Race tech: Uphill time trial inspires unique bikes
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
It’s not often you’ll see a disc rear wheel on a Cervélo R5ca but that’s just what the Garmin-Cervélo team did for stage 3 time trial up Vail Pass
The R5ca’s longer head tube demanded a hinged stem on Christian Vande Velde’s (Garmin-Cervélo) trick hybrid setup
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervélo) uses a very narrow armrest pad setup
A 27-tooth rear cog on Christian Vande Velde’s (Garmin-Cervélo) Cervélo R5ca was on tap for the climb up Vail Pass
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervélo) had his usual Cervélo R5ca set up with clip-on aero bars as a spare machine
Christian Vande Velde’s (Garmin-Cervélo) spare bike was another R5ca but with a milder hybrid setup
Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo) also had his own trick road/time trial hybrid setup
Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Cervélo) had his Cervélo S5 set up with clip-on aero bars as a spare machine for the Vail time trial. He used his usual stars-and-stripes Cervélo P4 during the race
Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Cervélo) opted for a 28-tooth large cog on his spare Cervélo S5 setup
Cervélo’s new S5 borrows many of its aero features from the full-blown P4 time trial bike so depending on the setup, the frame probably doesn’t generate much more drag
Bissell riders stuck with their usual Pinarello Graals for the uphill time trial
This Bissell rider used a rather standard cassette spread for the run up Vail Pass. Note the SRAM chain on the otherwise Campagnolo drivetrain
Bissell team mechanics were keeping a close eye on the weather given Colorado’s notoriously unpredictable afternoon conditions. Disc wheels were fitted earlier in the day but deep-section rears were on hand just in case
BMC ran a mix of full-blown time trial and hybrid road/time trial setups for the stage 3 time trial up Vail Pass
Easton’s clip-on aero bars offered up a convenient hybrid setup for this BMC rider
The EPM-UNE team out of Columbia clearly weren’t as well equipped as most of their rivals – note not only the non-matching bikes but also the different brands of bikes – but team rider Rafael Infantino put in a very impressive third-place finish nonetheless
Team Exergy used their Felt B2 aero bikes for the Vail time trial
A generous helping of electrical tape helps keep the cables tightly together and out of the way of the wind on this Team Exergy Felt B2
Exergy team mechanics were busy swapping riders’ pedals from their road bikes to their TT rigs the morning of the Vail stage
HTC-Highroad riders set out on their usual Specialized S-Works Shiv aero machines for the Vail time trial
A small strip of electrical tape seals up the gap up front on this HTC-Highroad Specialized S-Works Shiv
Jelly Belly riders used their usual designed-by-Walser Focus Izalco Chrono rigs
Liquigas team captain Ivan Basso shook off the previous day’s crash to finish 33rd on his previous-generation Cannondale Slice
An 80mm-deep Mavic Cosmic carbon tubular wheel was fitted to the front of Ivan Basso’s (Liquigas-Cannondale) spare machine
As is usually the case, Ivan Basso’s (Liquigas-Cannondale) aero bars are fitted with a third brake lever so he can check his speed without breaking his tuck
Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) uses just grip tape on his Cannondale Slice bars. Apparently he’s holding on pretty tightly, too – note where the grit has worn off
Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) kept this hybrid road/time trial setup as his spare for stage 3
Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) stuck with his usual Trek Speed Concept to take the win on stage 3
RadioShack’s front wheel preferences varied from rider to rider
This Skil-Shimano Koga was equipped with fairly conservative 50mm-deep wheels and a clip-on aero bar
At least in theory, Skil-Shimano team mechanics could have added bar end shifters to this hybrid setup
Skil-Shimano riders used a mix of road-time trial hybrid setups and their usual full-blown aero machines for stage 3
Spidertech-C10 riders used a mix of time trial and hybrid setups for stage 3
Remember Daniele Callegari’s (Team Type 1-sanofi-aventis) horrific crash in the lead-up to stage 2’s ascent of Cottonwood Pass? Here’s his helmet. Ouch
Given the reported injuries to Team Type 1’s Daniele Callegari, it’s no surprise to see so much damage to the front edge of his Limar helmet
Team Type 1 had their Colnago Flights at the ready for stage 3
UnitedHealthcare riders stuck to their Boardman time trial bikes for stage 3
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.
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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 setupJames 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 setupJames Huang/BikeRadar
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At least in theory, Skil-Shimano team mechanics could have added bar end shifters to this hybrid setup
