Challenge Majorca – – a series of four, one-day events on the Spanish island – sees many riders, including Bradley Wiggins, make their racing debut for the season and that gives us the chance to see what’s in store for the year ahead.
The turn of the year sees new teams join the peloton, new bikes unveiled, new gear ridden for the first time and new kit on the shoulders of the world’s top riders. So here’s what’s new for 2013 – as well a few bits which are not so new.
Ben Swift and Jon Tiernan-Locke model Team Sky’s new Rapha kit
The new kit, which has more black and less blue compared to the previous kit made by Adidas, is classy, understated and looks at home in the pro peloton
Colour-matched Bontrager RXL shoes for Team Sky neo-pro Josh Edmondson
Rapha mitts and arm warmers for Ben Swift on a mild February morning in Majorca
Challenge Majorca saw the Madison-Genesis make their international race debut. Here Dominic Jelfs and Chris Snook wait for the start of the second day’s racing
Bradley Wiggins started his season with a 116km crit in Palma aboard his Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2. Click here for a full in-depth look at Wiggo’s new bike
Tour of Britain champion Jon Tiernan-Locke made his Team Sky debut in Majorca after signing from Endura Racing
Alex Dowsett raced in Movistar colours for the first time after his move from Team Sky
Merida Bikes are represented in the top-tier of professional cycling for the first time. The Lampre squad are riding the Merida Scultura SL
There’s no escaping this team bus
Giant unveiled the Propel at the Tour Down Under and the firm’s first aero bike was also on show in Majorca
The Giant-sponsored Blanco squad was the only team to have all its bikes fitted with full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 11-speed
Shimano have pushed teams to take up full sponsorship in 2013, so that includes the Japanese firm’s wheels and cockpit components from PRO. Pictured here are Shimano’s latest C50 wheels, which have a wider rim profile which is said to be more aerodynamic
Madison-Genesis’s steel Genesis Volare attracted plenty of attention
Madison-Genesis riders have their Twitter handle on their toptube
Which Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider does this mudguard-equipped Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 belong to? World time trial champion Tony Martin
SRAM unveiled their QuickView out front Garmin mount in November
This rider’s fooling no-one
The irony is that while this Orica-GreenEDGE rider can use this Mark Cavendish signature stem from PRO, the Manx Missile has been forced to switch to Zipp cockpit components following his move to Omega Pharma-QuickStep
Bicycle remains the best way of getting around town on race day
RoadCyclingUK attended Challenge Majorca as a guest of race sponsor Iberostar, staying at the Iberostar Playa de Muro hotel in Alcudia. For more information visit www.iberostar.com
