Do Tour De France Riders Use Tubeless Tires? | What Pros Run

Yes, tubeless tires are common in Tour de France racing, though a few teams still line up on tube-based setups.

The peloton has moved hard toward tubeless in recent seasons. Walk through the team paddock and you will now see many bikes on 28 mm to 30 mm road tires with sealant inside and no inner tube at all. That does not mean every rider uses the same setup on every stage, but tubeless is no longer the odd choice.

The clean answer is simple: yes, many Tour de France riders use tubeless tires, and for plenty of teams it is the default road setup. A small slice of the field still sticks with latex tubes on some bikes, mostly when a team likes the ride feel, wants easier wheel swaps, or is tied to a sponsor’s tire line.

Do Tour De France Riders Use Tubeless Tires? What Recent Tours Show

The clearest recent snapshot came from a full team-by-team tire check at the 2024 Tour. That survey logged tubeless on 20 of the 22 teams it tracked. Only Cofidis and Lotto-Dstny were listed on tube-based setups. When one choice covers that much of the field, it is fair to call it the main setup in the race.

The brands in that roundup tell the same story. Continental GP 5000 S TR, Vittoria Corsa Pro, Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS, and Schwalbe Pro One all showed up under teams that raced tubeless. Those are not fringe products pulled out for one wet stage. They are front-line race tires fitted to bikes built for the biggest race on the calendar.

There is still some mixing inside the bunch. One rider may use a standard road-stage tubeless setup, while a teammate on a different wheel sponsor or tire sponsor may ride tubes. Some teams even split choices inside the same tire family. That is normal in pro racing. Tires are tied to wheel shape, tire casing, pressure plans, and the rider’s own trust in the system.

Tubeless Tires In Tour De France Racing: Why Teams Switched

The move did not happen because tubeless sounded fancy. It happened because the setup can give riders three things they care about on race day: lower rolling loss, better puncture control, and more grip at lower pressure. When a stage is won by seconds, that mix has real weight.

The puncture piece is easy to grasp. A small hole that would flatten a tube-based tire can sometimes seal before the rider even knows it happened. That matters in the Tour, where one bad flat at the wrong moment can end a rider’s day. Mechanics do not need magic. They just need a setup that cuts the odds of disaster.

Grip is the other big draw. Lower pressures let the tire follow rough pavement instead of skittering across it. That can calm the bike on broken roads, wet descents, and sketchy run-ins. Modern race bikes, with wider rims and disc brakes, suit that style of setup far better than the old narrow-rim, high-pressure era did.

• Small punctures can seal while the bike is still rolling.
• Lower pressure can improve grip on rough or damp roads.
• Wider rims pair neatly with 28 mm to 30 mm tubeless race tires.
• Teams can tune front and rear pressure with more freedom than old-school tube setups allowed.

One useful checkpoint is Velo’s 2024 Tour tire survey, which showed just how far the shift has gone across the field. The big picture from that paddock audit was plain: tubeless now sits in the center of pro road racing, not at the edge of it.

Issue	Tubeless In The Tour	Tube-Based Setup In The Tour
Small punctures	Sealant may close them before full pressure loss	Usually needs a wheel swap right away
Pinch-flat risk	Lower at raceable pressures	Higher once pressure drops too far
Pressure range	Lets teams run a bit lower for grip and control	Often pushed a bit higher to avoid pinch flats
Ride feel	Stable and planted on rough tarmac	Often feels snappy with a good latex-tube tire
Workshop mess	Sealant cleanup is part of the job	Cleaner and faster to mount at home base
Wheel swaps	Works well if the spare matches tire and rim plan	Familiar and easy for teams that have used it for years
Rim matching	More sensitive to bead fit and pressure limits	Still needs care, but setup is less fussy
Current Tour share	Main choice across most of the bunch	Used by a small minority of teams

That table also shows why the race has not gone to one single answer. Tubeless wins plenty of categories that matter in a Grand Tour, yet tubes still offer a clean, familiar setup that some riders and mechanics trust more on certain bikes. The pro choice is still a system choice, not a one-word slogan.

Where Tubes Still Hold Ground

Why Some Teams Keep Tubes

Tubes are not dead in the Tour. A few teams still like the feel of a supple tire with a latex tube, especially when the casing itself is quick and lively. That setup can feel sharp under hard acceleration, and mechanics know exactly how it behaves. In a race built on routine, that counts for plenty.

There is also a sponsor angle. A team can only race what its wheel and tire partners allow. If a tire line is strongest in a tube-based version, or if a team has better trust in that version after months of testing, the rider may stay there. The fastest setup on paper is not always the one a team will race in week three of the Tour.

Why A Wheel Swap Still Matters

Tour riders do not fix flats at the roadside unless they have no other choice. They want a fresh wheel from the team car in seconds. That means the whole spare-wheel plan still matters. If a team feels it can swap faster, cleaner, and with fewer variables on tubes, that can keep a tube-based setup alive even while the rest of the bunch shifts the other way.

The Safety And Rule Angle

Rims matter as much as tires. In 2024, the UCI note on hookless rims with tubeless tyres reminded teams to follow ISO compatibility rules for tire and rim widths after a string of pro-race incidents. That did not ban tubeless. It did put more weight on matching tire, rim, and pressure the right way.

That point gets missed by plenty of home riders. Tubeless is not just “sealant instead of a tube.” It is a full system built around bead shape, rim type, pressure limits, and tire width. Pro teams have the staff and test time to dial that in. When they sign off on a setup, it has already gone through many hours of hard use.

Pressure still rules the whole thing. A tire that is too hard can bounce and lose grip. Too soft, and the handling can get vague or the tire can roll awkwardly in a sprint. Tubeless gives teams more room to tune that sweet spot. That freedom is a big part of why the setup works so well in the modern peloton.

Race Situation	Common Pro Choice	Why Teams Lean That Way
Standard road stage	28 mm tubeless	Strong blend of speed, grip, and puncture control
Rough chipseal day	28 mm to 30 mm tubeless	Lets riders drop pressure a touch for more calm and grip
Wet descent stage	Tubeless with tuned pressure	Extra contact patch can steady the bike
Pure speed feel setup	Latex-tube tire on some teams	A few riders still like the snap and familiar feel
Team with strict sponsor setup	Whatever the partner system favors	Race choice must fit the gear contract and test data
Fast wheel-swap priority	Choice varies by team	Mechanics pick the setup that fits the spare-wheel plan

What Regular Riders Can Learn From The Peloton

The Tour can point you in the right direction, but it should not boss your own tire choice. Pros race with spare wheels a few car lengths back. You do not. They also pick gear around stage profiles, sponsor deals, and tire stocks that change across the season. Your goal is easier: choose the setup that feels quick, trustworthy, and easy enough for you to live with.

Tubeless makes sense for many road riders if you want one setup for rough pavement, mixed weather, and long rides where a small puncture can ruin the day. A good tubeless road tire with fresh sealant can feel fast and calm at the same time. If you hate sealant mess, swap tires all the time, or ride mostly on clean roads, tubes can still be a smart call.

• Pick tubeless if punctures and rough roads bother you more than setup time.
• Stay with tubes if you want clean home changes and already love the ride feel.
• Match tire width to the rim, not just the label printed on the sidewall.
• Set pressure by rider weight, bike load, road surface, and tire size.

The old idea that tubeless is too fragile or too fiddly for the Tour no longer holds up. Most teams have already crossed that bridge. So if you were wondering whether Tour de France riders trust tubeless tires, the answer is yes. Not every rider. Not every bike. But enough of the bunch does that tubeless now sits in the main stream of race-day road gear.