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Pro Bike: Lars Van Der Haar’s Giant TCX Advanced SL

Logan VonBokel checks out Lars Van Der Haar's Giant TCX Advanced SL

February 2, 2013 Logan VonBokel

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Pro — LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (VN) — Dutch Rabobank rider Lars Van Der Haar had one of the most impressive performances of the day, riding to third in his debut elite world championship. Van der Haar’s Giant TCX Advanced SL is one of the smallest, lightest bikes in the pro ‘cross ranks. Even with a subtle black and orange colorway, Van Der Haar’s TCX stands apart from the average Giant. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Vredestein cotton tubulars? I’m not sure about that. Those are Shimano C35 tubulars — though when we caught up with Van Der Haar’s ride after the race, it appeared that the power washers had removed some of the decals from his rims. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — “Made by A. Dugast.” Well, that makes a bit more sense, seeing as how that tubular is clearly a Dugast Rhino. It also appears that these wheels are on loan from Van Der Haar’s U23 teammate, recently crowned world champion Mike Teunissen. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — A very clean name decal helps the Dutch mechanics keep track of riders’ bikes. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Like many of the European pros, Van Der Haar has been running Shimano 7970 Di2 all season with good success. His TCR has some custom tweaks to keep the electronic cable routing clean. Notice the rear derailleur wire held in place with some tape emerging behind the 46x39t crankset. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Like most smaller riders, Van Der Haar needs his stem slammed all the way to the top cap to get his needed amount of drop, but cyclocross headset top caps, with a built-in cable stop, add more stack height. The solution is a custom spacer that doubles as a hanger. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Van Der Haar’s mechanics go above and beyond by hiding a barrel adjuster next to the finishing tape so that the cable tension can be easily adjusted in the pits. Special cable housing is used to help the cable make the sharp bend into the cable stop. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — A great mechanic can get by with naught but a three-way allen wrench, zip ties and electrical tape. Here, Van Der Haar’s mechanic keeps his rider’s front derailleur wire tight against the seat tube with an incognito zip tie. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Rabobank’s team engineers have been machining custom brakes for years. Van Der Haar runs them with SwissStop yellow brake pads on his C35 rims. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — This TCR is fresh off crossing the finish line in third place without even having time to get to the power washers on the other end of the course. Here’s hoping it gets a bath before its trip back to the Netherlands. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Even the infallible Dugast Rhinos were gumming up with Lousiville mud today. Riders were pitting at least once a lap. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

Pro — Giant uses a Powercore bottom bracket that accepts a BB86 press fit bottom bracket. So buyers can run Shimano and SRAM GXP with a pressfit system without additional adapters like on a BB30 frame. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com

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