Who has the wackiest custom bars and is rocking the biggest ring? Tour de France time trial tech gallery 2023

Jonas Vingegaard's imperious performance in yesterday's stage may have left all others in his wake, but a Tour de France time trial always prompts the teams to open the packaging on all their hottest flashy gear - and this was no break from tradition.

We scoured the paddock for the all the best custom kit we could find, let's take a look...

Bob Jungels' aero bars

Bora-Hansgrohe rider Bob Jungels's bike was sporting these natty custom bars. The most interesting element is the ends of the bars that are designed to allow the Dutchman to get his hands into the puppy paws position.

However, the team have also given his bike a name tag that is spelled wrong, so it's not all good. 

Lawson Craddock's American-muscle-mobile

American Lawson Craddock didn't actually defend his US time trial championships title this year, but while that means he can no longer wear the jersey he can still ride this rather special Giant Trinity, decked out in the stars and stripes

The neat, stencilled lines of the stars on the head tube give way to more gritty and punky daubings towards the the rear of the frameset - most notably around the seat tube. 

Could it be an artistic interpretation of the increasingly turbulent airflow washing over the bike and rider as they cut through the wind? Or perhaps there's no deeper meaning than the pretty aesthetics - that'd be reason enough.

You can take the man out of Texas, but the Lone Star State has a je ne sais quoi that never leaves.

Some, but not all, of the Team Jayco–AlUla men were running tan-sidewall Vittoria Corsa tires - ever a classy choice.

Tadej Pogacar's carbon fibre chainring

The two time Tour winner actually uses the same brand of carbon fibre chainrings on his road bike as his TT bike - although here he's running a monster set of 58/46t Carbon-Ti rings for improved drivetrain efficiency.

Yves Lampaert's bars and saddle

Another rider with a custom set of TT bars designed for more of a 'puppy paws' aero position - although Lampaert's differs from Jungels' in that he keeps his hands placed more closely on top of each other to further reduce his frontal area.

What's the point in custom aero bars if you don't get an integrated bike computer mount at the same time...?

Who hasn't modified a saddle with duct tape before? Sure, for most the aim was probably to extend the life of a time worn pub-bike's saddle rather than increase the grip so as not to slip out of your TT position - but still, relatable.

Another rider rocking big rings, these are another pair of 58/46t. Interestingly, most of the Shimano cranksets being used are the older Dura-Ace R9100 11-speed model, rather than the latest Dura-Ace R9200. 

Gorka Izagirre's 'aviation grade' components

Using 'aviation grade' materials and tech is a common boast across many of cycling's component manufacturers.

But Gorka Izagirre has a better claim to this than most, with his custom bars having been made for him by IDEC Ingeniería y Desarrollos en Composites S.L. - a Spanish Airline and Aviation with its headquarters south of Bilbao, deep in the Basque country.

He also has more comfort than most, with this soft carpet-y padding running the full length of the extensions up to the hand holds.

Neilson Powless's hill climb machine

Yes we know this one isn't a TT bike but it's notable precisely because it isn't a TT bike. Neilson Powless is still very much in the hunt for the polka-dot king of the mountains jersey and with points on offer for the fastest person up the hill time trial's final climb he opted to ride the time trial on his regular Cannondale Lab 71 Supersix. 

There is one notable time trial concession - the full disc wheel on the rear of the bike. Up front he had a 40mm deep Vision SL wheel and the rest of the set-up is broadly similar to usual, although the hoods of the shifters were turned by quite a degree to maximize aerodynamics.

Alas, it wasn't to be wasn't to be and Giulio Ciccone tackled the climb even faster than Vingegaard and took the full points on yesterday's stage - extending his lead over Powless.

Mattias Skjelmose's narrow, narrow bars

Are these the narrowest set of TT bars at the Tour? We can't say for sure, but they are certainly a close contender regardless. 

With a riser blocks which take a step inwards halfway up, Skjelmose's has done his utmost to reduce his frontal area and tuck his shoulders, elbows and forearms as tightly as possible.