The Tour de France, the world's biggest cycling race, continues to disappoint. If you've been paying attention to the riders of Grupama FDJ, including Team Sunweb's Cees Bol, Marc Hirsch, Nicolas Roche, or Stefan Kuhn, you may have noticed something new on their bikes.

They are all wearing what appear to be new Shimano wheels.

While both GC favorites Jumbo Visma and Ineos Grenadier shunned Shimano in the Tour de France in favor of lighter options, Groupama FDJ and Team Sunweb took a different approach to wheelset swapping, with Cycling News reporting that Japanese sponsor's prototype wheels, we understand.

There is no clear indication on the wheels that they are Shimano wheels. They don't use any other brand," Shimano spokesman Ben Hillsdon confirmed, suggesting that these are indeed Shimano's new wheels.

Side by side, the matte finish and lack of logos make it clear that these are new wheels.

The wheel appears to be an all-rounder, which is supported by the fact that it is used by sprinter Boll, luer Hirschi, and climber Roche. The fact that it is equipped with Continental Pro Ltd tubular tires indicates that it is a tubular rim. The rim depth is estimated to be about 40-50 mm, and appears noticeably wider than the C40 and C60 currently sold by Shimano.

Unfortunately, he remained tight-lipped about the details of the new wheels. Shimano is always developing products and technology," he said. But we don't comment on rumors or the development process.