We’re at the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under and have visited the start and finish of the Down Under Classic — the precursor to the race itself — and stage one of the race to bring you the latest and greatest race tech from the first event of the WorldTour calendar.
With temperatures rising to over 45 degrees Celsius during the first two stages of the 2019 edition, teams have had to go to great lengths to keep riders cool.
Dedicated ice vests are more popular than ever, but the good ol’ stockings filled with ice trick and bringing a giant parasol remains the most popular ways to make sure the top talent keeps its cool.
Rally UHC Pro Cycling riders were also seen using the vests to cool down following the race - BikeRadar / Immediate Media
105 and alloy in the peloton
The news that Sagan was to race on an alloy Specialized Allez Sprint fitted with tubeless tyres near enough broke our little corner of the internet.
Clearly not wanting to be outdone, the same bike with a budget focussed Shimano 105 build was, for some reason, seen being loaded up as a spare to the roof of Decuninck - Quick-Step’s team car at the start of stage one.
105 in the pro peloton! - BikeRadar / Immediate Media
All the computer mounts
Several teams in the WorldTour have partnerships with brands to provide mounts for the computers. By far the most prominent is K-Edge, alongside proprietary mounts from the computer brands themselves.
However, somewhat unexpectedly, Astana Pro Team lined up for stage 1 with a different computer mount on each bike, two of which we've never even seen before!
In a sport where teams are so frequently uniform, this was a somewhat bizarre way to open its 2019 WorldTour account.
Dimension Data uses computer mounts from Rotor, who also supplies its cranksets - BikeRadar / Immediate Media
ANGI and a koala
From Bang & Olufson earpieces and ANGi crash detectors to a Koala on the back of Manuele Boaro’s helmet, 2019 is shaping up to be the year of the on-helmet accessory.
High-end HiFi manufacturer Bang & Olufson supplies Quickstep with radio earpieces that neatly integrate into the team's Ekoi sunglasses - BikeRadar / Immediate Media
...and Cipo
We spotted someone we never expected to see at the start of stage one - BikeRadar / Immediate Media
Click through to see our full race tech gallery from the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under.
Jack Luke is the deputy editor at BikeRadar and has been fettling with bikes for his whole life.
Always in search of the hippest new niche in cycling, Jack is a self-confessed gravel dork, fixie-botherer, tandem-evangelist and hill climb try hard.
Jack thinks nothing of bikepacking after work to sleep in a ditch or taking on a daft challenge for the BikeRadar YouTube channel. He is also a regular contributor to the BikeRadar podcast.
With a near encyclopaedic knowledge of cycling tech, ranging from the most esoteric retro niche to the most cutting-edge modern kit, Jack takes pride in his ability to seek out stories that would otherwise go unreported. He is also particularly fond of tan-wall tyres, dynamo lights, cup and cone bearings, and skids.
Jack has been writing about and testing bikes for more than six years now, has a background working in bike shops for years before that, and is regularly found riding a mix of weird and wonderful machines. Jack can also often be seen zooming about with his partner aboard their beloved tandem.
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