Valentin Ferron, who was at the press conference as the stage winner of the Criterium du Dauphiné, was repeatedly asked not only about his emotions and his late attacks, but also about his bike.

Cofidis' Victor Lafaye, a fellow member of the breakaway group that went to the gap on Friday, suggested that he was racing with a rider on a faster bike, sparking a debate about who had the best equipment in the aero bike and peloton.

"When there was a tailwind on the descent, it was difficult to stay in the wheels of the three riders with aerobikes," Lafey was quoted as saying by Sud Ouest.

"I kept my head down as much as I could to keep the wind off me," he added.

Ferron was riding a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7. The bike is the flagship race bike of the U.S. brand, which began supplying Ferron's Total Energies team following Peter Sagan's arrival in 2022.

Specialized previously produced a dedicated aero bike, the Venge, but discontinued it in an attempt to pack aero features into a tarmac bike and create a single bike that could do everything.

Raffay also called Andrea Bagioli (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl) and Warren Barguil (Alcare-Samsic) the "Aero Trio," Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen) They called them.

Bazioli of the Specialized-sponsored Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl team was also riding the same model bike, but it is interesting to note that he used a standard rounded handlebar while Ferron was more aerodynamic.

Barguil, on the other hand, had a choice between Canyon's climbing and aerodynamic models, choosing the latter, the Aeroad.

LaFaye rode De Rosa's all-rounder Merak, despite the fact that De Rosa in Italy has an aero model, the SK Pininfarina. Like Ferron, Lafaye also had an aero cockpit setup and used an integrated Vision Metron bar and stem.

When asked about the superiority of his bike, Ferron paid tribute to his sponsors, but deftly dismissed their comments, just as he had dismissed his breakaway rivals in his race-winning attack.

"It's true I have a very good bike, but I also have good legs.

"I think I could have won today even with last year's bike.

Ferron's comments should not be interpreted as arrogance, and he admits that his victory was not simply due to physical superiority, but rather a tactical coup: as the six-man breakaway approached the line, he made a surprise attack with 500 meters to go and went on to He escaped and went on to win his first World Tour race.

"I won't say I had nothing to lose, but I knew I would lose in the sprint. I had to expect it," said Ferron.

"I took my chances. In other races I didn't. That's cycling. That's cycling."

"This is huge," added the 24-year-old. Winning the World Tour is the result of a lot of hard work. This doesn't happen that often in your career.