Following a spring and summer without pro cycling, we launched the RE-START campaign at the beginning of August and the excitement has been non-stop leading up to the Giro d’Italia. With a condensed racing calendar filling the streets across Europe and screens around the globe, the 2020 season may have come late, but it arrived with gusto, and there is still much more to come.

And as the sport returned, we eagerly tuned in to see how the pros would handle such an unprecedented competitive situation. Which made us wonder: what other Re-starts do pro cyclists face? And, when faced with change, how do the leaders of the peloton stay on top?

To hear what Tour champion G had to say, click on the video and join us after in Italy as we RE-START the Corsa Rosa together.

On 28th July 2019, Egan Bernal stood on the top step of the podium in Paris, his face aglow with joy and the frenetic flash of cameras.

For Team INEOS, it has been another successful year filled with moments of pride. Since the squad’s debut with its new title-sponsor at the Tour de Yorkshire, Team INEOS has maintained its winning form, claiming general classification triumphs, stage victories and jerseys alike.

As always, it’s been a team effort – it’s not just Bernal making the headlines. In the absence of multiple Grand Tour winner Chris Froome through injury, Geraint Thomas made another huge contribution. The charismatic Welshman selflessly guided the young Colombian to his first Grand Tour victory in France while claiming the second step on the podium himself.

Elsewhere, youth prevailed as Pavel Sivakov (22) took home the winner’s jersey at the Tour de Pologne. Not to be outdone, Iván Sosa, just 21, earned GC victory at the Vuelta a Burgos with two stage wins. Later, he took second at GranPiemonte, helping his countryman Bernal to the victory and securing a team 1-2.

In collaboration with pro riders, including Team INEOS, we developed Vento – fizik’s performance racing series. Vento is guided by the same principles that have brought the British-based team seven Tour de France victories: strength, determination, passion and perseverance. With all the emotions that make cycling great – excitement, exhaustion and elation – Team INEOS rides Vento throughout the year.

Photographs: Poci’s, Russ Ellis 

Team Sky’s goals were always huge, but over the seven years fizik supported them, our riders went deeper than deep to transcend every expectation. They rode, raced and lived cycling in ways only the absolute best of the best can.

Created from a desire to snatch Tour de France victory for Britain within five years, Team Sky truly gave it everything – a flood of sweat, no small amount of blood and yes, tears of both joy and pain – for their passion. The result? A massive six Tour de France wins, victory in the Giro d’Italia and victory in the Vuelta de España. Alongside came a slew of hard-fought, beautifully-won road and track dominations around the world.

Amazingly, that first Tour victory came not with five years but just three, in 2012, and was in fact a British one-two for Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. The team then only had to wait twelve months for a second success, as Froome scooped the historic 100th Tour de France in sensational style.

In Team Sky’s final seasons it dominated the Grand Tours, starting with Froome’s 2017 Tour and Vuelta wins, and continuing into 2018 with his gutwrenching fightback for Giro d’Italia laurels. Welsh legend Geraint Thomas then made it four in a row at that year’s Tour de France. There’s nothing quite like bowing out at the top of your game…

While success made household names of the squad’s highest-profile riders – and a ’Sir’ of Bradley Wiggins, knighted at Buckingham Palace in 2013 – it’s impossible to overlook the achievements, drive and spirit of everyone involved. With its 2019 roster of 29 riders spanning 14 nationalities, Team Sky emphasises team work above all else.

So it’s been an emotional ride, and while the Team Sky story concludes on May 1, 2019, for fizik – as for riders and staff – it’s a new beginning. This summer, London-based multinational Ineos step in as title sponsor, with Team Ineos’ official debut coming at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland.

Fizik’s partnership continues as strong as ever, and we take this opportunity both to thank Sky for seven fantastic years and welcome Ineos. Here’s to another magnificent seven!

The first Italian WorldTour race on the calendar, to truly open the 2019 campaign, Tuscany’s ‘emerging classic’, Strade Bianche has quickly become a fixture on the early season calendar that riders target and fans eagerly anticipate. This year’s edition is on Saturday 9 March.

Amongst the Spring Classics that test riders and machines with their cobbles, Strade Bianche throws the curveball challenge of multiple gravel and sand sectors, along with climbs. These non-asphalt sectors are the “white roads” that give the race its name – and unmistakable appearance, as the harshness of the race is juxtaposed with the beauty of the Tuscan landscape.

Along with the gravel, grit and sand under the riders’ tires the early March weather often plays a part in the story. Wind, rain, hail and even snow has helped Strade Bianche create not just a tough race, but the opportunity for images that last long on the retina and the camera lens… there’s simply nothing quite like it.

Another image that the racers and fans alike all value is in the race’s host city, the unique charm of Siena. It’s not just the dusty, roads that make Strade Bianche iconic – it’s the close association with this very special start and finish location. After the riders climb the Via Santa Caterina, the finish at the world famous mediaeval square – the Piazza del Campo – is a selfie waiting to happen.

First staged in 2007, Strade Bianche achieved UCI WorldTour status in 2017. The 2019 men’s route is 184km long with 11 gravel sectors, totalling around 63km. It’s hard race, so the teams pack talent into their squads:

Who to watch

Movistar Team blend experience with pace and power in their seven-rider men’s line-up, with explosive Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and Colombian Classics danger-man Carlos Betancur flanked by Portuguese Nelson Oliviera and Spaniards José Rojas and Eduard Prades. In the 136km Women’s WorldTour race, featuring 31.4km of gravel, Movistar Women Team’s six riders are led by the experienced French road champion Aude Biannic and Spanish former cyclocross champ Alicia Gonzalez.

Although Michal Kwiatkowski isn’t going for a record-equalling third Strade Bianche win this year, the Team Sky pack is filled with aces, with 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas looking to embellish his strong Classics record in his Strade Bianche debut, and in-form Gianni Moscon ready to impress on home soil.

Team Jumbo-Visma have sent their new Belgian cyclocross ace Wout van Aert to Tuscany, where he was part of the exciting 2018 podium breakaway. The former CX World Champion feels at home on any surface, and expects robust support from Danny van Poppel amongst others.

While there’s no Bardet this year for AG2R La Mondiale, their lead Frenchman is the hugely talented Tour de France White Jersey Pierre Latour. The squad includes Silvan Dillier – a real Swiss Army knife of a rider – who has what it takes to make an impact on the Classics.

At the top level of 2018 road racing we saw strength, skill, bravery and risk from fizik riders… we witnessed teamwork and togetherness but also spirited individual brilliance. There were decisions made on pre-determined calculations, and others that can only be the sheer gut instinct of a racer who knows when to go – it’s the raw passion for winning that lights the flame within all racing fans. We all share that passion, but only the very best can translate it into performances that put all the others in the shade… performances like these:

Thomas wins the Tour on the Alpe d’Huez

The loyal lieutenant, the super-domestique, and one of the most popular riders in today’s peloton, few foresaw Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas as the 2018 Tour de France winner – but that’s exactly what he became.

The Welshman started in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île as the number one support act to four-time TdF winner Froome, but soon found himself with the strongest position of the GC contenders, triggering a series of question…

Could Thomas step out of the shadows and hang on to the lead? Will the other contenders overhaul him Would team orders dictate Thomas handing the win to Froome?

The Welshman did most to answer the questions with a sublime attack over the Alpe d’Huez – the first British rider to do so – which made hairs stand up on necks.

Backed up with another mountain-top stage win in San Bernando, Thomas enjoyed 11 days in in the maillot jaune on his way to Paris.

Valverde wins the Worlds on Höttinger Höll

Perhaps we left the most emotionally charged win til last, with the smiles of El Bala in Innsbruck, Austria.

Six times previously on the World Champs podium, but never before on the top step, the 38-year-old Spaniard pulled off one of the finest performances of his career to tame the ‘Hell’ hill no fewer than seven times, and see off a final selection of three other top class riders to sprint it home in Innsbruck.

When we’re cheering on our pro teams to success in the Classics, Grand Tours and other major races, it’s easy to overlook the precise detail that goes into setting up their bikes so the athletes can perform to the maximum.

Three important aspects of saddle set-up are: selecting the correct profile; measuring the rider’s bike position; and the art of setting up the bike with unerring accuracy every single day for every rider to replicate these vital metrics.

Gianni Moscon and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, for example, both suit the long, flat shape and narrow nose of the Arione. This year’s emerging talent, Egan Bernal, ride Antares, with its medium profile, as does Chris Froome; while it’s the waved profile Aliante for his ultra-reliable domestique Philip Deignan, who has just announced his retirement after 14 seasons as a pro.

With their, and their team-mates’ on-bike measurements recorded, we spent time with Team Sky’s mechanics who shared their vital part of the process.

Like all the team’s technical equipment, the measuring calipers they use are highly accurate professional tools, regularly checked – as are the riders’ measurements themselves.

Two sets of measurements that determine saddle height are taken for each rider: from the center of the bottom bracket to two points on the saddle. These positions vary from model to model because of their different profiles and are set to the fraction of a millimeter with the bike secure in a workstand.

The fore-aft measurements are the second set of positions for each rider, and these are also determined relative to the BB.

Advice that all good mechanics will gladly share – but you can imagine the potential consequences if these guys didn’t follow it themselves – is to use the correct torque settings on all bolts. They might make it all look easy, but of course, it’s a highly tuned professional operation that creates that effect!

A seasoned all-rounder and key member of Team Sky since its inception, Geraint Thomas is the latest rider to come under the spotlight in Fizik’s 7 Questions video series.

After 2017’s season ending crashes, Thomas looks to have come back with a vengeance, given his recent victory at the Criterium du Dauphine as he prepares for the Tour de France.

He recently took time out from his relentless schedule to sit in front of our camera and answer some revealing questions.

Discover G’s favorite career moments, which soccer and rugby teams he supports (his nationality may give you a clue!), the things he hates being asked about in interviews and much more.

Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas wins the Tour De France 2018 after three weeks of emotions, struggles and great cycling fights!

Two stage victories at Alpe d’Huez and San Bernando and 11 days in yellow towards the great celebration at Champs-Élysées.

We are proud to be part of this success with our Arione R1 saddle and Infinito R1 Knit shoes.

It’s an honor to ride with you G!

Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas (fi’zi:k R1 Infinito Knit) hits the final week of the 105th Tour de France in yellow with a 1:39min advantage over six-time Grand Tour winning team-mate, Chris Froome.

fi’zi:k riders occupy seven of the top eight positions on GC, with stage winners and race leaders peppering the list. While Tom Dumoulin is a threat, the Dutch danger continues with LottoNL-Jumbo team pair of Primoz Roglic (4th) and Steven Kruijswijk (7th). AG2R La Mondiale’s French fighter Romain Bardet lies 5th and the Movistar Team joint-leaders Mikel Landa (Spain) and Nairo Quintana (Colombia) sit ominously in 6th and 8th.

After BMC Racing Team and fi’zi:k’s Greg Van Avermaet’s early turn in yellow triggered by the slick TTT victory, and Lotto NL-Jumbo rider Dylan Groenewegen’s back-to-back sprint wins, Welshman Thomas followed the young Dutchman’s lead and bagged a brace of stages, including the first British victory on the Alpe d’Huez .

With the Alps conquered, the Pyrenees follow Monday’s rest day. The Tour’s shortest stage for 30 years (Wednesday 25th), just 65km and featuring the 2,125m Col du Portet, is the hors d’oeuvre for Friday’s quartet of Cols: Aspin, Tourmalet, Souler and d’Aubisque.

If the seven-man Team Sky squad can defend until then, how important will Saturday’s 31km Individual Time Trial be in deciding the GC ahead of Sunday’s procession into Paris?

Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas is back in the Tour de France leader’s yellow jersey after winning Stage 11 with a blistering finish on the 108.5km Albertville to La Rosière mountain stage.

The Welshman proudly wore the maillot jaune for four days last July, defending it after his early ITT blast. But this year the 32-year-old has earned the jersey in the Alps, and wears it with his fi’zi:k Infinito R1 Knit shoes, with the new colorways making their Grand Tour debut.