The kits, wheels, tires, helmets and shoes that lead to victory in this year's Tour de France.
It takes years of dedicated training -- not to mention a fair measure of natural talent -- to ride like a professional cyclist. To ride with professional cycling gear, however, is just a matter of swiping a credit card. In other words, the gear of the 2015 Tour de France is widely available for purchase. Here are a few key pieces, together with the victories in which they played a starring role.
MTN-Qhubeka jersey ($119): I'm typically not a fan of wearing pro team kits. If I'm not actually on the team, why wear the uniform? The one exception is that of African Team MTN-Qhubeka. The nonprofit Qhubeka organization is dedicated to providing bicycles to school children in South Africa who otherwise have to walk an hour each way to school. Plus, the base kit is made by Castelli, which specializes in high-performance road threads.
Team: MTN-Qhubeka
Key Victory: Daniel Teklehaimanot made history on Stage 6 in becoming the first African to wear the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey.
Specialized S-Works Evade helmet ($225): Thanks to its very own wind tunnel, Specialized sculpted a helmet that saves the better part of a minute (46 seconds) over the course of a 40-kilometer ride, according to the company. Which can have a huge impact on bunch sprints, which are won by the smallest fraction of a second.
Teams: Etixx-Quickstep, Tinkoff-Saxo, and Astana
Key Victory: Mark Cavendish of Etixx-Quickstep won the sprint to take Stage 7, which was the 26th Tour stage win of his career.
Continental Competition Tubular tire ($124): In addition to the teams that Continental sponsors, others including Team Sky actually buy the Germany company's tires for its riders. It's quite a testament to the quality and performance. Although the Competition is a tubular tire, which means you have to glue it to a special rim, everyday riders can opt for the Grand Prix 4000 S II ($74), which uses a similar rubber compound and fits on traditional clincher rims.
Teams: BMC Racing Team, Lotto-Soudal, Lampre, Orica GreenEdge, and Movistar
Key Victory: Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing won Stage 13 with a mere 10,000 feet of climbing over 123.3 miles.
Shimano SH-R321 Pro Tour Racing shoes ($380): I recently bought a pair of these and find them to be the best road shoes I've ever ridden. The footbed features replaceable arch inserts to accommodate different instep heights, and the footbed itself is head moldable. After a dozen rides or so, the shoe will form itself to your foot in providing maximum comfort and power transfer. The limited edition blue/yellow color way was introduced for the Tour.
Teams: Giant-Alpecin and select riders from Orica Greenedge, Lotto.NL, and Team Sky
Key Victory: Simon Seschke of Giant-Alpecin won Stage 17, a massive climbing stage in the Alps with more than 21,000 feet of climbing over 100 miles.
ENVE 2.2 Carbon Fiber wheels ($2,700): If there is such a thing as artisan bike wheels, ENVE is it. As such, the company doesn't produce enough volume i.e. profit to sponsor your typical Tour de France team. But MTN-Qhubeka was more interested in performance than cash, which made for an ideal partnership. The 2.2 is only available in the tubular (sew-up) style, which is how it's possible to weigh only 1,063 grams. Otherwise, go for the ENVE 3.4 model for the closest clincher version.
Team: MTN-Qhubeka
Key Victory: Steve Cummings won Stage 14, which had more than 15,000 feet of climbing over 110.9 miles.
Nilani Aeprolight Mesh Ti jersey ($190): If you want Tour-de-France team performance without the team colors, Italian cycling clothier Nilani outfits several teams. As a lesser-known brand in the States, you'll also set yourself apart from the crowd on group rides. Just be aware that a European XL is more like a US size medium.
Teams: Astana, Cofidis, Movistar
Key Victory: Astana's Vincenzo Nibali, the 2014 Tour champion, made a late surge to win Stage 19 in the Alps and jumped three spots into 4th place in the General Classification.