Tall Boys: Garmin tests Mavic prototype in Qatar
- By Ben Delaney
- Published Feb. 9, 2010
- Updated Feb. 2, 2011 at 7:45 PM UTC
American sprinter Tyler Farrar came to the Tour of Qatar with a prototype Mavic CC80 wheelset.
Mavic brought a few variations of the wheel to the team’s recent training camp in Calpe, Spain.
“Mavic had a couple of different versions, with different tensions and such,” said Garmin mechanic Tom Hopper. “These are the ones Tyler liked the best. So Mavic let us bring them along.”
Rim depth on the wheels is approximately 80mm. Mavic has had a tall-profile rim on its five-spoke wheels, which are used almost exclusively on the track. But this is the company’s tallest rim for a traditionally spoked wheel.
“If the wind dies down, which it sounds like it will later this week, they will be good for the sprints,” Hopper said.
Farrar’s competitor Mark Cavendish has often favored very tall-profile rims for flat stages; his are usually branded HighRoad.
In Qatar, Farrar ran the full set of the CC80s for the team time trial, and opted to run only the rear on stage 1, where 20mph winds buffeted the field.
FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech TAGS: Mavic / tech-news / Tour of Qatar
Ben Delaney
Delaney is the former editor in chief for Velo and VeloNews.com. A journalism graduate of the University of New Mexico, Delaney is responsible for all editorial content online and in the magazine. He's a former (but never very good) Cat. 1 racer. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and two children. He can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ben_delaney