Pro bike: Thomas Voeckler’s BBox-Bouygues Telecom Colnago C59

Bastille Day will hold an especially important meaning for BBox-Bouygues Telecom team leader Thomas Voeckler, he being a French rider on a French team, a memorably valiant defender of the maillot jaune two years ago, as well as the current national road champion.

Proudly dressed in the colours of his country’s flag, his Tour de France bike is, however, a nearly 100 percent Italian machine: Colnago’s latest C59. Rather than use the more common tube-to-tube or semi-monocoque carbon fibre construction, Colnago have opted to stick with their tried-and-true lugged technology. It’s no boat anchor, though, with all-carbon tubes and lugs that keep the frame down to a highly competitive 950g or so.

The C59 doesn’t use old-style round pipes either, with its ‘+’-profile tapered down tube and multisided top tube. The rectangular chainstays are slightly larger than what we’ve seen in the past out of Cambiago, too, while the wishbone-style seatstays slim down a bit for a smoother ride. Also featured on the C59 is a tapered front end for added steering precision and internally routed cables for a cleaner appearance. 

Colnago continue to stick with lugged construction on their top carbon models

The build kit is almost entirely Italian as well, with a nearly complete Campagnolo Super Record group and Campagnolo Bora Ultra Two deep-section carbon tubulars with matching white, blue and red decals. Voeckler subs in a Chorus front derailleur, though, with a titanium cage instead of the carbon fibre one of Record or Super Record. And as is common for most riders at the Tour, it’s supplemented with a slim chain watcher.

Voeckler foregoes the carbon cage of Record or Super Record in favour of Chorus’s titanium one

Rounding things out are FSA’s Plasma integrated carbon fibre bar and stem, a Prologo Scratch Pro TR saddle with carbon fibre rails, Hutchinson tubular tyres and Time’s latest i-Clic Ti Carbon clipless pedals. Total weight as pictured is just 7.08kg (15.61lb).

Even the Elite Custom Race bottle cages match the French champion colour scheme