We just got up close with the Tour de France leader’s bike, Julian Alaphilippe’s Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc

Daniel McMahon/Business Insider

• The leader of the Tour de France wears a yellow jersey, and it’s something of a modern tradition for his bike to have bits of yellow highlight as well.
• The current race leader is the fast Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe of the Belgian Deceuninck-QuickStep team, which rides US-based Specialized bikes, including the S-Works Tarmac, pictured.
• We got a few minutes with Alaphilippe’s bike on Bastille Day. Check out the photos below.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

SAINT-ÉTIENNE, France — France’s Julian Alaphilippe is the current leader of the Tour de France, and this is his main race bike, which we shot Sunday morning, Bastille Day, in the stage-nine start town of Saint-Étienne. 

The fast Frenchman rides a Specialized S-Works Tarmac, a lightweight all-round carbon-fiber race bike with Shimano Dura-Ace components including disc brakes and electronic shifting, or Di2.

Specialized is an American company based in California; Alaphilippe’s Deceuninck-QuickStep team is a Belgian powerhouse of cycling.

Check out Alaphilippe’s Tarmac with yellow touches below.

It’s a tradition that the leader of the Tour sport some yellow on his bike. Alaphilippe’s Tarmac has yellow bar tape and computer mount.

Daniel McMahon/Business Insider

Each rider has a number plate attached to his seat post. Alaphilippe is rider No. 21. The No. 3 represents the number of stage wins he has in the Tour in his career.

Daniel McMahon/Business Insider

Some Tour leaders’ bikes go overboard with yellow. We like that the Frenchman’s has not too much.

Daniel McMahon/Business Insider

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• The top American in the Tour de France, Tejay van Garderen, is now out of the race after crashing hard on Friday. But he still rode over 125 miles with a broken thumb and bloody road rash to complete the longest stage.
• Lance Armstrong criticizes Tour de France leader for using the ‘supertuck,’ a dangerous move ‘every Tom, Dick, and Harry is going to be trying’
• Canadian in Tour de France who ran a sub-4 mile says he still runs because doing nothing but pedaling for 3 weeks makes you ‘a better bike racer but a worse human’ physically

SEE ALSO: A top Tour de France photographer reveals the secret to shooting the world’s greatest race

DON’T MISS: Inside the decision that led the best-placed American to stop racing in the Tour de France, according to his team doctor

Source: Business Insider – dmcmahon@businessinsider.com (Daniel McMahon)