New kit, custom bikes, oversized stems and much more
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The Dauphine had many Tour de France contenders in attendance. Chris Froome won this year's event while pushing this huge 54 tooth elliptical chainring (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
This oversized and unbranded stem was on a Giant-Alpecin team bike (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The saddle, from Selle Italia, is certainly unique (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Purito (that's Rodriguez' nickname) had the saddle finished to match his custom-painted Canyon frame(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha had a one-off saddle(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
New editions of POC's DO Blades were spotted. The orange and black frame with reflective lenses are the latest to be added to the DO Blade line up(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The entire Lampre-Merida team wore the Northwave Extreme shoes(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Dan Martin wore 'game-changing' concept shoes from Mavic, with a one-piece carbon outer and a separate foam inner (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Lizard Skins DSP bartape in Black Camo made a statement on Lotto-Soudal's Ridleys(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
It's not new tech, but the gold KMC chain and CeramicSpeed pulleys added a touch of bling to the race(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Koen de Kort of Giant-Alpecin opted for a less technologically advanced infographic(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Dimension Data had Rotot noQ chainrings fitted to their Cervélo S5 frames(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The new Specialized S-Works Sub6 shoes were worn by Paolo Tiralongo(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Stage 6 winner, Thibaut Pinot had custom finished shoes from Scott(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Stephen Cummings took the final stage of the race in an epic 70km solo breakaway – equipped with a CeramicSpeed chain to save a few watts(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The helmet is also equipped with MIPS technology for maximum injury prevention(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The semi-aero helmet looks bulky but with plenty of ventilation(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Orica GreenEdge were also spotted in these new lids from Scott(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The new helmet is 'Aero Optimized' (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
First seen on Esteban Chaves during the Giro d'Italia, Scott's new aero offering was worn by Orica GreenEdge (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Five larger vents on the front of the helmet and two on the rear offer ample ventilation (Josh Evans/Immediate Media)(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
100% has a history of making eyewear for motorsport and its new cycling-specific glasses look the business (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
GoPro equipped some of the bikes each day with its 'Hero Session' to capture in-race footage (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Contador attached the Spanish national flag to his Prologo saddle(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Alberto Contador had a custom painted S-Works Tarmac. The yellow, red and pink flashes represent his Grand Tour victories and certainly caught the eye (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Some Team Dimension Data riders opted for Chris King hubs (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Froome shows off his new Sidi with both tensioning ratchets located on the tongue(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Froome opted for PRO Evo handlebars for their stiffness as well as their aero advantages(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The CeramicSpeed chain is hand-finished with Teflon in Denmark(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Stage One winner Nacer Bouhanni is a fan of boxing – the head butts leading up to his victory certainly resonated with his custom stem(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Berner rear cages were spotted on Cannondale Pro Team bikes. Combined with Shimano Dura-Ace, the cages reduce friction and claimed 6 watts of power saving(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
John Degenkolb and his Giant-Alpecin team mates were spotted in new, unbranded shoes equipped with Boa tensioning dials – we suspect these are the latest offerings from Shimano (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Every bike in the race was equipped with a tracker supplied by Dimension Data to track race progress and speeds(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
DT Swiss 240s hubs were spotted on Dimension Data bikes(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Giant-Alpecin were equipped with Fourier's direct-mount aero V-brakes (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The Fouriers brakes can easily be adjusted on the move(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The direct-mount brakes from Fouriers offer aero advantages and superb stopping performance (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Fabio Aru won stage 4 of the race on his custom S-Works Tarmac in Sardinian livery(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Team Dimension Data run ENVE rims and three different types of hubs, including ENVE's in-house carbon hubs(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Some of the race solutions were more simple. Electrical tape is seen here on Simon Gerrans Scott Foil (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
A CeramicSpeed headset was used on Edvald Boasson Hagen's custom painted Cervélo S5 (Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
Jeremy Roy wore these eye-catching 100% glasses(Image credit: Josh Evans / Immediate Media)
The Critérium du Dauphiné is renowned for being a litmus test for the biggest race in the world, the Tour de France. With a quarter of all TdF victories coming from Dauphiné champions, this reputation is a well-founded one.
The Grand Tour season has become a showcase for the latest and lightest in new cycling tech, which if proven successful, can end up in your local bike shop in the coming months. With 22 teams competing in the 68th edition of the Dauphiné, a wide variety of new helmets, sunglasses, shoes and parts were on display. Team Dimension Data alone ran three different hubs on their wheels alongside their ENVE rims.
Electronic shifting is all but standard-issue in today's World Tour, and barring a few anomalies SRAM Red eTap, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Campagnolo Super Record EPS were the groupsets on show. Some teams opted to customise their groupsets to different degrees; CeramicSpeed components were installed onto many of the teams' bikes, while Berner supplied the Cannondale Pro Team with their rear derailleur cages.
Cranksets and brakes from FSA were on show on Team Cofidis' Orbea Orcas. Dimension Data meanwhile opted for a combination of Dura-Ace braking and shifting with Rotor chainrings, and Chris Froome's Pinarello was seen with a huge 54 tooth elliptical chainring.
On the final day of the Dauphiné, Stephen Cummings' Cervelo S5 had a CeramicSpeed chain installed. The €119 chain has a maximum optimised life span of a mere 300km and is hand finished with Teflon in Denmark. Designed for single race days, it has claimed power savings of 3-5 watts, which seemingly helped Cummings on the day.
As well as the extensive tech on show, there was new footwear from Mavic spotted on Dan Martin. The shoes consisted of an inner made with breathable, shaped foam and an outer formed mostly from a single piece of carbon. This new concept could be revolutionary in cycling footwear.
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On the subject of shoes, Froome was seen with a new pair of Sidis with the tensioning ratchets located centrally, while John Degenkolb and his Giant-Alpecin teammates were wearing new, unbranded items with Boa tensioning systems. The shoes, seen in both black and white, are suspected to be the latest footwear from Shimano, although this is yet to be confirmed.
New helmets from Scott, eyewear from POC and custom painted bikes were also on show.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to see all that was on show at the 2016 Critérium du Dauphiné.
