Tires Ridden at the Tour de France 2021
One of the most important pieces of equipment on a pro’s bike is the tires. The tires affect the ride comfort, feel, grip, and most importantly speed, especially during a time trial towards the end where seconds matter.
So naturally, many cycling fans are curious what tires their favorite pro teams will be riding for this year’s Tour de France.
In this article, we’re going to explore exactly that.
When it comes to high-performance road racing tires, there are just a handful of tire brands that really stand out.
Leading the pack this year is Continental (6 teams) and Vittoria (6 teams) among the 22 participating teams.
The rest is made up of Pirelli (4 teams), Specialized (3 teams), Michelin (2 teams) and Maxxis (1 team).
The other leading tire brands that aren’t ridden by the pros at the Tour de France are Schwalbe and Goodyear.
Continental
For the past decade, Continental tires have clocked up the most Grand Tour victories as part of their sponsorship for Team Sky (now Ineos Grenadiers). The pros ride either the Continental Pro LTD tubular tires or the new Continental GP5000 S TR tubeless tires.
These Continental Pro LTD tubular are very rare and limited to the pro teams who are racing on the highest levels. While the Continental GP5000 S TR is available to the public, availability is very scarce at the moment.
Watch out for the likes of former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and former Giro d’Italia winner Nairo Quintana rolling in these tires.
- Tire Model : Continental GP5000 S TR, Continental Pro LTD tubular
- Teams on Continental Tires : Bahrain Victorious, Groupama FDJ, Ineos Grenadiers, Intermarché Wanty Gobert Materiaux, Movistar Team, Team Arkea-Samsic
- Available at : Competitive Cyclist, Amazon, Wiggle
Vittoria
Italian tire maker Vittoria has been a mainstay in the pro peloton for the past 10 years with their tires improving with each iteration. For this year, the pros will ride the Vittoria Corsa G2.0 tubular which is very supple at 320 TPI. This tire comes in the tubular, clincher, and tubeless versions and is widely available to the general public.
Expect to see Primoz Rodglic fighting for overall the win with defending champion Tadej Pogacar and Caleb Ewan sprinting towards victory on these very fast tires.
- Tire Model : Vittoria Corsa G2.0
- Teams on Vittoria Tires : Astana Qazaqstan Team, EF Education Easypost, Lotto Soudal, Team BikeExchange Jayco, Team Jumbo Visma, Team DSM
- Available at : Competitive Cyclist, Amazon, Wiggle
Pirelli
Long-time tiremaker and F1 tire provider, Pirelli made its entry into bike tires in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since. With over 110 years of experience making tires, you can be sure that there is a lot of research and development that has gone into their Pirelli P Zero Race SL tubular which will be ridden by four teams.
They’re available to the general public in tubular, tubeless, and clinchers in 26c, 28c, and 30c widths.
- Tire Model : Pirelli P Zero Race SL
- Teams on Pirelli Tires : AG2R Citreon Team, Alpecin-Fenix, Trek Segafredo, UAE Team Emirates
- Available at : Competitive Cyclist, Amazon, Wiggle
Specialized
Earlier in 2021, Specialized sponsored teams BORA Hansgrohe and Deceuninck Quick-Step made a commitment to run on clinchers for all races except the Spring Classics.
This decision might go against the general understanding that tubulars are preferred for racing. That remains to be seen but up until now, clinchers have had some major victories such as Kasper Asgreen winning the 2021 Tour of Flanders and Peter Sagan at the Giro d’Italia.
They will be running the S-Works Turbo RapidAir with latex inner tubes as latex tubes are well-known for having similar riding characteristics as a tubular tire, albeit being porous.
- Tire Model : S-Works Turbo RapidAir with latex tubes
- Teams on Specialized Tires : BORA Hansgrohe, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team, Total Energies
- Available at : Competitive Cyclist
Goodyear
Goodyear is another longtime tiremaker who made its entry into cycling as recently as 2018. Being the new kid on the block, Goodyear only focuses on clincher and tubeless tires.
Hence, the riders will be riding the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, their top of the line, 120 TPI tubeless tires. They’re available in black and tan colors with 26c and 28c sizes.
- Tire Model : Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport tubeless (More info)
- Teams on Goodyear Tires : Team Qhubeka Assos
- Available at : Competitive Cyclist, Wiggle
Maxxis
A leading brand in mountain bike tires, Maxxis will be in this year’s Tour de France with 4x winner Chris Froome’s Israel Start-Up Nation team. A solid performance from the team will definitely increase Maxxis’ stature among performance road tires especially with the Maxxis High Road SL tubeless tires.
- Tire Model : Maxxis High Road SL tubeless
- Teams on Maxxis tires : Israel Premier Tech
- Available at : Amazon
