ProTour teams Caisse 'Esparge & Credit Agricole along with UK domestic teams Rapha-Condor, KFS Special Vehicles & Pearl Izumi are all running on Continental tyres in 2008

The cycle racing tyres supplied by Continental to the top teams competing in the Tour de France are the exact same Continental tyres that are available at your local dealer. In 2008, BlackChili technology is used exclusively in all team issue products where 1-8m carbon black particles incorporated into the compound ensure a real advantage in performance. They up push the boundaries of the compromise bbetween rolling resistance, wear rate and grip. The use of the liquid crystal fibre Vectran underneath the tread means the racing tyres are not only more puncture-resistant, but also weigh less and offer further reduced rolling resistance. This year riders like Valverde, Hushovd, Dean Downing & criterium specialist Jon Mozley are relying  on the hand-made tyres from Korbach in the German state of Hesse.

In the Tour de France the difference between victory and second place can be a matter of seconds, which means the racing tyres - weighing just 250 grammes - are an important part of the overall bike concept. The different compounds used give them optimum grip on wet and dry roads.

The Competition Pro family of racing tubulars used in the Tour de France are hand-made in Continental's bicycle tyre factory in Korbach, Hesse, and the new kid on the block, the GP4000 tubular offers riders a seamless alternative to the Competition whilst the Podium Pro Limited, which weighs just 220 grammes, offers extremely low rolling resistance and is particularly suited to time trial discipline. "Choosing the right tyres for the Tour de France is by now as much of a gamble as in Formula One" comments Wolf vorm Walde, product manager at Continental. "Thanks to our new compound, the teams have high-tech cycle tyres with which they can gain the seconds needed to put them ahead or make up lost time."

Aside from tubular tyres, the teams also use our premium quality racing clinchers for certain races and training camps, such as the Grand Prix 4000 and the front and rear specific Grand Prix Attack and Force set.

During 2008, athletes from all disciplines of cycling have been using our products both for their own personal developments and ours. Riders like Hawaii Ironman winner Faris Al Sulta, former world triathlon champion Tim Don, and the newly crowned female world champion Helen Tucker along with off-road superstar Irina Kalentieva who helped us develop the new Race King XC tyre in 2007. Back in the UK, Rapha Condor have had some notable success in both the Premier Calendar and Criterium series, along with Pearl Izumi who have been shaking up the races with some aggressive racing.