Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Tour Climbs The Complete Guide To Every Mountain Stage On The Tour De France by Chris Sidwells Tour Climbs: The Complete Guide To Every Mountain Stage On The Tour De France by Chris Sidwells. France and Principality of Andorra will be on the menu of the 108th edition of the Tour. In France, 9 regions and 31 departments will be visited. STAGES. 8 flat stages 5 hilly stages 6 mountain stages with 3 finishes at altitude (Tignes, Saint-Lary-Soulan col du Portet, Luz Ardiden) 2 individual time-trial stages 2 rest days Stage 8 Vierzon > Le Creusot, 248 kms, will be the longest of the Tour since 2000 (Belfort > Troyes, 254,5 kms) TIME-TRIAL. In 2021, there will be two individual timetrial stages which hadn’t occurred since 2017. Their total distance will be 58 kms, 27 kms between Changé and Laval Espace Mayenne on stage 5 and 31 kms between Libourne and Saint-Émilion on the occasion of stage 20. NOVELTIES. Landerneau (finish stage 1) Pontivy (finish stage 3) Changé (start stage 5) Vierzon (start stage 7) Sorgues (start stage 11) Malaucène (finish stage 11) Quillan (finish stage 14) Céret (start stage 15) Pas de la Case (start stage 16) Chatou (start stage 21) MOUNTAIN RANGES. The Armorican mountains will get the ball rolling as soon as the Grand Départ in Brittany. Will then follow: the Massif Central, the Alps and the Pyrenees. There will also be a first ever climb in the Morvan, le Signal d’Uchon. BONUS SECONDS. They will distributed at the finish of each normal stage allowing the first three riders to gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds. Cycling in the French Alps: Tough Tour Climbs. Want to take on the hardest Tour de France climbs? Paul Henderson, author of Cycling in the French Alps , has done the maths and says Savoie and Haute Savoie in the Rhône-Alpes are the places to be. According to the gradient-squared system, the Galibier (pictured) is a tougher climb than the Tourmalet. The Galibier will be climbed twice during the 2011 Tour de France. Photo: Soumei Baba. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Why do most 'cycloclimbers' feel the need to categorise and compare the mountains they have toiled to conquer? Perhaps because cycling up big hills is a slightly masochistic pastime in which a great deal of the pleasure comes from achieving a difficult goal after a long, hard struggle. But is the Galibier harder than the Tourmalet? Is Mont Ventoux more of a challenge than Alpe d’Huez? In these examples, the differences between the climbs are large enough that the answers (yes in both cases) leave little room for debate. But what about more similar climbs, such as the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Croix de Fer? To settle such debates, cyclists have developed a number of grading systems based on a climb’s length and average gradient. Of all these methods, the 'gradient-squared system' stands out as giving a good idea of how hard a climb will feel, while still being easy to apply. Doing the maths. The gradient-squared system is based on the premise that the relationship between the gradient of a slope and the effort needed to cycle up it is far from linear. For example, an ascent of 600m over 10km will feel easier if the gradient is a steady 6% all the way (slope A) than if it is 3% for 5km, and then 9% for 5km (slope B). To take this into account, the gradient-squared system sums the squares of the gradients for each individual kilometre. Thus, for the two examples cited above, slope A would score 360 points (62 x 10 = 360) and slope B would score 520 points (32 x 5 + 92 x 5 = 450). Greg LeMond leading Laurent Fignon over the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer during the 1989 Tour de France. LeMond went on to win the Tour that year by just 8 seconds after the final time trial in Paris. Photo: Steve Selwood. Carrying this over to the four passes mentioned in the introduction confirms that the Galibier (1680 points – starting from St Michel de Maurienne) is harder than the Tourmalet (1090 points – starting from Luz St Sauveur) and that Alpe d’Huez (905 points) is easier than Mont Ventoux (1340 points – starting in Bedouin). But what about the Madeleine and the Croix de Fer? It depends where you start – the Madeleine from La Chambre is the hardest climb, followed by the Croix de Fer from St Jean de Maurienne, then the Madeleine from Aigueblanche and the Croix de Fer from Bourg d’Oisans. Applying the gradient-squared system to all the major climbs in the départements of Savoie and Haute Savoie, it was found that 116 ascents score more than 750 points – equivalent to a 1st category or “hors catégorie” climb on the Tour de France. In addition, Savoie is home to more hard climbs than any other département in France. This realisation led the Savoie Mont Blanc tourist board to draw up a map of difficult ascents to create a circuit for 'col-baggers', and to fit the most classic climbs with kilometre posts showing the distance remaining and the average gradient for the coming kilometre. Further information about these itineraries, including ideas for base camps from which to do several of the biggest climbs, can be found on the tourist board's website (most of this information is only available in French at the moment; however, there are plans for a more comprehensive English version of the site in the spring, and anyone needing more information in English is asked to call the tourist office). The road to Madeleine. Photo: will_cyclist. Cycling in the French Alps. For fanatical cyclists, one of the best places to be based is St Jean de Maurienne, a small town (actually a city, as it has a cathedral) that lies at or near the foot of some of France’s greatest passes, including the Galibier, Iseran, Croix de Fer, Glandon and Madeleine. Anyone thinking of spending a week cycling in the Savoie Alps would do well to look at the Pays de Maurienne website – marketed as covering "the world's largest cycling area". The site is a goldmine of information about the Maurienne Valley, even though the English version of the site is not (yet) as comprehensive as the French version. In addition, the tourist office in St Jean is one of several in the area where you can rent 'Timtoo' (only in French, German or Italian, unfortunately) timing chips, which allow you to time your ascents of the major passes. All the famous passes accessible from St Jean, plus the Cormet de Roseland and Alpe d’Huez can also be integrated into a fabulous multi-day circuit that will be described in a subsequent article. And for the not-so-fanatical. Cyclists looking to combine a few challenging rides with some more leisurely sightseeing might consider Chambéry as a base. Chambéry’s attractive old town is a mere 12km from Lake Bourget, France’s largest natural lake (bike path all the way), and within easy reach (by bike or by train) of more traditional tourist honeypots, such as Annecy. In addition, the city is surrounded by quiet roads that offer great cycling over the passes of the Chartreuse and Bauges mountains. And a visit to Chambéry would give the hardened cycloclimber a chance to pit themselves against the redoubtable Mont du Chat – 1250m of ascent in 13.5km, and a gradient-squared score of over 1200 points. Cycling accommodation in the French Alps. See our Where to Stay section for bike-friendly accommodation options, or zoom into our map below. Cycling in the High Pyrénées of France. The Hautes-Pyrénées department of France has nine Tour de France mountains, including Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque. Matthew Collins, who runs at bike hire shop at the foot of the Tourmalet, shares his local knowledge. Col du Tourmalet, one of the most famous Tour de France mountains is a highlight of the Hautes-Pyrénées. Photo: Wanaku. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Cycling in the Hautes-Pyrénées. The Hautes-Pyrénées department is in the south-west of France, adjacent to the Spanish border. It is in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France. As the name suggests, the Hautes-Pyrénées encompasses the high mountains of the Pyrénées – the cycling here is all about either climbing or descending. Whether you're on a road bike grinding your way up France's legendary Col du Tourmalet, or on a mountain bike screaming your way down one of the trails at Cauterets Bike Park, you'll just love it here. Road Biking in the High Pyrénées. In the Hautes-Pyrénées there are no fewer than nine cols made famous by the Tour de France, plus many other high mountain routes and passes near by. The Col du Tourmalet, Col d’Aubisque, Col du Soulor, Hautacam and Luz Ardiden – all these world class rides of the Pyrénées are all easily accessible, plus many other fantastic day trips, such as the one-way climbs to Pont d’Espagne or Gavarnie. The Col du Tourmalet is the highest road in the central Pyrénées and has been included in the Tour de France more than any other pass – 77 times so far in Tour de France history. If it's your first time in the high mountains, you won't believe a climb can go on for so long. The Col d'Aubisque first appeared in the Tour de France in 1910 and since 1947 there have been 45 Tours over the summit, making it the second most visited mountain in Tour de France history. The climb from Luz St Sauveur to Luz Ardiden Ski Station last featured in the 2011 Tour de France, while Hautacam has featured in the Tour de France four times since 1994. Take into account the lesser known, but equally dramatic cols – such as the Col de Spandelles, Col de Tentes and the Col de Croix Blanche – and you have enough climbing to exhaust even the fittest cyclist. Most road cyclists come here for the cols, but if you're not so keen on climbing (or if you need a day off), there are easier rides around Argeles Gazost and Lourdes. Mountain biking in the Hautes-Pyrénées. Around Luz St Saveur and Argeles-Gazost there are 73 marked mountain bike (VTT) routes covering over 1,150km of trails. The trails are classified green, blue, red or black and vary in difficulty from flat trails, running alongside the Gave de Pau, to technical high mountain trails 50 km long with up to 1900m of climbing. Most of the easier trails are to be found in the Argeles Gazost Valley and around Arrens Marsous in the Val d'Azun. The more challenging trails with most elevation gains start at Luz St Saveur, Bareges, Cauterets and from the tops of the Col de Corraduque and the Col du Soulor. Longer cross country rides with not quite so much climbing can be found in the Pay de Lourdes. For downhill mountain biking, there's a ski lift at Tournaboup, a few kilometres past Bareges on the road to the Tourmalet, with green and blue beginner down hill VTT trails, and open during July and August. For the more experienced mountain biker, there are downhill trails serviced by a ski lift at Cauterets; for experts only, a funiculaire railway at the Pic du Jer near Lourdes provides access to red and black trails. When to cycle in the High Pyrénées. For those wanting to ride the cols of the Hautes-Pyrénées, the season starts around the end of April, after the ski stations have shut and the cols are open again. Weather permitting, it's possible to ride through to the end of October. Like everywhere else in France, the roads can get very busy during July and the first couple of weeks of August, but even then it's possible to escape the crowds by riding one-way routes, such as the climb to Luz Ardiden Ski Station or Hautacam. Bike hire in the Pyrenees. For bike rental in the Hautes-Pyrénées, see Freewheeling France's bike hire listings, or get in touch with me at Ardiden Velos in Luz St Sauveur, where we have hire quality, lightweight carbon road bikes and mountain bikes for hire. Pyrenees cycling holidays. There are many guided and self-guided cycling holiday options available for the Pyrenees. Most offer luggage transfer services across the cols, accommodation and detailed maps and route notes. Bike hire can usually also be arranged locally for you. Tours run throughout the warmer months, with many timed to tie in with the Tour de France. You can search our organised tours section here. Cycling accommodation in the Pyrenees. There are a number of hotels, gites, pensions and lodges in the Hautes-Pyrénées that are cycling friendly. Most are in and around Argeles Gazost, Luz St Sauveur, Bareges or Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Bagnères-de-Bigorre is great for the Tourmalet, Aspin and Hourquette d'Ancizan and cycling through the Baronnies, a region with very rolling hills which is stunning. Only slightly further, past Aspin are the Cols of Azet and Pla d'Adet (finish point for stage 17 of 2014 Tour) and Peyresaude (Pyrenees Cycling Holidays B&B and Gite is a good option). In Bagnères-de-Bigorre, consider Les Dix Arches, a small hotel/B&B with everything a cyclist might need. At the base of the Tourmalet is Gite Belle Vie in Sainte Marie de Campan. It's run by cyclists for cyclists, and is handy for all the big cols, including Tourmalet and Aspin. See also the excellent Gite du Midi-Pyrénées, Chalet Tourmalet, and Le Sapin Fleuri. In Bareges, there's Chalet les Cailloux, a cyclst-run B&B 8km from the Tourmalet summit. Luz St Sauveur is also good base for easy access to the Col du Tourmalet and the climb to Luz Ardiden ski station. The official start of the climb of the Tourmalet is directly opposite the Office d'Tourisme in the heart of Luz St Sauveur. Hotel Les Templiers is in the centre of Luz St Sauveur and has 9 rooms and a restaurant. It has Wifi and secure bike parking. The spa town of Argeles Gazost gives easy access to the Col d'Aubisque, Col du Soulor and Hautacam, plus Cauterets and the Pont d'Espagne. There are also mountain bike routes covering more than 1000km, as well as family cycling routes from the voie vert that follows the Gave de Pau. For Col d'Aubisque, Lae de Haut is an excellent accommodation option for camping and B&B/self-catering. For Plateau de Beille and the Ariege Pyrenees, check out Bed Breakfast Bike Pyrenees. L'Arrieulat, Auberge des Pyrenees in Argeles Gazost has 18 rooms, a great restaurant (booking recommended) and a garden spa for at the end of a long bike ride. It also has secure bike parking. Check here for links to other accommodation all over France, including hotels gîte, gîtes d’étape, B&B and self-catered options. Cycling maps for the Hautes-Pyrénées. For road biking, there is a booklet called Topoguide – Velo de route , in which there are 20 individual sheets, one for each road bike route, that show the routes in detail and the topography of the ride. For mountain biking, the FFC (Federation Francaise de Cyclisme) publishes a number of guidebooks that cover the 73 marked VTT routes in the Vallees des Gaves. There are individual sheets, one for each trail, that show the routes and elevation gain. These booklets can be bought from the Offices de Tourisme within the department (see below for links). Michelin have a map of the Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantique , as well as a regional Midi-Pyrénées maps . IGN has a dedicated Hautes- Pyrénées map , as well as a regional Midi-Pyrénées map. Pyrenees cycling books. Cycling write Grame Fife has published a guide to cycling in the Pyrénées, Massif: Guide to the Great Road Climbs of the Pyrenees. Tour Climbs: The Complete Guide to Every Tour de France Mountain by Chris Sidwells features the Tourmalet, Col d’Aubisque and other Tour de France mountains in the Hautes-Pyrénées; there's also Ride a Stage of the Tour De France: The Legendary Climbs and How to Ride Them by Kristian Bauer. Graham Watson's Tour de France Travel Guide: The Complete Insider's Guide to Following the World's Greatest Race has practical information and advice on visiting areas synonymous with the Tour de France. Pyrenees tourist information. Luz St Sauveur tourist office: www.luz.org Office de Tourisme de Cauterets: www.cauterets.com Office de Tourisme de Gavarnie: www.gavarnie.com Midi-Pyrénées tourism: www.tourisme-midi-pyrenees.com. Matthew Collins is owner of Ardiden Velos Bike Rentals in Luz St. Sauveur – at the foot of Col du Tourmalet. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Related articles. On the blog. Coronavirus and cycling in France. The coronavirus pandemic and cycling in France - the latest guidance and local advice. Tour Climbs: The Complete Guide To Every Mountain Stage On The Tour De France by Chris Sidwells. Iconic Cycle Wear Past and Present. Description. The Art of the Cycling Jersey celebrates the cycling jersey in all its forms. Cycling enthusiast and author Chris Sidwells explores the most important designs in cycling history, as well as the teams, riders, and races where each piece was worn. Organized chronologically, this is the story of the cycling jersey from the first simple garments that early cyclists wore in the 1900s, to the technology-laden jerseys top riders and Tour de France winners wear today. Cycling jerseys represent many different things. For a cyclist they must be functional. For team sponsors they must stand out and increase brand awareness. For cycling fans they help pick out their favorite riders and identify a race or competition leader. Jerseys show who is a world or a national champion, and in some races, jerseys represent a competitor’s nationality. But cycling jerseys have evolved into something bigger. They can evoke good times or bad times, success or failure. Above all, jerseys mark the great occasions of cycling and speak of its history, personalities, and style. With more than 200 color photographs and insightful commentary, The Art of the Cycling Jersey is a great gift and must-have book for any style-conscious, road-racing enthusiast. Tour Tech: Climbing wheels for the queen stage of the 2012 Tour de France. Wheels slim down as the road turns up, trimming rotating weight while keeping bikes as light as possible. Share this. Join VeloNews.com. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Already have an account? Join VeloNews.com. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Already have an account? The Dura-Ace C24 rim is 24mm tall and 20mm wide. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com. TOUSSUIRE, France (VN) — With standard-issue pro bikes sitting at or near the 6.8kg (14.99lb) UCI weight limit, even with deep, aerodynamic wheels, riders no longer have a need to make wholesale bike or component swaps for days in the mountains. Drilled or one-off components and riders swapping to extra-light frames at the base of a big climb are mostly a thing of the past. The emphasis, instead, has turned to reducing rotating weight while keeping bikes right at the weight limit. That means when the road turns up, wheels are the first to slim down. With complete wheelsets often weighing in within spitting distance of 1100 grams, mechanics often have to add weight elsewhere. The methods vary: expander plugs usually used for carbon fork steerers can be loaded up with weights and shoved in hollow bottom bracket spindles; heavier, second-tier cassettes can be used instead of high-end versions; carbon bottle cages can be swapped out for aluminum or steel versions. Mechanics focus on keeping the weight low on the bike for a minor improvement in handling, and keeping it largely stationary to keep the moment of inertia as low as possible. Using these methods, riders can use the lightest wheels available to them. Here’s a look at what they picked. The big three. Shimano, not traditionally a wheel giant, has pushed hard in the last two years to put its drivetrain-sponsored teams on its wheels as well. Sky, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Orica-GreenEdge, Argos-Shimano, FDJ-Big Mat, and Rabobank are all on Shimano wheels at the Tour, putting the Japanese company well in the lead in the sponsor count. Teams are mostly on Shimano’s C24 rim, built up to either old Dura-Ace 7900 hubs or the new Dura-Ace 9000 version. Shimano isn’t planning to sell the most common iteration here at the Tour: a C24 tubular rim, laced with 16 front spokes and 20 rear to a Dura-Ace 9000 hub. The company will sell a clincher and a carbon clincher C24 next year, but no tubular. A few riders on each team chose the slightly deeper, slightly heavier, and slightly more aerodynamic C35 tubulars, which will be sold with the new Dura-Ace 9000 group next year. The top riders from each Shimano-sponsored team picked the C24’s, though. Orica, oddly, is using the deeper and wider Dura-Ace 9000 C50 exclusively. French manufacturer Mavic, whose headquarters in Annecy is only 40km from the start of Thursday’s big stage, follows Shimano. Liquigas- Cannondale, Katusha, and Garmin-Sharp are all on Mavic wheels, using the carbon-spoked Cosmic Carbon Ultimate sets almost exclusively in the mountains. All the team Cosmics are labeled “Special Service Course.” Mavic selects the lightest to come off the line and hands them over to its pro teams, marking them with this sticker. A few select riders get the special all-carbon R-Sys Ultimate, which uses the same carbon spokes as the regular R-Sys wheels but pairs them to carbon hubshells and shallow, box-section carbon rims. Nobody has let us weigh a set yet, but we’ve been told they come very close to 1000 grams. Sylvester Szmyd of Liquigas and Yuri Trofimov were both on sets on Thursday, and Ryder Hesjedal won the Giro on the same wheels in May. Campagnolo also sponsors three teams at the Tour, with Movistar, Lotto-Belisol, and Europcar all rolling on its wheels. The climbing wheel of choice is the Hyperon Ultra 2, a 1230-gram, ultra-low-profile tubular wheel with classic construction. Just about every member of all three squads was on the Hyperon on Thursday. Slightly smaller players. Zipp and French manufacturer Corima both sponsor two squads. Saxo and Omega Pharma are both on Zipp, splitting between the 35mm 202 wheels and the 45mm 303 Firecrests. The top GC rider on both squads — Levi Leipheimer on Omega and Chris Anker Sorensen on Saxo — had 202s mounted up before Thursday’s stage, while most of their teams were on the deeper, more aerodynamic 303. Corima sponsors Astana and Saur-Sojasun with its wild-looking Viva MCC ‘S,’ which uses a 24mm carbon rim paired with carbon spokes that slot into an aluminum hub shell. A few riders were using the Winium +, which uses the same rim but with more normal aluminum hub and spokes. Easton sponsors only one team at the Tour, but it’s a rather big one. BMC rides the EC90 SLX in the mountains, and every rider had a pair mounted up Thursday morning. The low-profile wheels sit just below 1200 grams. Reynolds offers its sole squad AG2R two different options for the big mountain days. The first is a classically constructed, 32mm carbon rimmed wheel called the Thirty Two. At less than 1100 grams, these are the lightest Reynolds offer. The second option is Reynold’s more technically advanced RZR 46, which mates a 46mm carbon rim with carbon spokes and a carbon hub. Riders on AG2R were split evenly between the two different sets. American Classic sponsors the French Cofidis squad, and seven of its eight remaining riders were on the 38, a 38mm carbon tubular. The remaining rider, Rein Taaramae, used a pair of Mag300 wheels, which use an ultra-light magnesium rim. We don’t have a weight for them, but based on known hub and spoke weights and our assumption that the rim weighs near 300 grams, they seem likely to come in around 1100 grams, similar to the 38’s, but offering up the much better braking of a metallic brake surface. Last, but certainly not least, is FFWD and its Vacansoleil squad. Riders picked a wide mix of FFWD for Thursday’s stage, but the true climbing wheel is the F2R. Climbing wheels of the Tour. Shimano Dura-Ace C24 tubular. 1250 grams (claimed) 24mm deep tubular carbon rim, laced to new or old Dura-Ace hub. Teams on them: Sky, FDJ, Rabobank, Euskaltel, Argos, Orica. Notable riders: Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome (Sky); Sandy Casar, Thibault Pinot (FDJ); Robert Gesink, Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank) Shimano C50 tubular. 1450 grams (claimed) 50mm deep, 24mm wide rim laced to new Dura-Ace 9000 hub. Teams on them: Orica for the mountain stages, every Shimano squad for flat and rolling stages. Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate. 40mm deep carbon tubular rim, carbon spokes, carbon bub shell and flanges. Teams on them: Liquigas, Katusha, Garmin. Notable riders: Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas); Dennis Menchov (Katusha); Christian Vande Velde, Dan Martin (Garmin) Mavic R-Sys Ultimate. 30mm deep carbon tubular rim bonded to carbon tubular spokes bonded to a carbon hub shell. Unavailable to the public. Teams on them: Teams on them: Liquigas, Katusha, Garmin. Notable riders: Sylvester Szmyd (Liquigas); Christian Vande Velde or Dan Martin (Garmin) Campagnolo Hyperon Ultra 2. 1230 grams (claimed) 20mm carbon tubular rim laced to carbon Campagnolo hub shell. Uses CULT ceramic bearings. Teams on them: Movistar, Europcar, Lotto-Belisol. Notable riders: Thomas Voeckler, Pierre Rolland (Europcar); Alejandro Valverde (Movistar); Jurgen Van den Broeck, Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) Zipp 202. 1100 grams (claimed) 32mm carbon tubular rim laced to Zipp’s 88 and 188 hubs. Teams on them: Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank. Notable riders: Levi Leipheimer (Omega); Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo) Zipp 303 Firecrest. 1200 grams (claimed) 45mm carbon tubular laced to Zipp 88 and 188 hubs. Teams on them: Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank. Notable riders: all the domestiques on Omega and Saxo. Corima Viva MCC ‘S’ 1150 grams (claimed) 24mm carbon tubular rim molded to carbon tubular spokes molded to a carbon hub shell. Spokes are in a paired pattern. Teams on them: Astana, Saur-Sojasun. Notable riders: Jerome Coppel (Saur-Sojasun); Janez Brajkovic, Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana) Easton EC90 SLX. 1175 grams (claimed) 25mm carbon rim laced with 18 front and 24 rear spokes to Easton’s R4SL hubs. Team on them: BMC. Notable riders: Cadel Evans (BMC) Fulcrum Racing Light XLR. 1220 grams (claimed) 20mm carbon tubular rim laced with 20 front spokes and 24 rear to carbon-shelled Fulcrum hubs. Team on them: Lampre-ISD. Notable riders: Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) Bontrager Aeolus 3 D3. 1150 grams (claimed) 35mm tall, 27mm wide carbon tubular with 18 front and 24 rear spokes. Team on them: RadioShack-Nissan. Notable riders: Fränk Schleck, Chris Horner, Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) Reynolds Thirty-Two. 1090 grams (claimed) 32mm carbon tubular, 20 front DT Aerolite spokes and 24 rear. Team on them: AG2R. Notable riders: Nicholas Roche (AG2R) Reynolds RZR 46. 1185 grams (claimed) 46mm carbon tubular rim with carbon spokes and carbon hub shell and flanges. Team on them: AG2R. Notable riders: Jean-Christophe Peraud, Christophe Riblon (AG2R). American Classic 38. 38mm carbon tubular rim laced to the ultra-light American Classic hubs. Team on them: Cofidis. Notable riders: Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) American Classic Mag300. 300-gram magnesium rims, the only non-carbon rims on the road on Thursday, laced to American Classic’s ultralight hubs. Our guess is the set sits somewhere around 1100 grams, but offers up the improved braking of a metallic brake surface. Team on them: Cofidis. Notable riders: Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) is the only rider on these wheels.