Orluis Aular’s MMR Adrenaline Aero: Best looking bike at the Vuelta a España?

As avid bike watchers, we’re often afflicted with sore necks at Grand Tours, a symptom from constantly craning our heads to catch a glance at the innumerable eye-catching bikes.

Aesthetics matter as much as performance in modern cycling (okay, maybe not quite as much), which means we spend a lot of time admiring virtually every bike on show. One stood out from the rest at the Vuelta a España, winning our self-titled crown of best looking bike at the race. The bike in question is one of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA’s MMR Adrenaline Aeros, and it belongs to Venezuelan national champion Orluis Aular.

Many teams create custom colourways for their national champions to celebrate their success, and they’re often the most eye-catching bikes in the peloton - we pulled together a full gallery of every national champion’s bike at the Vuelta a España here.

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The colourway features the Venezuela flag

That gallery is packed with cool designs, but Aular’s bike bewitched us from a distance, only getting better the closer we got. Like many bikes of national champions, its design incorporates the nation’s flag, in this case Venezuela, with yellow and blue shades on the top tube giving way to a metallic burgundy on the forks. The rest of the bike is white, cutting a nice balance. It’s a winner in our eyes, but do you agree that it’s the best looking bike at the race? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The design adorns the Spanish team’s MMR Adrenaline Aero bike. MMR will be an unfamiliar brand to many, except those in Spain where the company is based. Its presence hasn’t become well known beyond the Iberian peninsula, but that’s likely to change if it keeps creating bikes which look as good as Aular’s.

As the name suggests, the bike is the company’s aero offering, and we set our eyes on it ahead of stage 4, a day Aular finished sixth. He’s since gone even better, narrowly missing out on the win on stage 7, settling for runner up behind surprise winner Geoffrey Soupe (TotalEnergies).

Read more: Geoffrey Soupe grabs surprise sprint victory

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The FSA crankset is paired with Shimano Dura-Ace derailleurs and shifters

For his bike, Aular had a 54/40t FSA Powerbox crankset with its in-built power meter. That was combined with Shimano's highest level Dura-Ace groupset, with a Shimano 11-30t cassette providing ample gearing for what was one of the easiest days at this year’s race.

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For the flatter stage, Aular used deep-rim Vision Metron 60 SL wheels

Reflecting the easier parcours, the bike had Vision Metron 60 SL wheels, with rim depths that match the name. There was further Vision finishing kit in the cockpit in the form of the Metron 5D ACR integrated handlebar, while the Selle Italia SLR Pro Team was the saddle of choice.