including the Giro.
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Thomas using Giro shoes at the Vuelta last year (Image credit: Getty Images - Tim de Waele / Staff)
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
