Tour de France 2016: time trial tech gallery

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Tour de France 2016: time trial tech gallery

TT bike or road bike? Disc wheel or not? Here's how riders set-up for the stage 18 mountain time trial

The biggest race on the cycling calendar can pose plenty of headaches for team mechanics.

Last year, for example, a cobbled stage meant pavé -busting tech was called in, while this year it was the stage 18 mountain time trial which asked plenty of questions of team mechanics and, of course, riders.

Chris Froome opted for a full time trial set-up for stage 18 of the 2016 Tour de France – but he was the only rider to do so (pic: Sirotti)

How do you balance the aerodynamics needed for an individual time trial, with the low weight and comfort which could help deliver faster results uphill? Should you go for a full TT setup, stick with a road bike, or try and strike a balance between the two? Wear a time trial helmet, aero road helmet, or a regular road lid?

And those were questions which produced plenty of different answers on stage 18 as Chris Froome (using a full Pinarello Bolide TT setup, for the record) won the stage and put time into his rivals overall.

Let’s take a look at some of the solutions the WorldTour’s finest opted for in the gallery below.

Chris Froome opted for a full TT setup for the stage - his Pinarello Bolide fitted with a rear disc wheel and three-spoke front wheel. The three-spoke front wheel had actually been eschewed by most riders for the flat TT too, when high winds made for difficult conditions on stage 13. Froome also went full aero with his yellow skinsuit and helmet/visor, and was the only man to break the 31-minute mark (pic: Sirotti)
Froome was the only one of his Team Sky team-mates on the Bolide TT, with the rest of the team happy to keep something in reserve to protect their team leader in the final two mountain stages. Geraint Thomas gave his new Pinarello Dogma F8Xlight - which he and Froome are both using at the Tour - another airing, but had tri-bars fitted to get into a low aero position. You can just see Thomas' dragon decals on the toptube, a nod to his Welsh nationality, albeit in Team Sky's blue rather than red. Thomas also wore his Team Sky-issue Rapha skinsuit and a Kask Bambino helmet (pic: Sirotti)
While Thomas opted for tri-bars, team-mate Vasil Kiryienka, the world time trial champion, didn't even bother with those. Kiryienka rode the standard Pinarello Dogma F8 and finished 143rd on the stage - the Belarussian, 35, happy to forego personal ambition in both of this year's time trials despite pulling on the rainbow skinsuit (pic: Sirotti)
Tom Dumoulin set a benchmark which only Froome managed to beat on the day. Like Froome, the stage 13 time trial winner also opted for a time trial bike. Dumoulin opted against a disc rear wheel, however, choosing Shimano's 50mm Dura-Ace C50 rims instead as he finished second (pic: Sirotti)
In fact, disc wheels were quite a rare choice but Bauke Mollema - who stayed second overall despite losing more than a minute to Froome - was one of few riders to use one (pic: Sirotti)
Richie Porte is now just 44 seconds off the podium. He was fastest to the top of the first hill to claim the Prix Bernard Hinault, but BMC Racing riders chose to use their standard road bike, the BMC TeamMachine SLR 01, again with tri-bars fitted. Porte pulled on his TT skinsuit but stuck with his regular road helmet (pic: Sirotti)
Fabio Aru also impressed on the stage, and was another to stick with his tried and tested road bike - the Specialized S-Works Tarmac. His custom-painted Sardinian-themed frame appears to have been swapped out for the stage, however (pic: Sirotti)
Team-mate Vincenzo Nibali also stuck with the Specialized S-Works Tarmac, but went for the interesting combination of a disc wheel at the rear and mid-section hoop at the front. Time trial bikes are heavier than road bike, and that's no different for Nibali, meaning the trade-off between the aerodynamics of the Shiv and the low weight of the Tarmac was a key consideration for Astana riders (pic: Sirotti)
German time trial champion Tony Martin stuck with the Shiv, however - though without a disc wheel. The Etixx-QuickStep finished 75th, on a stage he was never expected to feature high up the standings on - the German is much more at home on the flatter time trial courses where he can make full use of the power which has earned him the nickname Der Panzerwagen (pic: Sirotti)
Joaquim Rodriguez chose a different approach to balancing the aerodynamics of a TT bike and low weight. Rodriguez started out on his TT bike for the flat opening section - the Canyon Speedmax - before swapping to his trusted road bike, the Canyon Aeroad CF SLX. Rodriguez finished eighth on the stage and is back up to 11th overall so the strategy proved successful. Rodriguez wore an Air Attack helmet for the stage, providing a happy medium between aerodynamics, comfort, ventilation and weight for the Spaniard (pic: Sirotti)
Movistar are another team sponsored by Canyon, and Alejandro Valverde used the Speedmax TT bike from start to finish. The Spaniard also opted for a disc wheel at the back, but stuck with his regular Campagnolo Bora Ultra 50 for the front. Valverde finished 12th on the stage, dropping down to eighth overall (pic: Sirotti)
Team-mate Nairo Quintana also chose the Speedmax CF SLX time trial bike, but went for standard wheels front and rear. Still, the Colombian did wear Catlike's Rapid TT helmet (pic: Sirotti)
Alongside bikes, kit was also a key consideration, with most riders wearing a skinsuit. Scottish firm Endura sponsor Movistar, and they have partnered with Drag2Zero to make the team's latest skinsuit. Endura scanned the Movistar riders to help create their most aero suit yet without the need for the riders to spend hours in the wind tunnel. The scale-like pattern on the front is to reduce drag and was first introduced at last year's Vuelta a Espana, while the skinsuit also has a transparent race number pocket which sits flush to the skin to ensure every possible watt is saved. Of course, Ion Izagirre's skinsuit also comes with the Spanish national flag, as he was crowned national TT champion in June (pic: Sirotti)
As we've already covered, another consideration on the day was the choice of helmet - regular road, aero road, or full TT. Rider who went for a fully-fledged time trial helmet then had to choose whether or not to use a visor. Froome did, though he was one of the few - Ag2r-La Mondiale's Romain Bardet didn't even opt for sunglasses (pic: Sirotti)
The broad range of bikes on display also included Lapierre's aero offering - with Anthony Roux of FDJ riding the French brand's TT bike, the Aerostorm (pic: Sirotti)
On the other hand, Peter Sagan - who only needs to reach Paris to claim the green jersey for a fifth time - looked more like he was out for a leisurely ride. While the Slovakian wore a green skinsuit, he stuck with his regular Specialized Tarmac road bike (though he uses the Venge for sprint stages) - no tri-bars required. While the Tarmac is adorned with the colours of the rainbow jersey, the ratio of green has been increased as a nod to his points classification lead. Green bar tape and a green SRM PowerControl8 bike computer add to the look (pic: Sirotti)
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