And just like that, the 2025 season and the beautiful onslaught of new tech, barely-dry paint, and fresh kit begins with the Tour Down Under. Adelaide plays host to the traditional start of the WorldTour season, with teams descending from their winter altitude camps to see which of their roster has made the best of the off-season.
We are primarily here to look at hardware, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the riders are going to be up against significant heat stress, especially if they have come straight from a northern European winter. Coupled with the high potential for jet lag, and many riders on new equipment for the year, the racing can be absolutely wide open and unpredictable.
In terms of new equipment, headliners will be the new Ridley Noah Fast, which will compete with the Uno-X Mobility women’s team, and the Chinese X-Lab motorcycles with XDS Astana. In addition to all the team bikes we got our hands on, we also brought you two separate galleries of those bikes with lush high-resolution images, courtesy of the talented Chris Auld.
Anyway, let’s take a look at the motorcycles and generation we’ll all be hunting for over the next 12 months, and for those of us living in the northern hemisphere, we can also enjoy the Australian sunshine, digitally speaking. .
FDJ-SUEZ made a splash at the end of last year by signing superstar rider Demi Vollering. Specialized swiftly followed the Dutch rider, though also remains a sponsor of SD-Worx.
Vollering has spent the past few seasons using SRAM, but the FDJ-SUEZ squads will be using Shimano Dura-Ace.
In addition to the S-Works Tarmac SL8 frames, Specialized also equips the complete kit and wheels. Here, the silver hubs show that this is the “Team” edition of the Roval CLX II wheels, which are lighter and a bit more aerodynamic.
It wouldn’t be a WorldTour bike without a motivating word in the most sensible tube.
The Cannondale SuperSix Evo Lab71 bikes of the EF squads are always eye-catching. This year the paint is a little more subdued than last year, but still far from conservative.
Lab71 is Cannondale’s highest frame designation, similar to what S-Works is for Specialized. Note the gold pen on the seat post to allow the mechanics to adjust the seat height to perfection every time.
Although we’ve recently noticed a new Van Rysel, shaped like the RCR-F aerodynamics, the ‘standard’ RCR remains one of the top WorldTour motorcycles of recent years thanks to its (relatively) low price.
3D saddles adapt quickly and are popular with professionals. They claim to offer comfort advantages, but they are primarily designed to keep the weight of the formula lower.
Integrated cockpits rarely have gigantic stems, however this Deda style still happens to be in the 130mm range.
There is no genuine replacement in the Visma-Lease A Bike paddock this year, the team’s riders tend to opt most of the time for the more aerodynamic Cervélo S5.
As a SRAM-sponsored squad, Visma riders have the option of adding wireless shifter blips wherever they choose.
Wahoo’s Speedplay Aero pedals forgo access from both sides in favor of greater aerodynamic efficiency.
A change of sponsor for the season Fizik’s departure from Visma to UAE Team Emirates XRG, with Prologue filling the void.
A similar setup for Lidl-Trek for 2025 compared to 2024.
Still, the Trek Madone’s IsoFlow gap in the seat tube and cantilevered seat post still stands out.
After spending last season on normally black bikes, the Bianchi of Arkea B
Like the Cervélo S5 and the new Colnayo Y1R, the Bianchi Oltre has a cabin with positive elevation to attenuate the frontal surface.
The Wilier bikes of Groupama-FDJ this year have swapped Shimano wheels for Miche options.
We love the little main points that get overlooked. Aftermarket center lock rotor lock rings are unlikely to make much of a difference in terms of performance, but they look great anyway.
Taco Van der Hoorn is a strong contender already for the most aggressive position of the year.
Accustomed to marginal gains (in particular opting for aerodynamic “flats” to exploit a loophole in the UCI in 2023), the Dutchman opts for larger spare chainrings for greater transmission efficiency.
Tyre valves aren’t all that aerodynamic, so Van der Hoorn has opted for tubes (we suspect latex) with short valves, inflated using a valve extender, and then removed the extender for a small aero win. Our own testing shows there is little between tubeless and latex tubes in wattage terms, but there is certainly an increased puncture risk.
This built-in cockpit of the Cube is not found in this configuration on the brand’s online page and is almost a traditional style for Van der Hoorn. The stem is long and the shape of the bars is much more reminiscent of old bent bars, unlike the more modern shape that Cube sells with the Litening aero bike.
From above one can see just how far the Dutchman’s wrists will have to extend to place his hands in the crook of the hoods.
The Orbea Orca Aero of the Ceratizit-WNT has already achieved a victory this season under the leadership of Danik Hengeveld.
Rubber bumpers to smooth airflow at the transition between bar and stem.
Campagnolo returns to the WorldTour after a one-year hiatus. Its Super Record wireless groupsets will be fitted to the Look aero bikes of Cofidis.
The band is the top choice on the market among the big three manufacturers, for a maximum price of $5,500.
French frames, Italian group, Italian rims and here we also have Italian tires from Vittoria in the shape of the Corsa Pro.
Most of the time we see Bahrain-Victorious pilots aboard the Merida Reacto aero, here Roman Ermakov opted for the lighter Scultura model.
Unlike the sea of black bikes, the white and turquoise paint on the team’s bikes is refreshing.
There are no component tweaks for Israel-Premier Tech for 2025, but at least they have a new look for their Factor bikes.
I don’t know what to call this pattern. . . next to the snakeskin? In any case, it is clean and matches the upper component of the seat tube.
Painted seatposts are also rare, and although they cost a few grams, they do visually match a bike.
Flashes of white have been added to the S-Works Tarmacs of Soudal-Quick Step, again adding a few grams but allowing the red logos to pop a little more.
This brush effect is a new update of the old and elegant fades we see, and it would have possibly been implemented with a brush as it appears.
Individually numbered and labeled axles – the hallmark of a meticulous mechanic.
Despite having access to the Roval integrated cockpits, many of the Soudal riders opt for a separate system, likely for bike fit considerations.
Despite opting for the Canyon Ultimate, most Movistar cyclists opt for the latest Canyon Aeroad.
Time pedals don’t enjoy the same popularity as those from Shimano, Look and Wahoo, but in recent years they have become more and more common in the peloton.
The newest Ridley Noah Fast has the innermost head tube in recent years, especially visual on Anouska Koster’s small bike.
The Noah Fast has a built-in cockpit, but Kosta opted for a separate formula here, most likely to increase its diversity beyond what’s possible.
Canyon-SRAM maintains its most striking paint crown of the season to suit the team’s dynamic kits.
A 13g 3D manufactured computer mount is compatible with a Hammerhead cycling computer, itself a product of a SRAM-owned company.
Once again, Time pedals are built by another team, as Time is a SRAM-owned company. With SRAM as the name sponsor, it is understandable that every single SRAM product imaginable is used.
Ergon saddles we see very little of, though the brand has a great reputation for comfort.
Last season the Colnago V4Rs bikes of UAE Team ADQ had a lovely pastel fade on the fork legs and the bar tape, but this year the team bikes are all black, though we understand the Y1Rs aero bikes are all white, so there is at least a contrast there.
Enve SES 3.4 wheels hit a middle ground of weight vs aero.
No, this isn’t the same picture from the top of the page, but yes it is the same saddle.
With MAAP now sponsoring Jayco-AlUla, the team’s visual identity has seen a big change, and Luke Plapp’s Giant Propel will turn heads with its purple and chrome paint.
Cadex wheels and tires are from Giant’s in-house component brand. The spokes feature some of the innermost blade profiles on the market.
Here’s that bechromed rear end, which must really glint in the Australian sun.
While Soudal has a Tarmac with white spokes, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe’s motorcycles are almost completely white, which looks wonderful but is a mechanic’s nightmare to keep spotless.
Roval CLX wheels are also issued here.
Gone is the ‘Band Of Brothers’ motif on the top tube, replaced by a simple sponsor array.
As far as colour schemes go this combination of navy, slightly off-white, red, and yellow is a real winner.
Another wireless blip position to be spied tucked right in the crook of the bars.
Ineos’ Pinarello Dogmas are another new model, and the flexible Italian frame received an update last summer.
The force meter magnet for measuring cadence is located between the arms of the crank spider.
The tabs at the end of the fork legs have a small bolt hole into which the race transponder chips can be mounted for a slight aero advantage over mounting them to the fork legs.
Not to be outdone, Prologo’s 3D-printed saddles adorn many of the Ineos bikes.
A threaded bottom bracket, although Italian, is part of a growing move away from press-fit systems thanks to customer feedback.
Is this the tastiest fade of the bunch? The Ostro VAMs with human-powered health factor look great.
Unique aerodynamic bottle cages are popular on many motorcycles and offer sleek airflow through the down tube.
Colour-matching computer decals aren’t something we see much of, but where we do see it it’s always appreciated.
The Mags saddle from Wove is something we’ve not seen before in the peloton.
Here’s another look at that beautiful fade on the fork legs.
Finally, we have the X-Lab motorcycles from XDS-Astana. This is not the same old paint job, but it is a traditional choice for Henok Mulubrhan, the current African continental champion.
The geological paint mirrors the team’s jersey from last season with veins of gold throughout.
Is there something we missed? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to Cyclingnews for our second component of the TTU Mega Gallery, as well as all the race results, news and features from our team on the ground.
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as Reviews Editor in 2022, having written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He tried his luck in the top cycling disciplines, from the popular combination of road, gravel and mountain motorcycles to others such as motopolo and tracklocross. He has built his own motorcycle frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his perfect photographic eye. Plus, since you never drive indoors, you’re a real expert when it comes to bad-weather driving gear. Their motorcycle collection is a real variety, with everything from vintage-style metal touring motorcycles to ultralight flat bar hill-climbing machines.
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