Mitchelton-Scott to ride Pirelli tubs at the Tour de France

On Saturday, ahead of the motor racing French Grand Prix, Pirelli announced its partnership with Mitchelton-Scott, who will ride its new PZero Velo tubular tyres at the upcoming Tour de France. The team join Aqua Blue Sport who are already riding Pirelli tyres.

Pirelli says that it has been working with the team for months ahead of the announcement, taking on board the team’s technical feedback on the new tyres. The team says that the tubs have been tested for 300,000km both in races and practice sessions, ahead of the announcement, with multiple WorldTour races already ridden on unbranded Pirelli tyres.

According to Mitchelton-Scott High Performance Manager Kevin Tabotta, “We have been really happy with the development of the tyres. Pirelli have been excellent in the way they’ve communicated with our athletes and taken on board their feedback. We have ended up with a fantastic fast, grippy, comfortable tyre that handles incredibly well.”

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Pirelli says that the PZero Velo tub uses the same tyre tech: its SmartNET silica compound, Ideal Contour Shaping tyre tread profile, and Functional Groove Design, as its PZero Velo clincher tyres.

To mark the launch, fresh from his ride at the Giro d’Italia, Simon Yates rode his Scott Plasma time trial bike, complete with the new Pirelli tubs, around a lap of the 5.8km Paul Ricard Formula One circuit near Marseille, before handing the prize for pole position to Lewis Hamilton.

Yates’s brother, Adam, will be leader of the Mitchelton-Scott team at the Tour de France, riding the new Pirelli tubs.