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Pro bikes, May 29, 2007
Sergey Lagutin's Navigators Insurance Colnago C-50
Homegrown in ItalyBy Chris Davidson
At just 26 years-old, Navigators Insurance Pro Cycling rider Sergey Lagutin already packs a seriously fast finish: he is currently the Uzbekistan national road champion and also scored the 2003 U-23 World Championship in Hamilton with just a single teammate by his side. After starting his professional career with the Belgium-based Landbouwkrediet - Colnago team in 2004, Lagutin now finds himself in his second season with the Navigators Insurance Pro Cycling Team. Although the team is based in the USA, the Navigators still spend plenty of time in Europe where Lagutin recently won the first stage of the International Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt among a heavily ProTour-laden peloton. The Navigators have been sponsored by Colnago for a number of years now, and for 2007 the team's race bike is the company's iconic C50. Interestingly, although the Navigators is a US team, its race machine is a nearly 100% Italian affair. The majority of the drivetrain parts are top-shelf Record bits from Campagnolo who also supplies the deep section, but very lightweight, Bora Ultra wheelset. Continental provides the Competition 22mm tubular tires, which happened to hold air pressure amazing well for sew-ups as discovered during the course of a seven day tour. Up top, Lagutin prefers a Sella Italia SLR Team Issue saddle matched to a custom Thomson 'setback' version of its Masterpiece seatpost. Incidentally, Thomson does not offer the Colnago-specific 28.0mm diameter Masterpiece seatpost to the public (in either setback or straight), but such is the prize for racing in the big leagues. Located just two hours away from Campagnolo, Stella Azzurra supplies the team's handlebars, stems and bar tape. Like many major teams, the Navigators opt for aluminum cockpit components instead of carbon fiber, in this case the ViceVersa 4-bolt stem and Brianza oversized bars. Stella Azzurra's perforated Eleganza bar tape is incredibly durable and provides a unique look and feel up front, but also doesn't have much stretch to it; getting it wrapped tight the first time is key. Wireless computers are supplied by Cateye. For the Tour de Georgia, Lagutin ran an 11-23T cassette for the flatter stages (where he scored three top ten finishes) and upsized to a slighter easier 11-25T cassette for the hilly ones. For Stage 5's brutal finish on the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain, Lagutin supplemented that 11-25T spread with a compact crank equipped with 50/36T rings. Mechanic's Note [Davidson worked as a Navigators team mechanic during this year's TdG - Ed.]: At the Tour de Georgia we had an almost unthinkable seven straight days of beautiful sunny warm weather, which was great for the mechanics. We ran Pedro's new ChainJ lubricant every day on the drivetrains with great success, although I carried a bottle of the heavier SynLube in the car with me in case there was a last minute rain shower. Fortunately, I never had to use it. We also had great success with the Continental tires: there were no flats for the first six stages of the race, which the riders really appreciated [i.e.- not having to chase back on]. In contrast, Sunday's circuit race was not so kind as the downtown streets were a little more laden with debris; the result was three flats in less than three hours of racing. PhotosFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Glenn Kalnins
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Full specificationFrame: Colnago C50 Critical measurements Bottom bracket: Campagnolo Record Ultra-Torque |
Wheelset: Campagnolo Bora Ultra Bars: Stella Azzurra Brianza 44cm (c-c) Pedals: Speedplay Zero Total bike weight: 7.2kg (15.9lb) | ||||||||||||||
