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Colorado tech: Tech tidbits from the USAPCC prologue

Nick Legan ferrets out some tech tidbits from the USAPCC prologue

August 23, 2011 Nick Legan

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2011 — Rory Sutherland rocked a massive 58-tooth chainring (made by Vuelta) in the mostly downhill prologue. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — BMC Racing had a big dry erase board posted right in front of the riders before the prologue. Everyone rode the trainer for 45 minutes, then headed to the start. The name to the right lists the director who’s following each rider. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Staying cool is always a priority and with European teams without their normal trucks and buses, many are forced to get creative. Stef Clement’s crew found a tunnel between the team parking and the start for his warmup. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — HTC-Highroad had an RV with an awning for shade. But one rider resorted to ice packs taped to his wrists to stay cool and compression socks (to look cool) for circulation. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — UnitedHealthcare had shade, ice and fans to help keep cool during their warmups. Congratulations to Brad White (near), who is a new father. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Skil-Shimano’s trip to Colorado is a bare-bones affair. Many riders were on road bikes with clip on aerobars. In looking for shade, the team asked around and found some help from Team Type 1. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Levi Leipheimer uses Trek’s 45mm setback seat mast. Team mechanics also hack off part of the frame to make a 52cm frame work for Levi. Smaller sizes have an even steeper seat tube angle. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Williams Wheels is a smaller manufacturer that sponsors Team Exergy. Williams’ rear disk is an interesting hybrid of a 4-spoke and a disk. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Many riders used bigger chainrings than normal for the mostly downhill prologue. Bissel used 55-tooth rings. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — To save weight, SpiderTech’s mechanic Chad Grochowina bonded the aero bar extensions in some of his rider’s base bars. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Chad Grochowina is a seasoned veteran in the mechanic ranks. His professionalism and awesome hair have earned him big respect over the years. The Canadian is stoked to be a part of the SpiderTech team. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Dale Parker is a new stagiaire with Team RadioShack. He used a Game Ready cooling vest during his warm up. The young Australian has a stellar background on the track and is quickly showing himself on the road. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — No one likes to pay airline baggage fees, not even big budget pro cycling teams. Rabobank only brought time trial bikes for its favored GC riders. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — HTC-Highroad has cool custom stems for their Specialized Shivs. They are needed to use the PRO handlebars and house the Di2 controller box. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — More and more mechanics are buying Craftsman hand compressors. Both Jelly Belly and Garmin-Cervélo mechanics used them at the prologue. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Dave Zabriskie rode a new Mavic Comete disk with an Exalith-treated rim found on other Mavic road wheels. The wheels are in short supply and even top teams were only given a few of them. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — Mechanics have all sorts of tricks to help them save time. The permanent marker line to the left of the Garmin logo indicates the bottom bracket location to aid in saddle setup. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

2011 — The Schleck brothers had them at the Tour and RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer used one Monday: a Zipp 808 Firecrest rim laced to a Bontrager XXXLite front hub. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews

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