Giant ran into some issues with the UCI prior to last year’s Tour de France but now that things have stabilized, Rabobank can concentrate on the business of going fastJames Huang/BikeRadar
The short aluminum bridge joining the armrests on Rabobank’s Giant Trinity Advanced SL time trial bikes also provides the mounting point for a custom bottle and cageJames Huang/BikeRadar
Rabobank’s custom time trial bottles and cages are designed so that the rider doesn’t have to break his tuck to take a drink – just slide an arm back a little, grab and goJames Huang/BikeRadar
Giant team liaison Andy Wollny told us that the Rabobank team’s custom time trial bottles and carbon cages were designed, built and delivered in just four weeksJames Huang/BikeRadar
Rabobank’s wheels have conspicuous “PROtotype” decals on them but they’re really just rebadged HED rimsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Rabobank’s Giant Trinity Advanced SL time trial bikes continue to use their unique cam-operated single-pivot front brakesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Time trial technology is progressing incredibly quickly these days. Whereas Rabobank’s Giant Trinity Advanced SL looked cutting edge just a few years ago, this front brake line dangling out in the wind now looks a little clumsyJames Huang/BikeRadar
Rabobank team mechanics make liberal use of electrical tape in order to clean up the wiring and cover up access holesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Giant say their research shows that upright edges are more efficient at cutting through the air than angled ones – hence the unusual lines of Rabobank’s Trinity Advanced SLJames Huang/BikeRadar
Fi’zi:k’s anti-slip saddle appliques are apparently hard to come by. This Rabobank rider gets by with a strip of friction tape to stop him from sliding around on the nose of the saddleJames Huang/BikeRadar
Rabobank used Giro’s new Selector helmets during the team time trialJames Huang/BikeRadar
It’s a good thing it wasn’t terribly hot during the team time trial. Giro say the deep internal channels keeps air moving through but especially with the full-coverage visor in place, this thing looks a little warmJames Huang/BikeRadar
Selle Italia have provided Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) with a new custom Monolink Friction Free version of their popular FliteJames Huang/BikeRadar
FSA have licensed Selle Italia’s Monolink seatpost design, meaning there’ll be more options for consumers next season. Word has it that Ritchey and Kalloy have signed on, tooJames Huang/BikeRadar
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) is one of just a handful of riders in the peloton to use Specialized’s new ‘Project Black’ McLaren development bikeJames Huang/BikeRadar
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) continues to favor one-piece integrated bars on his road bikesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) is using Corima’s all-carbon tubularsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Astana’s Corima wheels use all-carbon hub shells with the exception of the aluminum driveside spoke flangeJames Huang/BikeRadar
Astana are sponsored by SRAM so the extra ports for Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 system go unusedJames Huang/BikeRadar
Even Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) only has one Specialized McLaren test bike to use. His spare bike is his old S-Works Tarmac SL3 but it’s set up with the same new Selle Italia Flite Monolink Friction Free saddle and FSA K-Force Monolink post as his main machineJames Huang/BikeRadar
Specialized road R&D head Chris D’Aluisio takes a final walk in the team pit area before handing over his personal bike to HTC-HighroadJames Huang/BikeRadar
Say goodbye to your bike, Chris D’Aluisio – we’re sure HTC-Highroad will take good care of it and will return it in identical (if not better) condition at the end of JulyJames Huang/BikeRadar
Two of these people are happy. One isn’t. Sorry, Chris D’Aluisio, there are only so many of these Specialized McLaren test bikes to go around and those HTC-Highroad guys need them more than you do right nowJames Huang/BikeRadar
We’re curious to see if HTC-Highroad bother to replace this name decal with the proper oneJames Huang/BikeRadar
Specialized ‘Project Black’ McLaren test bikes get these coded labels, which in this case appears to designate the date of productionJames Huang/BikeRadar
Specialized’s field test bikes are apparently kept on a pretty short leash – each has its own barcode for inventory purposesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) switched teams last year but conveniently still gets to use his old bikeJames Huang/BikeRadar
The custom painted Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3 of Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) is easy to pick out against those of his teammatesJames Huang/BikeRadar