Understated is not a word that you can use to describe Valverde’s new Pinarello however!Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) is the new Spanish champion but his jersey is more understated and “elegante” than the usual flag.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Don Alejandro, Prince of Spain is how they describe this bike’s rider in Treviso these days.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Damiano Cunego (Lampre) has a new Wilier Cento Uno in black and white, perhaps to match his ProTour leader’s jersey.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
That’s not a decal; it’s part of the paint scheme.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Another black and white bike celebrates Garmin-Chipotle’s Julian Dean as New Zealand champion.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
David Millar (Garmin-Chipotle) may have lost the road race jersey to his former teammate Rob Hayles (Halfords-Bikehut) but he’s still British time trial champion.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Pippo Pozzato (Liquigas) probably wins the prize for best looking bike this year with his two-tone metallic green Cannondale SuperSix.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) has a star on his seatpost because his daughter’s name is Stella.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Stijn Devolder (Quick Step) may no longer be Belgian champion, but at least one of his Specialized Tarmac rigs still carries the driekleur.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) is the new French champion and is a vision of blue, white and red in his nation’s most important race.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Vogondy has a nice tricoleur helmet. Luckily for Spiuk his teammate Christophe Moreau already had this design.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
What’s that Robbie McEwen (Silence-Lotto) is doing to his new Ridley Noah?Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Rocket Robbie is now ready to race.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Fabian Cancellara (CSC-Saxo Bank) has a special edition Prologo Scratch TR.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Cance’s new saddle has his world time trial winning time on it to remind everyone of his power.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Carlos Sastre (CSC-Saxo Bank) has a new Prologo Choice Max TR saddle…Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
… it has his name on the Prologo logo…Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
… but most importantly it proclaims that Carlos Sastre is the best daddy!Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) ups the ante in the battle for the blingiest shoes in the peloton…Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
… but no one will ever out-shoe Pippo Pozzato (Liquigas) whose new Sidi kicks match his new Cannondale.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
David Millar (Garmin-Chipotle) is no shrinking violet with this British pair from Specialized.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Silvain Chavanel (Cofidis) is showing a lot of confidence with his personalised yellow Specializeds.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) has his outfit completed by two tricoleurs on his Adidas’ straps.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
…but only because the Red version isn’t available in a 180mm length.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
SRAM’s mid-range Force crankset is preferred by one Saunier Duval-Scott rider…Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
… and the Mavic neutral service uses the shifters on its yellow Cannondale bikes.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
We show this very year but the clips and straps on the neutral service bikes always raise a smile in the Cyclingnews tech office.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
The use of non-round chainrings is spreading throughout the CSC-Saxo Bank team. Carlos Sastre apparently favors Rotor’s Q-Rings.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
There are a few pro riders out there that care about their bike’s paintwork.Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
As part of the trend to use a small frame and long stem demon descender Samuel Sanchez has a 140mm FSA OS-115…Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
… but that’s nothing as teammate Mikel Astarloza uses a 150mm one!Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews.com
One of this year’s top favourites for the Tour is Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) who won the first stage into Plumelec and earned the first yellow jersey of this year’s Tour de France. To go along with his new maillot jaune, Valverde’s team also equipped him with a specially finished Pinarello Prince FPX.
Advertisement
Technically speaking, there is nothing unique on Valverde’s bike as compared to those of his Caisse d’Epargne teammates. However, it couldn’t be more different visually with its bright yellow and red paintjob to match his national flag and the words, ‘Don Alejandro‘ and ‘Prince of Spain’ boldly emblazoned on the top and down tubes. The Treviso company even supplied a yellow version of its MOst Talon integrated bar and stem, as well as a red-topped carbon MOst Tail seatpost. Campagnolo joins the party with yellow-finished Record D-Skeleton brake callipers and Elite has also chipped in with a matching pair of red-trimmed carbon Patao bottle cages.
It’s difficult to say whether his new bike makes Valverde go any faster, but when viewing the race for stage one’s finish line in Plumelec this week it certainly made him easier to spot.
Even before donning the maillot jaune, though, the recently crowned Spanish champion was already wearing special colours. Unlike previous champions of his nation – such as team-mate Jose Iván Gutiérrez – the Bala Verde’s jersey is not simply a Spanish flag with sleeves But rather more closely resembled a standard team jersey trimmed with Spanish stripes. The design – approved by the Spanish Federation – was apparently intended to be a little more stylish and elegante.
Special jersey or not, if Valverde and his Caisse d’Epargne team have their way he won’t be wearing it again until after this year’s Tour de France wraps up in Paris. No rider has held the lead from start to finish since Jacques Anquetil in 1961 but the team said they plan to change that this year.
More bike bling
Current ProTour leader Damiano Cunego (Lampre) – as an Italian man – likes to look good. Although he won’t be wearing the white jersey at this particular race, he has had his new Wilier Triestina Cento Uno painted to match. To emphasise that the white, black and silver colourway is a total one-off for the Piccolo Principe, it also bears his name on the top tube. Sure, e