You probably saw that our video editor ranked all of the WorldTour bikes in a video earlier this year, but there will be new bikes at the Tour de France including BMC’s Teammachine SLR and Cube Litening Aero C:68X. So, where does Liam think they fit into his rankings?
Like this video ranking of some of the top road tyres around at the moment, once more we’re using the YouTube-friendly Japanese ranking system here: that means the top ranking is called the ‘S’ tier, followed by A, B, C, and so on.
The quoted prices are mostly based off RRPs, for the team replica if it’s possible to buy one, or a similar top-of-the-range version. The price of our first bike is a calculated figure.
Without further ado, it’s over to Liam to rank some bikes…
XDS Astana: XDS X-LAB AD9 (£6,300)
I’ll be honest, no complete build of the XDS X-LAB AD9 exists in the UK, but I have done my best to calculate the price of Astana’s build. If my sums are correct, we have a relatively affordable WorldTour race bike in 2026 here.
I actually also quite like the way this bike looks. The paint is interesting and everything here is stuff that I’d happily have on my own bike. Like Continental GP5000 tyres, Vision wheels and Dura-Ace. This is all really solid stuff.
We’ve been trying for a while now to get the AD9 in for review, so as soon as we do you can bet I’ll be making a video. It seems like bloody good value to me, especially when you think that you can get two and a bit of these bikes for the price of this year’s most expensive WorldTour bike.
I don’t think this bike is S tier, because we don’t know how it rides, but it’s certainly going in A.
Team Picnic–PostNL: Lapierre Xelius DRS (£7,099)
It’s the second year on Lapierre for the men and women of Picnic PostNL, and the riders have a choice of one bike since the Xelius gained a load of the old Aircode’s aero features.
Oscar Onley’s 2025 Tour de France bike was actually a special extra light version featuring a revised carbon layup, and he had early access to Ursus’ carbon spoke wheels. But I’ll be honest, the way the seat stays ignore the seat tube before joining the top tube, along with the grey and white colours, just doesn’t do it for me.
Added to that, the bike that you can buy doesn’t come with the cool team wheels, so this one is going into C for me.
Alpecin-Premier Tech / Fenix-Premier Tech, Movistar and Canyon SRAM Zondacrypto: Canyon Aeroad CFR (£8,349)
Next we have the Canyon Aeroad of Alpecin, Movistar and Canyon, and there is something of a divide. The Alpecin bikes of Van der Poel and Pieterse use Dura-Ace and Shimano wheels, while Movistar and Canyon SRAM use Red AXS and Zipp wheels.
I have to say that I find the Canyon SRAM bikes most interesting, because the riders do some pretty cool things with their gearing setups. Also, the paint jobs on these things are just fantastic and have been for years.
Let’s give some ratings, then. The standard Alpecin team design is a little dull, but the Aeroad is a brilliant bike and third-cheapest on this list, so I’m putting it in B. Movistar’s design is just a bit too dark for my taste, so I’ll go for C, but the Canyon SRAM bike is lovely. That’s going in A.
Team Jayco AlUla / Liv AlUla Jayco: Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 (£9,249)
The Giant Propels and Liv EnviLiv bikes of the Greenedge setup were my favourite bikes of last year, and they’re bloody nice again. Not only is the MAAP kit my favourite in the WorldTour, but the Propel is, I think, a perfect road racing bike.
It is super fast, comfy for long days, handles really well and it’s light too. Add in a great paint job, Dura-Ace and those super cool Cadex wheels, and you’ve got a brilliant package. Oh and Giant’s pricing is far better than a lot of the rivals too.
I think you can see where this is going. We’re going top row. S tier.
Decathlon CMA CGM: Van Rysel RCR-Pro (£TBC)
The Decathlon team have changed their name a bit this year, and are racing on a new aero-looking Van Rysel RCR-Pro that we saw at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Van Rysel has seemingly married a deep aero front end with much slimmer tube set at the rear, creating a machine that looks set to challenge Specialized’s Tarmac as the leading lightweight and aero all rounder bike.
It was a change to Sram this season, but the wheels are still from SwissSide. Tyres are the GP5000, but you get the Aero 111 on the front, which I understand for the team, but for choppers like me buying the bike? The 26mm size is probably a bit too focussed.
Anyway, the paint is nicely done, though I don’t love the green and blue mix. I’m going C.
Lidl-Trek: Trek Madone SLR 9 (£10,500)
When I go to the Classics, the first bikes I look for are Pedersen’s and Norsgaard’s. These two get very creative with their Madone SLRs, and I love to see that these riders pay a lot of attention to their setups.
Trek has done a lovely job with the team colours this year, but I have a bone to pick with the Madone. This should be the Emonda, because I want a properly aero Madone. Now, Trek said that the new design is just as fast as the old aero bike, but if you get into the details, that’s mostly down to the aero bottles and cages.
So I’d quite like to have an aero bike with the aero bottles, because as we know with aero, weight doesn’t really matter that much. I still like the look of this and the team setups are really interesting, so I’m going B.
Lotto–Intermarché: Orbea Orca Aero (£TBC)
Orbea has brought a very interesting new aero bike to the party of the Lotto team who have merged with Intermarche. The Orca is a lovely bike, and I think Orbea’s designers have done a lovely job.
We can expect the official paintjob to be a lovely metallic red that fades nicely into the black, and the team has a big choice of wheels from Oquo.
The team uses my favourite tyres – Vittoria’s Corsa Pro – and there’s nothing I’d change here. It’s an A.
Uno-X Mobility: Ridley Noah Fast (£11,299)
A bit of a change for Uno-X. They’ve moved from Shimano to Sram groupsets, so I’d bet we’ll see some very cool 1x setups because this lot love to get aero. Their bikes help with that because they’re on the Ridley Noah Fast, which is a proper aero racer and I quite like it. It looks purposeful.
That said, I think the paint job is a bit boring, so I’m going to put this in B. Still, I’m very excited to see their setups for the cobbles and fast TDF days.
Ridley isn’t done with climbing bikes either, as a new lightweight prototype was spotted at the Dauphine.
Groupama FDJ United: Wilier Filante SLR ID2 (£11,450)
No one does bike paint better than Wilier. Well, that’s what I would have said last year. This year, my heart has been a little broken by this monstrosity of a colour clash, which is annoying because I love the Filante SLR, and the new ID2 is meant to be proper fast.
Wilier now owns Miche wheels, so they make an appearance, but honestly, I can’t get over the colour clash. It should have been better: D.
Netcompany Ineos / Pinarello Q36.5: Pinarello Dogma F (£11,660)
For the last few years, the Dogmas of Ineos have been a bit dull, but this year someone in the design team was given an extra coffee, more crayons and some free will. The white shorts are dividing opinions, but I think they’re a fresh change.
I really like that orange and the team have moved from Shimano to Scope for their wheels, which is an interesting partnership given the team has previously turned to Lightweight and Princeton wheels for key races.
For me, Q36.5 have one of the smartest kits in the peloton and their bikes have been matched perfectly with a navy and black frame and gold decals. Q36.5 have gone for Sram groupsets and Zipp wheels.
I like them both, it’s an A for me.
Bahrain Victorious: Bianchi Specialissima (£9,920)
I have to say I didn’t expect Merida to be gone from the WorldTour, and it hurts a little because they always sat at the sensibly-priced end. But in comes Bianchi to the Bahrain team, and with it a new Bianchi Specialissima all-rounder, which has had its first major redesign since September 2023. The team also have access to the aero Oltre RC.
I like it better than the previous model but it’s still a D for me.
EF Education EasyPost / EF Education-Oatly: Cannondale SuperSix Evo LAB71 (£12,500)
The EF team’s one race bike this year is the SuperSix. As a former owner of the rim brake version, this holds a special place in my heart. With this in mind, it’s extra exciting to see what looks like a new SuperSix in use at the Tour Down Under.
Specifics about what Cannondale has changed on the bike remain unclear, though I’d bet you they say its faster. There seems to be a fair few changes to the front end with what looks like a new bar, new fork design and headtube shape. I’d also suspect we’ll see UDH at the back end, but the big thing that is yet to be revealed is the price.
Cannondale’s very top-end SuperX LAB71 was released last year at an eye watering price, so I hope the new road bike is a bit more sensibly priced.
Anyway, a rating. I love these things. Great paint, the frame looks super sleek. Shall we put it on the top shelf? Why not? S tier.
Team Visma Lease a Bike: Cervelo S5 (£12,750)
Another brand I have a soft spot for is Cervelo. They like innovation and having ridden the S5, I have to say I’m tempted to get one. It’s a really nice bike to ride.
Visma use Sram, and we often see the likes of Vingegaard and Ferrand Prevot using some cool setups, like tiny cranks and 1x. The team is also on Reserve wheels with Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres, and while the designers haven’t gone crazy with the colours, I think it’s a nice enough effort.
This is a great bike to ride with a cool build. It’s just not the most exciting, so I’ll go for B.
NSN Cycling Team: Scott Foil RC Pro (£12,799)
Out goes the Israel name (and with it a lot of sponsors) and for 2026, the team has become NSN after entertainment company Never Say Never took over. With the changes, Scott is back in the WorldTour after a year out, and the team will use the brand’s Foil and Addict race bikes.
While the frames are painted in the slightly cheaper RC Pro colours, Scott tells me that the frames underneath the paint are actually the lighter and stiffer HMX model. That means top of the line stuff for NSN.
It’s a solid design with nice kit, but I’m sticking it into D, because the Foil is pretty old now and I’d really like to see an updated aero bike from Scott. Hopefully it can match the Addict, because that is a fantastic bike.
Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 (£TBC)
2026 Specialized S-Works SL9 Redbull Bora Hansgrohe frame (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
The long-awaited SL9 has been spotted with a greater focus on aerodynamic performance including a reshaped fork, seat tube and seatpost.
2026 saw men’s Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel joining the team, and everyone wants to paint something gold, so his bike is very shiny in places. But I like that it doesn’t differ too much from the standard team paint, which I like very much.
Overall, I’m going for C.
Soudal Quick-Step: Specialized SL9 (£TBC)
2026 Specialized S-Works SL9 Soudal Quickstep frame (Image Credit: Specialized)
Soudal Quick-Step are also riding the new Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9, but with a blue and white ombré paint scheme.
It’s very much a full Specialized setup here, with the squad also using Roval wheels paired with Specialized Cotton TLR tyres.
As a result, it receives the same rating as above – a C.
UAE Team Emirates XRG / UAE Team ADQ: Colnago Y1RS (£15,693)
There’s only one bike over fifteen grand this year, which disappoints me in a way… but if you want Pogacar’s bike, you’ll still need very deep pockets. I actually prefer the women’s design, which is a lot cleaner, But the Y1RS isn’t a bike for me.
It’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but the angular back end is just a mess. I do love the team’s build though, in particular, the latest Enve Pro wheels are just lovely, and Continental’s Archetype tyres are meant to be excellent.
Still, should it cost over fifteen and half grand? Nope. I think this goes in C for me, but I would bump the women’s bike up to B, because they have a nicer kit and their bikes look better.
Caja Rural Seguros RGA: MMR Aelion SL Team (£5,599)
MMR is a Spanish bicycle brand ridden by Spanish ProTeam Caja Rural–Seguros RGA, one of the teams invited to this year’s Tour. The squad races on the Aelion SL Team, which is the least expensive bike in the peloton despite MMR offering more premium models elsewhere in its range.
The bike is equipped with Vision wheels wrapped in Vittoria tyres, alongside a Shimano groupset.
The striking chrome colourway and impressive value proposition certainly help its case but we can’t fully judge its ride quality without spending time on it ourselves. So, it earns a C.
Total Energies: Cube Litening Aero C:68X (£TBC)
Sadly, we haven’t seen any Cube bikes in the WorldTour this season, but ProTeam TotalEnergies is bringing the German brand back to the Tour de France – and with a sparkling new model to boot.
The new bike that we spotted at the Dauphine features a much tidier silhouette. Gone are some of the angular frame shapes that I will admit, I had trouble liking.
Cube is on a bit of a roll at the moment. Its well-priced road bikes are gaining massive popularity because, as is the case with the Litening Air C:68X, they are also excellent to ride.
We are looking forward to getting the full details on this one, and for now it receives a solid B.
Cofidis: Look 795 Blade RS 3 (£13,299)
Among the most expensive bikes in the peloton is the all new, more aero Look 795 Blade RS 3, equipped with a 13-speed Campagnolo groupset.
The French ProTeam Cofidis is the only squad in the race using Campagnolo’s latest groupset, pairing it with high-end Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO wheels, though I’m not a fan of the Campag rear mech.
It’s certainly one of the most distinctive setups blending Italian components with the iconic French-made Look frame. I’m going to go for an A.
Tudor Pro Cycling: BMC Teammachine R 01 (£11,499)
ProTeam Tudor has the choice between the aero BMC Teammachine R and the lighter Teammachine SLR at the Tour. Both are equipped with a SRAM groupset and roll on DT Swiss wheels
The Teammachine R has been around for a few seasons now, and while it remains a capable aero bike, it feels due for an update. With a price tag still sitting well into five figures too, it earns a D rating.
Those are Liam’s choices… but do you agree? We’d love to know (in great detail) why he’s wrong in the comments, so don’t be shy!
1 thought on “2026 team bikes ranked: From the ‘cheapest’ to Pogacar’s £15k superbike, we attempt to rate every bike in the Tour de France”
Why is the Cube Litening Aero, The Specialized Tarmac and the Van Rysel RCR-PRo marked with a (TBC) pricetag but the Canyon Aeroad isnt considering the teams will no doubt ALL be riding the new as of yet unreleased CFR? The price of a currently superceded (as far as the pro peloton are concerned) looks cheap but its a 2 year old model. The new one is as unreleased as the other 3 bikes.