Bikes at the 23rd Vuelta a Murcia

By Paul Mirtschin

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This early in the season, it's not uncommon to see teams still heavily testing bikes and components in preperation for the bigger races. While wandering around the staging area before the 5th stage time-trial, Mike Papageorge decided to spend some time at the USPS camp.

Lance Armstrong, as usual, was the center of attention. And with his new Trek TT bike in all its grey glory standing out from the rest of the team's blue and black frames it wasn't hard to spot. The new bike features a new fork and bar that hadn't been seen in public before. Scott Daubert at Trek told us, "That fork and bar have never seen the light of day before Sunday's TT in Murcia. They are both products of wind tunnel tests we conducted last fall."
The new bars from Bontrager are designed to place Lance in the optimal race position, both for maximum power and minimal wind resistance. And with the bars in their final stages of testing, we expect these bars to take Lance to the odd podium.
The new carbon aero forks on Lance's bike should also help the boy from Texas, with the reduced drag and smoother airflow that Trek's tech guys have managed to massage into them. It's not about the bike, but every little bit helps.
Once Mike had finished at USPS, it was on to some of the other teams. First stop was Kelme, where overall leader Javier Pascual Llorente's Look Light KX was parked. The black on black on carbon colour scheme makes it one of the sexier bikes this season.
Team Telekom have finally taken delivery of their 2003 Pinarello frames, having raced on the 2002 bikes as recently as the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under. The eye catching double "s" shaped Onda forks match the double "s" shaped rear stays, and are designed to improve shock absorption as well as stiffen while under braking. Even if it doesn't do what they claim, it certainly makes the bike stand out from the crowd.

Vuelta a Murcia bike photos

Images by Diseño web masadelante.com

• The cat 3 Alto de La Santa and Joaquim López (Paternina) and Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) have broken away from the peloton...
• ...which is lead by Iban Mayo (Euskatel) and the Kelme boys 2.17 behind (overall GC winner Javier Pascual Llorente in yellow).
• Last years GC winner, and stage winner on the day USPS's Victor Hugo Peña digs deep to finish in front of ONCE's Jan Hruska (hidden behind Victor).
• Stage 4 winner Victor Hugo Peña chats with the press
• Two Labarca 2-Cafe Baque riders warm up for the time trial.
• Lance Armstrong warms up on his 'new' Trek TT Bike.
• Stage four winner Victor Hugo Peña has a chat with the crowd, clicks in and starts his warm up. He finished fifth on the day, and sixth on the overall GC.
• Second place in the GC, ONCE's Jan Hruska warms up...
• ...alone on a sidewalk - maybe the Lance factor?
• Johan Bruyneel double checking the bike of USPS's highest placed rider in the GC, Victor Hugo Peña.
• A nice shot of Lances time trial position. He warmed up in front of the crowd for about 40 minutes (are those new handlebars?).
• Lance double-checks his bike...
• ...puts on his helmet and game face...
• ...and checks his bike once again.
• The Man went out and blazed to an eventual second place finish for the TT. He was a bit too fast for my camera!
• The four time TDF winner then cooled down in from of the crowd (those forks look new too).
• Victor Hugo Peña on his final warm up...
• Notice the super-fast silver shoe covers. He finished fifth on the day, and sixth on the overall GC.
• A nice look at two time trial bikes (left: Paternina Costa-Almeria - right: Labarca 2-Cafe Baque), while the boys were in the bar having a pre-ride coffee!
• Trek Bike's Scott Daubert was on hand, here with the USPS TT bike.
• Javier Pascual Llorente's (Kelme) Overall GC winning Look Light KX.
• Team Telekom's ride for the Vuelta a Murcia...
• ...included some very nice Campy Record carbon fiber cranks.

23rd Vuelta a Murcia - Stage 5 results

Recent tech Tour tech: Zipp's slippery new wheel revealed On test: Klein Palomino XV June 25 news: New Giant carbon, Crank Bros, Colnago proto, Scott, Topolino Book review: Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion New bike for Van Moorsel New bikes from BT Cicli Pinarello displays its racing history: Fifty years of classic bikes June 17 new arrivals: Specialized, Crank Bros, Thomson, Bicycling Science, Drop In Pro bike: Iban Mayo's Euskaltel-Euskadi Orbea TT climbing prototype On test: Campagnolo Eurus G3 wheels Pro bike: Lance Armstrong's Trek Madone SSL proto Pro bike: Emanuele Sella's Battaglin June 8 news, part 1: Giro's Rev Six revs up at Dauphine, Rebellin conquers on Wilier carbon proto, Giant spy photos at the T-Mobile Service Course June 8 news, part 2: Specialized unveils new kit, Cervelo & CSC fine-tune at MIT, New forks from Alpha Q, Paint job of the year? Pro bike: Dede Demet-Barry's T-Mobile Giant TCR Carbon Bikes of the Giro part 2: The mountains New arrivals: DMT, Jaggad, Blue Steel, Cannibal, Ellsworth, LeMond Fitness, Atomic Mount On test: Park Tool IB-1 & IB-2 multi-tools De Marchi responds On test: Giro Monza On test: De Marchi Contour bib shorts, On test: DeFeet Armskins May 21 news: Petacchi's new Pinarello, Mayo's Orbea TT secret weapon, adidas, Mavic, Ambrosio, True Temper On test: White Industries Eccentric ENO hub World exclusive pro bike: Marion Clignet's Look 496 track bike On test: Carnac Quartz road shoes Repair & maintenance: Recording MTB position Pro bike: Chris Horner's Webcor Lemond TT bike May 13 news: New Shimano wheels, 29inch victory, CycleOps, Naviion New arrivals: Crank Bros, Park Tool, Sports Instruments, Morningstar & Panasonic, New arrivals: 2004 clothing from Campagnolo On test: Orbea Orca - Real-world team issue On Test: Specialized Bar Phat tape Bikes of the Tour de Georgia Apr 30 news: Campagnolo, Klein, Giant, Sports Instruments, Burley, La Ruta Apr 27 news: IRD, Oval, Fi'zi:k, Camelbak