Shimano 105 and rainbow wheels spotted at Argentina's prem🐻ier race
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Omar Mendoza of Colombian team Medellin-Inder races aboard a🎐 Berria BR(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
UAE ꦚTeam🤡 Emirates are one of just two WorldTour teams who use Campagnolo drivetrains(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
A closer look at the Shimano 105 drivetrain(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Medllin-Inder pair their Berria🐲 bikes with Vittori༒a wheel and tyre combinations(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Berria bikes was founded by🌱 former pro David Vitoria, who r༺aced for the iconic Rock Racing team and BMC Racing(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Oscar Sevilla has a custom painted Berria(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
The Berria BR features direct mount TRP brakes(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
While Bianchi's Oltre XR4 is raced at the WorldTour level by LottoNL-Jumbo, earlier models of Bianchi's frameset are still being raced on at the top ▨level in South America(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Uni💎ted Hea🍌lthcare Pro Cycling race aboard Orbea Orca's with full Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 groupsets(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
The majority of the Movistar Team raced aboar𒈔d Canyon Ultimate framesets over the Aeroaꦍd model(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Stage 3's individual time trial resulted in road bikes being converted into time trial machines fo🌜r the stage(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Bora-Hansgrohe mechanics work ꧙on the team's Specialized Tarmacs(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Lluis Mas' of Caja Rural's De Rosa Protone(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Ridersꦡ from the Argentina national team warm up aheꦍad of the time trial (Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Daniel Zamora's Colner Calypso(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Movistar's hybrid road/time trial set up ahead of stage 3's time t🍸rial(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Remi Cavagna of Quick-Step💖 Floors wears an ice vest ahead of the tiಌme trial in an attempt to keep his core temperature down(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
While Shimano Dura-Ace is de rigour in the WorldTour peloton, plenty of Pro Continental teams use Ultegra and 105 still clearly has ac🌱ceptable performan♓ce(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
ꦡMauricio Knapp of the Bra🔯zil national squad shows off his machine(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
UAE Team 🧜Emirates can race on Colnago's C60, Coꦡncept or V2-R models(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Israel Cycling Academy have dist👍inctive blue metallic flecks on their De Rosa framesets(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Gold KMC chains also catch🅘 the eye on the Israel Cycling Academy De Rosas(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Caja Rural riders in discussion ahead of the race(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Greg Le🌌Mond won the Tour de France aboard a Bottechia, now Androni-Sidermec-Bottech☂ia race them at the Pro Continental level(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Bottechia bikes have a long, Italian heritage(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Trek-Segafredo use the Trek Madone as the team's💙 aero option(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Peter Stetina represents his homꦰe state of California on the top tube of h🌺is Madone(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Sindicato Empleados Publicos oꦛf San Juan had some special wheels for the race(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Along with the🉐 colourful wheel decals, the Dynatek frames also caught the eye(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Gast൲on Javier of Sindicato Empleados Publicos of San Juan raced aboard an CKT 398(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Dullio Ramos of the Argentina n☂ational team races on the lesser know Drag Bluebird(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
The Bluebird is Drag's aero offering and has similar design featu♒res to more well known aero models(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Dayer Quintana's Canyon Ultimate CF SLX in th❀e eye-catching Movistar Team colour💯s(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Brazil also had a national team at the race(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
One of the ri𝓀ders raced with a 55-tooth outer chainring from 🦄ROTOR(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
You could be forgiven for thinking the new Merida Reacto wa﷽s a time trial bike in its own right(Image credit: Pat Malach/Immediate Media)
Seven WorldTour teams made the journey to South America, and while Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) abandoned ahead of stage 1 with illness, Darwin Atapuma (UAE Team Emirates), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal), Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors), Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jarlinson Pantano (Tr🎃ek-Segafredo) all tested their legs and showed off their new 2018 kit.
With the WorldTour having started in Australia, much of the 2018 WorldTour tech has already been documented. Alongside the more common tech🏅, however, the Vuelta a San Juan showcased bikes from the lower-league South American teams, as well as rising stars from the continent representing their country in their national colours.
Shim❀ano's dominance in the WorldTour sees 16 of the 18 WorldTour teams using at least some of the Japanese component giant's parts, and thus a sea of black, shiny Dura-Ace R9100 series drivetrains. Mauricio Knapp, representing the Brazil national squad at the race, continues the Shimano trend. However, while his colleagues at the race equip their bikes with ඣShimano's flagship Dura-Ace groupsets, Knapp runs the budget-friendly 105 groupset.
Stage 3 of the race was a 14.4km individual time trial and with many teams travelling from Europe to the race, regular roa💮d bikes were used in conjunction with time trial wheelsets and aero helmets.
Clic𓂃k or swipe through the gallery above to see the tech on show in Argentina.
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