News flash: Filippo Ganna can push a big gear.
The world time trial champion rode a monster 60-tooth chainring to win the 2020 Giro d’Italia’s opening time trial, for instance.
On Saturday, the Ineos Grenadiers rider had 54/42 Shimano Dura-Ace chainrings on his Pinarello Dogma F12, as he attacked his breakaway companions on stage 4 of the Étoile de Bessèges to take the win.
James Startt is on the ground in France, and he captured these images of Ganna’s machine.
Shimano’s dual-sided power meters feature a single rechargeable battery that connects with a special Shimano cable. Unlike some other modern power meters, though, they require a magnet for cadence measurement and power calculation. While many people and teams glue the magnet to the frame, Ganna’s bike has a K-Edge magnet affixed via the front derailleur mount.
The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 rear derailleur can handle up to a 30t rear cassette. Like many pros on Shimano in 2021, Ganna runs an 11-28.
Rim brakes? In 2021? Ineos is a hold-out of sorts to disc brakes in 2021, and it certainly isn’t for budgetary reasons.
With 25mm tubulars and rim brakes, Ganna’s bike isn’t too dissimilar from race rigs from 5 years ago.