Remco Evenepoel's bike for the Tour de France: New wheels, new chainrings, and that beautiful gold paint

Remco Evenepoel's race bike.

With the Tour de France looming large in the coming days (or already underway if you're coming to this article after the Grand Départ) there are basically only three names on everyone's lips: Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel, despite the stellar field of riders the Tour always attracts.

Evenepoel is usually utterly unassailable in a time trial, and a force to be reckoned with in one-day races and shorter stage races, but is perhaps the outside favourite for the Tour compared to Pogačar and Vingegaard. He shouldn't be underestimated, however, and has a palmares that would be the envy or more or less any rider, including two Olympic gold medals, a Vuelta a España overall win, a rainbow jersey on the road and two for his time trial efforts, and a pair of monument victories at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

He has been riding Specialized bikes for a long time in his career, and at the Critérium du Dauphiné recently - a key warm up race for the Tour de France - we got up close and personal with his gold S-Works Tarmac SL8 in a setup that's almost certain to mirror what he'll use for the majority of the Tour.

Keep reading to also see several of Evenepoel's custom-painted bikes from years gone by in this hub, or check out our five favourite custom Olympic bikes feature, as well as winning Olympic road race bikes from years gone by.

What is Remco Evenepoel's bike?

Soudal-Quickstep is one of several teams sponsored by Specialized, and it now only produces the new Tarmac SL8 'all-rounder', rather than having separate aero and lightweight race bikes. The brand produces the lightweight all-rounder Aethos model, but it isn't raced at the top level.

Evenepoel is a smaller rider at 171cm, and uses a 52cm frameset. He technically is between two sizes, but, as nearly all pros would, he's sized down and opted for a longer stem. Very light builds are achievable with the lightweight S-Works SL8 Tarmac, though we expect the gold paint added a few hundred grams; expect him to switch out to an all black, unpainted bike, likely with shallower rims too, for the high mountains.

His bike is relatively stock, with everything being very much sponsor correct. The wheels are the latest Roval Rapide CLX III model, shod with currently unreleased tubeless versions of the venerable Turbo Cotton tyre. He uses a one-piece Roval Rapide cockpit, and the only non-standard part of his Shimano Dura-Ace groupset is the CarbonTi chainrings, something we've also seen on Tadej Pogačar's bike.

Remco Evenepoel's Specialized S Works Tarmac SL8: Specifications

Frame	Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 - 52cm.
Groupset	Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9250 12-speed
Brakes	Shimano Dura-Ace 9270 hydraulic disc
Wheelset	Roval Rapide CLX III
Tyres	Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton Tubeless
Handlebar	Roval Rapide 38cm
Chainset	Shimano Dura ace FC-9200P - 56/40T - 165mm with CarbonTi chainrings
Power meter	Shimano Dura ace FC-9200P
Pedals	Shimano Dura-Ace R9200
Saddle	Specialized S-Works mirror power
Bottle cages	Tacx Ciro
Bottles	Elite Crono
Bar tape	Supacaz super sticky kush
Computer	Garmin

With the gold paint there's really no mistaking who this bike belongs to. (Image credit: Will Jones)

The paint itself is a little lighter than an older version, which appeared to use actual gold leaf, meaning he's more likely to use this bike for more of the Tour, which in turn keeps the sponsors happy. (Image credit: Will Jones)

One change he's made recently is the adoption of carbon chainrings from the brand CarbonTi, mirroring what his rival Pogačar has been doing for several seasons now. His cranks are 165mm long. (Image credit: Will Jones)

While chain retention is excellent on high end groupsets nowadays, having a chain keeper behind the chainrings adds very little weight to give extra peace of mind. (Image credit: Will Jones)

Evenepoel is using Roval's latest Rapide CLX III all-rounder wheels. (Image credit: Will Jones)

These are shod with a new, tubeless version of Specialized's classic Turbo Cotton tyre. (Image credit: Will Jones)

The mechanics often number the wheelsets to keep track of things like sealant top-ups. (Image credit: Will Jones)

A Roval one-piece cockpit takes care of aerodynamics. He uses 38cm bars with the hoods slightly turned in, which will fall foul of the upcoming UCI rule changes. (Image credit: Will Jones)

A gold mount for his Garmin computer from K-Edge. (Image credit: Will Jones)

Underneath there's a laser-etched Eiffel Tower to commemorate his Olympic victories. (Image credit: Will Jones)

While it's unlikely the mechanics would mix his bike up with any other rider, he still gets a name sticker like everyone else. (Image credit: Will Jones)

A gold painted inline seatpost completes the all-gold bike. (Image credit: Will Jones)

A 3D Printed S-Works saddle that has been polished smooth with use provides Evenepoel with a comfortable perch. (Image credit: Will Jones)

Even the underside hull of the saddle has been painted gold. No stone left unturned. (Image credit: Will Jones)

The Wolfpack is what his team refers to themselves as. (Image credit: Will Jones)

The bike(s) that Remco Evenepoel rode to glory at the Paris Olympics road race

Evenepoel rode the majority of the Olympic road race on his custom Tarmac S-Works SL8 which featured black, silver, pink, purple and gold highlights. Equipment aside from the special paint appears to be the same as Evenepoel has been using all year. This year is Specialized's 50th anniversary, so we'd guess the folks back at Specialized HQ have even more cause to celebrate now.

The Belgian opted for 56/40T chainring sizes for the relatively flat road race and used them to devastating effect. We also spotted a waxed chain in the pictures down below.

A Dura-Ace Di2 electronic groupset takes care of shifting and braking. The majority of the rest of the bike equipment comes from the Specialized subsidiary brand Roval which provide the Rapide handlebars, saddle, and wheels. The tyres are also from Specialized and we believe were set up with latex inner tubes.

Evenepoel and various other Specialized athletes raced on custom painted Specialized bikes at the Paris Olympics (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

After a puncture within the last five kilometres of the road race, Evenepoel switched to this all-black bike to complete the race (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Stem notes for feeding and to show when the riders would enter the city center finishing circuits in Paris (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Not a bad backdrop for a bike shoot, note the custom pink swoosh on the Roval rims (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Custom paint scheme and the limited Roval Rapide CLX Team II wheels with bare metal hub shells to save weight (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Evenepoel was number six for the road race, which was run off without race radios (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

56-44T chainrings and what looks like a waxed chain to us. Note the well used crank arms (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

A gold thru axle complements the custom paint scheme (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

An S-Works Power Pro saddle finish off the kit list for the road. (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Remco Evenepoel's Paris Olympics winning TT bike

Next up is Evenepoel's Shiv time trial bike which he used to win the Olympic time trial event on. The course was wet and the city streets were treacherous, but the Belgian's effort was issue-free.

The Shiv has also received the same Specialized custom paint treatment but features, like most TT bikes, a few more eye-catching features.

Up front, there is a custom carbon fibre time trial handlebar for Evenepoel which routes his brake hoses internally and also features a neat integrated computer mount to keep the bike computer out of the wind, as well as hand rests that are angled inward, we assume to bring the riders hands together in a more aero position.

Equipment is Dura-Ace again, except for the very large Digirit front carbon fibre chainring, a brand we also see used indoors for track events. Digirit components are made in Taiwan.

Tyres are Specialized Turbo Cottons, which also look to be fitted with inner tubes judging by the valve stems. Evenepoel must have thrown caution to the wind on the soaked and slick Parisian streets in order to secure victory.

Specialized provided Shiv time trial bikes in the same bright colour scheme (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

A super clean front end - The days of any exposed cabling are long gone at this level (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Carbon fibre time trial bars with a neat computer mount and skateboard grip tape placed where the Olympic Champion holds the bars for maximum grip; much needed in the wet race conditions (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

A Specialized Sitero TT saddle for Evenepoel's TT bike (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

A carbon fibre Digirit chainring and K-Edge chain keeper. Evenepoel has used a 62 tooth chainring for flat time trials in the past, and we suspect it's the same here. (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Those purple dropouts really pop! (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

The top tube highlights the paint detail, but also Evenepoel's UCI height classification, which dictates bike setup dimensions (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

The bike that flew to victory on the rain-soaked Paris streets. The red UCI frame check tag in the background is there to indicate that the bike needs checking by the race commissaires for any irregularities - standard practice for every winning machine. (Image credit: michalcervanyphoto)

Remco Evenepoel's 2024 Specialized Tarmac SL8 

Below is the bike Evenepoel started the 2024 race season on, which we snapped and got up close and personal with at a pre-season training camp.

Evenepoel has ridden so many custom bikes this year though that it's hard to remember this model already.

At the time, this chequerboard bike marked a departure from Evenepoel's old two-piece bar and stem to the integrated Roval Rapide handlebar, which is a common sight now as we head toward the tail end of the year.

Elsewhere, it's a fairy familiar spec and build, with Dura-Ace di2 equipment and Roval components. The chrome and black bike Evenepoel used at this year's Tour de France seems to perhaps be a development of this paint scheme idea.

Black and chrome, with only the odd hint of red and yellow to denote that this is in fact the bike of a Belgian champion (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

His in-line seatpost is not what comes as stock on the new Tarmac SL8 (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Gone is the separate bar and stem, replaced by a one-piece Roval Rapide unit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Dura-Ace discs and calipers match the rest of the groupset (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

The Tarmac's bottom bracket isn't as chunky as many other bikes in the bunch (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

A K-Edge chain keeper helps stop the chain from dropping off inside (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

A Dura-Ace power meter and cadence magnet. His #1 race bike may use a 4iiii power meter this season though (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

The oversized bearings of Dura-Ace pedals resemble a power unit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Straight hoods now, thanks to the UCI banning the inwardly turned position (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

The protruding nose, or 'Speed Sniffer' is a marked feature of the new Tarmac (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Evenepoel opts for a shorter nosed, 3D printed S-Works Power saddle (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

There's room for bigger tyres, but the team tends to opt for 26mm rubber in all but exceptional circumstances (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Cotton sidewalls and latex inner tubes are a recipe for low rolling resistance, but the puncture protection can't match that of tubeless (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

A half steel, half titanium rear cassette. Dura-Ace tries to balance low weight, durability, and cost (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

The team mechanics have neatly affixed the Di2 cables to the frame and mech hanger so that they don't get snagged in the event of a crash, or in transit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

CeramicSpeed bearings lie in the hubs to help them roll more smoothly (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Minimal sponsor decals exist on this frame, tucked just above the seat post water bottle (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Here's another shot of his cockpit, and the small flashes of red and yellow on the top tube (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

There's still a mere hint of inward inflection, but nothing that should trouble the commissaires (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

The chrome chequerboard motif does call to mind vintage American cars (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

The S logo has also been chromed on the head tube (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

Just in case he forgets who he is when signing autographs? (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)

2023: Remco Evenepoel's World Champion's Specialized Tarmac SL7

Having won the 2022 World Championship road race in Wollongong, Australia, Evenepoel was, as is customary, treated by his bike sponsor to a mostly white bike to ride for his season in the rainbow bands. Given the release of the new Specialized Tarmac SL8 at the Glasgow super-worlds, it was the final time we saw the Belgian superstar on the outgoing model.

Given rule changes and new equipment from Specialized, it was also the last time we saw him with the aggressively turned in hoods we got used to seeing so many riders opt for before they were banned by the UCI, and the last time we saw him opt for a separate bar and step combo.

As world champions bikes go, Evenepoel's Specialized Tarmac SL7 was relatively understated (Image credit: Will Jones)

There's only one rider per season that gets top tube details like this (Image credit: Will Jones)

The Pro Vibe Aero SL bars are already narrow at 38cm, but Remco opted to turn his hoods inwards in a now illegal move to reduce his frontal area (Image credit: Will Jones)

Prior to the launch of the Roval Rapide integrated bar-stem, Remco, like many Soudal Quick-Step riders, opted for the Pro Vibe SL bar (Image credit: Will Jones)

From the side you can barely see the rainbow detailing, only the sponsor logos (Image credit: Will Jones)

Rainbow computer mount for his year in the bands (Image credit: Will Jones)

.500, which we suspect is a reference to the margin between victory and loss (Image credit: Will Jones)

Another subtle bit of custom text, befitting of the work needed to become world champion (Image credit: Will Jones)

2022: Evenepoel's World Championship winning bike 

In order to earn oneself a rainbow bike one must first win the world championship road race. Remco Evenepoel won the hilly course in Wollongong, Australia, with a solo attack 25km from the line. He was riding a bike very much the same as his current white steed, but in the case of the world championship race, he was running the older model of the tyres.

While the bike and componentry were essentially the same, the all-black paint job will have been lighter as it is essentially raw carbon rather than heavy white paint. Interestingly on his worlds-winning bike, we did spot that the Di2 cable had been secured to the derailleur hanger by what looks like heat shrink or black tape, to avoid any potential mishaps in such an important race. While we didn't spot this on his bike at the training camp it may be something we see during races.

A much more stealthy bike for the one day race. No team colours here either, as he was riding for Belgium rather than QuickStep (Image credit: Specialized)

His worlds bike featured the previous generation of the Turbo Rapidair tyres, despite the new version having been released already (Image credit: Specialized)

His cockpit setup hasn't changed either, except for the computer mount (Image credit: Specialized)

"Remco Evenepoel - 22 - This is only the beginning - Made In Racing" could well be a remarkably prescient caption for a toptube (Image credit: Specialized)

Remco Evenepoel's 2022 Vuelta a España winning bike 

Some riders can win one-day races regularly. Some riders can win grand tours and stage races. The crossover at the centre of the Venn Diagram that encompasses both races contains an alarmingly small number of riders. One of them though is Remco Evenepoel, who, before winning the world championships in Australia, brought the red jersey of the Vuelta a España back to Belgium for the first time in many many years.

His bike, as per his worlds-winning, and world champions bikes above, was mostly stock, save for a commemorative red paint job and a colour-matched saddle and bar tape. The Roval Rapide, rather than Alpinist, wheelset features red decals applied over the white.

All red everything, befitting of a Vuelta champion (Image credit: Cyclingimages)

A red 3D printed saddle and red to black fade Supacaz bar tape take care of the details (Image credit: Cyclingimages)

The decals are well applied, but you can just about make out the original white logos underneath on the Rapide wheels (Image credit: Cyclingimages)

The same Di2 cable hack can be seen here, so we expect to see it on his white bike too when the time comes to go racing (Image credit: Cyclingimages)

Remco Evenepoel's time trial bike

While Remco spends the majority of his time on his S-Works Tarmac SL7 through the season, he occasionally has to take part in time trials. As part of his 2022 Vuelta win, he also took stage 10 aboard his Specialized Shiv TT bike by a margin of 48 seconds.

Below you can see the setup he usually opts for, though for the Vuelta he used an Aerocoach front wheel rather than the Roval model you can see here. It's a bike designed to battle against the clock, so everything is optimised for maximum efficiency, including custom-made bars moulded to his forearms

A very different bike to the Tarmac (Image credit: Josh Croxton)

The aero extensions, in which the riders spend most of the time, are custom moulded to Remco's arms by Dutch company, Speedbar. Notice the sandpaper in place of bar tape for grip (Image credit: Josh Croxton)

A disc wheel at the back makes things significantly more aerodynamic, but harder to control in crosswinds (Image credit: Josh Croxton)

As time trials are usually flat, bigger chainrings are often used; in this case 58/46t (Image credit: Josh Croxton)

A snub-nosed saddle, the Sitero, allows the saddle to be pushed further forward while still remaining legal, and allowing a more aggressive position (Image credit: Josh Croxton)

Tyres with cotton sidewalls, S-Works Turbo Cotton here, offer lower rolling resistance but are noticeably more fragile so are more often used on shorter races like time trials (Image credit: Josh Croxton)

Remco Evenepoel's gravel bike

Gravel is the hottest genre in cycling at the moment, and more and more pro racers from the road scene are popping up at gravel races. While Remco Evenepoel doesn't routinely take part in the gravel scene at the moment, his presence at the 2021 Belgian Waffle Ride, a gravel race in California, aboard an S-Works Crux was noteworthy enough to warrant a gallery, despite the fact he only rode the short 'Wafer' route rather than the full 'Waffle'.

Given he's a Specialized and Shimano-sponsored athlete, it's no surprise to see him aboard an S-Works Crux, equipped with Shimano GRX Di2 and Roval wheels. The tyres, Pathfinder 42mm models, were also Specialized. Given the lack of neutral service in gravel racing, it's much more common to see riders carrying repair equipment, like spare inner tubes, along with them for the race in case of any bad luck.

It's not quite a Tarmac, but from a distance there are certainly similarities (Image credit: Specialized)

A 1x Shimano GRX electronic groupset takes care of shifting and breaking. A single front chainring brings simplicity, and is more reliable in muddy conditions as there isn't a front derailleur to clog up (Image credit: Specialized)

Roval Terra CLX wheels are shod with Specialized Pathfinder Pro tyres in 42mm width (Image credit: Specialized)

No aero handlebars here, but the hoods are still turned inwards. While the team now use Garmin they were previously sponsored by Wahoo, hence the Elemnt Roam head unit (Image credit: Specialized)

Remco uses the same S-Works Power with Mirror saddle for road and gravel, but here there's an inner tube stashed at the back for emergencies (Image credit: Specialized)