Just days before the start of the 2011 Tour de France, bike manufacturer Cervélo has announced its newest model, the S5. Though aggressively aerodynamic, the carbon-fiber S5 is not a triathlon bike. It’s made for road racing, and it will be under the riders of team Garmin-Cervelo when they line up on July 2 at Passage du Gois for the start of the three-week, 2,132-mile race.

Wired was the first media outlet of any kind to get a look at the S5, let alone ride it, which we did this spring. Our access included behind-the-scenes time with Cervélo engineers in the wind tunnel at the ...