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 University of Washington and our exclusive test ride in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.

Following are our photos from the wind tunnel sessions, along with shots and impressions from our test ride.

Above: A prototype of Cervelo's new aero-road bike frame, the S5, at the Kirsten Wind Tunnel on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. Engineers at the wind tunnel compared the S5 with older Cervelo designs and with competitor's bicycles.