Team Picnic-PostNL is debuting a new still-to-be-released Michelin Power Cup S race tyre at stage one of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
The new tyres were revealed fitted to bikes ahead of stage one, with a new ‘S’ moniker setting them apart on the tyre sidewall.
More meaningfully in performance terms, a team mechanic confirmed to BikeRadar that the tyre is “faster” than the current Power Cup Competition TLR tyre, featuring a smoother compound down the centre of the tyre for lower rolling resistance, and a gripper compound on the shoulders.
The tread has also been slightly modified, which could help to improve aerodynamics as well as grip.
Under the skin, the mechanic also said the construction has been tweaked, although they wouldn’t confirm to what end.
The current Michelin Power Cup Competition TLR tyre has a 3x120 TPI (threads-per-inch) casing, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Michelin may have upped the thread count to improve suppleness.
A material change is also not out of the question, with high TPI cotton casings used by both Vittoria and Specialized in their racing tyres, and Michelin may also have shed a layer in a similar manner to how Continental makes its GP5000 TT TR tyre compared to the S TR all-round race tyre.
Not TT-specific?
While visiting the team before the race, we spotted the team’s time trial bike still fitted with blanked out Vittoria tyres (close inspection revealed these to be Corsa Pro Speed tyres).
The team confirmed that it is working with Michelin on a new time trial specific tyre, but that a reveal date was still to be confirmed.
Of course, the team could be playing possum and we’ll see that tyre (or even the Power Cup S tyre) on the bikes come Tuesday’s team time trial. If it isn’t ready for then, it’s likely the brand and team are pushing to have it ready for the opening stage of the Tour de France in Barcelona, which is also a team time trial.
