Tour de France bikes: Wout van Aert's Cervélo P5

Tour de France bikes: Wout van Aert's Cervélo P5

It was the fastest bike in Copenhagen for quite a while, and it still is one of the nicest ones in the WT

Photos: James Startt Words: Nick Busca

For quite a long time, Wout van Aert's Cervélo P5 had been the fastest bike of the day. On stage one of the 2022 Tour de France, the former Belgian champion had ridden for 15 minutes at an average speed of 51.54 km/h – in the pouring rain.

But then, compatriot Yves Lampaert bettered his time with a performance for the ages and an average speed of 51.84 km/h over the Danish technical course.

Still, Jumbo-Visma's time trial beast remains one of the nicest looking (and fastest) bikes of the WorldTour.

Related: Geraint Thomas' Pinarello Bolide F TT

Let's have a closer look at the details.Van Aert's P5 features a clean look, with black as its predominant shade and a honeycomb decal (on the top tube and underneath the saddle) reminiscent of the team's nickname, the Killer Wasps. The other primary Jumbo-Visma colour has only been used on the headset, fork, and the curvy edge of the seat tube.Here's an interesting particular of the aerodynamic down tube. It has a nice and fast-looking wave that helps accommodate bigger tyres and guides airflow from the headset's top.

Related. Rouleur Podcasts. Tour de France preview

Van Aert uses Vision carbon aero bars directly mounted on the handlebars, with a nice little cavity where he can hide his Garmin unit from the wind but still have it right in front of his eyes when he races.In Copenhagen, Van Aert used a Dura-Ace 58-44 drivetrain (and 11-speed cassette).Jumbo has also updated its TT tyres this year and fitted a Reserve wheelset instead of Dura-Ace (50 or 65 in the front, and disc in the back).

Related: Tour de France, all you need to know

Reserve is also part of PON Holding, including Cervélo, Gazelle, Kalkhoff, Focus, and Santa Cruz. Reserve has worked together with Cervélo to develop its road and TT set. Van Aert has also used Vittoria Corsa Graphene 2.0 tubeless 25mm on the front.To get more grip for those TT efforts, they have opted for a special Fizik Antares with extra grip seamed into the top mesh.


Photos: James Startt Words: Nick Busca

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