What is the most expensive bike in the Tour de France?

Not in many sports, those that require more or less complex equipment, can a fan use the same gear as their idols. No matter how much we try, we will never be able to drive Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, however, any bike from the peloton is, or will be, within reach of those with a healthy enough economy to afford one of these gems.

Pedaling on Pogacar, Vingegaard, or Evenepoel's bike is possible

Cycling fans are lucky that we can find practically identical gear to what professional teams use in bike shops. In many cases, after the season ends, teams and brands put up for sale the exact same bikes that have been used throughout the year, or many brands offer replica models that reproduce colors and setups seen in races.

Bikes that, of course, are the top of the range of different brands which, nowadays, with the inflationary situation we have been in for the past few years and which the bike industry has not escaped, means having to invest, in most cases, more than €10,000.

Among the most elitist bikes in the peloton, the first one that comes to mind is the omnipresent Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 used by both Soudal-QuickStep and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, both with practically identical setups based on a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group and complemented by Roval wheels from the Morgan Hill brand and the rest of the components created for this bike by their engineers. A bike that in the limited edition launched by the brand with the colors of the German team reaches up to €17,000, although we can opt for the standard version that stays at €14,000.

Continuing with elitism, we cannot overlook the Colnago V4Rs of the UAE Team Emirates. On their website, we can use their configurator to have a bike practically identical to the team's. The price, in line with the high-end reputation that has always accompanied the Italian brand. Specifically, it goes up to €15,860.

Although not as steeped in history as the Cambiago brand, an elitist halo has also been forged around Factor, the bike used by the cyclists of Israel-PremierTech. In this case, we can also configure a custom bike from their website which allows us to opt for a setup practically identical to the team's, we can even find a version of the Factor Ostro V.A.M. with the beautiful paint design that Israel-PremierTech is using in the Tour de France. A setup, with Shimano Dura-Ace and Black Inc wheels, that can be purchased for $11,694, which is around €10,800.

Talking about expensive bikes also makes it necessary to mention another Italian brand: Pinarello, whose new Dogma F is already available. In the distributor for Spain, the version mounted with Dura-Ace Di2, including power meter cranks, costs around €16,000, depending on the wheels we choose among those not available are the Shimano Dura-Ace used daily by the British team.

Another machine that we can have with an identical setup to the professional team, including colors, is the new Trek Madone Gen 8 from Lidl-Trek. The Wisconsin brand has kept its price escalation in check in recent years and the replica of the team's bike can be yours for €13,999.

On the other hand, it is worth noting that the title of the most affordable bike in the peloton is no longer exclusive to Canyon, which offers an Aeroad CFR with the colors of Alpecin-Deceuninck, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 with a power meter but with DT Swiss wheels instead of the also Shimano ones. A bike that, at the moment, can be found on sale and stays at €8,389, a price similar to the €8,999 bike that is in fashion this season, the Van Rysel RCR Pro that, a few months ago, Decathlon put on sale in a completely replica edition of the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale.