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TECH NEWS

Bianchi introduces Tour de France Oltre RC road bike

Aero road bike comes in a special edition ahead of the start of the Tour... but it ain't cheap!

Italy’s Bianchi has unveiled a Tour de France version of its Oltre RC road bike in a limited edition run of just 176. Why 176? Because that’s the number of riders who’ll start the Tour in Bilbao on 1st July.

2023 Bianchi Oltre RC Tour de France limited edition - 1

The Oltre RC was launched last October and hit the headlines for its removable Air Deflectors – said to improve the aero performance – attached to the sides of the head tube. Those Air Deflectors aren’t UCI-legal so you won’t see them on the Arkea Samsic bikes raced in the Tour.

> Bianchi unveils radical new Oltre road bike with ‘Air Deflector’ aero tech 

“For this special occasion, the Bianchi Reparto Corse has developed a new exclusive colour scheme, starting with the unmistakable Celeste Bianchi and transforming it with shifting shades, adorned with metallic and iridescent effects,” says Bianchi.

2023 Bianchi Oltre RC Tour de France - 2

“It is a modern version of the traditional Celeste Bianchi, harmoniously merging with the iridescent yellow-gold, the iconic symbol of the Tour de France. Each of the 176 models of the Oltre RC Tour de France Limited Edition is hand-painted in Italy, with the Grande Boucle logo positioned on the right side of the seat tube.”

The bike is built up with a Shimano Dura Ace Di2 groupset and Reparto Corse RC50 front and RC65 rear wheels.

2023 Bianchi Oltre RC Tour de France limited edition - 3

Each bike comes in a box that contains a yellow jersey from Santini, a saddle cover, wheel bags, a letter signed by Bianchi's CEO, and “a book showcasing images and stories detailing all the aspects of the Oltre RC Tour de France Limited Edition”. You get an ownership card bearing your name and a number from 1 to 176, which is also displayed on the frame.

2023 Bianchi Oltre RC Tour de France - 1

The price is €15,500 (around £13,280) + VAT. Well, it was never going to be cheap, was it?

Find out more here. 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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4 comments

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Off the back | 1 year ago
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I loved Bianchi. I have had 5. From a Via Nirone 7 to an Oltre XR4 and even saved up a long time fir a speciallisima only for it to be unavailable in my size in the end before the disc version only was replacing it. But this current Oltre offends my eyes. It is such an ugly angular totally un-Italian style looking thing I can't even bring myself to look at it. 

Avatar
Ladders replied to Off the back | 1 year ago
0 likes

Glad I bought my Oltre before you could only buy stamped out jelly mould disc brake models. Will be keeping it a looong time I image

Avatar
Off the back replied to Ladders | 1 year ago
1 like

Last shape Oltre was a great bike, its a shame the new one is so fugly.

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the infamous grouse replied to Ladders | 1 year ago
0 likes

Ladders wrote:

Glad I bought my Oltre before you could only buy stamped out jelly mould disc brake models. Will be keeping it a looong time I image

well that's maybe a little unfair. at least up until they abandoned the ck-black colourway.

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