The Tour de France comprises more than 3,300km over 21 stages. Even the fastest rider takes in excess of 80 hours to complete the race, meaning an average of at least four hours a day in the saddle.
But how do riders stay comfortable during these gruelling events?
We end up seeing some interesting tech trends from riders on different teams to address comfort, some even going as far as to ditch sponsor-correct kit for the sake of enhanced ergonomics and performance.
We’re going to run through the key touch points on the bike, as well as emerging trends that highlight how riders have prioritised on-bike comfort.
Comfort is key to performance after many hours in the saddle
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The preference of pedal systems
Pedals might seem like a rather mundane component, but that doesn’t stop riders from having specific preferences. Juan Ayuso, GC leader for Lidl-Trek, is an interesting case study. On the road, he continues to use the Shimano Dura-Ace PD-R9200 pedals he employed while riding for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. His current team is SRAM-sponsored, so the bulk of the team uses Time pedals (a company SRAM acquired a few years ago). Both pedals have a similar three-bolt cleat mounting and engagement type, but the Time pedals are open by default rather than requiring pressure to clip in. The higher-end Time XPro 12 SL is also lighter than Dura-Ace and has a similar stack height.
Interestingly, on his TT bike, Ayuso changes things up again, using the SRM x Q36.5 pedal system. This is a two-bolt system and requires either the specific Q36.5 Unique Pro shoes or drilling out the sole of another shoe manufacturer. This choice has likely been driven by the lower stack height, 9.9mm pedal/cleat system versus 14.8mm for Dura-Ace pedals. It allows the saddle to be a touch lower to reduce the coefficient of drag, while also lowering the centre of mass slightly. It raises the question of why he doesn’t use these pedals on road stages, but he may just have more confidence in the Shimano pedals and know his cleat positioning on them better for comfort and performance on longer road stages.
The issue with running non-team issue pedals, though, is that in a crisis, Ayuso won’t always have a teammate’s bike to use. Think Mathieu van der Poel at Paris-Roubaix this year, who was using different Shimano cleats from Jasper Philipsen, which resulted in the Dutchman needing to wait on the side of the road for a spare bike.
You can see the low stack of the SRM x Q36.5 pedals versus Shimano
(Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)
Sticking with a shoe that works, or going completely custom
On the theme of Q36.5, Tom Pidcock, who rides for the Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling team, is forgoing the Unique Pro road shoes from the brand in favour of his preferred Specialized models. He currently uses Specialized S-Works Torch road shoes, as he has throughout his entire WorldTour road career. Having tested both shoes, there are many similarities between them, but the Specialized features a slight varus tilt and a 1.5mm built-in wedge that tilts the foot outwards slightly. For some riders, this can better fit their individual foot geometry, while the Q36.5 Unique Pro shoes feature a neutral shape or flat foot, but insoles can adjust this.
Pidcock has removed the branding from his shoes to avoid upsetting the sponsors. While you can be sure many fittings and test sessions have taken place behind the scenes to get him comfortable on sponsor-correct equipment, the Yorkshireman still feels more confident in the Specialized shoe.
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Saddles are always a personal choice – even for amateurs
One of the most important touch points is the saddle. These have improved considerably in recent years. Previously, the Fizik Arione was a popular choice for its long, narrow, and lightweight design – now riders prioritise comfort for performance, with a wider array of saddle widths now available. Shorter-nosed stubby saddles such as the Specialized Power aim to be comfortable in more aero positions, and there are even custom-made options.
Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates are sponsored by Fizik saddles, but rather than use the off-the-shelf variants, they use the custom-made one-to-one models. Riders are measured to determine width and sit-bone positioning, and then pressure-mapped to create a custom 3D-printed cushion that reduces hot spots and excess pressure on soft tissue.
Posedla is another brand that offers custom-fitted saddles via an at-home kit, while other brands tend to have a wide array of options for riders to choose from. In previous years, riders have blacked out saddle logos and gone against sponsor commitments. A poorly fitted saddle and the resulting sores have even taken riders out of Grand Tours, jostling for high positions in the GC.
Pogačar uses the custom fitted Fizik model of saddle
(Image credit: Andy Carr)
Some riders prefer sticking with a helmet shape/model that works
Helmets are a harder piece of equipment to swap out due to sponsor commitments, but riders will sometimes use a completely different model from their teammates. Mathieu Van der Poel is an interesting case in point. His team is sponsored by Abus, and uses the Gamechanger 2.0, which has won Tour de France stages on the head of Jasper Philipsen. MVDP, however, uses the older Gamechanger model rather than the newer one.
Having tested both, MVDP likely opts for the previous-generation model because the new model has a narrower profile that may affect comfort. As the superstar of the team, management will likely overlook this to keep him content and comfortable.
Van der Poel (Gamechanger) and Philipsen (Gamechanger 2.0). You can clearly see the difference in the helmets here
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz was another who had a preferred helmet. When the POC Cytal was first launched, he opted to continue using the Ventral Lite model – likely owing to its lighter weight and better ventilation. However, when POC unveiled the Cytal Lite, he eventually made the swap.
The rise of bike fits and geometry analysis
Almost every rider at this year’s Tour de France will have been specifically fitted to their bike by a professional bike fitter. Specialized-sponsored teams use Retül for this to gauge what frame size, saddle position, bar widths, stack height, and every other measurement are required.
The pursuit of comfort is also apparent in the new design of bike frames. Previously, long-and-low slammed bikes were de rigueur in the peloton. Nowadays, bikes tend to feature a slightly higher stack, and riders are opting for more spacers underneath the bars. Although not as low as before, bikes tend to be more aerodynamic when ridden with the forearms horizontal.
For climbing and riding in the bunch, a more upright position can provide greater comfort over three weeks of racing and potentially better power production on steeper gradients. Even riders such as Pogačar and Vingegaard use bikes (Colnago Y1Rs and Cervelo S5) that feature stem/bar designs with an in-built rise to them rather than a slammed design.
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Another attribute of frame design is compliance. Essentially, you want carbon fibre to be stiff in one direction (laterally at the rear triangle), but you also want some vertical flex in that area, too. This should result in high power transfer and precise handling and sprinting, while providing some rear comfort to reduce fatigue from road buzz.
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