Race tech: Uphill time trial inspires unique bikes

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=90&resize=160%2C208, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=320%2C416 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 375px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=90&resize=190%2C247, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=380%2C494 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 425px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=90&resize=215%2C279, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=430%2C559 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 992px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=90&resize=136%2C176, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=272%2C353 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=408%2C530 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(min-width: 993px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=90&resize=155%2C201, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=310%2C403 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="wp-image-140791 size-portrait_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-gallery-grid-src-image" src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561.jpg?quality=90&resize=461%2C600" width="556" height="723" data-crop-width="" data-crop-height="" alt="Christian Vande Velde was one of three Garmin-Cervélo riders on a trick road/time trial hybrid setup. According to team mechanic Geoff Brown, this arrangement provided nearly the same position as on his time trial bike but an unusually light sub-7kg weight that was perfect for the run up Vail Pass" title="1314345826277-1jgm84rpgss4x-d2db561" style="width: auto; height: 100%;"> Christian Vande Velde was one of three Garmin-Cervélo riders on a trick road/time trial hybrid setup. According to team mechanic Geoff Brown, this arrangement provided nearly the same position as on his time trial bike but an unusually light sub-7kg weight that was perfect for the run up Vail Pass James Huang/BikeRadar

Yesterday’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge stage 3 time trial wasn’t your average race against the clock. Though the course climbed a significant 530m (1,738ft) over its 16.1km (10.0mi) length, the first half was only mildly uphill and many riders were treated to a healthy tailwind – making it neither a blisteringly fast individual effort nor a pure hill climb. Not surprisingly then, many of the bikes used were novel hybrids tailored specifically to the day.

One of the most creative machines was Christian Vande Velde’s Garmin-Cervélo rig. Built around Cervélo’s ultralight R5ca frame – a roughly 700g featherweight normally reserved for big mountain stages – team mechanics dressed it up in full aero gear, including a disc rear wheel, deep-section front wheel and integrated aero bars mounted on an adjustable stem. According to team sports scientist Robbie Ketchell, Vande Velde’s position was nearly identical to that of his full-blown P4 time trial rig.

Given the nominal gains offered by even the best aero frames, the trick setup likely represented only a slight increase in drag. More importantly, though, the ultralight chassis yielded a final package that was unusually light for a time trial bike – a key performance advantage for the second half of the course. According to team mechanic Geoff Brown, Vande Velde’s aero-dressed R5ca was well under 7kg (15.4lb).

Tom danielson (garmin-cervélo) also had his own trick road/time trial hybrid setup: tom danielson (garmin-cervélo) also had his own trick road/time trial hybrid setup James Huang/BikeRadar Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo) had his own trick road/time trial hybrid setup

Many teams stuck to their standard time trial bikes, preferring to just tweak the setups with slightly taller bar heights and/or larger rear cassettes to better handle the climb. But road/time trial hybrids like Garmin-Cervélo’s machines were definitely present en masse – just in more mild incarnations that typically involved a set of aero clip-ons and deep section, or disc, wheels.

One thing we were surprised not to see, however, were Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-equipped teams taking advantage of the group’s plug-and-play satellite bar end shifters. While we haven’t tried the combination ourselves, mechanics should have been able to add clip-on bars to the riders’ road bikes and add a very useful set of shifters out on the ends of the extensions to save a few valuable sections on the faster lower section of the course.

At least in theory, skil-shimano team mechanics could have added bar end shifters to this hybrid setup: at least in theory, skil-shimano team mechanics could have added bar end shifters to this hybrid setup James Huang/BikeRadar At least in theory, Skil-Shimano team mechanics could have added bar end shifters to this hybrid setup