Some people still have their Christmas decorations out and yet, here we are, kicking off the next WorldTour season.
Due to some UCI rule changes, the WorldTour races in Australia have become compulsory for WorldTeams in 2026, and with that, it’s the first year we’ve had all the women’s WorldTour teams together for the opening race: the Santos Tour Down Under.
With all the team bikes under one roof, the Tour Down Under offers a rare opportunity to capture the tech. As you'll find out below, a few teams have started the year on last season’s bikes, with some expecting new paint in time for the Classics, and others for the Tour, often coinciding with expected model overhauls.
For a deeper dive into who’s on what, check out our feature on who is riding what for 2026.
Alex Hunt
AG Insurance-Soudal
Starting in alphabetical order, the Belgian-registered team kicks off the season with familiar-looking Specialised Tarmac SL8s. Rumour has it the team, along with all of the Specialized-sponsored WorldTour teams, will get its updated livery nearer to the Tour de France.
Pictured is the bike of Nicole Steigenga (Netherlands), featuring the general team equipment of a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset paired with Roval Rapide (sometimes Alpinist) CLX III wheels. This time last year, the team was riding clincher tyres with latex tubes, but all Specialized-sponsored teams have since switched to the company’s still-unreleased Cotton tubeless tyres.
Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto remains on Canyon and SRAM for 2026. What’s new is the team showing off Canyon’s MyCanyon custom ordering process, with most riders on a differently finished and coloured frame. In a rather nice faded and spotted paint scheme, here is the Aeroad CFR of Australian Neve Bradbury.
Otherwise, the bikes are much the same as last year, including the full SRAM catalogue (including Zipp wheels and Time pedals), with Schwalbe, Elite, and Ergon filling the gaps.
One interesting tidbit is that Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto is the only WorldTour team, men's or women's, on Clik valves.
EF Education-Oatly
With the team new to the WorldTour for 2026, EF Education has started the season on an unreleased version of the Cannondale SuperSix Evo. If the subtle differences and UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) weren’t enough to tell it's new, it’s the fact the team denied photographs that really gives it away. Ruining the continuous flow of the indoor photos, here's the bike of Noemi Rüegg awaiting the start of stage 2.
Details of this bike are expected sometime next month. In the meantime, we know that EF is one of the many teams to switch over to SRAM, and with that goes the mixed FSA/Shimano drivetrain of the past. Otherwise, the Vision wheels remain, as do the Wahoo Speedplay pedals.
FDJ United-Suez
Kicking off the season with two back-to-back wins (via Kiwi Ally Wollaston, whose bike is pictured), FDJ United-Suez is much like the other Specialized teams in that its business as usual from a tech point of view.
The team still has the single choice of the Tarmac SL8, with the livery we saw in 2025, along with an unchanged Shimano Dura-Ace build.
All that’s new, like every other Specialized team, is the Roval Rapide CLX III wheels. These save weight (1,305 g claimed weight) with carbon spokes and lightened hubs.
Fenix-Premier Tech
I swear we’ll soon get to more new bikes, but Fenix’s Canyon Aeroads aren’t them. That glitter colour-shift paint from last season continues on for now, with rumours suggesting the team will get new paint when the frame beneath is ready for updating, too.
Did we do a good job with this story?
