Stage 17 of the 2013 Tour de France produced a double helping of bike bling for connoisseurs of the machinery used in cycling’s top tier.
The 32km mountain time trial from Embrun to Chorges, won by the race leader, Chris Froome (Team Sky), was notable for mid-stage bike changes.
Almost without exception, riders changed from conventional road bikes with clip-on aero bars to low profile time trial machines.
Alberto Contador (Saxo Tinkoff), second overall, and who finished second on the stage, was one of the few who didn’t.
Typically for Contador, he gave everything in pursuit of victory, but after crossing the line in a state of near-exhaustion, saw Froome beat his time by nine seconds.
The time typically lost to a bike change had been seven seconds, suggesting a miscalculation by the Spaniard’s Saxo Tinkoff team.
Photographer, Roz Jones, was on hand at Embrun to take these pictures of the machines ridden by white jersey holder, Nairo Quintana (Movistar), and Lampre-Merida team leader, Damiano Cunego.
