Tour de France Bikes

Alejandro Valverde and his Prince

ProTourNews Techincal Editor David Arthur takes a look at Alejandro Valverde's Pinarello Prince.

Valverde in yellow with his 'Spanish' bike

A Prince amongst Princes

All pics fotoreporter sirotti

Top Tour riders are used to getting custom painted bikes and kit, but whereas we normally need to wait till the final stage before the latest yellow airbrushed bike is rolled out for the winner, Valverde received a custom painted Pinarello Prince just before he rolled out for the first stage.

We’re not sure what the Spanish is for ‘distinctive’, but the standout paint job was done to commentate Valverde becoming the Spanish national champion just a couple of weeks ago.

To complete the look, the M.O.st Talon LE one-piece handlebar and stem has been painted yellow and wrapped with yellow bar tape and painted too are the half of the Campagnolo Record brake calipers. ‘Prince of Spain’ decorates the top of the down tube, with ‘Don Alejandro’ adorning the top tube.

Underneath the paint the bike remains the same as Valverde and his Caisse D’Epargne team has been campaigning on since the Tour last year. Shifting duties fall on a 10-speed Campagnolo Record groupset and Campag’s deep-section carbon Bora wheels slice through the air.

Valverde used the bike to win stage one and takes hold of the yellow jersey - report and pictures.