The AG2R La Mondiale blue Factor O2 frames stand out in the peloton - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The 1.59m tall Samuel Dumoulin rode a tiny 49cm frame - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
An AG2R La Mondiale mechanic checks the bike setups ahead of the race start - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Ben Swift rode his Colnago C60 in the UAE-Emirates colours - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Italian frame is paired with a full Campagnolo electronic groupset and wheels - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Campagnolo Super Record Skeleton brakes weigh in at 272 grams - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Campagnolo EPS interface box is positioned under the stem - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Italian theme continues with a Dedacciai cockpit - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
For stage 1 BMC Racing and Team Sky had the whole team equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 series wheels. The first time we have seen a full team on the latest wheels from Shimano - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Irish champion Nico Roche has a distinctive top cap on his BMC - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
BMC rode with the slick looking Elite Vico Carbon bottle cages - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The spare bikes for BMC were last year's race bikes - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Stage 1 winner Michael Albasini rode without a power meter and was equipped with a full Shimano Dura-Ace 9150 groupset and 9100 wheels - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Albasini ran a standard gear combination of 53/39 chainrings and an 11-28 cassette - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Albasini, Simon Yates and Roman Kreuziger were the only three riders on Orica-Scott to race on the Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 series wheels - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Warren Barguil opted for deep section 60mm rims, despite the hilly terrain of stage 1 - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Barguil was also equipped with a climbing switch on the tops of his handlebars for ease of changing gear on long, undulating climbs - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Sebastien Reichenbach had a special Swiss themed paint job on his Lapierre in his home race - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The red and white design featured stars on the forks and various Swiss climbs and passes on the top tube - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Reichenbach hails from the Valais region of Switzerland - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
'Valais. Engraved in my heart' is adorned on the seat tube - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
A small Swiss flag sits in between the seat stays on the rear of the seat tube - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
FDJ mechanics attached clip-on Zefal Shield Lite mudguards to protect the riders from road spray - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The team's tyre pressures are checked with an electronic pump and gauge ahead of the stage start - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Zefal Shield Lite is similar to an Ass Savers guard - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Trek-Segafredo team rode on a mix of Émonda and Madone frames - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Simon Yates opts for a forward facing climbing switch - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The most iconic bikes in the WorldTour peloton? - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Vision Metron 5D handlebars don't look quite as slick with a standard handlebar spacer beneath the stem - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The specific spacers for the Vision handlebars offer a much neater finish - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Robert Gesink and Primož Roglič were the only Lotto-JumboNL riders to be equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 wheels - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Tacx Uma Carbon bottlecages on the Lotto-JumboNL bikes weigh just 19 grams each - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Primož Roglič rode with sprint shifters equipped to the drops of his handlebars - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Pro Continental team Wanty-Groupe Gobert had mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 groupsets - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Many Pro Continental teams opt for mechanical groupsets or lower spec Shimano Ultegra groupsets - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Mavic neutral service vehicles had a Canyon Aeroad and Ultimate on offer - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Nikita Stalnov from Astana takes no heed from the #SlamThatStem crowd opting for 40mm of spacers - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
If Shimano Ultegra chains and cassettes are good enough for WorldTour, then they're good enough for you - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Like Simon Yates, Jarlinson Pantano opts for a forward facing climbing switch - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Russian national champion had his custom painted Canyon Ultimate on display - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The white, red and blue paint job is a subtle design - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
SRAM's Red eTap wireless groupset ensures a clean front end - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Katusha-Alpecin had its own light rear spray guards - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
As well as course notes, several riders opt for the stage profile so they know what's coming - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Early race leader Fabio Felline has a lucky horseshoe on his stem - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
As well as BMC, Team Sky also had the full team on 9100 series wheels - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
For the wet and cold race, Team Sky had extra chain lube on its drivetrains - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Owain Doull, Elia Viviani and Ian Boswell rode with Speedplay pedals, while the rest of Team Sky rode with Shimano Dura-Ace pedals - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Team Sky riders have Stages power meters equipped with their cranksets - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Team Sky wore an as yet unreleased Castelli jacket at the race - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Chris Froome, who can suffer in cold weather, took no precautions with overshoes, leg warmers and extra cold weather gear - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Dimension Data continues to race and test the new Cervélo R5 - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Eritrean national champion Daniel Teklehaimanot has a custom painted Cervélo S5 - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The national colours of Eritrea certainly catch the eye - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Several riders wore non-sponsor cold weather clothing with the labels concealed - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
This Sportful Fiandre jacket has the red flash on the rear of the jacket crudely blacked out - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Dimension Data's team for the race was made up entirely of African riders - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Sonny Colbrelli wrapped up warm in the wet and cold conditions - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Orica-Scott had lycra overshoes on the wet stages, similar to those produced by VeloToze - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Trek-Segafredo had the new Sportful Stelvio jacket on offer for the conditions - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
Astana had the range toping Corima 47 MCC S wheels on display - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The lightweight, carbon Corimas have just 12 carbon spokes on the front wheel - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The Tour de Romandie has built a reputation for wet and miserable weather in recent years. Despite being on the cusp of spring and with the first Grand Tour just days away, the race can feel like a tough winter training ride, but it offers the general classification protagonists a chance to test their legs in the build-up to the Giro d’Italia and a solid racing block for those focused on the Tour de France.
With the famous wet weather of the race ensuring temperatures in the single figures, driving rain and even snow, the riders had an array of wet and cold weather gear on show in this year’s race, where Richie Porte (BMC) claimed the overall honours.
Several teams opted to equip their bikes with lightweight plastic mudguards clipped onto their saddles. The guards offer extra protection from road spray, are quick to install or remove and add little weight to the bikes.
Early race leader Fabio Felline has a lucky horseshoe on his stem - Josh Evans / Immediate Media
The usual custom frames were on show for the national champions, while Fabio Felline’s lucky horseshoe on his stem seemed to work for the opening three days of the race after the Italian scorched to victory in the prologue time trial.
Wanty-Groupe Gobert was the only non-WorldTour team at the race, and the Pro Continental outfit’s bikes were equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 mechanical groupsets. Several Astana riders were also seen racing with Shimano Ultegra chains and cassettes, showing that top-of-the-range components are not always necessary.
Following a mixed bag of old and new Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets earlier in the year, more and more teams are moving onto the latest 9100 series components.
Team Sky and BMC Racing had their whole teams on the 9100 series wheelsets, the first time we have seen the full complement for a team at a race. Shimano have stated that all teams have enough 9100 wheels for the race programme. Despite this, several teams have saved the latest wheels from Shimano just for their top riders.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to see what was on display at the Swiss race.
