We just got up close with the Tour de France leader's classic-looking yellow road machine - take a look

Daniel McMahon

Jul 10, 2018, 20:49 IST

We just got up close with the Tour de France leader's classic-looking yellow road machine - take a look

Tour de France leader yellow bike Van Avermaet

LA BAULE, France - In the modern era of the Tour de France, the race leader's team often gives him a custom-painted yellow bike to ride, and sometimes, frankly, teams go overboard with yellow handlebar tape, yellow wheels, a yellow saddle, and even a full yellow kit for the rider. Thankfully the US-registered BMC Racing Team of Greg van Avermaet is keeping it classy with a simple, elegant yellow frame and fork. It's befitting of the classy Belgian, who took over the race lead on Monday after his squad won the team time trial in Cholet.

Before stage four of the Tour got underway on Tuesday, BMC let Business Insider have a quick close-up look of the race leader's Teammachine SLR01. See the photos below:

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Van Avermaet, 33, is a veteran pro who has won a slew of the world's biggest races, including the Paris-Roubaix. He's also the reigning Olympic road-race champion.

The saddle is a nod to the Olympic champ, known as GvA, who won gold in Rio.

This is the Teammachine SLR01, BMC's flagship road-race bike.

In an era of super-aero cockpits, GvA opts for the more classic-looking round handlebar.

GvA keeps a clean cockpit, with his computer jutting out on an out-front mount. The oversize stem makes for stiff, efficient power transfer when sprinting.

In this era of disc brakes, it's almost becoming quaint to see one of the planet's best cyclists riding rim brakes.

More and more road cyclists, pros and amateurs alike, are opting for wider tires with lower pressure — and GvA is no exception. He's riding 26 mm tubular tires this Tour.

GvA and the BMC team are sponsored by Shimano and ride Dura-Ace Di2, the electronic shifting system.

The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 is easy to charge with junction built into the down tube.

The tire sidewalls give GvA's BMC a classic look.

BMC uses Elite Custom Race Plus water-bottle cages.

Tour de France leader yellow bike Van Avermaet BMC TeamMachine

The race-provided transponder keep track of GvA's time to the hundredth of a second.

BMC will score points with fans who appreciate an understated, classic-looking bike.

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