Kozontchuk’s TT bike still has an old generation Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 crankset – probably because of SRM compatibility
Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ.fr) wearing an Alpina TT helmet. The brand – well known in the snow sports arena – started sponsoring FDR.fr at the beginning of the year
Campagnolo might have updated (and elongated) its EPS battery, but still the best place to put it is at the bottom of the down tube on some bikes
Plenty of negative setback on Kozontchuk’s (Katusha) bike
Orica-GreenEdge are happy with the old style Di2 batteries on custom mounts. Here’s Leigh Howard’s bike
Howard rides in a fairly high position
Jerome Coppel (Cofidis) may have put the whole SRM away, but there is another way – Howard tapes over distracting numbers
A Specialized Sitero saddle on Tanel Kangert’s (Astana) Specialized Shiv; his teammate Jakob Fuglsang had one too
Scott Thwaites (NetApp-Endura) pauses for a moment after the finish before riding off
Prologo Zero TT saddles are a popular choice among the pros
Rotor Flow cranks with and Rotor NoQ aero chainrings
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Slipstream) is back racing after the shortest of breaks following the Giro d’Italia and he continues with his Berner oversized pulley jockey wheels
Hesjedal wore Castelli’s Aero Speed Gloves – which are more like mitts
There’s plenty of up/down and setback adjustment on Jack Bobridge’s (Belkin) Bianchi Pico Carbon
A pretty messy cockpit on Rein Taaramae’s (Cofidis) Look 596 TT bike
Taaramae was using a massive 56t FSA chainring
Vincenzo Nibali’s (Astana) tidy cockpit. He finished eighth, 13 seconds down on Froome
Chris Froome (Team Sky) triumphed in the opening stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné – a 10.4km time trial characterised by a block headwind in the final third after riders crossed the River Saône in Lyon, France.
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It was a tough day for most of the riders. Bob Jungels (Trek Factory Racing) laid down the early marker to beat – 13m 22s – that lasted for most of the afternoon. The Luxembourger’s time stood until Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), the second last rider off, breached it. Then moments later, it was Froome – the last rider off – who took an extra eight seconds from the Spaniard. Afterwards he said he received intelligence that he would need to hold something back for the tough final. “Good advice” he called it in the winner’s press conference. He said the team will discuss whether they try to defend the jersey on Monday’s lumpy stage starting in Tarare.
BikeRadar was on hand to watch the riders come home and check out the gear they used to tackle the short urban course in Lyon. Bikes were fitted with large chainrings for the flattish course and a couple of the riders we saw had developed some nicely customised set-ups.
Click through the gallery for more.
Another shot of larsson’s assymetrical cockpit:Sam Dansie/BikeRadar
