Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: A Giro Gallery
- By VeloNews.com
- Published Jun. 6, 2006
Just back from the Giro d’Italia, I thought I’d give you a few photos from the Pontedera-Pontedera time trial and that you might not have seen elsewhere, including from the Piaggio (Vespa) museum in Pontedera, where the time trial (won by Jan Ullrich with Ivan Basso a close second) started and finished.
David Millar came to the time trial to hang with his Saunier Duval teammates. He is very lean to the point that his pants also hang, ready to fall down at any time. My guess is he will be fit for the Tour prologue.
It seemed to take me forever to ride from the 5K to go sign to the Monte Bondone mountaintop finish above Trento, although I was going as hard as I could. Yet Basso flew over that same section seemingly in less than half the time, dropping everyone and going so fast up around the steep switchbacks that he had to stop pedaling to avoid clipping his inside pedal, he was so leaned over so far into each one.
Basso rode 36-52T compact (110mm bolt circle diameter) chainrings with an 11-23 cogset, but he rarely used the 23. Many others rode 34-50T compact chainrings. On the Monte Bondone stage, Basso rode the Cervelo Soloist Carbon, looking for both aerodynamic and weight advantages. Basso’s special Selle Italia carbon saddle uses the base of the SLR teknologika and its carbon rail. The base and rail feature new “long fiber” carbon technology that offers more flexibility (for improved comfort) without adding weight. The rail itself weights only 45 grams. In order to maximize comfort, especially for the time trial stages, the saddle is equipped with a tiny gel “micro-perforated” insert into the nose. The total weight of the saddle is claimed to be 105g and is decorated with custom “Ivan Basso” graphics and signature. The SLR teknologika Ivan Basso is now available for purchase, but only through Selle Italia’s Web site.
As the steep Plan de Corones section was eliminated from Stage 17, the riders never needed them, but at the stage start in Termeno, I have never seen so many compact cranks and 13-29 cogsets in the pro peloton. One Liquigas rider even had a triple! But it turns out that holding a rider strike at the start until the organizers relented and dropped the Passo del Erbe and the final 5km above the Passo Furcia to the Plan de Corones (due to the snow) was a more effective way to deal with the climb.
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FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech