Thomas' Tour de France triumph with Dura-Ace

Riders using Dura-Ace riders win General Classification plus Points, Mountains and Young Rider classification for second year in a row.

The 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas soared to victory over this year's 3,351km route aboard his Pinarello F10 X-Light equipped with Shimano's flagship groupset, the Di2 electronic shifting R9150 version of Dura-Ace, featuring a 53/39T Dura-Ace crankset with 175mm crank arms and an 11-30T Dura-Ace cassette, successfully defending Team Sky's title.

Thomas followed Chris Froome's victories in 2015, '16 and '17 to make it four in a row for the Shimano-sponsored British outfit. Froome finished 3rd this year, with the podium rounded out by Tom Dumoulin, Team Sunweb who also rides with Shimano's Dura-Ace groupset.

As well as a clean sweep of the top three GC places, Shimano components could also be found on the Specialized S-Works Venge disc of green 'sprint' jersey winner Peter Sagan, (Bora–Hansgrohe), the Specialized Tarmac SL6 of polka dot jersey winner Julien Alaphilippe (Team Quick Step) and the Factor O2 of white jersey winner Pierre Latour (Ag2r-La Mondiale).

Clearly evident in this year's Tour was the amount of riders choosing disc brakes over rim brakes. Shimano's R9170 Dura Ace disc series was favoured by many riders for its enhanced power application and braking control, as well as the lower braking force needed to achieve the same amount of deceleration as a rim brake would offer.

Current Road World Champion Peter Sagan was riding the disc version of his S-Works Venge on his three victories at this year's tour.

Shimano would like to congratulate Geraint Thomas and Team Sky for their victory in 2018 as well as all riders completing the 21 stages of this year's Tour de France.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1.       Embargo: For immediate release

2.       Images: Copyright Cor Vos, www.corvos.nl: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lcbjl5wk7tgt8u4/AABfQfm3mxBGJGRyOwAWG7bIa?dl=0 .

3.       Shimano sponsored teams competing in this year’s Tour de France include: Team LottoNL-Jumbo, Team Sky, Team Sunweb, Mitchelton-Scott, TREK-Segafredo, Team Française des Jeux, BMC Racing Team and Bora-Hansgrohe.

4.       Further Shimano press releases: See the media centre here: https://media.shimano-eu.com  Username: shimanomedia  Password: 5h1m4n0m3d14     

5.       About Shimano Europe: Founded in 1921, Shimano is dedicated to helping its customers get closer to nature, supporting people to realize their dreams and create new lifestyles. That comes with the desire to create outstanding cycling products and apparel. With almost 100 years’ experience in creating internationally renowned bicycle components, Shimano is proud to have developed products that continue to take countless athletes to victory and provide the means for limitless global bicycle journeys. For more information see www.shimano.com.