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Race Tech: Tour de France, July 8, 2007
And they're off!
By James Huang in London, England
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Riders will use their dedicated time trial bicycles for what will barely amount to the blink of an eye in the grand scheme of the three week-long Tour de France. Nevertheless, sponsors, teams, and mechanics spend an inordinate amount of time, energy, and money into developing the fastest bikes to propel them across the line.
While typically not the lightest bike in the quiver, time trial machines are easily the most visually striking of all the machines we'll see as the peloton winds its way into Paris with CFD-carved lines, NACA-designed tube shapes, and every aero-enhancing tweak and friction-reducing trick that teams can slip through the eyes of the UCI.
This year's opener was won in convincing fashion by Team CSC's Fabian Cancellara, an undeniable favourite but not the home-grown Brit as the host city had hoped; Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) was the highest UK finisher at fourth, 23 seconds back.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
- Cancellara's Cervélo P3 Carbon being prepared the day before the opening prologue.
- FSA's new Neo Pro TT crankset is rightfully emblazoned with the World Champion stripes earned by Fabian Cancellara last year.
- The non-driveside crank fully envelopes the bottom bracket cup.
- The driveside of the Neo Pro TT is equally striking with smooth contours and neatly integrated chainrings.
- The driveside bottom bracket cup is also shrouded by the crankarm.
- Ceramic bearing-equipped pulleys help keep things rolling with minimal friction.
- Like many riders in the peloton , Cancellara uses a slightly chopped saddle to squeak by the UCI setback requirement.
- Cancellara is the current time trial world champion and can now add 'two-time Tour de France prologue winner' to his list of palmares.
- Discovery Channel's George Hincapie logged an excellent ride with a third place finish.
- Bontrager supplies Hincapie and rest of the team with its carbon fiber integrated TT bar.
- Hincapie mounts a third brake lever on the extensions to control his speed without breaking his aero tuck.
- HED's tri-spoke aero wheel continues to see heavy use in the peloton.
- Smoothly contoured carbon fiber brake levers plug into the end of the Bontrager handlebar.
- Time trial helmets offer up plenty of real estate for wild paint jobs.
- This helmet isn't going anywhere as it lays on a couch in the team hotel lobby, but it still looks fast.
- Astana mechanics carefully set up the bike of Andrey Kashechkin.
- FSA isn't the only company to manufacture an aero crankset, although don't expect to be able to buy this one anytime soon.
- Even the backside of the rings are cleanly profiled for good aero performance.
- The non-driveside arm is nearly as tall as the down tube on the BMC TT01 Time Machine.
- Time trial bikes are visually striking but not always the easiest for the mechanics to work on.
- Saddle height adjustments on the first-generation BMC TT01 Time Machine was accomplished via a nightmarish array of small set screws.
- A unique jig helps Astana mechanics achieve a perfect setup.
- T-Mobile was spotted running a new HED three-spoke wheel with a substantially deeper, and non-structural, section than the original version. Hidden beneath the fairing is likely a shallower section rim that is bound to offer a more compliant ride.
- Not all of the T-Mobile riders were using the new wheel , however; many were utilizing the four-spoke PRO front wheel as supplied by team sponsor Shimano.
- T-Mobile mechanics hand-applied a line of silicone adhesive to fill the wind-churning trough in between the tire and rim.
- The Time RXR of Bouygues Telecom.
- This handlebar position was rarely seen just a few years ago, but is now the norm.
- Vision makes its headset spacers in the same aero profile as the integrated handlebar stem.
- The Pinarello Montello of Alejandro Valverde.
- Valverde's custom Selle Italia 'Bala Verde' ('the green bullet') SLR saddle is sadly chopped like on many TT bikes in this year's Tour de France.
- Integrated time trial handlebars leave little room for mounting accessories so Caisse d'Epargne mechanics have to use a bit of creativity in mounting Valverde's heart rate monitor.
- Specialized even developed a proprietary bottle to fit perfectly within the triangle of its new Transition.
- The proprietary cage fits just so.
- A Wilier Cento time trial machine in the process of being built by a Lampre team mechanic.
- ITM's carbon fiber base bar is certainly among the curvier examples of the genre.
- Specialized only supplies two teams with bikes , but several others with helmets, including this custom-finished model for Lampre.
- The matching case for the Specialized TT helmet is akin to a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
- The Colnago C50 Chrono of Team Milram.
- The riders of Euskaltel-Euskadi headed out on the course aboard new Ordu machines from Orbea.
- The new Ordu almost looks more stealth fighter than bicycle.
- Trainers were a must-have item on the morning of the prologue as the streets of London were far too crowded for a proper warm-up ride.
- A fleet of trainers await the riders of Astana.
- Rabobank heads out on a 'team training ride' in front of its hotel in London.
- A timing chip mounted on each bike helps ensure the accuracy of the finishing order.
