Romain Bardet’s 2023 Tour de France bike: Scott Foil RC

Romain Bardet’s 2023 Tour de France bike, the Scott Foil RC, may not look typically suited to the young French climber at first blush but Scott says there is more to this aero bike than meets the eye. At 7.56kg with pedals, it’s a far cry from the heavier aero bikes of old and, with its dropped seatstays, rear-wheel-hugging seat tube and truncated aerofoil tube profiles, Scott says the new Foil is 16 watts faster at 40kmh than the all-rounder alternative, the Addict RC.

The finishing kit is, as you’d expect, largely Syncros – Scott’s in-house component brand. The Creston IC SL bars are said to have varying flex: stiff under heavy load such as sprinting, while compliant under light efforts.

The Foil RC comes specced with a Duncan SL seatpost with an in-built elastomer block to increase comfort aboard the super-stiff frame, but DSM appears to be running the full-carbon rigid version for some marginal weight savings or perhaps a firmer feel.

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For Bardet, the bike has been kitted with two sprint shifters. In the case of the Frenchman, these have been fitted relatively low on the drops of his handlebars, for those quick gear changes when it counts.

It would be remiss to neglect the dazzling paintwork, in-keeping with the DSM colours despite the slight livery change from a base black to a base dark blue. Keep reading for the spec chart and in-depth photos.

Romain Bardet’s Scott Foil RC spec

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