It's the first rest day of the 2024 Giro d'Italia. The racing has been to the playbook thus far, though perhaps more dominant from the gun than any of us even thought. While we all collectively scratch our heads and wonder if there is anything anyone can do to knock Tadej Pogačar down from his pink plinth, the day off provides a window of opportunity to dive into some of the hottest tech on show.
The Classics are done, and with them, the cobble-specific mods go too, while the flurry of new bikes that precludes the Tour de France is yet to come. The Giro, you might think, is a technical morass, but there are always things to spot if you know where to look - and we know where to look.
Put your feet up and scroll down through the lush images and get ready to nerd out on setups, new gear, one-off parts, and pink accessories from week one of the season's first grand tour.
This is the first time we've been able to snap the new Giant TCR in full race getup. The latest model differs very little from the outgoing one, but its internal cables air the aerodynamics of this climbing machine.
The paint scheme is the same as the Propel that Jayco-AlUla has been using all season, and one we're very much fond of here at Cyclingnews.
The team mostly seem to have opted for the TCR over the propel, perhaps due to the hilly nature of the opening week.
In a world of increasingly black-dominant pro bike paint jobs, due to the weight savings on offer, we applaud Jayco's visual interest, down to the little details, in this case on Luke Plapp's bike.
Speaking of mostly black paint jobs, Ineos swapped the rear of their bikes from navy to black (or just clearcoated) for 2024. Geriant Thomas' Pinarello Dogma is resplendent in an all-Dura-Ace-everything build.
While the aero and weight penalties may be negligible, seeing the pros use a security strap for their computers is novel. It does mean it's slower to swap computers if a bike change is needed though.
The Giro is a great chance to get a look at the bikes of some wildcard teams that we don't see so often. Here is the De Rosa 70 of VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizanè. A mouthful of a team name, but a very good looking bike regardless.
It's also a rare occasion to spot the new Campagnolo Super Record wireless groupset in action, as Campagnolo is no longer in the WorldTour.
Like SRAM, the groupset uses removable batteries in the front and rear derailleurs. They are however different batteries, as SRAM has a patent on interchangeable universal batteries.
The famous thumb buttons are gone now too, replaced by a pair of shifter paddles.
The aesthetics of the cranks split opinion. Personally I'm a fan, but to some, Campagnolo should always be 5-arm.
Things aren't all they seem over in the Soudal-QuickStep camp. The team bikes looked to be equipped with normal Roval Rapide wheels, but on closer inspection, they had a 'TEAM' inscription. Lighter? More aero? We can only speculate for now, but it's safe to assume they're faster.
Tim Merlier, wearer of the purple sprinter's jersey for a day early on, had some decidedly 'cyclamen' details on his bike.
Ok, we did quite well to get this far without showing you Pogačar's pink Colnago V4Rs. While his sponsors have stopped short of a full pink bike, the pink finishing kit is at least complemented by a pink logo.
UAE Team Emirates have been using these Carbon-Ti chainrings for a couple of seasons, but now they have the team name cutout on the outer ring too.
These aero brake discs from the same brand are new though, and presumably are still pretty feathery.
Pogačar runs satellite shifters just under the hoods for sprinting.
With an Italian saddle sponsor it's no surprise to see a pink Prologo atop his seatpost.
It's very neatly done, but you can just about make out the old white logos underneath the pink indicating that this is a vinyl sticker applied on his standard frame.
The same goes for the head tube badge. Prologo bar tape matches the saddle too.
A little Hulk mascot sticker seems to be a feature of Pogačar's bikes, which puts us in mind of some of Peter Sagan's custom frames back in the day. There's a pink skin on his Wahoo Elemnt Bolt too, just to cap it all off.
At the Visma-Lease-A-Bike bus there was a mix of white and black bar tape, some computer straps, and another glimpse at the unreleased SRAM Red groupset.
This is the clearest look we've had so far at the new lever and hood shape. The hoods especially appear to be a little longer and slimmer.
Over at Lidl-Trek, the new Red front derailleur was on show.
Here's another look at those prototype Pirelli tyres we've been seeing since Opening Weekend. The width was markedly narrower than what we saw in use during the classics.
Another wildcard team - Polti-Kometa - running bikes we rarely see. Here it's what we believe is an all-new Aurum Magma, with a deeper, more squared-off head tube shape than the existing model. The team rides both red and green versions of the same bike with differing setups, perhaps some are from the 2023 season and are still in use.
While the red version has an integrated cockpit, this green model has a separate Enve bar and stem, with cables that go in a little further back than on the outgoing model.
Selle SMP saddles are also a rarity for us to see, with their famous dropped nose.
The latest SRAM Red has been proliferating across SRAM-sponsored teams. Some riders in these teams, Movistar in this case, are still very much using the old Red, with signs of use plain to see.
They key riders will be using the new gear as a priority before launch to eke out all the performance benefits.
The Bora-Hansgrohe team bikes had a mix of old and new Red too. This looks to be the new rear derailleur.
And this is a new front derailleur.
New Red levers abounded on many of the team bikes.
The ease of the wireless shifter blips means we see them in use a lot on SRAM-equipped team bikes.
The new rear derailleur jockey wheels look to have a metallic spider.
There has been some machining out of the body of the new rear derailleur too, presumably to shed weight.
Normally the race transponder is mounted to the fork legs, but some race organisers mandate it goes onto the chainstay instead.
The race leader warming up for the time trial, which he would go on to win. There's a surprising amount in the photo to talk about. He's got an aero base layer on that is effectively just a pair of sleeves, a Core body temperature sensor on his heart rate strap, pink sunglasses, the controversial purple/pink combo skinsuit, and as-yet-unreleased Enve branded aero extensions. The team has also informed us that Pogačar likes to warm up to rap music piped into his JBL headphones, and Eminem in particular. It's not out of the question to assume it's 'Lose Yourself' right before the start, so feel free to listen along for the rest of the gallery.
Here are those custom team edition Carbon Ti chainrings in action on his TT bike, though in larger sizes.
The fork legs here are extremely deep, complemented again by those aero disc rotors.
Another aero base layer on show on Geraint Thomas at the start line. His Kask Bambino helmet is distinctly normal looking amongst the sea of radical new models we've seen lately. It does have extra visor fairings on the lower half, which were a later mod by the team.
It appeared on initial inspection that Ineos were using a 1x setup for the time trial, despite the hilly finish. However, the rear skewer on many of the bikes was a giveaway that a Classified Powershift hub was in use, effectively giving the team the aero advantages of a 1x, but the gear range of a 2x setup.
The rider's names on the skewers themselves is a neat touch, but also a good way to avoid mixing them up and running into issues with shifters not talking to the receiver, which is in the axle end.
From the outside though you'd be forgiven for assuming the poor riders were expected to turn these monster Digirit chainrings up the final climb.
With no dedicated wireless shifter blips, the Ineos mechanics got creative with bonding wired units to the ends of the bars.
Another aero base layer, and a new Limar TT helmet. The scalloped edge at the rear is clearly designed to mesh with the rider's shoulders.
In terms of visual weirdness nothing can really compete with this Giro model. It looks insane, but it is likely extremely fast. It's worth noting that as yet, it's not been ridden to victory against the clock.
The much-maligned 'head sock' has been banned by the UCI, so the Soudal riders have to have their straps on show.
The most bling looking TT tech was perhaps found at the Jayco bus, with these 3D-printed titanium units, fitted to one of the last remaining rim brake TT bikes still in use.
While they may well be for sale, thanks to the UCI stipulation that all tech in use must be, it's safe to assume they are prohibitively expensive.
Is there anything we've missed? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Cyclingnews for all the race results, news and features from our team on the ground throughout the rest of the race.
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