The German athletes have been able to set the tone in the Tour de France so far, with five of the nine stage victories going to German riders. After the sprint victories of Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano, 3x) and André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol, 1x), Tony Martin of the Omega Pharma - Quick Step team celebrated an impressive solo victory on the ninth stage through the Vosges. Many German fans cheered him on in the mountain range close to the border.
Like all teams equipped by Specialized, the OPQS pros have a choice of three frame types for the Tour. The special Roubaix was only used on the cobbled stage to Arenberg. While the lightweight S-Works Tarmac is favoured on the mountainous stages, most riders opt for the Venge aero racer on the flatter sections. With a 303/808 wheel combination and aero handlebars from Zipp, Martin's bike presents itself as an aerodynamically optimised projectile. But even in this setup, the bike is unlikely to be heavier than the prescribed 6.8 kilos. The Look pedals with steel instead of titanium axles, the somewhat quieter and more robust SRAM Force cassette and the drivetrain with WiFli rear derailleur and long cage add a little more weight than necessary. All team bikes are completed almost exclusively with components from just two sponsors: In addition to the frameset, the crankset, tyres, saddle and, depending on the model, the seatpost also come from Specialized. Zipp (wheels, handlebars, stem, seatpost) and Quarq (power meter, computer) are both sub-brands of SRAM, which also supplies the drivetrain and brakes. One small exception is the brake pads - here the team has had better experiences with SwissStop Black Prince than with the original Platinum pads from Zipp. In addition, the cranks and wheels are tuned with ceramic bearings from the specialist Ceramic Speed in Denmark. Many more details can be found in our picture gallery and the equipment list below:
Frame: Specialised S-Works Venge
Wheels: Zipp 303 front Zipp 808 rear
Tyres: Specialized S-Works Turbo Allround 25 mm (tubular tyre)
Brakes: SRAM Red22 with Swissstop Black Prince pads
Gearing: SRAM Red22 with WiFli rear derailleur
Sprocket: SRAM Force22
Chain: SRAM PC1022
Bottom bracket: Specialized S-Works FACT with SRAM Red chainrings and Qarq power meter; ceramic speed bottom bracket
Pedals: Look Kéo Blade 2 CrMo
Handlebars: Zipp Vuka Road (carbon)
Stem: Zipp Sprint SL (carbon)
Saddle: Specialised Romin Custom
Seatpost: Specialised Venge
Bottle cage: Tacx Tao
Handlebar tape: Specialised
Computer: Garmin Edge
