Photo gallery: Adam Yates’ Mitchelton-Scott Scott Addict RC
The Tour de France isn’t only a race fought between riders; on the equipment side, every bike supplier also uses the event as a showcase for its flagship machines, and they’re often resplendent in eye-catching custom paint that’s specifically designed to attract attention.
Scott provided the Mitchelton-Scott team with gorgeous new Addict RC framesets just days prior to this year’s Grand Depart. Not only do they sport the now-aero tube shaping the company debuted just last month, but they’re also coated in shimmery color-shifting paint that looked more green or purple depending on the angle of the sunlight, and highlighted by fluorescent yellow logos that will be impossible to miss in the peloton.
Leading the team’s charge for the overall classification is Adam Yates – the twin brother of teammate Simon Yates, who targeted the Giro d’Italia earlier this season. As befitting a dedicated climber like Yates, team mechanics are focusing on getting his machine right down to the 6.8kg minimum weight mandated by the UCI. Team officials unfortunately wouldn’t let us weigh the bike when we photographed it, but given the actual weight of production bikes, plus the handful of lightweight touches that were yet to be fitted before race day (such as a lighter and/or shorter seatpost), we’re assured it’ll be bang-on at that limit when it hits the starting line tomorrow.
Scott provided the entire Mitchelton-Scott team with custom-painted machines just days prior to this year’s Tour de France. The frames arrived so recently, in fact, that mechanics were still building them just two days before the Grand Depart.
From afar, the bikes look black, but in reality, they’re anything but.
Adam Yates’ brother, Simon, was the designated team leader at the Giro d’Italia in May, but this time it’s Adam’s turn to go for the GC.
The shape-shifting paint appears greenish from some angles…
…but purple from others. The top surface of the top tubes are all finished in a matte black.
From any angle, though, the bikes are positively radiant in bright sunlight.
The new Scott Addict CF is essentially what the original Foil model was, with Scott injecting a modest dose of aerodynamic shaping to what was previously a bike designed primarily to be light and stiff. Truncated airfoil profiles are used liberally throughout the frameset.
The Addict is still Scott’s premier climbing machine, though, and so there’s still a focus on shaving grams. This minimalist seatpost collar certainly follows that ethos, for example.
The flat-backed airfoil profile is particularly prominent on the back of the seat tube and matching seatpost.
Claimed weight for a 54cm Scott Addict RC frame is just 840g, while the matching carbon fiber fork supposedly tips the scales at 360g. Notably, Yates is riding an XS/49cm size, so if anything, his should be even lighter. Team officials unfortunately wouldn’t let us weigh the complete bike as photographed as it supposedly wasn’t quite fully prepped for racing, but we’re assured it’ll be exactly 6.8kg on race day.
Scott is particularly proud of the new Addict RC’s slick internal routing setup, which hides all of the lines from tip to tail.
The compact rear triangle saves a bit of weight, but most bike manufacturers seem to be in agreement that the dropped seatstays also improve aerodynamic efficiency and rider comfort.
The flat-mount rear brake caliper looks very clean, as usual.
Scott has gone its own way with the flat-mount brake up front, though, taking a cue from BMC and attaching the caliper directly to the fork blade, instead of using the standard Shimano flip-flop aluminum adapter plate. Mounting bolts pass straight through the fork blade from the front, and then there’s a cosmetic plastic cover that snaps over the top for a very tidy appearance.
Between the amazing paint job, the sleek new lines, and the fairly traditional profile, Yates’ new Scott Addict RC is a seriously good-looking machine.
Even the split headset spacers are painted to match.
A key piece of the Addict RC puzzle is the new integrated one-piece carbon fiber handlebar and stem, which is said to weigh a paltry 295. The Y-shaped intersection helps to naturally guide the internally routed cables through the stem.
Subtle texturing on the upper and lower surfaces of the tops improve grip if you prefer to run without bar tape here.
The drops have a traditional bend to them, as they arguably should for a bike of this caliber. While many riders prefer to have the upper surface of the hoods aimed slightly upwards, Yates actually has his aimed slightly downward.
A satellite Shimano Di2 shifter is mounted up top.
Mitchelton-Scott team bikes are all fitted with Shimano’s dual-sided Dura-Ace power meter.
The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 rear derailleur is fitted to a direct-mount aluminum hanger. This supposedly boosts stiffness slightly for theoretically improved shift performance, but the more practical benefit is that it speeds up wheel changes.
Pirelli P Zero Velo tubulars are fitted to Dura-Ace aero-profile carbon wheels.
170mm-long crankarms for 1.73m-tall (5ft 8in) Adam Yates.
Yates’ Scott Addict RC was fitted with a wide-range 11-30T cassette prior to the start of this year’s Tour de France.
Shimano’s new bar end-mounted junction box has certainly made things easier for many frame manufacturers.
A carbon-railed Syncros saddle (Syncros is Scott’s in-house component brand) is fitted to a Syncros carbon fiber seatpost.
Dual Elite Fly bottles are held in place by similarly wispy Elite Leggero Carbon cages.
Securing the ultralight Elite cages to the frame are Carbon-Ti aluminum bolts.
The aluminum out-front computer mount is made by K-Edge especially for Syncros. Note the built-in angle adjustability, too.
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