As predicted, Saturday’s time trial at the 2020 Tour de France was one of the most fascinating of recent times. Not since Lemond beat Fignon on the final day at the 1989 Tour has a time trial caused such an earthquake at the sport’s biggest race.
The stage was won by Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates, who did what most people thought was impossible and beat his general classification rival Primož Roglič (who went into the stage leading the race by 57 seconds) by a minute and 56 seconds, catapulting him into the leader’s yellow jersey and securing the overall race victory.
For the opening kilometres, Pogačar rode his Colnago K-One with Campagnolo Bora wheels, setup with Vittoria Corsa Speed tubeless tyres. The Campagnolo Bora Ultra aero crankset was in a 1x setup, with an aero chain guide from UK brand Aerocoach. Michael Steele/Getty Images
Pogačar’s aero extensions were custom models by Speedbar.nl, and his skinsuit was a custom model by race sponsor Le Coq Sportif. The strips on the arms were likely designed to reduce a rider’s aerodynamic drag by influencing the airflow. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images
For the final climb, Pogačar switched to his V3Rs aero road bike. Reportedly, he went without a power meter on his road bike and instead rode on feel alone.
Not only did Pogačar go without a power meter, he also went without a bike computer full stop – so no heart rate, time or speed data either. Bernard Papon – Pool/Getty Images
Opting to change from his Colnago K-One time-trial bike to his Colnago V3Rs aero road bike at the foot of the final climb to La Planche des Belle Filles, he stormed up the 5.9km ascent in scintillating form.
Prompting immediate comparisons to the Cannibal, Pogačar won the mountains and young rider classifications as well, topping off a race that also included two other stage wins.
Not bad for his first Tour de France.
Porte rode his team issue Trek Speed Concept TT bike, with a Pro tri-spoke front wheel and a Lightweight Autobahn rear disc, both shod with Pirelli tubular tyres. He also had custom aerobar extensions, though we’re not sure who made those. Michael Steele/Getty Images
Porte switched to his Trek Emonda SLR for the final climb. As on his TT bike, his road bike has the blacked out, pro-only SRAM chainrings that come in more traditional ratios like 53/39t. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images
Richie Porte also had a very good day, finishing third on the stage and securing a much-deserved podium finish at the Tour.
Porte rode a Trek Speed Concept time trial bike, with a PRO tri-spoke front wheel and re-badged Lightweight Autobahn rear disc wheel (Bontrager doesn’t make a rear disc wheel), on the opening section, then switched to his Trek Emonda SLR for the final climb.
Roglič rode his standard time-trial setup for the opening kilometres. His Bianchi Aquila CV time-trial bike was equipped with Shimano Dura-ace Di2 and Pro wheels, shod with Vittoria Corsa Speed tubular tyres. Michael Steele/Getty Images
The aerobar extensions were custom models by sponsor Vision, and the helmet was a new time trial/triathlon helmet by Lazer. Roglič was wearing it so far back on his head to avoid a gap between his shoulders and the helmet. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images
Roglič switched to his Bianchi Oltre XR4 for the climb, but suddenly looked out of his comfort zone – climbing out of the saddle far more than we would usually expect him to.
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images
Roglič’s Bianchi Oltre XR4. It had a custom, ultra-lightweight paint job and a Corima front wheel – again, most likely to save weight. The tyres were Vittoria Corsa Speed tubulars. Tim de Waele/Getty Images
Spare a thought for Roglič though. Having led the race since stage nine, almost everyone thought he had the general classification sewn up.
Finishing fifth on the stage, it would be unfair to say he had a bad day on the bike, but he certainly didn’t look his absolute best.
On the flat and rolling section, Roglič wasn’t gaining much time on rivals but he wasn’t losing much either. In the end, it was the final climb where it all unraveled.
French national time-trial champion, Rémi Cavagna of Team Deceuninck-Quick-Step, set one of the early best times. He rode his team issue Specialized S-Works Shiv TT, with what appear to be Specialized S-Works turbo cotton clincher tyres. Michael Steele/Getty Images
Mikel Landa of Team Bahrain McLaren finished outside of the top ten, but he had very fancy bike. The aerobars were custom models by Speedbar.nl, and the rear disc was a new ultra-light tubular disc wheel by Vision, said to weigh just 945g. He was also using a new oversized pulley wheel system by Muc-Off. Michael Steele/Getty Images
Proving there’s practically nothing he can’t do on a bike, Belgian time-trial champion, Wout van Aert, finished fourth on the stage. His Bianchi Aquila CV time trial bike is almost stock, but he did opt for a pro-only 56-tooth (or it could even be a 58-tooth) front chainring. Michael Steele/Getty Images
Focusing almost solely on the mountains classification, Richard Carapaz of Team Ineos Grenadiers cruised to the foot of the final climb before switching to his road bike. His Pinarello Bolide TT time-trial bike had an Aerocoach rear wheel and a Princeton CarbonWorks front wheel, both shod with Continental tubeless tyres. Michael Steele/Getty Images
Former World time trial champion, Tom Dumoulin, stayed on his time-trial bike for the whole course – even climbing in the aero position at points. His was a relatively stock team setup, except for the custom Vision aerobar extensions. Michael Steele/Getty Images
A closer look at Lazer’s new time-trial helmet on the head of Tony Martin (Team Jumbo-Visma). The lower half is almost completely made up by the visor, perhaps to make it easier for triathletes to put it on quickly during races. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
EF Pro Cycling’s Alberto Bettiol didn’t trouble the leaderboard, but he did have a set of Vision’s new Metron TFE aerobar extensions. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Like Pogačar and Porte, Roglič also changed bikes at the foot of the final climb.
It didn’t go as smoothly as planned, but that ultimately wasn’t what lost him the race. Rather than his usual high cadence style, Roglič was in and out of the saddle and suddenly didn’t look so calm and collected.
He crossed the line looking like he knew exactly what he’d lost, with his teammates looking on in disbelief. It was a truly remarkable day.
Roglič was, on all accounts, extremely dignified in defeat, though. He also came away with a stage win, a podium finish and eleven days in the yellow jersey. Hardly an unsuccessful Tour.
Let’s get to what you really came here for though – the fancy tech spotted in the time trial.
Once you’ve browsed through the time trial gallery, don’t forget to check out our tech round-up from the race’s first rest day.
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