From start to finish the 2023 Tour de France has been nothing short of epic. This year's emotional roller-coaster provided us with many highs and lows - be it Matej Mohoric's emotional victory on stage 19, or the heartbreaking end to Mark Cavendish's quest to break a Tour de France record.
The final chapter of every Tour de France story is always the same though: the iconic sporting spectacle of the Champs-Élysées sprint in Paris. As well as a final showdown for the fast men, it also acts as one final spotlight on the best riders and their equipment.
There's been no shortage of hot tech at this year's Tour de France with special team kits and custom bikes, but nothing quite tops the winning jersey-themed bikes that we see in Paris.
The Competitions
Over the last few years, it has become common for bike brands to provide classification winners with custom livery bikes, in a celebration of their respective successes.
A once subtle tradition that simpy saw yellow bar tape, or polka dot socks being donned for the final stages, has evolved into a far more flamboyant affair, with riders going all in to perfect their outfits for a last hurrah/tear up on the fashionable streets of Paris.
Wearers of the yellow (overall), green (points), and polka dot jersey (mountains) all rolled into Paris on vibrant machines, covered from shifters to cranks in the respective colourways.
The winners
Jonas Vingegaard's yellow Cervelo S5
The 'Danish dynamite' has had what can only be described as a near-perfect Tour de France. Vingegaard took charge of the yellow Jersey on stage 6, and only conceded handful seconds to his main rival, Tadej Pogačar in the entirety of the race.
Jumbo-Visma's bike sponsor Cervelo provided Vingegaard with two different bikes for the road stages, the Cervelo R5 for climbing days, and the Cervelo S5 for the flatter stages. Vingegaard rode into Paris on a pretty special Cervelo S5, complete with custom graphics alongside a stunning yellow paint job.
Beyond a yellow frameset, the 2023 champion's bike was covered in yellow flecks, be it on the SRAM Red AXS groupset, or the Reserve carbon wheels. More graphics on the top tube paid homage to Vingegaard's retention of the title, displaying his 2022 and 2023 victories.
Once again, Jumbo-Visma opted for a 1x setup, which seems to be making a bit of a comeback to the top level of our sport.
Giulio Ciccone's polka dot Trek Madone
When Giulio Ciccone started the Tour de France, questions were asked about his role - stage hunter, or overall GC contender. Whatever he came in as, he has certainly delivered, with the Trek-Lidl rider pipping Felix Gall of AG2R Citroen by just 14 points to claim the polka dot KOM jersey.
This year, Trek went all out when it came to bling, providing the team with some of the most beautiful bikes in the peloton. Project one, Trek's in-house custom paint program allows the consumer to individualize their bikes with a stunning amount of detail, and there's no difference when it comes to Ciccone's bike.
Although most of the Italian climber's points were secured aboard the Trek Emonda (Trek's climbing bike), Ciccone opted for an aero Madone to tackle the final flat stage of the Tour. Beyond more red details, it's interesting to see Ciccone opting for a separate Bontrager XXX bar and stem setup, rather than the Aeolus RSL VR-C integrated bar and stem that most of the team's riders chose.
Jasper Philipsen's green Canyon Aeroad CFR
Jasper Philipsen was without a doubt the strongest sprinter in the 2023 Tour de France. With world-class leadout man Mathieu van der Poel on setup duties, the Alpecin–Deceuninck rider racked up an impressive four stage victories, even if there were some hot-headed moments in the last few stages.
The revised pastel green colour for the Maillot Vert has been a topic of conversation in this year's Tour, with many people on the face with the new look. Canyon has certainly done it justice though, with this beautiful Canyon Aeroad CFR.
Simple yet classy, Philipsen's bike did not feature any graphics beyond the new colour, but was certainly still a looker. Combined with Shimano's blacked-out Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, and C60 wheelset, we think this is one of the best-looking bikes of this year's Tour, especially complete with a matching green innertube to cover the Belgian sprinter's transponder on the fork.
Tadej Pogačar's Colnago V4RS
It would be a crime not to mention the bike ridden by the man who never stopped attacking, helping to make the 2023 Tour such a memorable one. Tadej Pogačar may not have gone all out with a white bike, but his Colnago V4Rs certainly got some TV time, with the Slovenian attacking countless times on the Champs-Élysées, seemingly just for the love of bike racing.
Although the frameset was black, the UAE-Emirates team mechanics did make some subtle changes to the former champion's bike.
Previously stealth-black logos were swapped out for white ones on his Enve SES 5.6 wheels, and Prologo also provided a white saddle too - which interestingly, looked to be at a slightly different angle when compared to the Slovenian's climbing setup. Topped off with white bar tape, this Italian machine certainly looked classy, even if it didn't gain top spot on the overall podium.
