Team Ineos explain why they’re switching to Lightweight wheels for the Tour de France mountain stages
The British team are utilising the German made wheels in the Tour's toughest stages
Team Ineos, instead of Shimano, rolled out on new Lightweight wheels at the Tour de France today in view of the mountain stages to come.
2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal and the rest of the eight-man roster began the lumpy stage five to Colmar on the wheelsets the retail at around £5000.
"The team look into everything. They just say, theses are good, so I use them," Thomas told Cycling Weekly.
"Yeah [lighter wheels are better on the climbs], so obviously you don't just want to use them for the first time like tomorrow on a decisive day so we put them on today to get use to them a bit."
Tomorrow, Thomas and the Tour riders face the first of several mountain days in the 2019 edition. The hard stage ends with the 7km climb up La Planche des Belles Filles.
The team appear to be using the Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer, weighing 935g for the tubular set. The wheels are handmade in Germany and first noted in the peloton when Jan Ullrich and Lance Armstrong used them.
Thomas prepared for the Tour de France by putting in the hard miles, but also by testing these wheels and the Muc-Off chain that Ineos uses.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I used the wheels a bit in training," he added. "But I didn't know if we were definitely going to use them or not until we came here."
"Why now? We think it's exciting to try something new," said Carsten Jeppersen, Team Ineos's head of technical operations. "This year we are working with two different brands of wheels."
Normally, Ineos would use the Shimano C40 wheels to ride in the Tour de France mountains and other tough climbing days around the world.
"We can confirm we will use wheels from two brands during this year's Tour," the team said. "Shimano remains our main supplier and they are a valued partner for Team Ineos."
Shimano sponsors the team, but Lightweight does not. Without a deal, the management would have to had bought the eight wheelset and many spares, that were mounted on the extra bikes today, out of the team's budget.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Collapsed lung, concussion and multiple fractures: Fundraiser set up for first ever Tour de France Féminin winner following crash
Marianne Martin crashed earlier in October and is looking to raise $20,000 to help her get back on her feet
By Adam Becket Published
-
Gravel riders - get ready, set, register! A guide to 2025's biggest gravel events and key registration dates
Here are the registration dates for gravel’s biggest events around the globe
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
'I can help get the team back to where it was' - 20-year-old Artem Shmidt looks to the future after Ineos Grenadiers' disappointing season
Shmidt hoping to help revitalise team backed by Jim Ratcliffe after season of woes and as star rider Tom Pidcock gets set to move on
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I don’t think the people around Tom help' - Geraint Thomas on the Tom Pidcock and Ineos Grenadiers situation
Pidcock was "deselected" from Il Lombardia on Saturday, with the rider taking to Instagram to discuss decision
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'deselected' from Ineos Grenadiers squad for Il Lombardia
British rider says 'I guess off season starts early' in Instagram post
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers have had their worst season ever, and the woes appear not to be over. What’s next for the super-team of a bygone era?
With Tom Pidcock possibly off to Q36.5 and Luke Rowe leaving, the news is not quiet around the British WorldTour squad
By Adam Becket Published
-
Remco Evenepoel puts transfer speculation to bed ahead of World Championships road race
'I'll stay where I am' says Double Olympic champion as he confirms he will remain at Soudal Quick-Step next season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'You can't sugarcoat it' - Luke Rowe says Ineos Grenadiers are 'underperforming'
British squad's experienced road captain believes his team has been "overtaken" by others
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Steve Cummings replaced by Tom Pidcock's coach in Tour of Britain management team shake-up at Ineos Grenadiers
Cummings was on the provisional start list submitted to the race organiser, but was replaced by Kurt Bogaerts
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Dan Bigham becomes Head of Engineering at Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe after leaving Ineos Grenadiers
After winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, Bigham then left his role at Ineos due to his frustrations with the setup currently in place at the team
By Tom Thewlis Published